OUR PLACE IN GOD'S STORY

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Contrary to what you’ve probably heard, Jesus offers you far more than the hope of a better tomorrow and EVEN more than the hope of heaven.

Some new Christians in the bustling city of Corinth just could not fathom how God could raise people to new life. Sure, Jesus rose from the dead, but he’s God! So that’s easy to believe. These believers in Corinth embraced Jesus for the new way of life he offered. They followed him because of his offer of forgiveness and freedom from guilt. They understood they urgently needed God’s favor and they enjoyed interacting with God’s spiritual presence during worship. But they scoffed at the idea that God would raise them from the dead and give them new, eternal bodies.

Responding to their claim, the apostle Paul made a sharp assertion. If our hope in Jesus is only about attaining a better tomorrow, if our hope in Jesus is only about this life and offers nothing beyond death, then we who follow Christ are to be pitied more than anyone else in the world. Following Jesus requires a lot from us. From a non-Christian standpoint, following Jesus requires immense self-denial, self-restraint, and self-sacrifice. Following Jesus postpones a lot of happiness and calls you to forsake immediate gratification of many desires or dreams. That’s Paul’s point. Now, the secret is that selfless living, when fueled by faith in Christ and aimed at loving God and others. It actually is the only path to true joy and peace . . . in this life. But Paul is talking about more than immediate joy. Yes, Jesus calls us to give our all to him. But his offer is nothing less than eternal life, in an imperishable body, on an incorruptible earth.

And that’s what I want to emphasize right now. Yes, Jesus does offer a better tomorrow. You will have a better life if you follow Jesus than if you don’t. Period. And, yes, Jesus does offer you the hope of heaven. When you die in the faith, you immediately awaken in paradise. Free from all the troubles and sorrows and pains. But that isn’t the end. Jesus offers you more than a better life now and more than the hope of heaven. Jesus offers you a world better than heaven. He offers you a new earth. At the end of all things, Jesus will remake the earth and return with his people to live on a perfected earth forever.

Paul said in his letter to the church at Rome that all creation is in bondage to futility and decay, but that it is awaiting redemption and renewal just as we are. Then, Paul says. “in this hope we were saved.” What hope? The renewal of creation and redemption of our bodies. Which begs the question: so what does Paul imply that we are saved from? We are saved from the futility, the vanity, the decay, the corruption, the curse of the earth as we now know it. We are saved from the corrosion of our bodies, the death-like existence we now have, from the final sleep beneath six feet of dirt. The hope Jesus offers is exceptional. It’s unique. It defies and surpasses our wildest dreams. And It’s for you to have if you don’t have it already. Thanks for listening. I’m Aaron Massey.

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Centuries before the arrival of Jesus, God disclosed his specific plan to make a new heavens and new earth at the end of the age.

Too many people think and act as though the moment Eve sank her teeth into the forbidden fruit, that God immediately abandoned his earthly plan. As though humanity’s only hope of eternal happiness lies in leaving earth to live with God in heaven. That idea is the product of heaven-aimed Christianity. It says Jesus plans to take your spirit to heaven when you die, to give you a new body and allow you to live there with him forever. But that idea is not taught in the Bible and in this video series I’m exploring what the Bible actually teaches about the future of humanity—that the redeemed will live on a new earth. And that idea is not some new thought or promise that arrived with Jesus. God has always planned to establish the world in perfection and give imperishable bodies to humans to inhabit it. I explained the Bible’s teaching on new bodies in prior videos and now I turn to the earth.

Here’s the reasoning of the biblical authors: if God created the heavens and earth, then he has the power the restore the heavens and the earth. The earth is not perfect. It needs restoration. The earth exudes hostility to life. Yes, life is all over the earth, but so is death. And God does not delight in death nor does he plan for death to reign forever. Death is a consequence of our rejection of God. One day, death will be no more. There will be a new earth. God specified this promise through the prophet Isaiah who lived roughly seven centuries before the arrival of Jesus. Speaking for God, Isaiah wrote, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind.” And again, quote, “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord.”

Now, of course, some will say these passages reflect hyperbole and use imagery to talk about God restoring the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Israel. And there’re good reasons for that argument, but those reasons don’t adequately explain these passages and their surrounding contexts. These texts reflect God’s plan for the whole world. Centuries before Jesus arrived, God foretold that he will harness his power to recreate earth. The blanket of death will no longer blanket humanity. The human bent toward evil will cease. Isaiah wrote that the wolf and lamb will graze together, a lion and calf will eat beside one another. It’s like the whole DNA of the earth will change for the better.

Accomplishing that plan is why Jesus came. Jesus came not to save people from the earth but to save people from sin and, with people, the earth sin’s consequences. His resurrection foreshadowed that plan. There will be a new creation one day when God decides its time. Thanks for listening. I’m Aaron Massey.

