For God So Loved the World, Too
John 3.16
Introduction
How’s everyone recovering from holiday gatherings? I know they’re probably not all over yet. Anybody have any fun conversations? Anybody get into the politics? Whether it’s impeachment or climate change, everyone feels like they need a cup of cheer after uncle you-know-who gets going. Well we’re definitely not here to debate impeachment and we’re not going to debate climate change either. But one thing’s for sure, when an issue like the environment arises, you’ve probably got an opinion.
When thinking about our planet there are 2 extreme positions that are unhelpful and unbiblical. On one end of the spectrum you have some, Christians included, who might say, “it doesn’t matter how humans treat the planet. We’re the top of the food chain so we’ll do whatever we want.” Some even argue (wrongfully) from the Bible that this earth is going to be burned up and destroyed in the end so it doesn’t matter what humans do to the planet. That is unbiblical.
The other unhelpful and unbiblical extreme is the modern western position – basically planet worship. They believe that the earth is equal in value, if not more valuable than humanity. They exchange the creator for the creation. This has led to such absurdity that there are even some who argue for the protection of the planet with religious fervor while at the same time defending the murder of unborn children.
Scripture offers a 3rd way. The Bible speaks of the creator/creature distinction. God is creator, everything else is creation. Even within the creation there is distinction; human beings bear the image of God, nothing else does. But that doesn’t mean that the rest of creation doesn’t have value and won’t be redeemed. This sermon is part 2 of Pastor Kevin’s from last week. When he preached for God so loved the world his focus was on all people in the world who repent and believe. Our focus this morning will be on the actual planet earth.
The World Was Good
Turn to Genesis 1.31. The creation account in Genesis 1 has a literary pattern to it. After God creates something each day ends with the refrain, and God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning the [whatever] day. When we get to the end of that first week Moses wrote, and God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Like humanity, before the fall the earth was very good. It was unstained from sin. It was the creation of God and he took pleasure in it. The world does not have the same value that humanity does, but it does have value. It’s valuable because the one true holy God created it.
Everyone knows this whether they admit it or not. There’s a reason that everyone agrees that the Grand Canyon is breathtaking. It’s because we are image bearers of the creator God and we instinctively recognize the handiwork of our maker. Romans 1.20 says, For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. The world was good.
The World Is Fallen
But like humanity, that’s not the end of the story. The world was good, but now the world is fallen. After Adam fell in sin the LORD brought judgment. Part of that judgment was on the creation. God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life (Gen 3.14). He cursed the serpent above all other beasts. That means all animals are cursed.
Then he said to Adam,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Gen 3.17-19).
The ground is cursed because of Adam’s sin. Not only was Adam the federal head of humanity, but he was also the first prophet, priest, and king of the creation. His sin brought curse to all of the creation.
Romans 8.19 says, For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. Look at verse 21, For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. Like humanity, the creation is in futility and waiting with eager longing to be made new; groaning like a woman in labor. Even if people deny it, they know deep down inside that this is true. There’s a reason that the destruction of hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, flooding, disease, and animal attacks are never included in “happily ever after.” The world was good, but the world is fallen.
The World Will Be Redeemed
That’s the bad news. The good news is that like humanity the world will be redeemed. You see, that promise in Genesis 3.15 that we cling to, that promise that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent, that means the announcement of the reversal of all the curse, not just the curse on humanity. God’s promise to save the world doesn’t merely include all of his image bearers who repent and believe but God will save the world itself.
Look at Romans 8.21, the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. When Jesus returns he will set the creation free from the bondage of sin and death. Psalm 78.69 says God founded the earth forever. Psalm 104.5 says that the earth will never be moved from its foundations. Ecclesiastes 1.4 says that the earth remains forever. So when we read of a new heaven and a new earth in Revelation 21-22, we’re not reading of a different planet, but a resurrected planet. Just like the Bible says anyone who is in Christ is a new creation, so will the earth be a new creation when Jesus returns. He will make all things new just as he already has in the hearts of those who repent and believe.
This hope of cosmic redemption is found in that serpent-crushing son of Mary, that baby in the manger in Bethlehem. Jesus Christ is the last Adam. He’s come to rule the creation the way we were supposed to. Throughout Mark’s Gospel we’ve seen Jesus calm storms and heal the sick. What is he doing? He’s setting the world to rights. He’s showing the creation that a new day is coming. He is announcing the reversal of the curse.
When Jesus hung on the cross bearing the curse of God, he wasn’t only paying for the sins of his people, though he was. He was also bearing the curse of creation that God rendered in Genesis 3. When Jesus walked out of the tomb on Easter morning he was the firstborn of the new creation. That doesn’t just refer to all of God’s elect who will be resurrected at his 2nd coming, though it does. It also refers to the creation itself. What Jesus already is, the earth will be.
And this hope of new creation is also a gospel call. You can have the same hope that the creation does. If you will repent of your sin and believe in the gospel, you will be saved. You can have the hope of new creation this morning. When Jesus returns he will raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new. All of his people will live in the new world with him forever and everything sad will be untrue. The earth will be resurrected with God’s chosen ones and Satan, sin, and death will stay in the grave.
Conclusion
As orthodox bible-believing Christians we ought not to trample God’s creation, but we certainly shouldn’t worship it either. We should long for the day when Jesus returns and creation’s restored. As you turn the page in the annual calendar, turn the page on sin. Trust in the Word made flesh. As you watch the New Year’s ball fall, remember that the Son of God has descended in humility. As the sun rises on January 1st remember that Christ has risen. When you wake up on Wednesday to a new year, a new decade, know that Jesus is the one who makes all things new. He will do it with his creation and he can do it in your heart if you’ll trust him by faith. For God so loved the world that he gave his one-and-only Son so that whoever believes in him will not die but live forever in the new world.