The Restoration of All Things
WRITTEN BY DREW MATZ
How the Gospel Resets Everything
We Christians tend to speak of salvation in terms of sin and grace, and for good reason. The Bible absolutely uses the same language when it describes our condition. As Paul says, “all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Our sinful condition is paid out in the form of death. When Jesus came, he subjected himself to death, that through it he might pay the penalty on behalf of all men. This is all good and true, of course, but there are some aspects of the Gospel proclamation that are generally under-emphasized. Namely, that the resurrection of Jesus not only destroys sin and death, but inaugurates the arrival of the kingdom of God and the restoration of all things.
All of Creation Cries Out
While it is certainly true that the Bible teaches us that sin brought death into the world, we often forget about that the scriptures describe the fall as a cosmic event. That is, it was not only human beings that are affected by the curse of sin, but in some mysterious way it has infected all of creation. In the beginning, man was given a responsibility to subdue the Earth. Their vocation was priestly. They were to cultivate the Earth and offer it back to God in thanksgiving. As man goes, so does creation (Gen 3:18). The universe is now in a state of corruption, plagued by all sorts of natural and unnatural evils. Man is turned against God, creation, and one another. Creation is so afflicted that the Bible tells us it groans to be redeemed (Romans 8:22). Thus, just as the fall of the first Adam corrupted all of creation, the work of Jesus the second Adam has restored all things and consecrated creation back to God. Though through a tree Adam cursed the world, so also through the tree of Christ’s cross is the curse reset.
In Him All Things Hold Together
What does it mean to say that all things are restored? Well, the scriptures tell us that something very mysterious is going on with the body of Jesus. For example, we are told that
“…he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (Col 1:17-20 [ESV]).
In the body of Jesus, God has restored what it means to be human. The image of the God in whom we are created has been returned to its full dignity. His death not only cancelled our debt to sin, but in some mysterious way also had wide ranging cosmological effects. We are told that the sun was blacked out (Matt 27:45), and that the Earth quaked (Matt 27:51). Rocks were split the temple veil was torn (Matt 27:51). The effects on the rest of creation echo Paul’s teaching that God is “all and in all” (Col 3:11), and in him we “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). God is not separate from creation, but works in and through it. Because Jesus rose from the dead in a human body, it shattered humanity’s slavery to death and released creation from the curse. The sin and hardships that separated people from one another have been answered in Christ.
Already, But Not Yet
In the Church, the healing of creation has begun. However, we also notice that evil and suffering still exist in the world. What gives? Did Jesus not restore all things? Has he left us here to fend for ourselves? By no means. We might think of redemption as having already begun, but not yet complete. Although Jesus has defeated sin and death, we Christians still experience it in the world. The Bible tells us that redemption will be an ongoing process that will be brought to completion on the last day. The Church must be established and the Gospel must go out to the ends of the Earth (Mark 16:15). Paul describes it as looking through a glass and only seeing a glimpse of what will be accomplished in full when Christ returns to culminate all things (1 Cor 13:12). John foresees this culmination of all things in his Revelation vision, and along with him we await the final restoration of all things:
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.”(Rev 21:3-5)
Because Jesus has reset all things by his work on the Cross, we are now free to reset our relationship with God and one another. In his body, all things are made new.