What is the Impact of the New Creation View – Part 2?

In the final article of this series we continue to look at the events surrounding the first Adam, not from the perspective of sin and punishment, but grounded in the same expression of love and grace we clearly see in the last Adam. Through the hidden nature of the mystery of God in Christ, we can see the distinct roles of the two Adams; one with a command and authority over the physical/natural realm, the other with a command and authority in both the heavenly and the earthly realms (Fourth Gospel 17:1-4).

The first comes to his role through disobedience, bringing to his progeny the awareness of good and evil and the need for self-discipline, moral discernment, and spiritual character as the only means to dwell in the good and overcome the evil. This is a requirement for all God’s children who desire to dwell in the fullness of his image or his kingdom for all eternity.

Yet God makes it clear through the last Adam that the fullness of the image of God is something humanity was never intended to achieve on its own, nor through its own efforts⁽¹⁾. Though possessing the knowledge of good and evil and the moral discernment which can develop from it is certainly a step in the right direction, it is insufficient to elevate humanity out of the dust and into the divine realm. Though it does equip him to recognize the righteousness of God and his Christ, in order to ascend from the dust from which he was created another Adam, descending from above (Fourth Gospel 3:12-13), must condescend to lift humanity up and bridge the gap between the natural and the spiritual. (1 Corinthians 15:45-50)

New Creation as a Process

By establishing the Lamb of God before the foundations of the world were laid, God reveals that humanity was, of itself, insufficient to achieve the full image and likeness of God. The physical, mortal nature of humanity was, by design, never intended to populate God’s kingdom of heaven by its own efforts.

1 Corinthians 15:45-50
45 Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. 50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

It was always intended that humanity populate the physical realm it was given to care for and subdue, and was blessed in doing so.

Genesis 1:28 – And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

This is what we see throughout humanity’s Biblical history. We don’t see a world rejected by God as a result of Adam and Eve’s disobedience. Instead we see the Lord and the Spirit of God intersect with the world so that the one command is satisfied (Genesis 1:28) and the one promise is fulfilled (Genesis 3:15b).

Noah

Through Noah and his family, humanity and the animals were preserved and the world was cleansed from the corruption which came by those of the unseen realm⁽²⁾ who trespassed into humanity’s realm (Genesis 6:1-4). Not only were Noah and his family blessed and reminded of the first command (Genesis 9:1-3,7), through them the seed of the first Adam is preserved for the last Adam (Luke 3:23-38).

Babel (Babylon)

The sons and descendants of Noah continued to spread abroad on the earth after the flood (Genesis 10:32); but only after their disobedience was judged and they were dispersed. Some had gathered in the plain of Shinar, opposing the command to disperse and fill the earth (Genesis 11:4). In their arrogance they sought to approach the heavens and the divinity it represented by their own hands. In response, God slowed their ascent and humbled them by dividing their language and the peoples into seventy nations,⁽³⁾ dispersing them over the face of the earth according to his will (Genesis 11:6-8).

Abraham

After dispersing the nations, God intended to create a new nation for his own portion among the peoples. This he would start by calling Abram, making a covenant with him with a promise to make from him a great nation. It is this nation which assures the continuation of the first command for Abraham and his children. (Genesis 12:2; 13:14-16; 17:4-8) God even blesses his son Ishmael, ensuring that he too will be fruitful and will multiply (Genesis 17:20).

Through Abraham, God will also bring one who is a blessing to all nations. This one (the last Adam) brings a blessing by doing righteousness and justice in the land. (Genesis 12:3; 18:17-19)

The Descendants of Jacob (Israel)

Derived from the covenant of faith with Abraham, the descendants of Isaac and Israel continue the promised seed (Deuteronomy 29:10-13). They are God’s portion from among the nations called to be his special people (Deuteronomy 32:7-9). Literally called out of slavery where they multiplied greatly in the midst of their oppression, by forgetting the God who gave birth to them as a nation they became not-a-nation. Instead, those whom Israel and the Jews consider not-a-nation, become a nation to God and his Christ (Deuteronomy 32:15-22). Israel and Judah’s disobedience to the covenant and their rejection of the Son of Man are their stumbling. Yet God turns their stumbling into riches for the world (Romans 11:11-12,15,22-23). And if they turn from unbelief, they too will see life from the dead (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