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God gives a clue about his plans for heaven and earth at the very beginning in the most unsuspected place . . . The story of Noah and the flood.

When we think of Noah, the first things that come to mind are the ark, the animals, the flood, the dove, or the rainbow. The story is iconic. Nearly everyone has heard about it. But few have actually read the story in the Bible and even fewer actually understand its meaning. Right now, I just want to highlight one key part of the story. That key part in these few chapters at the very beginning of the Bible actually help us understand the whole trajectory of the biblical storyline. God’s goal and intent for humanity that comes to the surface in the story of Noah reveals, signifies, points to God’s goal for humanity that he intends to accomplish at the end of human history. Before I touch on the meaning, however, it should be said the author who wrote the story of Noah—and tradition tells us it’s Moses—writes as though he’s talking about a real event. Whether that event was global or local is debated, but the author thinks there was a real man named Noah who built a real ark that stored his family and gender pairs of each animal. There really was water that drowned humanity. Humanity from that point onward descended from Noah’s three sons. But the main point I want you to see, as it relates to this series, is that God did not abandon his plan for it to be done on earth as it is in heaven. God started the earth project and will not forsake it for some other project in some other universe with some other creature while some humans dwell in heaven forever.

People influenced by heaven-aimed Christianity often misunderstand the Noah story because they misunderstand the purpose of the flood. The flood is God’s judgment. It’s not that God warned Noah about a coming flood that God himself foresaw and can’t stop. God caused the flood. God wanted the flood to happen. He did so because the evil done by humanity became more and more prevalent. God created people to be good and do good, to love God and love others. But they despised God. They hated each other. They corrupted themselves. God would not keep silent. So He decided to take a redo with Noah. Noah was righteous and blameless. Not perfect. But he stood out and stood above all the rest. He walked with God. So God chose Noah and his family to start afresh his humanity project.

The flood does not represent that the earth is bad in and of itself. The immorality and evil done by humans did not cause God to hate the earth and reject his plan. When the flood of judgment was done, Noah went back to work on the earth, making a home and restarting civilization on the earth. When I used to read this story through the lenses of heaven-aimed Christianity, I thought the evil that threaded every human heart also threaded the earth. That God didn’t like the earth and that humans lost the right to enjoy the earth forever. But the story itself conveys a different message. That God insists only on the best. God is not content with mediocrity, or with evil, or with ho-hum humanity. He is not a hands-off, out-of-sight, out-of-mind God. The story of Noah teaches that God will have his plan: a civilization of perfect humanity on a newly made earth. Thanks for listening. I’m Aaron Massey.

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God’s promise to give a new body requires a new earth fit for that new body, and his promise of a new body stretches back centuries before the arrival of Jesus.

New-creation Christianity emphasizes that God will give us a new body. The idea of humanity receiving a new body is actually implied way back at the very beginning. Where? Genesis chapter two verse twenty-five. Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed. Just because they were naked at the beginning doesn’t mean that God intended for them to be naked forever. The idea of being naked and not ashamed implies a sense of immaturity. Not that Adam and Eve were toddlers but they weren’t mature. They were flawless, but they weren’t complete or perfect. They had growing to do. They weren’t at the final level. So, how does this truth relate to the idea of Adam and Eve, indeed all humanity, receiving a new body?

Well, God created the earth as a new domain for his kingdom, as his special dwelling place, and he made Adam and Eve it’s king and queen, his viceregents. As his image bearers, they represented him and ruled in his place. God told them to rule over the earth and its creatures and to multiply. Then in chapter two, God instructed Adam and Eve to work in the Garden of Eden and keep it. What does that mean? Working the Garden of Eden means improving it and expanding it. Keeping the Garden of Even means keeping it pure, keeping evil out, keeping out what doesn’t belong there—like a talking snake that hates God. Had Adam and Eve listened to God and fulfilled their mandate, by obeying his directives, then God eventually would have given them royal clothes and installed them as the eternal king and queen over his new dominion, the earth. Then they would enjoy God, the garden, the whole human society, and the creatures. Their royal clothes would not have merely been purple robes. What were these new clothes? New bodies incapable of corruption and death. The robes of immortality. That would have been their reward. Eternal bliss.

The dream of immortality has always been in the human heart because God designed us to attain it—from the very beginning. Even the bodies that Adam and Eve had were not automatically immortal. There was the tree of life. Now, that doesn’t mean their bodies were corrupt or flawed. It just means they weren’t perfect. They were perfectible which also means they were corruptible. Reflecting on the bodies of Adam and Eve, the apostle Paul wrote in First Corinthians chapter fifteen verse fifty that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. He’s not referring to our human bodies that have been tainted by sin. He’s talking about their nature even if they had not been corrupted by the fall. That little statement, the size of speck of dust, offers a whole world of meaning. God always planned for his heavenly kingdom to flow out of heaven and fill the earth. He designated humans to be the agents to make that happen so he can share his kingdom with them. But they rejected his kingdom so they could establish their own. Doing so, they forsook immortality. This truth helps us understand the significance of Jesus preaching the arrival of God’s kingdom in himself. Jesus brought life and immortality to light. Eternal life has always been part of God’s plan and is attainable through Jesus’ work on our behalf. Thanks for listening. I’m Aaron Massey.

