A few years ago I began research in regard to developing a biblical perspective of creation. I was incredibly discouraged by what I discovered. The vast majority of the material from Christian authors focused more on arguing against evolution than on constructing a positive view of creation.

Later that year I began research in regard to developing a biblical perspective of new creation - the new heavens and new earth that comprise the ultimate end of the Christian story. Again, I found very little helpful material from Christian authors. There was much talk about heaven - an ethereal, spiritual, disembodied existence among billowy clouds in quiet blue skies - but the concrete and tangible reality of the new heavens and new earth was often completely ignored.

Generally speaking, Christians tend to have an anemic understanding of creation (and consequently, of new creation). Even worse, some Christians have a negative attitude toward creation - particularly the personal bit of it known as the human body. Not quite knowing what to make of creation, while at the same time aware that life is lived within the context of creation, many Christians experience "cognitive dissonance" in their lives - a perceived inconsistency between belief and behavior that creates inner tension.

I experienced this tension early in my Christian walk. I was converted at age 22 and felt the pang of many wasted years. To make up for this loss, I plunged myself into "spiritual" activities - prayer, Bible study, evangelism, worship services. These activities were the most important things in my life. In fact, they were the only things that made life worth living. The rest of life was relegated to a secondary "secular" status. Eating, drinking, working, shaving, showering, bill-paying, cleaning, traveling, playing games, and creating art (indeed, the things that make up the bulk of human life) - I simply endured these things as bothersome "secular" activities, necessary evils that had to be tolerated in order to endure until the next Bible study, prayer meeting, or evangelistic opportunity.

I possessed a terribly anemic view of creation and it brought great frustration to the vast majority of my life. My distorted view of creation impacted everything I did - diminishing my enjoyment of the fundamental joys of human existence. And, judging by the clichés that float about in Christian circles, I do not believe that I am alone. This distorted view of creation is evidenced by the way some common Christian sayings are interpreted. These sayings are good in and of themselves. However, when they are understood from a mindset that devalues God's good creation, they can be devastatingly oppressive:

• "Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last." The common implication of this saying is that nothing in life matters except evangelism, church meetings, personal bible study, and closet prayer. In other words, nothing has lasting significance unless it can be related to redemption. Creation, in and of itself, has no lasting value - it is a passing and largely irrelevant nuisance that 'twill soon be past. But isn't it possible to enjoy creation for Christ's sake? Can cooking, cleaning, playing, sleeping, and eating be done "for Christ"? Will these things "last" if they are received and valued rightly?
• "Love not the world; neither the things in the world." The common way this verse excerpt (from 1 John 2:15) is interpreted is that good Christians should not love creation, nor anything related to creation. But doesn't God love his creation - his world? We too easily equate God's good creation with "the world" (the sinful human system at odds with God's will), and lose sight of the fact that God loves his creation. (Indeed, God loves the world in the sinful sense as well, which creates a whole other set of issues, especially in regard to our imitation of God's love for the sinful world, but that must be left for another time.)
• "And the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace." Is this the goal of true spirituality - a fading vision of creation? No, the goal of all things is not disembodied spiritual existence, but a fully human life participating in resurrection glory in a transformed and renewed body. A true experience of God's grace does not make the things of this life less meaningful or less real. On the contrary, it allows us to see the glory of God in and through God's creation. The things of earth grow gloriously brighter, and take on eternal significance, in the light of his glory and grace.

The purpose of this message is to completely remove your cognitive dissonance in regard to creation by harmonizing your beliefs with your behavior. There is a reason you love good food and appreciate beautiful art and vibrant colors. There is a reason you enjoy the passing seasons and the sound of children's laughter. There is a reason you love mountain vistas and aromatic gardens. There is a reason you are thrilled by rich harmonies and the sounds of nature. You were made by God to inhabit God's good earth. If anyone should enjoy creation, it should be Christians.

Two Books

According to the Scriptures, there are two primary means - two books, if you will - through which God reveals himself to us: creation and redemption. Revelation through God's creation is labeled by theologians as "general revelation" or "common grace". In other words, it is revelation available and accessible to all people. Revelation related to God's good news of redemption is termed "special revelation" or "saving grace" - revelation that is not universally available to all people, but made known through particular means, whether through Scripture or the person of Jesus. (Note: I'm not completely happy about these labels. There is nothing "common" about revelation or grace!)

Both books - creation and redemption - are significant. Both have value. Both reveal truth about God! Neither one is more important than the other. Though special revelation speaks more clearly and fully concerning God, it does not speak more truly.

Furthermore, both books are inextricably connected. Special revelation is disclosed in the context of creation. It is God's creation that is being redeemed and renewed through his special revelation in Christ.

