Learning How to Mourn is Never Easy | “Missing Missing” by R.C. Sproul Jr.

R. C. Sproul Jr., a theologian and apologist in his own right, is the son of R. C. Sproul Sr. (I know that’s just crazy right!). Anyway, late last year his wife passed away. In this post, R. C. Sproul Jr., speaks about the process of mourning. It is moving and difficult to read. You find yourself wondering and imagining how you would feel in those same circumstances. And yet, there is comfort in knowing that Jesus is good and God is most loving to those that serve him.

These sentences serve as an example of what I mean.

She has, rightly, wisely, and through the very love of our Savior, left me. And I feel lost. By His grace, however, I have a path to follow. For His pierced feet leave bloody prints all the way out of the valley, all the way up the mountain. I will follow Him, who promised to be with me, even until the end of the age. [Source]

“Faith is…” Series, Pt. 13 | Faith is… Receiving the Righteousness of God

For our sake [God] made [Jesus] to be sin [even though Jesus] knew no sin, so that in [Jesus] we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV)

I will say this from the word go. If you can wrap your mind around this you will be well on your way to living a life that is pleasing to the Lord. If, however, you are like me, then you may struggle to make sense of how it could be possible for us to receive the righteousness of God in Christ.

This is possibly one of the most loving and compassionate verses of scripture in the Bible. It reveals the motivation in God’s heart toward us. Paul is telling us that as we go out into the world as ambassadors for Jesus what we are telling the world is that God has done something so awesome, so mind blowing that if we really thought about it we would break out into spontaneous praise! There are several key points of interest in this ONE verse that I want to highlight. I will break it down so that we can appreciate what Paul is saying.

1. Why?: “For our sake…”

Paul is saying that the reason that God has acted in the way that he did; the reason that we are the beneficiaries of God’s unmerited favor is because God was thinking about us from the beginning. This does not make us the center of God’s affections. What this describes is that the reason for Jesus dying was because God knew, understood and accepted the fact that without Jesus death there would be no life for anyone.

It was for OUR sakes that Jesus came.

It was for OUR sakes that Jesus lived.

It was for OUR sakes that Jesus died.

It was for OUR sakes that Jesus was raised again on the third day.

This is the why of Jesus entire life and ministry on earth. It was for our sakes! This cannot be understated, overstated, minimized or made too important. What Jesus did is beyond comparison. What Jesus accomplished can never be duplicated. What Jesus did can never be undone.

2. Who?: “God made…”

There is nothing in salvation that can be attributed to my efforts as a sinner. There is nothing that I can contribute to the process or the event. Salvation is such a gift from God that God did not and does not see fit to entrust me with any aspect of it. He knows that if I were to lay my hands on salvation I would so damage it that it would become useless. Not sure about this? Look at what Peter has to say on the subject. (What a wonderful passage of promise!)

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5, ESV, emphasis added)

The wonder of God’s love is that he secures the grace and salvation that he provides. He is unwilling that anyone should lose what he has carefully provided through the death of his Son. God does not even trust me to maintain it. God does that himself. This is grace through and through, from beginning to end.

3. How?: “made [Jesus] to be sin [even though Jesus] knew no sin…”

Right here, at this point we run into one of those theological puzzles. How is it that God has provided for us what we need more than anything else, his righteousness? The Scripture says that Jesus was made to be sin. The idea was that Jesus became sin. Not that Jesus committed a sin; not that Jesus sinned, but that somehow he became the very thing that I am, without actually being guilty of doing anything wrong.

I think you are beginning to see the difficulties here. How is this possible? There is a concept that we have to understand. It is described by a big word, but is can be understood rather easily. The concept is imputation. According to Theopedia “Imputation is used to designate any action or word or thing as reckoned to a person.” If you think of it this way it might help. I love to smear butter on a freshly baked dinner roll. The butter is not a part of the roll, but when I take the knife and I apply the butter, I imputed the butter to the bread.

