Creation and New Creation: “. . . the time is coming and has now come”

For a printable file with the formatting and biblical languages copied correctly: Creation and New Creation . . the time is coming and has now come by S.Hague

Creation and New Creation: “. . . the time is coming and has now come”
(chapel presentation by Stephen Hague)

• We so often begin the gospel with God as judge – since we start with sin – yet the scripture begins the gospel with creation –

Gen 1:1- In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth

• The gospel is the good news that God the Creator is restoring his people and his creation through his Son, our Redeemer.
• The good news is also that “the time is coming and has now come” — He is now making all things new . . .

Jn 4:23 . . . a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Jn 5:25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.

Jn 16:32 “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

The new creation

The redemption of God’s people includes the restoration of the creation:

Isa 65:17 “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

Isa 66:22 “As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “so will your name and descendants endure.

Ezek 11:19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.

Ezek 36:23-26 I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the Lord, declares the Sovereign Lord, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. 24 “ ‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Psalm 104:30  When you send your Spirit, they are created,  and you renew the face of the earth.

Rom 8:19-21 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that^a the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

Eph 2:10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Eph 4:22-24 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds;24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Col 1:15-20 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Col 3:10  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

2 Cor 4:16  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

2 Cor 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

James 1:¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

2 Pet 3:13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

Rev 21:1 ¶ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.

Mat 19:28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

The wondrous thing about the gospel is that WE are now a new creation:

• As God’s new people: we are the first fruits of the new creation, his workmanship in Christ, who will dwell together in his renewed earth forever.
• As a new creation in Christ we have now been given a new heart by Christ.
• As a new creation in Christ , we are promised a new body. The resurrection of Christ is the objective assurance that our bodies will be resurrected incorruptible.
• As a new creation in Christ, we now serve the renewed kingdom of God presently through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. He has accomplished Adam’s entire calling necessary to establish and extend God’s kingdom in the world.
• As a new creation in Christ, we long and wait for the restoration of the creation in the new heavens and new earth when Christ returns
• As a new creation in Christ, we presently enjoy renewed, restored relations (marriage, church, etc) that prefigure and prepare us for our eternally restored relations, since we are presently the new community of the people of God bearing witness to the world of the wonders of God in Christ. .
• As a new creation in Christ, we are all one people of God, regenerated by the one Spirit of God, Jews and Gentiles equal in the faith and salvation: Gal 6:15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.
• As a new creation in Christ, we will see the new order and enjoy the renewal of all things when Christ returns:

 Mat 19:28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

What Jesus has accomplished towards the new creation (adapted from G.Beal, The Temple)

• Jesus is the end-time Adam, the True son of God .
• Jesus passes all the tests and temptations of Adam/Israel.
• Jesus defeats the Devil (analogously to Adam who failed to do so). Who resists all temptations, casts out Satan, as Adam should have done.
• Jesus defeats the forces of unbelieving paganism of the Canaanites (whom Israel failed to defeat).
• Luke identifies Jesus as the last Adam. (p. 172)
• Jesus fulfills the promise of Israel’s restoration. Mtt 4:12-16
• Jesus heals the spiritual and physical results of the curse, thus restoration of the creation begins. In the new temple, Jesus heals (also in the physical temple). Jesus is mocked about the temple (Mtt 27:40). The new temple replaces the old, fulfilling Zech 6:12-13)^[1]
• Jesus rises from the dead, new creation is assured.
• Jesus begins the destruction of the earthly temple and creation of the new temple and the restoration of the Presence through atonement. Jesus’ death – temple is destroyed in part and the curtain is torn, and earthquake foreshadows complete destruction of the earthly temple.
• Jesus’ procures forgiveness of sins at the new temple which is now localized in Jesus – the new temple of God’s Glorious Presence on earth.
• Jesus provides the promised eschatological rest for God’s people (Mtt 11:28-30), for all who are weary and need rest.
• Jesus is both Son of God (Israel) and Son on man (Adam) who accomplishes what Adam as son failed to accomplish, and what Israel as son failed to accomplish.
• Jesus links heaven and earth: John 1:51

He then added, “I tell you^b the truth, you^c shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” and Gen 28:12 He had a dream in which he saw a stairway^a resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ There above it^b stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you  will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.

