Making All Things New: A New Humanity
The ultimate goal of Christ’s work of salvation is to make all things new, thus permanently undoing the damage caused by sin. This hope for the “new” was announced by the prophets of the Old Testament, particularly by Isaiah, who talked about the creation of a new heaven and a new earth (Isa. 65:17). The Old Testament concept of newness is developed more fully in the New Testament, now from the perspective of the work of redemption through Jesus. Consequently, the “new” is not only what we anticipate through our hope in Christ but also what we are already experiencing now, as Christians. For instance, we have already entered into a new covenant with Christ (Mark 14:24); we are already walking in newness of life (Rom. 6:4). The new is here because Christ initiated it through the power of His death and resurrection.
The work of redemption is essentially one of re-creation, one so radical that it will result in a new heaven and a new earth. Yet, this work of re-creation does not begin with the new literal heaven and earth, or even with the re-creation of our old physical bodies. It begins with the creation of a new humanity. We must remember that the problem of sin is primarily and directly related to the fall of humans. The resolution of the problem begins with the eradication of its controlling power in the human heart. This has been possible through the work of Christ for us. This new humanity was initiated by Christ, in whom the divine and the human were permanently united. The new humanity is, therefore, the participation of humans in the humanity inaugurated by Christ.
This new humanity is not an invisible abstract phenomenon that lacks a concrete expression in history. It expresses itself in the church as the body of Christ. This new humanity is determined not by ethnic or social differences but only by the power of Christ to make us one in Him. Paul states that through Christ God brought together into the church Jews and Gentiles, and that it is His purpose “to create in [Christ] himself one new man out of the two” (Eph. 2:15, NIV). This new “man” or humanity is created in Christ in the sense that it participates in the unity with God made possible through Christ.
| Read Galatians 6:15, Ephesians 4:24, and Colossians 3:10. What do these verses mean to you? How have you experienced the promises in them? What can you do to help see these promises brought to fruition in your own life? |
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