^23 (A)But it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first of God's gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his children and^[a] set our whole being free. ²⁴ For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.