Jesus Christ forever unites both books. Indeed, he is the chief subject of both books! Through his incarnation, he reveals special truth about God unavailable in creation. By means his incarnation, he redeems all of creation.

Creation Reveals God

Creation communicates truth about the Creator. It speaks truly, though not exhaustively, of God's glory, God's gift-giving, and even God's grace. Creation does this because it is good.

A Theater of Glory. The very first truth the Bible reveals about God has to do with God's relationship to the cosmos. The cosmos - all space, time, and matter summarized in the Hebrew phrase, "the heavens and the earth" - exists because of God's good pleasure. It is a brilliant display of his handiwork. Like a good piece of art, creation tells us something about the Creator - the divine Artist from whom all beauty comes.

"The heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1). Without words, the work of the Artist proclaims the Artist's glory. Glory has to do with God's profound weightiness and shimmering brilliance. It is an aesthetic word that recalls unspeakable beauty. It is a moral word that speaks of majestic honor. It is the radiant and dazzling beauty of the Lord that attracts us. As the old hymn says, "He shines in all that's fair." This glory fills the whole world. This is one aspect of God's holiness - the whole world is full of his glory. This is at the heart of the hymn of praise that the angelic creatures surrounding God's throne proclaim: "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts, the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3).

The universe is a masterpiece of wisdom, order, and beauty. From the immensity of the galaxies to the minute wonder of microscopic entities, the whole universe proclaims God's power, glory, and wisdom. This glory extends to human creatures that are "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14) and "crowned with glory and majesty" (Psalm 8:5). As one theologian said, all of creation is "the theater of God's glory." The theater is God's great cathedral, a cosmic temple, given to humanity that we might share in God's glorious beauty.

Since creation reveals God's glory, it should result in our praise of God. This is a common theme throughout the Bible:

• "Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker." (Psalm 95:6)
• "Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created." (Rev. 4:11)

God's glory revealed in creation not only leads to praise but also to confidence. There is great comfort in knowing that the Creator of all things is personally and particularly interested in our lives: "Your Maker is your husband" (Isaiah 54:5); "My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:2; cf. 124:8).

A Fountain of Sheer Gift. Everything in the cosmos exists because of God's will. God willed all things into being by his word, not out of necessity, but out of abundance. Paul summarized this truth in his sermon at Athens: "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things" (Acts 17:24-25).

No outside necessity compelled God to create. God possessed no inner deficiency that needed to be satisfied. God did not need angels or human beings to experience love, joy, fellowship, communication, or fullness. All of these things God experienced in the eternal communion of Father, Son, and Spirit. God did not create out of lack, but out of fullness; not out of deficiency, but out of abundance.

Because God did not need to create, God freely chose to create - it was God's good pleasure to do so! God willingly chose to share the blessed life of Father, Son, and Spirit by creating the heavens and earth. Creation is thus an act of free grace - an absolutely free choice to do something good for the benefit of others. The first display of God's grace was not Jesus, nor was it the calling of Abraham or the salvation of Noah. God's first display of abundant and overflowing grace was the creation of the cosmos and humankind! "In the act of creation, God already manifests the self-communicating, other-affirming, community-forming love that defines God's eternal triune reality and that is decisively disclosed in the ministry and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ." (Daniel Migliore, Faith Seeking Understanding, 85)

We did not bring ourselves into existence, and we cannot guarantee our existence. At every moment, our continued existence is a gift received from a source beyond ourselves. Amazingly, God desires that we share in his eternal state of beatitude. Love necessarily aims at something other than itself. God loves us so much that he created us to share in his eternal blessedness.

Since creation expresses God's gifts, it should result in gratitude toward God - not simply for redemptive realities but for all the good gifts of creation. John Stott encourages us to this end:

And, more grateful celebration there should be among us, uninhibited by our lingering evangelical asceticism. For the truth is that a world-denying Gnosticism has not yet been altogether eradicated from our theology and practice. Instead, we pride ourselves on our super-spirituality, which is detached from the natural order, and we look forward to an ethereal heaven, forgetting the promise of a new earth. We tend to have a better doctrine of redemption than of creation, and so are more grateful for the blessings of grace than of nature and of art.

We must refuse to take anything for granted, since everything is gift. It is impossible to appreciate what we take for granted. Instead, we must cultivate and nurture a constant state of thanksgiving.

To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us - and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference. (Thomas Merton)

If we look with eyes formed by gratitude we can see the Lord's glory in every place and find that "the gate of heaven is everywhere" (Thomas Merton).

