23 | Impacts of the New Creation View

By God’s provision and faithfulness, he has prepared humanity’s path from the mist and the dust into the image and likeness of the Son of Man since before the world began. Having created mankind from the dust, imperfect, incomplete, and mortal, God was signaling his plan through the fullness of time to bridge the gap between the natural realm he created for us to dwell initially and the divine realm of our future inheritance. Yeshua the Christ is that bridge. He alone bridges the imperfect, incomplete, and mortal state in which we dwell. The goal of his chosen saints since the first appearance of the Son of God is to understand the mystery of God’s work in him on our behalf.

In Need from the Beginning

From the very beginning, this state has rendered every descendant of the first Adam in need of a Savior who is Christ our Lord.[1] Quoting Dr. Heiser – “I affirm that Adam’s sin put all humankind in the position where they could only share eternity with the true God by virtue of a redemptive act on the part of the true God.” Their choice to pursue further the God-likeness in them brought them under God’s righteous judgment. This leaves us concluding that it was always God’s intent to finish the creation of his children, which started within the physical realm and is completed through the redemptive work of Christ leading to the spiritual.[2] This realization must include that the pathway to that completed new creation, to salvation, comes only through disobedience, death, and resurrection. God established the circumstances of the garden scene as a test for humanity. Yet this test was not intended for their collective failure, as traditionally thought, but to lead them into maturity and the awareness of their need for a righteous Savior to fill the gap.

• Thanks to Adam and Eve, humanity has taken a necessary step in growing into the God-likeness to which we were initially created. (Genesis 3:22)
• To resolve the condition their choice presented humanity with, God had fore-ordained that Christ would be the source of their redemption and their completion as co-heirs with Christ; by achieving righteousness for all and resolving the futility and disobedience to which they were subjected. (Romans 3:21-26; Ephesians 1:3-14)
• That new state leaves them in a position to commit or not to the obedience of faith in Yeshua the Christ that leads ultimately to eternal life. (Romans 5:17-21)

 

We were never intended to bridge this gap on our own or by our own efforts. Though mankind has at times pursued the idea that we can achieve moral supremacy and even immortality on our own, this is a lie. This lie is at the root of the serpent’s deception in the garden.[3] Yet God allowed the deception to creep in as an ongoing test for humanity and for the revelation of his righteousness over it in Yeshua the Christ. It was God alone who subjected his creation and humanity to futility, but he did this not in futility but in hope. And that hope was in Christ – the Lamb of God.[4] This shows the height, width, length, and depth of God’s wisdom to lead flawed and imperfect humanity into the obedience of faith and the righteousness of Yeshua;[5] to overcome the certainty of self-determination inherent in conscious beings with free will by his own grace, mercy, love, and patient long-suffering; to overcome evil with good not by eliminating evil or the context by which it can exist but by revealing the truth that virtue has its own rewards. These rewards are lasting and fruitful, benefiting all who embrace them.

 

Imaging God was intended to be progressive in nature, and is reflected in the theme of already, but not yet. It began in the natural realm and is completed in the spiritual.

Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:4-18)

 

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:13-18)

 

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

 

In all this, God shows his great faithfulness through patience, endurance, and long-suffering toward his creation and even toward those who forgot him. First with the descendants of Israel. God is not ignorant of their faithlessness but instead shows them now and will show them repeatedly that they can trust in him to finish what he has started in Yeshua the Christ. For example, listen to the language of Isaiah in the context of the new thing that God is doing.[6] Notice how many times the Lord uses the first-person reference in Isaiah 43.

• I formed you
• I redeemed you
• I have called you by name; you are mine
• I am your savior, the Lord your God
• I gave nations in ransom for you
• I love you
• I give men’s lives in return for your life
• I am with you
• I will gather your offspring;

• Those whom I created for my glory
• Those whom I formed and made (Isaiah 43:1-7 paraphrased)

 

God has not and will never break the covenant he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, even though Jacob’s descendants forgot the God who made them and formed them from among the nations; his chosen people.

“Then fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the Lord,

nor be dismayed, O Israel;

for behold, I will save you from far away,

and your offspring from the land of their captivity.

Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,

and none shall make him afraid.

