Fully Devoted: New CreationSample

Reunited and It Feels So Good

Throughout this study, we’ve seen that the Bible is so much more than a textbook with easy answers or a rule book that tells us exactly what to do in every situation. It’s a story full of wisdom and truth—a narrative that teaches us who we are, who God is, what it means to be human, and the difference we’re called to make. The Bible is the story of God and the story of us: one unified story with the death and resurrection of a Jewish rabbi named Jesus as the climax. 

And if the Bible really is a unified story, we would expect to see themes and through lines woven in—things that clue us in to where the story is headed. This week, we’re going to look at examples of exactly that. Starting with page one. 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He wove together the fabric of the universe so that all of creation could be united with Him. And He called it good. This union with God is what defines goodness—it’s what defines shalom. Shalom is a Hebrew word that means peace, but at the same time, it means so much more than that. Shalom is the joining together of God, humanity, and all of creation in justice, fulfillment, and goodness. And shalom is the story that God has been telling from the very beginning. 

Heaven and earth were always meant to be one. Heaven is not some magical place up in the clouds, it’s the realm where God rules. And we, as human beings made in His image, were designed to rule with Him, and to perpetuate that union. Our very nature demonstrates the connection between heaven and earth—God formed us from the dust and injected His breath of life into us. Dust and divinity. Earth and heaven. We were always meant to be an extension of God’s rule, and earth was meant to be an extension of heaven. Not two separate kingdoms, but one kingdom with one true King. 

Yet instead of partnering with God, we wanted to rule in His place. We chose to allow our desires to inform what is good, just, and true rather than His shalom. And so something that was always meant to be joined together became fractured instead. Creation tried to divorce itself from the Creator and that brought chaos instead of order, evil instead of good, and wrong instead of right. You may have heard this idea that sin separates us from God—and that is the truth. But it’s not just you on a personal level. It’s all of creation. Sin is a disease that eats away at the junction points between heaven and earth. It’s corrosive. And it’s not supposed to be this way. 

But God was not okay with that separation. He has been pursuing us and creating connections since the first moment we took a step in the other direction. We saw—through the nation of Israel—God desired to build a family that would be a blessing to the whole world. We saw Him liberate these people from slavery and again form them into that holy combination of desert dust and divine breath when He gave them the Law. Heaven touched earth on Mt. Sinai, in the tabernacle, and then in the temple. But it was always supposed to be the people, not these special places, that carried on that connection. So God reminded us what it means to be human. 

Jesus, God in the flesh, came into the world. The Creator clothed Himself in the dust of His creation. The embodiment of divine connection walked among us and showed us what it looks like to bring heaven to earth. Jesus came announcing the nearness of the kingdom of heaven, reminding us that it’s not actually that far away, and that we have a part to play in the restoration process. When Jesus went to the cross, He took the fight to sin itself, disarming its corrosive power by dying and rising again. Now, anyone who chooses to trust Jesus can be reconnected to the Father and is invited to help Him restore the rest of creation.   

From the beginning of the story to the end, God is a God who speaks and brings light from darkness. He is the Author of life. And He is faithful to His word—to accomplish what He says He will do. See, God does this cool thing when He talks. He is outside of space and time. So when He introduced Himself to Moses in the burning bush by saying “I am who I am,” He wasn’t being facetious. It’s an accurate description or way of saying, “I was, I am, and I will be.” And His words carry His essence. So when God called creation good in the beginning, He was saying definitively, “It was good, it is good, and it will be good.” Let that sink in for a second and realize that at any given point on the timeline of the biblical story, even when everything was going wrong, God still saw goodness in us and in this world He created. And there has never been a moment when He has gone back on that declaration. There has never been a moment when He has not been guiding us back to the place where we can experience that goodness too. And that’s what New Creation is all about. It’s not a wipe-the-slate-and-start-over kind of thing. It’s a return. It’s a rebirth. It’s a renewal of the goodness that has always been present.    

A day is coming when Jesus will return to finish what He started—when He’ll completely throw out the corrosive power of sin and usher in the fullness of God’s kingdom.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:3 NIV

This is where our story is headed. And it’s not a new idea—this is the divine idea that our existence is based on. New Creation is the true story of the way things were always meant to be … and it looks like God and humanity, heaven and earth, dust and divinity, joined together for all of eternity. 

 Journaling Questions   

• What verse or verses stood out to you the most in today’s reading? Write them in your journal.    
• What are some other moments you can think of in the biblical narrative when God sought union with His creation?    
• How might God be inviting you to trust the trajectory of the Story more this week? What would that look like?

Memory Verse

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21:5 NIV