Love That Makes All Things New

This Is Love, Week 3: Love That Makes All Things New

I. CONNECTION/TENSION

Good morning, friends! Today we conclude the series we began. We’ve been talking about how the resurrection changed everything.

Because of Jesus’ resurrection, we know what His death was all about. At the cross, Jesus died in our place for our sins; Jesus entered into our pain and our shame; Jesus came and took the weight of Evil itself—so that its power could be broken. And because Jesus didn’t stay in the grave, we know that Easter is about God freeing us from sin . . . God overcoming death . . . God setting things right and making everything new.

This is love. Love that forgives and frees us, love that conquers the grave, and love that makes all things new.

What does it mean for God to make all things new? Why does that matter for us, here and now?

As a child, there would be some toy or thing-a-ma-jig that I would really, really, really want. And then my mom—or more likely, my grandma—would buy it for me. I would play with it and carry it around with me wherever I went. I would sneak it in my backpack, bring it with me on car rides.

And then, one day, something terrible would happen. The toy would break or the Lego build would shatter and a piece would get lodged in that one spot in the car under the seat that no human hand can reach.

And there would be tears. Big tears. Sorrowful tears of regret. Why did I do this? Or if the situation is particularly devastating or if I was feeling dramatic, I might exclaim, “Why did this happen to me?”

Like any good parent would, my mom would offer to try to make the situation right. “Well, maybe for your birthday I—or your grandma—can buy you a new one.”

Then I, in the moment of anguish, inevitably answers, “I don’t want a different one . . . I want that one!”

There may be some particular reason for saying that—I liked the color or the style or the function of the thing—but more often than not, I can’t say why; I just wanted that one but fixed.

That’s how we are when we look at the world around us. If we’re honest, we don’t actually want some other world in some far away place; we want this world, this life—but fixed. We want our loved ones—but alive with an imperishable kind of life; we want our relationships—but without the pain and the hurt or the brokenness.

Yet here we are, surrounded by things that have fallen apart. We don’t want all new things; we want all things to be made new.

But before we can turn to explore what the Bible says about this desire deep in our hearts, we need to explore one more thing: the brokenness in the world. We see it in big things like systems and structures, and we see it up close, deep inside our own hearts. There is a sickness in us, something that has infected us with selfishness and greed and pride and lust. And there is something that keeps tipping even the very best of our systems and structures toward injustice and oppression and ineffectiveness.

Our world has no vocabulary for this. In fact, our world seems a bit stunned by it. Shouldn't we have progressed past this by now? people wonder.

The same sentiment was circulating around Europe before the beginning of the First World War. Society seemed destined for an onward and upward march of progress. And then, the world descended into the abyss of destructive wars and unthinkable atrocities. How could this be? How could it happen with civilized and enlightened nations?

Our own generation experienced a similar thing around the event of 9-11. It seemed that the world was beginning to settle in to a new globalized reality. The economy was booming, nations were cooperating, and all seemed well. Until airplanes were hijacked and crashed into buildings. How could this be? The same could be said even now with all that is happening due to the coronavirus.

The world may have no vocabulary for this, but the Church does. We have stopped using words like “sin” and “evil,” but maybe there is nothing else that can give a better account for the sickness in human behavior than those words.

Evil holds the world in its grip; sin has infected the human heart.

And we want to know: What will God do about this?

Does God offer us all new things, or can God really make all things new?

II. TEXT/PARTICIPATION

Last week, we talked about how Paul—one of the early church planters—described the witnesses to the resurrection, and why it matters that Jesus was really, truly raised from the dead.

Paul names himself as last in a long line of eyewitnesses to the risen Christ, and then argues that because Jesus has been raised from the dead, death itself has been defeated, a new beginning is possible, and you can get in on this through no merit of your own.

As Paul continues in his letter to the Corinthians, he begins to give us a fuller picture of what our hope as Christians really is.

1 Corinthians 15:51–57 NIV

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I Corinthians 15:

Maybe it’s helpful for us to see what our hope as Christians is not.

Christian hope is not compensation. We are not waiting for God to “make it up to us” by giving us mansions or streets of gold. No, something more powerful than that is going to happen. God is not going to reward us for our troubles; God is going to transform our very bodies to bodies that cannot perish or die.

Christian hope is not explanation. Paul does not tell the Corinthians that one day God will explain everything. It is true that now we know in part, and that one day we will know in fullness. But our hope is not grounded in the notion that one day we will understand everything. Our hope is grounded in the belief that one day everything will be made new!