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While standing before King Agrippa as a prisoner in chains, Paul asked a very simple question, “Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?”

New-creation Christianity emphasizes that God has the power to give humans new bodies. One day, Jesus will harness that power to literally give new bodies to those who have a faith-based relationship with him. Now, this truth didn’t originate with Jesus. In fact, the belief that God has the power to give life and restore life actually runs through the entire Old Testament. In another video, I explain how that promise is present from the very beginning.

For now, I simply want to emphasize that the biblical authors always believed God has the power to restore life. Here’s why: If God created the heavens and earth, then God created all of life. If God has the power to create life, then he has the power restore life. That’s the reasoning of the Bible’s authors. God doesn’t regularly or always miraculously restore life right in front of our eyes. But he certainly has the power to do so if he wants.

For example, this idea appears in the life of Abraham. He lived a little over two thousand years before Jesus and became the great patriarch of the Jews because he trusted God’s word. Namely, he trusted that God would give him a son through his wife Sarah and that that son would become a great nation. God intentionally waited until Abraham and Sarah were far too old to have children, Sarah being decades beyond her child-bearing years. Then, God did the impossible. He revived her womb and gave them a son. If God has the power to create life, then he has the power over the womb—essentially bringing life out of death.

Centuries after Abraham, Moses led the oppressed Jews out of Egypt and then delivered a set of sermons before they entered the promised land. These sermons are in the book of Deuteronomy and here’s what God said through Moses: “there is no god beside me; I bring death and I make life; I wound and I heal.” In other words, God has the power. He struck down the Egyptians. He disciplined the Hebrews and he restored their health.

About seven hundred years after the time of Moses, God called Isaiah to speak to his people and he became the prince of the prophets. Numerous promises about God’s redemption and restoration come through Isaiah. In fact, God reveals his plans for all humanity through Isaiah. Listen to this: “On this mountain [Zion in Jerusalem] the LORD will make for all peoples a feast of rich food [and] well-aged wine. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth.” Here’s another: “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.” If God has the power to give life, then he also has the power restore life. Why is that so essential for new-creation Christianity? Because Jesus gives you the power to live a new life starting right now. Thanks for listening. I’m Aaron Massey.

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When you walk outside at night to see the starry sky, to feel the grass under your feet, to hear the tree branches rustle in the wind . . . You’re experiencing glory. But don’t be fooled. You’re also experiencing agony.

Throughout the Bible, the writers create images of nature rejoicing and praising God. The trees clap their hands in gladness, the seas roar with thunderous applause to God, the mountains lift their voices in praise to their maker. Wonderful imagery. The world and our universe isn’t a god. The whales and rain and stars are not to be worshiped. But they are magical and majestic because they display the power and character of their creator. They inspire awe because they all point to the one, true God.

Yet, we also find other imagery that isn’t so happy. The apostle Paul in Romans chapter 8 wrote this, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons [or children] of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it. He subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” So when you experience the majesty of creation, you’re not only hearing a tune of rapturous praise, but you’re also hearing a groaning ballad of hope, an agonizing waiting to be remade.

In this series, we’re contrasting heaven-aimed Christianity with new-creation Christianity. And if you hold the assumptions of heaven-aimed Christianity—that God intends to take Christians to heaven to be with him there forever—then it’s near impossible for you to make sense of a statement like this one. You have explain it away or, more likely, just pass right over without giving it much thought.

But here’s why this passage is important. It plainly means that the earth as we now experience it isn’t perfect, but it will be perfected by God in the future. Just as lust and pride and envy corrupt our souls, just as cancer and age destroy our bodies, the thorns and weeds, the hurricanes, the droughts, the blizzards, the heat waves—they all corrupt the earth. Now, Paul isn’t arguing for climate activism. He’s talking about issues that have been around since the fall of Adam, issues that can’t be fixed by anything other than a massive outworking of God’s power.

Paul is saying the earth will not always act as it does. It will be far more conducive to life and happiness than we can even imagine. That’s the hope and teaching of new creation Christianity. God will not wrap up the books on his creation project and file it away in the library of heaven. God will remake the earth according to Paul. But it won’t happen until Jesus-followers receive their new bodies. In other words, it won’t happen in this stage of history. It will occur in a future stage. For now, Jesus is remaking hearts, he’s restoring souls. And that work of restoration, displays his power to remake all things. That work of restoration seals his promise to remake those who follow him. Thank you for listening. I’m Aaron Massey.