• Jesus breathed into his disciples (echoes Gen 2:7), incorporating them into the new creation and new temple. They become the vehicle for life-giving forgiveness that comes only from Christ. John 20:22 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
• Pentecost (may have been in the temple) fulfills Jesus’ prophecies of the new temple. The new temple is Jesus himself, the locus of forgiveness. Tongues of fire represent the theophany of the heavenly temple and they correspond to Babel (linking with Gen 10-11). The reversal of the judgment at Babel – “God causes representatives from the same scattered nations to unite in Jerusalem in order that they might receive the blessing of understanding different languages as if all these languages were one.”[2]  Pentecost signals the destruction of the old creation and the beginning of the new creation in Christ. Christ is the Cornerstone of the new creation!

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Outline of new creation theology of Scripture

Creation-Covenant: kingship, priestly, and prophetic dominion

Creation-kingdom is established in the Garden of Eden

• Access to the tree of life in the garden of God
• Prohibition on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
• Cycles of creation/rest established

Rebellion fall into alienation, disarray, anarchy, and spiritual battle (the curse on the ground and body): EXILE

Redemption-Covenant initiated ~ new covenant

Kingdom promised & chosen: EXODUS

• The king prefigures the King of Kings: will vanquish the Serpent
• The high priest prefigures the True High Priest: will ransom the creation, overcome death’s curse
• The prophets prefigure the True Prophet: will be the Word of God
• Judges prefigure the Judgment on sin: will fufill the law perfectly and reverse the curse

New Covenant blessings

• Human king         Law/Judges/Prophets/Wisdom
• Progeny                 Land/nation: CONQUEST
• Presence                Sanctuary

King of Kings, Priest of priests, Prophet of prophets is promised/awaited

• Davidic kingdom ends in exile & temple destroyed: EXILE
• Return from exile: REMNANT RETURNS
• Reversal of the curse  expands

Redeemer-King of kings comes:

• Redemption accomplished
• Evil one is vanquished
• Church proclaims the gospel of redemption and the return of the King
• Curse removed in Christ

Redemption complete: REDEEMER RETURNS

• Redeemer-King of kings returns
• Last Judgment and REDEEMED REMNANT preserved
• New creation & tree of life in Paradise restored

The covenant-sign of circumcision in the church has been continued by baptism as the sign of God’s covenant-promise to restore his people  through the Messianic line of the see of Adam and Eve.

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“John is shown (and shows us in turn) that salvation is the restoration of God’s creation on a new earth. In this restored world, the redeemed of God will live in resurrected bodies within a renewed creation, from which sin and its effects have been expunged. This is the kingdom that Christ’s followers have already begun to foretaste.”  Bartholomew, The Drama, 211

“This restoration of the creation will be comprehensive: the whole of human life in the context of the whole creation will be restored.” Bartholomew, The Drama, p. 212

“This comprehensive scope of God’s redemptive work means, for example, that the nonhuman creation forming the context for human life will be restored to what God has intended for it all along.” Bartholomew, The Drama, p. 212

Continuity and discontinuity: in the new creation, there will be total transformation of the things we already know: the environment (ecology), human relations (social), the body (resurrection), aesthetics (beauty, order), philosophy (true knowledge of God and creation), work (pain-free vocation), love, worship, etc., etc….