Christian hope is not evacuation. We forget this because of the way we talk about heaven. Heaven is a wonderful place where we find rest in the presence of God. But even heaven, for the early Christians, was not the focus of Christian hope. Heaven is real, but it’s not the point. Or as New Testament scholar and early Christian historian N. T. Wright has famously said, “Heaven is important, but it’s not the end of the world!”

Imagine for a moment that you have a child, and that child is being bullied on the playground at school. Imagine that your child says to the bully, “Just you wait—my dad or my mom is coming. And when they do, you’re going to be sorry!”

And then imagine that you arrive on the playground and your child comes running to you and tells you all about the bully. (And the bully is standing right there!) Now, can you imagine saying to your child, “Oh, darling, I’m so sorry about that. Now get in the car and let’s get out of here. I’ll get you some ice cream.”

As fabulous as ice cream is, and as unlikely as any child is to turn that down, ice cream is not really what they’re after. Neither is getting out of there.

But, you see, that’s how we talk about heaven sometimes. It’s as if we think Jesus is going to come back and get us out of here—airlift us out of the trouble—and leave the world as messed up and miserable as it was before. That is not good news for the world. Nor is it actually good news for us. What about the bully? Who will show him that his tactics didn’t work? Will he ever be stopped? Will the playground ever be safe?

What we want, what we know we would do as parents, is to get out of the car, give the bully a stern warning—or more!—get him off the playground, and maybe even play there with our child so they know that the nightmare is over and that it is once again safe.

This is what Paul is getting at when he talks about Jesus coming to reign and put everything under His feet! The last enemy to be vanquished by this coming reign of Christ is death itself.

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“Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (ESV)

John will receive a vision of this that fills our hearts with hope.

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"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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.’” (ESV)

Jesus will swallow up death in victory, wipe away every tear, and make the heavens and earth new! And God Himself will come down to dwell with us!

You see, it’s not about us getting out of here and going somewhere else; our hope is about God coming here and restoring and remaking the world and then filling it with His presence. This was what creation was created to be—a carrier for His glory!

Christian hope is new creation!

The great end that we are looking for is kind of like a great Easter day—when God will do for the heavens and the earth what He did for Jesus. He will raise it up in newness of life!

The strongest way the New Testament could describe it is “new creation.”

And what a perfect way to describe it. This is why in telling the story of Jesus’ resurrection, John’s gospel notes that it happened on the “first day of the week.” Sunday was not the first day of the week . . . yet. But because it was the day on which Jesus was raised, because they believed that the resurrection of Jesus was the beginning of new creation, the first Christians began to mark time itself differently. Sunday become the first day of the week and, indeed, the first day of new creation.

III. GOSPEL/INVITATION

And so it can be for you.

Today can be the first day of new creation for you. Today can be the day that God starts putting things back together in you.

I know it’s easy to look “out there” and see all that’s wrong with the world—to look at Evil and Sin as great powers that hold the world and human history in bondage. But the truth is, they are also keeping you bound and broken. The same poison that infects the world has infected you.

But there is a cure. His name is Jesus.

New creation is here because Jesus went to the cross and took the full weight of Evil upon Himself. It wasn’t just our sin that He carried; it was our suffering and sickness. Jesus drained the poison of the Great Serpent. He let the Enemy strike his worst blow and exhaust his forces on Him. And He died.

Then the Father raised Jesus up in victory! The resurrection is a great triumph over Sin, Death, and Evil itself.

Easter doesn’t just mean new creation one day for the whole world; it also means new creation now for you.

Paul wrote this to the Corinthians in a follow-up letter, as if to drive home how personal and powerful the good news of the resurrection really is:

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"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (ESV)

You can experience new creation now by letting Jesus set you right from the inside out. You can be made new. Resurrection can begin in you.

Let’s pray.

Loving God, you are the Creator and the Redeemer. You love your world. Though it is fallen and under the power of Sin, you sent your Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to rescue and to redeem. Jesus, you took the full weight of Evil upon yourself, draining the poison and taking the sting of death. With your resurrection, new creation broke into this world. Lord, I want to get in on this new creation. I want your life to overtake mine. I want to be made new and to be set right. Let new creation begin in me today. Make me a carrier of your glory. Help me to share this hope—the true hope of resurrection and new creation—with the world around me. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever, amen.

If you have questions regarding what it means to be a creation or if you are saved or not I would love to chat with you. You can call our church office at [phone] or email me at [e-mail].

I am praying for all of us. I pray that you are blessed. Have a great Easter. God Bless.