For I am with you to save you,

declares the Lord;

I will make a full end of all the nations

among whom I scattered you,

but of you I will not make a full end.

I will discipline you in just measure,

and I will by no means leave you unpunished. (Jeremiah 30:10-11)

 

For his name’s sake, he acts so that his name should not be profaned. Not just among the descendants of Israel but among the nations as well.

“For my name’s sake I defer my anger;

for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,

that I may not cut you off.

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,

for how should my name be profaned?

My glory I will not give to another.

“Listen to me, O Jacob,

and Israel, whom I called!

I am he; I am the first, and I am the last.

My hand laid the foundation of the earth,

and my right hand spread out the heavens;

when I call to them, they stand forth together. (Isaiah 48:9-13)

 

God intends to exhibit the same patience, faithfulness, and righteousness toward all nations.

For thus says the Lord, who created the heavens (he is God!),

who formed the earth and made it

(he established it; he did not create it empty, he formed it to be inhabited!):

“I am the Lord, and there is no other.

I did not speak in secret, in a land of darkness;

I did not say to the offspring of Jacob, ‘Seek me in vain.’

I the Lord speak the truth; I declare what is right.

“Assemble yourselves and come;

draw near together, you survivors of the nations!

They have no knowledge

who carry about their wooden idols,

and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.

Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together!

Who told this long ago? Who declared it of old? Was it not I, the Lord?

And there is no other god besides me,

a righteous God and a Savior;

there is none besides me.

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!

For I am God, and there is no other.

By myself I have sworn;

from my mouth has gone out in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

‘To me every knee shall bow,

every tongue shall swear allegiance.’

“Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,

are righteousness and strength;

to him shall come and be ashamed

all who were incensed against him.

In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

shall be justified and shall glory.” (Isaiah 45:18-25)

 

Yeshua the Christ is the source of that new thing God is doing, and he alone is the embodiment of truth with all that entails. He brought that truth to Israel. Did he not give great promises to Jacob in return for their loyalty? He is the only God through whom they can be saved; there is no other. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue will confess this. He will perform it. Though it begins with the descendants of Israel (his chosen), it goes out to all the ends of the earth. He’ll likewise bring that truth to all the world when the already but not yet is completed during Christ’s rule upon the earth.

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;

they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,

that he has done it. (Psalm 22:27-31)

Walking through the Water and the Fire, but not Alone

God’s great faithfulness is seen throughout humanity’s history as we walk through the water and the fire. 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 and the one promise is fulfilled.[7]

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 who trespassed into humanity’s domain.[8] Not only were Noah and his family blessed and reminded of the primary command,[9] but through them, the seed of the first Adam was preserved to the last Adam; . . . the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.[10]

Babel (Babylon)

The descendants of Noah continued to spread abroad on the earth after the flood;[11] 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.[12] 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,[13] dispersing them over the face of the earth according to his will.

And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. (Genesis 11:5-9)

Abraham

After dispersing the nations, God intended to create a new nation for his own portion from 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 that assures the continuation of the prime directive through Abraham and his offspring.[14] God even blesses his son Ishmael, ensuring that he too will be fruitful and will multiply.[15] 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.[16]

The Descendants of Jacob (Israel)

Derived from the covenant of faith with Abraham, the descendants of Isaac and Israel continue to build the foundation of the promised seed.[17] They are God’s portion from among the nations called to be his special people.[18] Literally called out of slavery, where they multiplied greatly in the midst of their oppression. But by later 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.[19] 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.[20] And if they turn from unbelief, they too will see life from death.[21]

An Everlasting Kingdom from David

Through King David comes a covenant of rest for David and for Israel[22] as God promises to build David a house, though posthumously;[23] a descendant of David will be raised up, and God will establish and multiply his kingdom forever in the Son of God.[24] Yeshua the Christ is the seed of David,[25] and his kingdom and dominion will stretch from sea to sea and reach the ends of the earth.[26] The house he is building is not a temple of wood or stone, but of men and women.[27]

A Kingdom of Priests

Yeshua the Christ is the cornerstone of the temple of the new creation.[28]

Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them

and give thanks to the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord;

the righteous shall enter through it.

I thank you that you have answered me

and have become my salvation.

