Creation, De-creation, Re-creation

The subject of creation has been coming up a lot in my world lately, and I've sort of begun thinking about new (for me) way of telling the story of God: Creation, De-creation, and Re-creation

We learn in Genesis 1, John 1, Colossians 1, and Hebrews 1 that all three persons of the Trinity worked together to create the heavens and the earth. We learn that the Father created by means of the Son (Col. 1:16), and we read also that the Spirit was present (Gen. 1:2).

It is also obvious that from the the beginning it was the intent of Satan to dismantle the created order of God. Yahweh established the rule that "in the day that you eat of [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] you shall surely die" (Gen. 2:17 ESV), yet Satan stated in Gen. 3:4: "You will not surely die." Satan then questioned the authority and motives of God. Whereas the very heart of creation is life, the work of Satan has always been one of death (Eph. 2:1) - i.e. de-creation.

But the good news of the gospel is that, according to Ephesians 1, the Trinity stepped back in to make a new creation, a re-creation. As in the first creation, the Son (Jesus) is the means by which the Father adopts His "reborn" children (Eph. 1:4-5), and the Holy Spirit seals our redemption (Eph. 1:13-14). "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17). "'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God'" (Jn. 3:3).

At this point in salvation history, re-creation is focused primarily on the spiritual realm. Men and women who come to faith in Christ are being "born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pt. 1:3). Though our physical bodies are "wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day," (2 Cor. 4:16).

But this isn't the end game. The purpose of God is that humans be resurrected spiritually first, and then physically resurrected (see e.g. 1 Cor. 15 and Rev. 19-20). We will not go off to live as disembodied souls forever in heaven, floating on a cloud in some ethereal land. We are human, and to be fully human as God originally intended, we must be fully redeemed, both spiritually and physically.

Therefore, at this moment, we find ourselves caught in between the times:
God's creative order is still plainly seen (Rom. 1:19-20);
Satan's de-creative efforts are also obvious (1 Pt. 5:8);
And God's re-creative work is happening all around us as people place their faith in Christ.



"Why should this all matter to me?" you might ask. It should matter because looking at things this way helps reveal so much of the intent behind the attacks of Satan today. If you want to identify his work in our world, look for de-creation. Look for philosophies and worldviews and political agendas which seek to undermine the creative order of God; and, in particular, look for mindsets which seek to downplay the necessity and primacy of His re-creative order - i.e. that salvation is found in no other name but Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).

May believers stand firm these days (with grace and truth) on the creative order of God, and may we boldly proclaim His re-creative work in the gospel!