This is the idea. Jesus did not change who he was, but something was added to him that was not his, in this case the sin of the whole world. This is why Paul says that God made Jesus to be sin, because if God had not, Jesus could not die as our substitute and redeem us from the very sin that was condemning us to hell. This is the miracle of Jesus’ life.

There is a great book by Peter Lewis, The Glory of Christ. In it he writes these amazing few sentences describing what was taking place when Jesus showed up on the scene as a human being, just like you and me.

“It comes to this: for our salvation it is as necessary that the Son of God be truly and fully human as that He be truly and fully divine. If this humanity is less than full and true, then he is inadequate as a mediator, incompetent as a sympathizer and disqualified as a redeemer. If (save for sin) He is not all that we are in our uttermost humanity, the He cannot perfectly represent us either in His life or in His death. If He does not descend to us from God, the He cannot lift us up to God.” (pg. 142)

The wonder and mystery of the incarnation is the linchpin that makes our redemption possible and sure. In the incarnation, God paved the way to the cross. And at the cross, Jesus became guilty of something he never did, your and my sin.

4. Where?: “so that in [Jesus]…”

As we move from the “Why” to the “Who” and pass through the “How” we arrive at the “where.” Where is it that God places us after Jesus has taken our place on the cross? This short clause packs a powerful punch in answering that for us. Listen to where God has put us. God has put us in him. But how can it do that? He can do that because that is what the plan was. Those two words, “so that,” right there are the arrows point to God’s design. But, what do those two words mean? What they mean is that

Based on what has been said before, what comes after IS GUARANTEED!

Do not miss that. Do not read this truth and just pass along as if something ordinary has happened!

This is the power of what is happening here in this verse. The reason that God is able to give to us what rightfully belongs to Jesus is because Jesus took from us what rightly belonged to us and made it his own. We are heading toward heaven because Jesus punched the ticket with a blood-soaked nail. This is not a cheap fare. The Gospel moves us from the Glory of God to the Grace of God. The journey from glory to grace goes right through the terrible door of the Judgment of God that falls directly upon Jesus.

The second part of this clause is that all of this takes place “in Jesus.” And here is where true Christianity is separated from all other religions, philosophical systems and ideologies of the world. If a person does not come to Jesus, trust in Jesus, hold to Jesus and rely on Jesus all of the benefits of God’s righteousness will not be enjoyed. And what’s worse they will never be applied to the sinner’s account.

Salvation in Christ is conditional. All of salvation depends on our staying in Jesus and only Jesus.

5. What?: “we might become the righteousness of God.”

This is the great truth of the Gospel. The Gospel, I believe answers this question: What is the ultimate goal of God’s redemption plan? The Gospel preaches Christ crucified, buried and raised so that we may become sons and daughters of God. So that we might become heirs and joint heirs with Jesus. So that we might be transformed, conformed, and renewed in every area of life. But, all of this presupposes that we are now something different. What we have become has changed. FOREVER!

God’s plan for salvation was not an afterthought. God knew what it was going to take to redeem a fallen human race. And Jesus willingly stepped down from his thrown at the right hand of God and stepped into the finite, fallen world of sinners. At the heart of this act of undefiled love is the understanding that without sacrifice the price of salvation would never have been paid. Without out Jesus’ death there is no imputed righteousness.

Conclusion

Faith in Christ, the kind of faith that sets a person free from sin, fear and all of the traps that lead to bondage can only come when we freely receive the righteousness of God. It is not something that can be won, earned or coerced. It must be enjoyed, plain and simple. To do otherwise is to jeopardize living into the full reality of God’s grace. Don’t make that mistake.

Receive what has been given. And, then do what you should be doing already, leave it all in God’s hands.

Book Review | Why On Earth Did Jesus Come?

In the booklet “Why on Earth did Jesus come?” John Blanchard tackles the long asked question about Jesus mission. The forty pages really do pack a punch. The discussion begins by exploring the Church’s selection and use of December 25th as the day to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Blanchard explains that the question surround Jesus birthday did not pick up momentum until the third century. For the next one hundred years eight dates were suggested with December 25 being selected because it served as a counter to a “Roman feast held on that day in honour (sic) of the pagan sun god” (pg. 4). Overall the book is a quick read and provides a succinct overview of some important doctrines and misconceptions surround Jesus’ life, ministry and mission.

