An interesting discussion of the link between the incarnation and creation
and the doctrine of the Holy Spirit can be found in C.E. Gunton's CHRIST
AND CREATION.
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Graham E. Morbey, Chaplain || Wilfrid Laurier University
tel. 519-884-1970 ext.2739 || Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3C5
fax 519-885-4865 || gmorbey@wlu.ca
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On Mon, 5 Feb 2001, george murphy wrote:
> Jonathan Clarke wrote:
>
> > Hi All
> >
> > Thinking further about George's challenge to reflect on the theology of
> > creation (TOC) in the NT (and not looking at the OT by way of
> > discipline) I submit the following thoughts.
> >
> > WHAT DO WE LEARN OF CREATION FROM THE NT?
> >
> > 1. God is creator and sustainer of the entire universe (Rev 4:11).
> >
> > 2. God's power and glory is clearly visible in creation, so there is no
> > excuse for unbelief. Sinfulness however blinds people to the evident
> > signs of God's power and glory in creation (Rom 1:20-21).
> >
> > 3. Creation is temporary and will come to an end (2 Pet 3:5-10). This
> > is in contrast with God, Who is eternal (Heb 1:10-12).
> >
> > 4. Humanity is sinful, estranged from God because of wrong choices made
> > by the first man called Adam and a woman (Rom 5:12-21, 1 Tim 2:13-14).
> > All creation suffers from the consequences of these choices (Rom 8:22).
> >
> > 5. God is saviour and redeemer and will redeem His creation (Eph
> > 1:9-10). This redemption culminates in a new heaven and a new earth
> > (Rev 21:1).
> >
> > All this repeats and emphasises what is in the OT. Is there anything we
> > gain in the NT that is absent or unclear in the OT?
> >
> > WHAT IS ADDED TO THE TOC IN THE NT?
> >
> > 1. God is triune. The second person of the Trinity is active in
> > creation and redemption (John 1:1-4).
> >
> > 2. The second person of the trinity is incarnate as the man Jesus (John
> > 1:14), Whom even the winds and waves obey (Mk 4:41)
> >
> > 3. Redemption is effected through the incarnation and the cross (Col
> > 1:20). The Resurrection is the demonstration of the effectiveness of of
> > that redemption (Eph 1:19-21).
> >
> > 4. Salvation through Jesus is not God's plan B. It was always His
> > intent from before the creation (Eph 1:4).
> >
> > 5. The indwelling Holy Spirit brings new life and the new creation to
> > the believer, making them God's people (Eph 1:13-14)
> >
> > 6. This process will eventually extend to the whole of creation, which
> > looks forward with anticipation to that day, when the new heavens and
> > earth are complete (Rom 8:21).
> >
> > 7. God's position as creator can only be appreciated through the gift of
> > faith, despite its evident nature (Heb 11:3).
> >
> > The great contribution of the NT to a TOC is the revelation that it is
> > through Jesus that redemption, not just of individuals and peoples, but
> > of the whole of creation is effected.
> >
> > Sorry George, I now have to let the OT creep in. What do we lose from
> > the TOC if we confine ourselves to the NT?
> >
> > WHAT DO WE LOSE FROM THE TOC BY USING ONLY THE NT?
> >
> > 1. The statements about God as creator and sustainer in the NT are
> > rather bald. I for one would think the doctrine poorer (though not less
> > true) with out the rich illustrations of them from Job and Psalms. Not
> > to mention the loss to our imaginations.
> >
> > 2. The context of the fall is rather cryptic without the OT. Who was
> > Adam exactly? Not that we necessarily know the answer even with the OT!
> > :-) However I was surprised how much of the essentials I could
> > reconstruct from the NT.
> >
> > 3. Loss of the role of the Holy Spirit as creator and sustainer. I
> > think this is the greatest loss to a TOC. I can't think of any NT
> > reference to the Spirit's role in creation to match Gen 1:2 or Psalm
> > 104:29-30. I would be happy to be proved wrong. Of course the
> > significance of the Spirit of God in these OT references (which could
> > also be translated wind or breath) is not clear until seen from a
> > Trinitarian NT perspective.