An Everlasting Kingdom from David

Through King David comes a covenant of rest for David and for Israel (2 Samuel 7:8-11) as God promises to build David a house, though posthumously (2 Samuel 7:11c-12); a descendant of David will be raised up and God will establish and multiply his kingdom forever in the Son of God (2 Samuel 7:13-16).

Yeshua the Christ is the seed of David (Romans 1:1c-4) and his kingdom and dominion will stretch from sea to sea and reach the ends of the earth (Psalm 72:8,11). The house he is building is not a temple of wood or stone, but of men and women (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:17-20; Ephesians 2:18-22).

A Kingdom of Priests

Yeshua the Christ is the cornerstone of the temple of the new creation. Those called into the Son are the recipients of greater promises in a greater kingdom than that of Israel; a kingdom without end (Romans 8:16-17,23,29-30). Likewise, the seed of Christ, the promised One, continues in those called to him by God, being confirmed by the gift of the Holy Spirit and the fruit it bears in their lives (1 Corinthians 10:20-22; Galatians 5:22-23; 1 Peter 2:9-10). They are a temple of God in the making (Revelation 21:9-14).

The Kingdom of the Son

At his return to establish his kingdom in fullness upon the earth, Yeshua the Christ reveals the firstfruits of salvation to the world (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14). They are the seed of Christ, begotten in those God called to himself through the gift of the Holy Spirit, now born into a new creation:

• They dwell in the fullness of the righteousness of Christ (Romans 5:1,9-10,17-21)
• They are the first recipients of the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit (Romans 4:15-17; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:11-14)
• As a result, they attain the eternal life promised to them as the fruit of the new covenant (Fourth Gospel 3:14-18)

These are the three things which work together to complete the “image and likeness of God” for those who are the first to trust in Christ. But those who are called the first are not the only. And the work of the kingdom of the Son, by the High Priest and those glorified as priests to God, is to lead many more sons and daughters into the knowledge of God, the obedience of faith, and the new creation which follows (Fourth Gospel 17:20-23).

The Kingdom of the Father

The process of new creation continues even after Christ returns, providing his reward for his called, chosen, and faithful servants, the hope of greater glory through a new covenant in Christ for all Israel,⁽⁴⁾ and correction for the world leading to repentance for many.⁽⁵⁾

Yeshua is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, for whom all this has come about. This is the consummation of his work to lead many sons and daughters to glory in the form of an everlasting kingdom handed over to the Father.

1 Corinthians 15:24-27
24Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27 For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.”

Let’s pause momentarily and consider what has been accomplished by Christ’s work:

