One of the drawbacks of living in an apartment is
that we don’t have a garden. In a garden we see creation at work. You plant a
seed and given some sunshine and rain a flower will grow. God is creating and
re-creating all the time. He didn’t do a once-and-for-all act of creation at
the beginning of time, and then leave things to tick on for themselves. By
creating self-replicating plants and animals he is continuously involved in
acts of new creation. Acts of new creation which are part of the present
creation.
What about the New Creation, the new heavens and
new earth that God promises? The Greek word for 'new' here is kainos, not neos.
Neos means ‘new’ in the sense of ‘not previously existent’ or ‘brand new’,
while kainos is more qualitative and could be translated ‘renewed’ – for example
the new (kainos) covenant which is derived from the first covenant.
There is both continuity and discontinuity between
the present creation and the new creation of the age to come. Obviously we have
not yet experienced the new creation of the age to come, and so a level of
conjecture is needed as we consider what it might be like. However, we have two
big clues:
There will be no sin, and there will be no effects
of sin. All that is sinful in this creation will not be present in the new
creation.
There is one instance where the new creation burst
through into the present age. That is, the resurrected Jesus. His was a new
creation body. It was the same yet different. The disciples recognized him but
failed to recognize him. To use fancy language, there was both continuity and
discontinuity with his former body. His new body was derived from the old, but
also transcended it. Travel was not a problem.
By looking at Jesus’ new creation body we get an
idea of what our new creation bodies will be like. But I believe the principle
is more widely applicable. We also get a glimpse of what the whole of the new
creation will be like. Plants, animals – they too will experience a level of
continuity and discontinuity between their present creation form and their new
creation form. They too will be the same, yet different. For them, too, the new
will be derived from the old. Not a brand new, never-existed-before kind of
new, but a renewed kind of new: the ‘old creation’ form is the basis for the new
creation form.
Given the continuity between this present creation
and the new creation of the age to come, the way we treat the environment in
the here and now will have visible repercussions in the new creation. This is
because the new creation isn’t brand spanking new but is derived from this
creation. The ‘derived’ bit gives the continuity. The ‘renewed’ bit gives the
discontinuity.
Every good Lutheran sermon mentions Martin Luther.
This is neither Lutheran nor a sermon but still… Luther once said that even if
he believed there was no tomorrow he would still plant his apple tree today. We
too can plant our trees today and care for all of what God has made, not simply
because we love the Creator but also because we will see the fruits of it in
the age to come, in the New Creation.