The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:19-24)

 

Those called into the Son are the recipients of greater promises in a greater kingdom than that of Israel; a kingdom without end.[29] 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.[30] They are a temple of God in the making.[31]

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:4-6)

The Kingdom of the Son

When Yeshua returns to establish his kingdom in fullness upon the earth, he reveals these firstfruits of salvation to the world.[32] 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[33]
• They are the first recipients of the fullness of God’s Holy Spirit[34]
• As a result, they attain the eternal life promised to them as the fruit of the new covenant[35]

 

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. Yet those who are called the first are not the only. The process of new creation continues even after Christ returns, providing his reward for his called, chosen, and faithful servants; by the hope of greater glory through a new covenant in Christ for all Israel;[36] and through correction for the world leading to repentance for many.[37]

Then, the ongoing work in 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 that follows.[38]

 

Eden was a forerunner to the new creation; it is not the new creation. It represented the first stage, a physical expression of God’s dwelling place on earth until the new creation was made manifest. The new heavens and new earth are the completion, the fulfillment of what God saw as a very good basis for his process of creating the spiritual from the natural, a natural world transformed and glorified at the end of the age. Like humanity’s progress from the mist and the dust to glory, the rest of God’s creation likewise groans for something more. Humanity was not alone in its subjection to futility; but all creation. All creation awaits to be released from the bondage and to obtain the freedom which has been delivered to all those called the children of God.[39] Recall that God did not subject the natural creation nor the world to come to elohim but to the first Adam to be completed through the last Adam.[40]

Yet before the creation is freed entirely from this bondage, there is an Eden-like period of rest for all the earth during Christ’s millennial reign on earth. It is during this time that the descendants of Israel dwell in their own land, and they are blessed as God’s chosen people; their exile fully ended, and their shame completely removed. Bountiful will be the fruits of their land and the abundance of God’s favor as they partake of the new covenant in Christ and his righteous judgment that accompanies it. The nations too will come to the mountain of the Lord, and they will learn the ways of the Lord. The faithful servants and priests to the Lord will be the shepherds over the nations to lead them into the obedience of faith. Israel and the nations will no more learn war and destruction. They will employ themselves in making implements of peace rather than those of war and conflict.

Ongoing Work of Creation

For the time being, until Yeshua returns to cement his reign of all the earth, the work of the new creation continues mostly hidden from the world. That work began even before Adam and Eve took from the tree of exception by the establishment of the Lamb of God before the foundations of the world were set, and has been building since by every occurrence where the Lord or the Spirit has intersected with the natural realm. It finds expression by the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of faithful men and women, the Lord’s saints and prophets of old. Of course, a most significant milestone in this work is the incarnation of the Son of God into the world.

 

He who is the Logos and author of the first creation is rightly the one who completes the new creation. By his sacrificial participation as God’s suffering servant, he magnifies this work throughout human history to prepare the children of God from their infancy into the image and likeness of the Son.[41] He who is the express image of the invisible Father[42] has already glorified those who are the express image of the Son,[43] though not yet fully. Those faithful called into Christ, the recipients of his Spirit, are being made into a kingdom of priests by the High Priest, preparing his firstfruits of salvation for the day of visitation.

On that day of visitation, these firstfruits are called from every nation of the world into the kingdom of light, each according to God’s purpose, each to fulfill a unique role. More than the Son of Man will be revealed when he makes his appearance in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.[44] As the world trembles at the Lord’s appearance, humanity is confronted with the reality of the Son of God. Who can possibly stand in the wake of his wrath and judgment?[45] Yeshua has prepared two groups of faithful men and women through whom he’ll reveal his kingdom-building work ongoing since the days of old. These will stand before men on earth and before God in heaven. From the nations of the world, God has called and prepared twelve thousand descendents from each of the twelve tribes of Israel to stand fast on the earth as an example of those sealed and protected by God.[46] These 144,000 will walk safely through the upheaval brought upon the world until they see the Son of Man descending on the Mount of Olives to intervene on Jerusalm’s behalf.[47] The second group of people also come from every nation and tongue.[48] Many will come from the grave, having died faithful to the Lord, while others who are alive will be changed.

Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
(1 Corinthians 15:51-53)

 

This is the first resurrection; the firstfruits of salvation. They are the first to enter the kingdom of glory, but they are not the only. Many will follow during the kingdom of the Son.

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)

 

Just as the early chapters of this book outlined, there is a progression to the revelation of the kingdom of heaven.[49] Today is not the only day of salvation for the children of God.[50] It begins with those called, chosen, and faithful servants of Yeshua the Christ both living and dead, and works backward through time to encompass all the living and all the dead. This is the progression we see to the work of God in Christ as was described in chapters 2-6:

• The firstfruits of salvation are harvested first consisting of faithful Jew and Gentile alike. These are Christ’s priests and rulers during his earthly reign who are given authority to judge in order to lead many from the nations to reconciliation with God and into the obedience of faith in Christ our Lord.[51]
• The disobedient descendants of Jacob are harvested next.[52] Just as the firstfruits were called out of disobedience and into the obedience of faith by God’s grace, so also will these receive mercy in their disobedience. For God has consigned all humanity to disobedience that he might have mercy on all through the gift of grace in Yeshua the Christ.[53] The Day of the Lord is a time of distress upon mankind because they have sinned and chased after idols. He will make Jerusalem a means of correction for all the nations, including Judah. In this way, all Israel will be saved, as this will lead to their redemption and restoration, and ultimately to their salvation.[54]
• The nations remaining after God’s wrath is poured out on the world will now look to restored Israel as an example of God’s grace toward those who are faithful. Jerusalem will be a light to the kings of other nations. This fulfills God’s promise to Abraham. These nations will be exposed to the same grace offered in Christ that leads many from disobedience to the obedience of faith and an everlasting inheritance.[55]
• The resurrected dead will also have their opportunity to confront the reality of God’s grace in Christ. In Christ’s words of life also reside his righteous judgment, and all humanity will be judged in the same mercy and grace. If they’re willing to hear with their ears the words of life set before them, they too may have their hearts softened to repentance and willingly enter into the covenant of faith, having their names entered into the Book of Life. For those who refuse to repent and reject Christ, the source of life, they will forfeit their lives and be cast into the lake of fire to be destroyed. Theirs is the second death of judgment.

The Kingdom of the Father

Over the last one thousand years, during the kingdom of the Son, Yeshua and his faithful priests and leaders have made the Father known to all the world, beginning in Israel, to both the living and the resurrected dead. It’s at this time that the vast majority of humanity is harvested from the earth. Together with his faithful bride, they are the shepherds who lead Israel, the nations, and the resurrected dead into reconciliation with God and the obedience of faith in Yeshua his Christ. The faithfulness of God’s hope in Christ, established before the world was formed, is now proven through the many glorious recipients of God’s grace and mercy poured out on his children. That which started in the physical realm has now been born into the spiritual realm as Yeshua proclaimed in the gospel.[56] This is as true for those Christ judges with righteousness in his earthly kingdom as it was for us who were called to be priests in that kingdom.

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (Fourth Gospel 11:25-26)

 

By the close of the kingdom of the Son, Christ’s righteous judgment rules in heaven and on earth, having overcome all God’s enemies. In exercising that judgment, he has gathered the wheat into his barn and cast the tares into the lake of fire to be consumed. The wheat represents those of humanity who now possess the complete image and likeness of Christ in the new creation; the righteousness and eternal life gifted to all those who humble themselves to receive the abundant grace and free gift in Christ our Lord. The tares represent those of humanity who love the darkness more than the light and are unwilling to surrender to the authority of Christ or the obedience of faith. By rejecting the source of life, they forfeit their lives, which are destroyed forever. Included with those who are cast into the lake of fire are the Devil, the Beast, and the False Prophet, where they are said to be tormented forever.

By virtue of destroying completely those who are mortal and can die, Christ has also destroyed death, even the death of judgment, which no longer serves a purpose and no longer reigns over those harvested into the kingdom of light. It’s at this point in time that all creation can now be freed from the bondage of corruption it was subjected to by God.[57] No longer will this restrainer, introduced by God’s command,[58] exhibit power over the children of God or the realm in which they dwelt.

 

As the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Yeshua the Christ is the one for whom and by 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.

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

 

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. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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. 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.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:1-7)