• The Son, who is the express image of the invisible Father (Hebrews 1:1-4), has glorified those who are the express image of the Son (Romans 8:28-30).
• He who is the Logos and author of the first creation is rightly the one who completes the new creation. His work throughout human history prepared the children of God from their infancy into the image and likeness of the Son (1 Corinthians 15:48-50; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18; Ephesians 4:12-16,20-25; Colossians 1:15-16).
• He has destroyed every rule and authority and power. In this everlasting kingdom the Godhead and his children rule not just the earth, but in heaven and on earth (1 Corinthians 15:25; 6:2-3; Revelation 5:9-10).
• He has destroyed death which exists no more (1 Corinthians 15:26,54-57). That which humanity and all creation were subjected to by God is no more. At this point in time all creation has been freed from the bondage of corruption it was subjected to (Romans 8:20-23). No longer will this restrainer of mankind, introduced to us by God’s command (Genesis 2:16-17), have power over the children of God.
• The faithfulness of God’s hope in Christ (Romans 8:20-21) was proven by the gift of abundant mercy and grace of God poured out on all (Romans 11:32), of which many were made the glorious recipients.
• By the work of the Son of Man, humanity now possesses the complete image and likeness of God in the new creation; the righteousness and eternal life (immortality) gifted to all those who receive the abundant grace and free gift in Christ our Lord (Romans 5:17,21).
• That which started in the physical realm has now been born into the spiritual realm (Fourth Gospel 3:15-16; 5:21; 6:40: 10:28; 11:25-26). This mortal has put on immortality by the source of immortality – Yeshua the Christ our King (1Corinthians 15:50-54; Romans 6:23; Galatians 6:8; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; Hebrews 5:7-10; 1 John 5:11-12).
• Over the last one thousand years, during the kingdom of the Son, Yeshua has made the Father known to all the world, beginning in Israel,⁽⁶⁾ to both the living and resurrected dead (Fourth Gospel 17:1-4,8,20-26; Revelation 20:11-12).
• By the close of the kingdom of the Son, the devil, the beast, and the false prophet have been cast into the lake of fire where they are said to be tormented forever (Revelation 20:7-10; Matthew 25:41-46).
• Christ has judged heaven and earth in righteousness;
  • Harvesting the wheat into his barn (into the kingdom of the Father)
  • Casting the tares into the lake of fire to be consumed (burned up)

Through the Son of Man, God has completed his kingdom-building process to make the children of God into a new creation. These children, who were seeded from the dust of the earth and planted in Eden (Genesis 2:7; Isaiah 45:8; 1 Corinthians 15:36-39,46-49), have emerged from the garden and are sown into the glorious image of the Son. That process of growth and maturation, which began in the physical realm, has been completed in the spiritual realm with innumerable sons and daughters bearing fruit to eternal life.

Revelation 21:1-4
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

At this point, there is a new heavens and a new earth – and the kingdom of God comes down out of heaven. This is the kingdom Christ spoke of when he said to Pilate – My kingdom is not of this world. This is the kingdom Paul spoke of when he said – flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Conclusions

When viewed from the larger context of God’s work in Christ our Lord, one can see the emergence of humanity’s parents from the garden in Eden as a necessary step in completing the image and likeness of God in them. All fall short of the glory of God because all were created short (incomplete) of the glory of God (Romans 11:32). We can only approach the glory of God through Christ our Lord. This was intended before the foundations of the world were set in place.

All the milestones of humanity’s history served to multiply the children of God upon the earth and to preserve the seed from the first Adam to the last Adam. Each Adam fulfilled their respective roles; one in the natural realm, the other in the spiritual realm. Looking back as Christ ushers in the new heavens and new earth, he can express the same satisfaction with the new creation which was expressed over the natural creation;

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

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Presuppositions

At the close of each article the relevant presuppositions that support it will be cited. This enables the reader to gain a clearer and deeper understanding of the context. To learn more about presuppositions, see the About page.