The book covers many of the major issues regarding the birth of and the purpose for Jesus coming to earth. Here are is a short list of the subjects addressed

The Virginity of Mary
The Immaculate Conception of Mary
The Incarnation of Christ (Theological and Biological Reflections)
The Identity of Jesus (Prophetically, Biblically, Personally)
The Biblical Doctrine of Sin and Depravity
The Act and Process of Redemption in Christ

This is a wonderful resource for anyone that is interested in exploring any of the above topics. The life of Jesus is not something that we can learn enough about. The more we know about him the greater our understanding of his mission and victory over sin. And the more our love for our Savior grows.

Blanchard does not waste words trying to convince you of something that is false. Rather, there is a simple progression through the key ideas and challenges to the work and life of Jesus. While the content is rich, it does not get bogged down in technical jargon. I would strongly recommend this book for a new believer or even a maturing believer that is looking to be reminded of the miraculous life of Jesus.

“Faith Is…” Series, Pt. 2 | Faith Is… Living in the Grace of God

¹¹ … for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹² I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³ I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:11b-13, ESV)

As I thought about this statement — “Faith Is… Living in the Grace of God” — I could have said “by” or “with”, but I have found that my greatest challenge to being a Christian and living out the convictions and beliefs that I now hold is living IN the grace of God. The idea that I have in mind is that the grace of God is now the atmosphere that we exist in. God’s grace is not something we have, it’s something we are in. We are IN God’s grace. That is why there ought to be comfort and assurance in our relationship with God. Paul says it this way in Colossians:

³ For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3, ESV)

I have read this passage many times and I still can hardly believe that it says what it says. I know that there are some who have asserted that a person’s salvation can be “lost”. I understand the theological and volitional reasons for this way of thinking, but there is a small (and by “small” I really mean insurmountably huge) problem. This verse says that when we have received salvation, the life that we had died and our new life is not really given to us for safe-keeping. No, our salvation is such a precious gift, that God has kept it in as safe a place as he can imagine, in himself. And if that wasn’t enough he has left our salvation in the capable hands of the one who purchased it.

Peter, who among all the disciples understood that if it were up to him he would have been lost and completely cut off from Jesus, shared this understanding of what salvation looks like.

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5, ESV)

This is why faith is living IN the grace of God. When we are exercising the kind of faith that the Bible is talking about, we are saying to the world that our trust and confidence is not in us, but in God. We are not interested in what is happening around us. We are not trying to do anything other than living in what God has purchased, and is now keeping for us.

That God does not trust me with my own salvation is not an insult to to me. It is a reason for hope, confidence, and rejoicing. We have to stop trying to earn what is already ours. Learn to live in the Grace of God. We are talking about a COMPLETED work of salvation. Just because we have not reached the end of the road, does not mean that God has changed his mind about what he has promised and done in our lives.

Romans Series (Pt. 21) – Romans 5:6-8

Our Great Weakness (5:6)
After giving us a brief lesson about perspective we move into a short discussion about the condition of the lost soul. He describes humanity as being weak and ungodly. These are not very flattering references, but we have to see ourselves as God does in order to understand why we need Him. The hardest part of salvation is coming to terms with why we need to be saved. Until this becomes a reality for us we never come to the moment where we truly understand the depth of our need for God.

Separated from God we are weak. Weak here is talking about our ability to climb up to God. We do not have what it takes to get to God. King David asks in Psalm 15 who is able to live on the mountain of God? David responds that only the one who is blameless and righteous can. Even David understood the inability of any man to meet the standards set by God. Paul reminds us that there is no one who is righteous. What are we to do with these two realities? We have to do what Paul does and accept the remedy that God provides. Any other solution to the problem is to miss what God has offered in sending Jesus. At the heart of what Paul is saying is the reason why God Himself had to come down.