> >
> > 4. Human accountability as steward of creation is not clear. We would
> > lose much by not having Genesis 1 and 2 and Psalm 8 for reference. The
> > best we could do would be to extrapolate from the use in Hebrews 2 of
> > Psalm 8 and perhaps the parables of the servants.
> >
> > In conclusion I think this clearly demonstrates that the NT is built on
> > the foundation of the old. It shows that almost all the essential
> > aspects of the OT TOC (apart from little on stewardship and the possible
> > exception of the Spirit) is repeated in the NT. Significant new
> > revelations are the fact that the fall was not plan B of God, and that
> > God's redemption of individuals, peoples, and the whole creation is
> > worked out through the Incarnation. The NT is essential in that it
> > provides the big picture, the whole timeline. The OT looks at the
> > present and back to beginnings. The NT restates the theological facts
> > about the present and the past but is focused on where things are going
> > and what is to come.
> >
> > The NT shows the centrality of the cross to the whole creation drama,
> > our faith, and our hope. This centrality of the cross (not of mere
> > creation) shows the heresy (and I make no apology for such a strong
> > word) of one AiG poster which I remember saying "Answers in Genesis.
> > Help us make creation a foundation of faith".
>
> Carrying this further & also expressing some differences from your
> comments:
>
> 1) Recall that I suggested that we "focus on relevant NT texts
> (reflecting, of course, on related OT passages when necessary for
> interpretation)." In many cases such reflection is essential if the NT
> passage is to make sense. What would the reference to "Adam" in Rom.5 or
> the quotation of Ps.8
> in Heb.2 mean if we had no knowledge at all of the OT? But in these cases
> the OT is interpreted by the NT & carried further. The NT doesn't simply
> cite or validate the OT.
>
> 2) One significant feature of some NT writings is the eschatological
> orientation of creation. The emphasis is on what God will do with creation
> in the future rather than how God created it in the past. Ephesians 1 & 4
> and Col.1:15-20 are especially noteworthy in this regard. & this future of
> creation is Christ, "for whom" all things are created & "in whom" all things
> are to be gathered up.
> But we shouldn't move too quickly to speak of God's purpose as
> "salvation". Eph.1:10 says that God's plan for creation is to unite all
> things in Christ. That is God's purpose before sin and the need for
> salvation are considered. I think that the answer to old question of
> whether the Incarnation would have taken place if humanity had not sinned is
> "Yes."
> Related to this is the fact that what it means to be genuinely human
> is known from Christ, not Adam and Eve. In the first place, the only thing
> that the NT tells us about A&E is that they sinned! (& the OT doesn't tell
> us a lot more!) But we're also told nothing about being conformed to the
> image of A&E or "growing up" into their stature - as we are with Christ in
> Rom.8:29, Eph.4:15, &c.
> & in line with this, the use of Ps.8 in Heb.2 makes it clear that it
> is through & in Christ that humanity is given true dominion over creation.
> It is true that the NT does not have nearly the emphasis on care for
> creation, & especially for the land, that we have in the NT - e.g., Lev.25.
> But the fact that true dominion is possible only in Christ tells us a great
> deal about the _kind_ of dominion we are called to - one of care & service
> rather than simply exploitation.
>
> 3) We should be careful with statements like "Creation is temporary and
> will come to an end (2 Pet 3:5-10)". That passage is followed by the
> statement that "we wait for new heavens and a new earth, in which
> righteousness dwells." By itself this suggests complete discontinuity
> between the present creation & the new creation. But there are other texts
> which suggest continuity - e.g., Rev.21:24-26. The whole picture seems to
> be one of transformation, as Paul's discussion of the resurrection in I
> Cor.15 indicates.
>
> 4) Your comment on the apparent lack of a cosmic role for the Holy
> Spirit in the NT is interesting. What the NT does is to speak of a cosmic
> role (& "role" is really yoo weak a word) for Christ, & Christ can't really
> be spoken of without the Spirit. So the connection is somewhat indirect.
>
>
> Shalom,
>
> George
>
>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Feb 05 2001 - 09:29:09 EST