1. The work of God in Christ was no afterthought. It was established before the foundations of the world were set in place (Ephesians 1:3-6). In God’s plan is the hope of eternal life, which he promised before the ages began. It was left hidden by the will of God (1 Corinthians 2:2,6-10). Though unknown for a time, God would manifest this hope through the word of his gospel in Christ Jesus (Titus 1:1-3; Fourth Gospel 1:1-3).
2. The creation, including humanity, was subjected to futility, not by its own choice, but by the sovereign will of God. The creation waits, in hope, with eager longing, for the sons of glory to be revealed that all can share in the freedom from bondage (Romans 8:18-21,22-24a). God willingly subjected all to disobedience that he might have mercy on all (Romans 11:32). Not all will receive that gift.
3. The mystery of God covers a multitude of people over long periods of time, past, present and future, and is closely intertwined with God’s purpose and work in Yeshua the Christ. In summary, the Mystery of God is an expression of the will of God to extend grace to Jew and Gentile alike, through salvation in Jesus Christ, and to manifest the glory of the new creation in his children. (Colossians 1:25-28; Colossians 2:2-4; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:1-12)
4. The Son of God succeeded where Adam could not. The sin and death exposed to humanity by Adam and Eve is the result of what they are; human. Sin and the death which accompanies it are by-products of mortal beings with free will and self-determination. (Genesis 2:7; 3:19; Romans 5; 6; 7) Thankfully God extends his gift of grace in Christ Jesus, and for those willing to receive it, leads them into righteousness and eternal life (Romans 5:15-21).
5. Yeshua the Christ alone is the visible image of the invisible God. He is the first fulfillment of humanity bearing the complete image of God, whereas Adam left the garden still incomplete (Genesis 3:22). (Colossians 1:15-19; 2 Corinthians 5:14-20) He is the source of our eternal inheritance (Ephesians 1:7-14,17-21).
6. The goal for the work of Christ in us and for us is not only to develop the mind of Christ, but to develop the character of Christ also. This is the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us (Romans 7:4-6; Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 1:9-14). Our victory in Christ is already established, regardless of our individual paths, because his victory has already been attained according to the will and the power of God. (Romans 8:31-39)
7. Death and resurrection are a means to glorification. God’s plan for his children begins with the physical/natural, but ends with the spiritual (1 Corinthians 15:45-55). The physical began with Adam and the spiritual began with Christ our Lord. (Fourth Gospel 3:16-18; 6:37-40; 5:21-24)
8. Yeshua the Christ is the author of the first creation and the new creation in his image. The new creation in Christ was intended from the beginning for all God’s children: Adam rendered unto us the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:22), and Christ, the second Adam, gives us immortality and the tree of life (Fourth Gospel 14:6-7). He is the pathway into the kingdom of God in which no flesh and blood can dwell (1 Corinthians 15:45-50).

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Footnotes:

1. It’s through the last Adam that the two key elements necessary for God’s imagers to dwell in the divine realm are fulfilled and completed in his children; the moral discernment and wisdom necessary to rule justly in the context of good and evil (righteousness), and eternal life. These were introduced and represented in the Genesis 2-3 narrative by the two trees placed in the garden. Humanity only acquires them conditionally through belief in God and his Christ, faithfulness to their ruling authority, and by the gift of the Holy Spirit.
2. Dr. Michael S. Heiser, Reversing Hermon: Enoch, the Watchers & the Forgotten Mission of Jesus Christ, Defender Publishing (2017)
3. Dr. Michael S. Heiser’s Naked Bible Blog: The Function of the Divine Council in Heavenly Worship: Piety, not Mysticism: Part 5 (series by Stephen Huebscher)
4. When I refer to Israel, like the authors of Scripture, I’m referring to the descendants of Jacob (renamed Israel). God will complete his work with Israel for their reconciliation, restoration to the promised land, and ultimately their redemption through the new covenant in Christ (Isaiah 43; 54; 65; Joel 2; Amos 4:12-13; Romans 11).
5. The correction brought upon the world is intended to humble mankind and to reveal the true source of life in Yeshua the Christ, that they too might know the invisible God who created them (Fourth Gospel 17:20-26). The condemnation brought upon those unwilling to accept the authority of the Son of Man is the result of their own free will. They will be judged in righteousness, if even through death (Hebrews 9:27-28). Yet many will choose death, the second death, the death of judgment (Revelation 20:14-15; 21:8).
6. There is a time spoken of by the prophets and confirmed by Christ himself when the unbelieving in Israel will know him and they will know the Father (Jeremiah 23:3-6). God’s righteous judgment exists to reveal who and what he really is (Isaiah 49:8-23; Jeremiah 23:5-8). Not only will there be an exodus for the descendants of Israel from the world, but there will also come an exodus from the grave (Isaiah 26:1,16-19; Ezekiel 37:11-14). These too will be confronted with the righteous judgment of Christ and be given the opportunity to enter into a new covenant with him; a new covenant which leads to life eternal. Because the grace of God is greater-than the sin of man, Yeshua the Christ will lead the descendants of Israel through their correction and even death, and finally into his righteous judgment which leads to life (Romans 11:11-12,15,22-27,32).