It is interesting what Paul says in verse six. He says that “at the right time Jesus died.” The simplest explanation is that God is in control. I think that this is the best way of understanding this. There may be others, but this basic understanding continues to show us that God has us on His mind. He is thinking about us. God knows that we are unable to rise and so He comes down in Jesus Christ.

While We Were Yet Sinners (5:7-8)
Paul then moves to a statement that contrasts the difference between the way that God and men evaluate who will be helped. Craig Keener in the IVP Background Commentary makes this statement with regard to Paul’s reference to a “good person.”

“Well-educated Greco-Roman readers were aware of the Greek tradition in which “the good man” was extremely rare. Greeks considered laying down one’s life for someone else heroic, but such sacrifice was not common; among Jewish people it was not particularly praised” [Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary : New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Romans 5:6-9.]

Marvin Vincent in his Word Studies in the New Testament helps us to understand the nuance of what Paul is saying about these two kinds of men. Paul wants to make it perfectly clear that the criteria that men use to decide whom the will help or praise, is not the reason that Jesus came to save.

Righteous — good (δικαίου — ἀγαθοῦ). The distinction is: δίκαιος [dikaios] is simply right or just; doing all that law or justice requires; ἀγαθός [agathos] is benevolent, kind, generous. The righteous man does what he ought, and gives to every one his due. The good man “does as much as ever he can, and proves his moral quality by promoting the well-being of him with whom he has to do.” Ἀγαθός [agathos] always includes a corresponding beneficent relation of the subject of it to another subject; an establishment of a communion and exchange of life; while δίκαιος only expresses a relation to the purely objective δίκη right. Bengel says: “δίκαιος [dikaios], indefinitely, implies an innocent man; ὁ ἀγαθός [agathos] one perfect in all that piety demands; excellent, honorable, princely, blessed; for example, the father of his country.”

Therefore, according to Paul, though one would hardly die for the merely upright or strictly just man who commands respect, he might possibly die for the noble, beneficent man, who calls out affection. The article is omitted with righteous, and supplied with good — the good man, pointing to such a case as a rare and special exception. [Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2002), Romans 5:7.]

There are two features here that have to be noticed. The first is another expression of salvation through grace. “While we were still sinners” tells us that we are unable to make right the broken relationship with God. The second feature to notice in the text is that of love. John in his first letter helps us understand something about the nature of love in relation to our sin.

God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [hilasmos] for our sins. [1 John 4:9-10, HCSB]

This is probably the best biblical definition that we have about the nature of love in general, and of the love of God specifically. Love is given before it can be reciprocated, or given back. Love is seen through its initiation not in its response. The one who acts first is showing love.

John tells us of a particular aspect of this love when he uses the word propitiation. The propitiatory nature of Christ’s love reveals to us that because of Christ the wrath of God is deflected away from us and is absorbed by the Son of God. If ever there was a word to understand and believe it is this one. Lawrence Richard unpacks this word for us.

Propitiation: love’s atoning sacrifice (4:10). Divine love by its nature is unselfish. It is even more: It is self–sacrificing. John proves this by pointing to Christ’s sacrifice as a hilasmos. This word in Gk. thought described an act which in some way averted the destructive powers of the gods and, ideally, won their favor. It is used in the Septuagint to translate kippur, the word for “atonement.” In the O.T. the concept emphasizes the covering of sins by the offering of the life of a substitute in place of the life of the sinner. Jesus’ death for us averted the punishment our sins deserve and enables God to shower blessings on us. [Lawrence O. Richards, The Bible Readers Companion, electronic ed. (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1991; Published in electronic form by Logos Research Systems, 1996), 895. (Emphasis added)]

J. I. Packer also provides some helpful insights to what propitiation does for us.

The cross of Christ has many facets of meaning. As our sacrifice for sins, it was propitiation (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2, 4:10; cf. Hebrews 2:17); that is, a means of quenching God’s personal penal wrath against us by blotting out our sins from his sight. (“Expiation” in the RSV rendering of these texts signifies only “a means of blotting out sins,” which is an inadequate translation.) As our propitiation, it was reconciliation, the making of peace for us with our offended, estranged, angry Creator (Romans 5:9–11). We are not wise to play down God’s hostility against us sinners; what we should do is magnify our Savior’s achievement for us in displacing wrath by peace. [J. I. Packer, Growing in Christ, (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1996, c1994), 53.]

