(I apologize the post is a little more academic in nature than most.)
God, as Creator, is in the process of creating and renewing his creation. Through the resurrection of Jesus in the lives of his people God’s renewal process is alive and underway. Humanity finds itself in the interesting role of being part of creation and being invited by the Creator to participate in the creative process. Humanity is caught in the overlap of heaven and earth, creator and creation, past and future, broken and renewed. Grenz writes “the doctrine of creation encompasses the divine activity in bringing into being the new heaven and the new earth as envisioned by the biblical prophets and seers.” The direction of the Creator and his creation is pressing forward into new life.
Paul of the Bible describes life in Christ (new creation) as living in that “yet to come.” This creates the picture of Jesus’s future kingdom rushing into the present. Like the Israelites eating the grapes of the promised land in the desert, the humanity found in Christ is ushering in the new heaven and earth by participating in it in the present. By engaging with God we are also drawing on the entire creation process up to this point. In a sense God is beyond time; he is currently both at work in that which leads up to the present and working in the future of his creation. When we become participants in God’s story of hope time comes rushing both forward and backwards into our present. We become completely encompassed in God’s creation story.
The sovereignty of the Creator is experienced through our relationship with him and as we allow him to act through us. Grenz says, “ ‘Sovereignty’ means that God is at work bringing to pass the final goal of his creative activity. If God is sovereign in the future, we can affirm his sovereignty in the present as well.” This affirmation comes through participation in the event of the cross, the resurrection, and a life following Jesus. We know this to be true because the justification of God in the past is found in his faithfulness to his created people. We know that we can place our hope in the Creator to continue his act of creation into the future.
Unfortunately there is a force working against life and creation. Evil is that force which opposed and seeks to destroy God’s good world. Evil is that which looks to deface and degrade the humanity made in God’s image and designed to reflect his goodness. Evil is that which seeks to get in between the relationship of the Creator and created. Wright says “The power of death itself, the ultimate denial of the goodness of creation, speaks of a force of destruction, of anti-world, anti-God power being allowed to do its worst.” This is why Paul writes that “the wages of sin are death” and why it was important for Jesus to conquer death. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul talks about death as if it is God’s greatest adversary. If death is not defeated then Christ has not been raised from the dead. Our faith is then futile and we are still in sin; cut off from our proper relationship with the Creator.
However, if it is true that evil has and is being defeated in what sense have the New Testament writers chosen to illustrate this? It is that all kinds and intensities of evil have been dealt with through the event of Jesus on the cross and through his life which serves as the necessary example for how humanity should approach evil in a God-like manner. When humanity choses to follow Jesus the full force of sin, evil, and death loose their power and sting. Life and creation then reflect the true nature of the Creator.
How then does God choose to deal to evil? “What the Gospels offer is not a philosophical explanation of evil, what it is or why it's there, nor a set of suggestions for how we might adjust our lifestyles so that evil will mysteriously disappear from the world, but the story of an event in which the living God deals with it.” (N. T. Wright) The story of Jesus is the story of the Creator entering creation in the way most understandable to humanity so he could demonstrate what it looks like to live a life of reconciliation with the Father. During his journey Jesus deals with evil in a manner quite unexpected by his contemporaries and by today’s culture. Jesus does not try to run away or escape evil in the common dualistic approaches of today but instead he confronts it. God is jealous for the relationship with his creation and judges the evil that interferes. As the Messiah Jesus identifies himself as the true embodiment of Israel and seeks to eradicate the idolatrous ways of his people. Jesus offers his followers forgiveness of sin and releases them from evil’s grip. We find Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors who have their lives transformed through grace and unconditional love. As we follow Jesus through his life, death, and resurrection we learn what it means to be born again into a living hope.Through the compassionate response of God to creation he has provided the paradigm needed for what should characterize our cooperation with him in the completion of uniting heaven and earth.
The story the Gospels are trying to tell is a story in which evil and its deadly power are taken utterly seriously. Jesus, as the blameless God, becomes the ultimate sacrifice for sin on the cross. All of evil from past and future creation comes rushing in and is weighted upon Jesus at the crucifixion event. In the crucifixion Christ does not seek to escape through death and leave to go to a better place, but he chooses to deal with and defeat death rising into a new life that embraces the world. For Jesus death and heaven are not the ultimate goal or reality, but simply a necessary path toward the united heaven and earth which will result in a completely reconciled creation. As followers of Jesus, we too must participate in the event of the cross in order to experience the resurrected life. We are asked to “pick up our cross daily” and “die to ourselves.” To rid himself of the weight of sin even God had to die to himself to create the necessary conditions for forgiveness of sins. The temple or church building is no longer the place where we must go to experience God’s presence. It is the felt experience of the crucifixion in our everyday lives that serves as the way of entering God’s presence regardless of our location. We now experience God through our everyday acts of unconditional love and grace. When we “die to ourselves daily” we find ourselves where we no longer wish to be set free from the grip of sin or falling short of God’s glory, but standing side by side with Jesus. Like the thief on the cross we die to our old ways as we recognize that Jesus provides the only way to new life. It is complete participation in the cross that leads to a resurrected life. As the apostle Paul writes, “So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work at in the humanity surrounding us.”
As suggested in the act of baptism we are to die to our old ways, be buried with Christ, and rise to walk in a new life with him. Sin and evil are defeated when we choose to live out our baptism daily. Like the passing of the Israelites through the water and into the desert, we find ourselves in a place of preparation for a promised land where heaven and earth completely overlap. What then is the call of God’s chosen people in this new life? “The call of the gospel is for the church to implement the victory of God in the world through suffering love. The cross is not just an example to be followed; it is an achievement to be worked out, put into practice.” (N.T. Wright) It is through the resurrection that death and evil are defeated and forgiveness of sins is made possible. To say that we are “born again” and participate in the resurrection is to be forgiven of sin and reunited with the Creator in proper context.
As followers of Christ we now find ourselves as participants in the creation process. The Creator is moving his creation forward in a world where heaven and earth long to unite. When we rid ourselves of evil and its life-destructive qualities we find ourselves in the type of relationship God desires for humanity. This is the very type of relationship needed so God can use the creation he loves so much to aid in ushering in his Kingdom here on earth.
N. T. Wright. Evil and the Justice of God. Kindle Edition.
Stanley J. Grenz. Theology for the Community of God. Kindle Edition.
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