The Stage of Grace. Creation is both the context of and object of redemption. By grace, God is restoring and renewing all of creation. Creation is the stage upon which God's gracious acts of redemption play out. This theme frames the beginning and end of the Bible and is threaded throughout the entirety of the Scriptures.

The Bible begins and ends with creation - original creation and new creation, respectively (Genesis 1:1; Revelation 21:1). It begins with God's creation of the heavens and the earth, a cosmic temple where humanity, the pinnacle of God's artistic handiwork, was given the privilege of reflecting and representing God by reigning on God's behalf. The Garden, and, by extension, the entire world, was to be the temple in which Adam, Eve, and their children were to serve and worship God.

Through human sin, creation experienced a crisis. Humanity and creation are so intimately connected that the fall of one leads to the curse of the other. Humankind's paradise became a prison. Only through a new humanity could new creation come.

The restoration and renewal of creation was promised by the prophets (e.g. Isaiah 65:17; 66:22). Jesus himself speaks of the "palingenesia" - the "new birth" or "regeneration" (a word we usually reserve for personal conversion rather than universal rebirth) - that is to occur in creation (Matthew 19:28; cf. Acts 3:21). Jesus, the new man, the second Adam, introduces the ultimate renewing power - the power of resurrection - through his sacrifice on the cross and subsequent resurrection from the dead. In light of this new power in human history, the Apostle Paul lived with the great hope that though this creation continues to groan in suffering, it is the hopeful groans of a woman in labor, and not the painful moans of a dying person in the throes of death (Romans 8:21-22).

The Apostle Peter looked forward to a complete purifying of the present heavens and earth at the second coming of Jesus. This was his ultimate hope, his source of strength in times of sorrow: "But according to His promise we are looking for a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells" (2 Peter 3:13). In the final vision of the Apostle John he saw a new heavens and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). God's city comes down from heaven and heaven and earth finally and fully intersect (Rev. 21:2). God is all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28). There is no need of a temple for the whole world is once again a cosmic temple, and every inhabitant a faithful priest, reflecting God and ruling on God's behalf (Revelation 21:22-23; 22:3-5).

New creation is the hope of the believer, but also the believer's present possession. We share in a foretaste of new heavens and new earth through the Spirit who is transforming us. This is Paul's meaning in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Behold, if anyone is in Christ - new creation! Old things have passed away. Behold, new things have come!" Through God's grace all creation is being restored to pristine glory and being purified to share in eternal blessedness. This new creation has begun in the new humanity of those who share in God's Spirit through the grace of Jesus Christ.

God will never "write off" his creation, for God is intimately and eternally united to his creation through Jesus Christ. God has assumed humanity into the blessed communion, joy, fellowship, and love of the Trinity through the man, Christ Jesus. The incarnation of Jesus is God's strongest affirmation concerning creation. It is God's resounding eternal "yes" to the heavens and earth. God has forever sanctified creation. Its certain end is the beatification of glorification - forever sharing in divine life. And thus, God will be all in all, world without end!

All Creation Sings!

All creation speaks of God to those who are willing to listen. When creation is heard correctly, it results in a life of worship to God:

• When creation is a window to God, then it inspires praise.
• When creation is a gift from God, then it inspires gratitude.
• When creation is the stage upon which grace is received, then it inspires love.

Put simply, creation is the means to true worship of God. Creation is not an end in and of itself. Just as art does not exist for art's sake, so the beauty of creation does not exist simply for creation's sake. Instead, the beauty inherent in creation is intended to lead us to the Artist who gives us creation for our good and glory. All the beauty in a work of art reflects the greater beauty of its author. A work of art cannot transcend its author. Any good thing evident in the art has its origin in the Artist.

When creation is a means to glorifying God, then all of creation is a cosmic temple and all of life is significant. When creation is an end rather than a means, then creation itself is worshipped, and we are left hopelessly trapped in a foolish game of idol-making - a desperate condition in light of the gracious presence of the Artist who desires his art (including humanity!) to lead us to himself. The great sin is to confuse the creature with the Creator and "exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man or other creatures" (Romans 1:23). We are less than human - slaves of a creation we have deified - when we make this tragic and foolish mistake.

However (lest we evangelicals feel too comfortable), we are also less than human when we devalue and undermine the goodness of creation. A "super-spirituality" that rejects the goodness of God's creation is inhuman and in opposition to God's restoration of all things. Indeed, it is a heresy that goes all the way back to the second century - Gnosticism!

True spirituality does not transcend creation, but meets God in the midst of God's creation. God can be found in and through God's creation because God is for his creation! Authentic Christian spirituality is a material spirituality - a spirituality rooted in creation and new creation through the eternal uniting of Creator and creature in the gift of Jesus Christ.

© Richard J. Vincent, 2004