We have to keep in mind that while propitiation is “a means of quenching God’s personal penal wrath against us by blotting out our sins from his sight,” this act of appeasing God’s wrath can not be done by any work that we perform.We, as long as we are in sin, are unable to satisfy God.

We should also keep in mind that God does not interact with the world according to His hatred of sin. If that were the case then judgment would have immediately followed the fall. What we see is that God does love His creation in spite of its rebellion. It is because He loved the world that He sent His Son to redeem it (John 3:16). In light of this we have to see that the nature of propitiation in this context is to satisfy the requirement for holiness that God has set, and that sin has made impossible. Due to the inability of humanity to overcome sin God must rightly and judiciously bring His wrath to bear on sin.

His wrath against sin cannot be placated by good works. Only the infliction of the penalty of sin, death, will satisfy the just demands of His holy law which the human race violated, maintain His government, and provide the proper basis for His bestowal of mercy, namely, divine justice satisfied. This is the hilasmos (íλασμος), that sacrifice which fully satisfies the demands of the broken law. It was our Lord’s death on Calvary’s Cross. [Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament : For the English Reader (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997, c1984), 1 John 4:10, emphasis added]

It was our Lord’s death on Calvary’s Cross that made salvation not only possible, but sure. God’s wrath against the repentant sinner has been fully extinguished upon Jesus.

Romans Series (Pt. 19) – Romans 4:22-25

Salvation is a Simple thing, but it is not Easy(4:22-25)
Paul concludes his defense of genuine faith by telling us why Abraham is a part of the story. Abraham was the first to receive the imputation of righteousness that comes because of faith in the work of Christ.

Salvation, in the end, is not about doctrines or philosophies. It is not about the right words, or prayer or denomination. Salvation is the joining of two hearts, the heart of God and the heart of each individual that trusts in Him [John 17:20-26]. The events of Abraham’s life were written so that when the time came and some nutty preacher said, “If you believe on the Lord Jesus you will be saved,” you would actually believe Him and be saved. Not because the preacher said so, but rather because Abraham stands as the great example of what true faith in a faithful God looks like.

If the faith like that of Abraham is what God said we need to exercise in order to be justified, then maybe we should agree with Abraham and hope that it could be said of us:

He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. [Romans 4:20-21, The Message, emphasis added]

Salvation is a simple thing. God has not made the matter complicated or difficult. He tells us to believe and salvation will come. Paul’s description and explanation of Abraham’s faith helped the Romans to understand two things. First, there was nothing that they could do to be saved. Salvation of any soul is an act of divine intervention. There is nothing that we can do to merit God’s love for us. What God does is that God extends an invitation to journey with Him throughout our lives.

Second, there was nothing that God desires for us to do to be saved. Faith is not a work because it is not something we do, it is something we are, or better yet, it is is someone we are becoming. As a result the Holy Spirit’s work to conform and transform us [Romans 8:29, 12:2], there will emerge from within us corresponding actions that serve as proof, as evidence of the inner reality that we have been born again [1 Peter 2:11-12]. But these “doings” proceed from our changed hearts. They do not precede our change of heart.

Easter 2010 (Pt. 6) | “It is finished!”

Easter 2010 Meditations

The Sixth Word

³⁰When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished… (John 19:30)

Meditation on the Sixth Word

We are drawing to the end. Jesus has submitted himself to the full brunt and breadth of what God had intended in Jesus’ death. Jesus looks out toward the crowds, both in front of him and those generations yet unborn, and with the little bit of energy he has remaining he completes the work for which He was sent. There is nothing lacking or deficient in Christ sacrifice for our salvation. He has paid the full price and has closed the book on His work. Jesus has not faltered and he has not failed. “It is Finished!”

