Easter for the Whole of Creation

The Good News for you and me and the whole creation.

Easter comes and goes. Just another Christian festival? The church commemorates Easter every year. Because of our familiarity with it, has it lost its meaning for you?

It is an event more significant than Christmas (not that Christmas is not relevant), for in the resurrection of Jesus, new creation began. It is the instance of hope for a creation that is falling apart. He is the firstborn of the new creation by being firstborn from the dead[1]. It is good news for humanity that death is not the last word. We preach and celebrate that and stop there. Jesus’ resurrection has far wider implications than that. It is not just the good news for humanity; it is good news for all creation. God is restoring and renewing his great and very good creation project He started in Genesis 1-2. What human sin has destroyed and continues to destroy, God started restoring two thousand years ago.

We see this clearly in the grand climax of Paul’s exposition of the gospel in Romans. “For I consider that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.[2]” In Paul’s theology, the good news is not just for you and me. It is for the whole creation. Redemption is in the order of the sons of God then all the rest of creation[3]. The order is very telling. Creation is suffering at the hands of sinful humanity. The “sons of God” are believers who have turned to God in their embrace of what God has done through Jesus on the cross. They live out their role that God has originally given them in Genesis 1:28 and 2:15. They reflect the image of God to the rest of creation. In so doing, the rest of creation will be set free from the bondage once imposed by human sin.

Some have misconstrued or twisted the English translation of “dominion” in Genesis 1:28 as exploitation of creation. This has been the case the last few hundred years as a result of the Enlightenment. The Hebrew word “Radah” that is translated as “dominion” means ruling or managing the rest of creation with love and for its sake, rather than our purposes, convenience or pleasure.

Our caring for creation is a sign of new creation[4], a sign of “The Kingdom of God or The Kingdom of Heaven”, as in Matthew and Mark.

Being sons of God is not just a ticket to heaven. We are part of God’s agents and partners in bringing about new creation or God’s kingdom on earth. It is God working through us to bring the good news to the rest of creation, first by us living it out. Paul points out to us that the good news is for all creation. He goes on to say in Romans 8:20b-21 “Because of him who subjected it in hope, that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the children of God.”

We are part of creation, created with the rest of creation. Our redemption can only mean redemption with the rest of creation. In the words of theologian James Dunn, “Redemption is not so much an escape from creation as simply the completion of God’s original purpose in and for creation.” Easter declares that God has started this redemption. He is renewing all things, His whole creation. Hallelujah.

 Written By Swee Kong A Creation Care Advocate

[1] Colossians 1:18b here Paul is referring to the renewed creation (see note 4). In 1:15 Paul is clearly referring to the original creation where Christ is the first born of all creation.

[2] Romans 8:18-19

[3] Here he using the word creation to include all creation including rebellious humanity.

[4] There are two Greek words used for new, Nous and Kainos. There have markly different meanings. Nous is something that is brand new. Kainos means something is new after it has been repaired. More like renewed. When “new creation” appears in the English Bible.  The Greek word Kainos is always the word translated as New; 2Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:1. So there is no basis to read new creation to mean the present earth will be destroyed.