Some object to these ideas with reference to 2 Peter 3:^[3]

2 Pet 3:10 {GR} NIV ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

NASB¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

eu`reqh,setai verb indicative future passive 3rd person singular from eu`ri,skw

[GING] eu`ri,skw find, discover, come upon Mt 7:7f; Mk 14:55; Lk 6:7; 11:24; J 7:34, 36; Ac 13:6, 28; 27:6; Ro 7:21; 2 Cor 12:20; Rv 20:15. Find, obtain Lk 1:30; 2 Ti 1:18; Hb 4:16; 9:12. Pass. be found, find oneself, be Ac 8:40; Phil 3:9; 1 Pt 2:22; prove to be Ro 7:10; be judged 2 Pt 3:10. [eureka, Archimedes’ exclamation; heuristic] [pg 81]

Primarily because of more ancient text traditions that suggest eu`reqh,setai is more ancient, it is not universally agreed that the destruction of the earth is in view. Indeed, it the NIV is based on the more ancient text tradition of the word for “establish” or “find.” Metzger discusses the textual history below:  From B. Metzger, Textual Commentary, pp. 705-706.

3.10 eu`reqh,setai {D} At the close of ver. 10 the extant witnesses present a wide variety of readings, none of which seems to be original. The oldest reading, and the one which best explains the origin of the others that have been preserved, is eu`reqh,setai, which is attested by a B K P 424^c 1175 1739^txt 1852 syr^{ph, hmg} arm Origen. In view of the difficulty of extracting any acceptable sense from the passage, it is not strange that copyists and translators introduced a variety of modifications. Thus, several witnesses retain eu`reqh,setai but qualify it with other words: (a) the Sahidic version and one manuscript of the Harclean Syriac version insert the negative, and (b) the Bodmer Papyrus (î<sup>72</sup>) adds luo,mena (“the earth and the things in it will be found dissolved”) – an expedient, however, that overloads the context with three instances of the same verb. Other witnesses either (c) omit eu`reqh,setai and the accompanying clause (so Y vg Pelagius al), or substitute another verb that gives more or less good sense. Thus (d) C reads avfanisqh,sontai (“will disappear”), and (e) A 048 049 056 0142 33 614 Byz Lect syr^h cop^bo eth al read katakah,setai (“will be burned up”). Because eu`reqh,setai, though the oldest of the extant readings, seems to be devoid of meaning in the context (even the expedient of punctuating as a question, “Will the earth and the things in it be found?” fails to commend itself), various conjectural emendations have been proposed: (a) after e;rga the word a;rga has fallen out (Bradshaw), “the earth and the things in it will be found useless”; (b) eu`reqh,setai is a scribal corruption of r`uh,setai or r`eu,setai (Hort),² “the earth and the things in it will flow”; (c) surruh,setai (Naber), “… will flow together”; (d) evkpurwqh,setai (Olivier), “… will be burnt to ashes”; (e) avrqh,setai (J. B. Mayor), “… will be taken away”; (f) kriqh,setai (Eb. Nestle), “… will be judged”; (g) ivaqh,setai (or evxiaqh,setai) (Chase), “… will be healed (thoroughly)”; (h) purwqh,setai (Vansittart), “… will be burned.”

Relevant words:

bWv (shûb) (re)turn, can be used to mean restore – this word is used many times in the OT in regards to the call from God to return to him: the call to repentance and restoration of relationship.

 avpokata,stasij avpokatasta,sewj, h` (avpokaqi,sthmi, which see), restoration: tw/n pa,ntwn, the restoration not only of the true theocracy but also of that more perfect state of (even physical) things which existed before the fall, Acts 3:21; cf. Meyer at the passage (Often in Polybius, Diodorus, Plutarch, others.)

 ^NIV Mtt 17:11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things.

Louw and Nida: 3.65  avpokaqi,sthmi ; avpokata,stasij, ewj f ; evgei,rw: to change to a previous good state – ‘to restore, to cause again to be, restoration.’ avpokaqi,sthmi: evxe,teinen, kai. avpekatesta,qh h` cei.r auvtou/ ‘he stretched out his hand and it was restored’ or ‘… it was healed’ Mk 3.5. A rendering of avpokaqi,sthmi in Mk 3.5 as ‘was healed’ is justified on the basis that at a previous time the hand was crippled, but avpokaqi,sthmi in and of itself does not mean ‘to be healed.’ Note, however, a contrasting situation in iva,omai (13.66). avpokata,stasij: a;cri cro,nwn avpokatasta,sewj pa,ntwn w-n evla,lhsen o` qeo,j ’till the times of restoring all things of which God spoke’ or ‘until the time of making all things new of which God spoke’ Ac 3.21. evgei,rw: kai. evn trisi.n h`me,raij evgerw/ auvto,n ‘and in three days I will restore it’ (a reference to the Temple) Jn 2.19.

