Romans 8:21

That the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.

The first clause here is the expression of God's hope for fallen man and should be read in close connection with the preceding verse. Here is the proof of what creation Paul meant in these verses, the same being the creation which is in "the bondage of corruption," terminology which excludes both the brute and inanimate creations and points dramatically at the sons of Adam. (See under Romans 8:19.) The corruption here ascribed to the "creation," as well as God's hope of its redemption, and of its becoming partakers of the liberty of the glory of the children of God are statements that simply cannot fit animal or inanimate life. No animal, for example, could be thought of as being in the bondage of corruption, nor as having any prospect of ever getting out of it. Again we have recourse to Macknight's paraphrase:

In the resolution that, on account of the obedience of the second man, even the heathens themselves shall be set free from the bondage of the grave, and those who believe be brought into full possession of the happiness which belongs to the children of God.[41]