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven

https://youtu.be/JsyZQXcYgEI

Have you ever wondered what Heaven would be like? I know I have. It is so hard to describe a place no one has ever been to. I have often wondered what we would do in Heaven? Will I get bored? Will I spend all of my time singing to God? That is great, and God is worthy of it, but that seems less interesting than the time I have now, here on Earth with my family and with my friends. I don’t mean to for this to sound like Heaven will be a great let down because it won’t be. But how can I have joy about a place I will never experience or can clearly understand until I get there?

I came across this sermon by Dr. Sam Storms. He is the pastor of Bridgeway Church in Oklahoma City, OK. He is also the founder of Enjoying God Ministries which exists “To Proclaim the Power of Truth and the Truth about Power.” Enjoying God provides Biblical Studies, Theological Studies, Historical Studies and even Recommends books, sites and other personal reflections for reading. It is a useful site.

The following sermon was given during the Desiring God National Conference in 2003. It takes a look at how Jonathan Edwards understood Heaven. This is probably the best (to date) exposition and explanation of what Heaven will be like and possibly is like. Dr. Storms argumentation and presentation is quite passionate and has made looking toward Heaven something wonderful.

You can download the audio, but I would recommend watching the video. It’s about an hour-long and will be worth every minute. The first one-third of the sermon is about Jonathan Edwards himself and then Dr. Storms jumps into Edwards understanding of heaven. Hope you enjoy! I did.

Joy’s Eternal Increase: Edwards on the Beauty of Heaven.

What is the Gospel? (Pt. 15) – “Victory!”

This is part of the series “What is the Gospel?

I hope you have benefited from out time spent looking at the multi-faceted diamond of the Gospel. We have discovered that God is holy and that our sin has kept us separated from God. We have looked to Jesus as the ultimate remedy for reconciliation with God. We have been confronted with the fact that it is through repentance that salvation is procured. As a result of salvation, we are given a new life, a new purpose, and a new journey. The Gospel is such a wonderful truth if we would just embrace it and live it out to the end. One of the more comforting realities of the Christian faith is that we are provided with the final scene. God inspires hope in His children because He is able to let us take a peek at what awaits us.

Paul in 1 Corinthians provides us with some insight to into what he calls a mystery. A mystery is not something that is unknowable, but something that has not yet been made known. Paul declares a mystery for all that believe: “Behold! I tell you a mystery. …When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. [1 Corinthians 15:51, 54–57 ESV] The Gospel’s ultimate goal is to bring Victory over sin; Victory over Death; Victory in Christ! Learn to love the Gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation for all who will believe it [Romans 1:16].

What is the Gospel? (Pt. 10) – “You are a New Creation”

This is part of the series “What is the Gospel?”

As we have looked at what the Gospel is we have not touched on one key question regarding the Gospel’s ultimate purpose. Some may say that it is the salvation of the world. Others may say that it is to appease the wrath of God. Still others might say that it is because of God’s love and grace that the gospel was and continues to be given. But I find Paul’s declaration in 2 Corinthians 5:17 to be interesting. Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” It speaks to a reality of what God desires for all of creation. In Colossians 1:16 Paul tells us that “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” The idea here is that in Jesus we find that the creation was to have an existence similar to that of Jesus Himself. Jesus is not the first creation but is before creation.

The word “firstborn” speaks to his primacy over all things. He comes to us because God has sent Him. The importance of this to the Gospel is that in Jesus we find the purpose of creation—it is for Jesus [Colossians 1:16]. But there is a problem; the creation has fallen because of sin. The presence of the Gospel is God’s remedy in and through Jesus to correct the wrong of sin. The only way for that remedy to take effect is for there to be a new creation, not only in the world [Revelation 21:1], but also in the inhabitants of the creation. The Gospel’s ultimate purpose is re-creation.