 See also 2 Peter 3:13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness

Robertson writes, “The noun apokatastaseōs, which in Acts 3:21 refers to the restoration of all things as promised by the prophets, should be compared with the verb apokathistaneis in 1:6. Because of this connection between the two verses, the restoration of all things in 3:21 may be regarded as providing an explanation for the restoration of the kingdom to Israel in 1:6. The restoration of Israel in the prophets is equivalent in its new covenant context to the renewal of the whole earth, not merely the reestablishment of the state of Israel.” ^[4]

Paligensis

^NAS Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

^NIV Matthew 19:28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

^NAS Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

^NIV Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

Restoration and Renewal:

13.67 ἀνακαινίζω; ἀνακαινόω^b: to cause a change to a previous, preferable state—‘to renew, to restore, to bring back.’ἀνακαινίζω: ἀδύνατον … πάλιν ἀνακαινίζειν εἰς μετάνοιαν ‘it is impossible … to bring them back to repent again’ He 6.4–6. ἀνακαινόω^b: ἀλλ’ ὁ ἔσω ἡμῶν ἀνακαινοῦται ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἡμέρᾳ ‘yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day’ 2 Cor 4.16.^[5]

Acts 3:21-22 He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

 13.66 ἰάομαι^b: (a figurative extension of meaning of ἰάομαι^a ‘to heal,’ 23.136) to cause something to change to an earlier, correct, or appropriate state—‘to renew, to heal.’ καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσιν, καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς ‘and they might turn to me, and I would renew them’ Mt 13.15.^[6]

Job 14:14 If a man dies, will he live again?
All the days of my hard service
I will wait for my renewal^f to come.
Job 33:25  then his flesh is renewed like a child’s;
it is restored as in the days of his youth.
Ps 51:10   Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Ps103:5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Ps 104:30 When you send your Spirit,
they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
Isa 40:31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isa 41:1 “Be silent before me, you islands!
Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
let us meet together at the place of judgment.
Isa 57:10 You were wearied by all your ways,
but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’
You found renewal of your strength,
and so you did not faint.
Isa 61:4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.
Lam 5:21 Restore us to yourself, O Lord, that we may return;
renew our days as of old
Hab 3:2  Lord, I have heard of your fame;
I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord.
Renew them in our day,
in our time make them known;
in wrath remember mercy.
Matt 19:28  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Rom 8  18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 24 For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
2 Cor 4:16  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.
Col 3:10  and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
Titus 3:5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

a  Or subjected it in hope. For

[1] ¹² Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. ¹³ It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’

^b The Greek is plural.

^c The Greek is plural.

^a Or ladder

^b Or There beside him

[2] Beal, The Temple, p. 202.

[3] C.Wright says on this, “I prefer the textual reading that the earth ‘will be found’ to the emendation reflected in several English translations ‘will be burned up.’ I also find Bauckham’s interpretation of this convincing; namely, that the earth will be ‘found out’: i.e. be exposed and laid bare (cf. NIV) before God’s judgment so that the wicked and all their works will no longer be able to hide or find any protection (Bauckham, Jude, 2 Peter, pp. 316-322. The purpose of the conflagration described  in these verses is not the destruction of the cosmos per se, but rather its purging and new creation” (OT Ethics, p 141, f.n. 55).

[4] Robertson, Christ of the Prophets, p. 64, fn. 19. See Robertson, Israel of God, pp. 141-42.

^[5]Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible societies, 1996, c1989), 1:156.

^[6]Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible societies, 1996, c1989), 1:156.

f  Or release