matrix theology

In the beginning, God created the heavens AND the earth… [Genesis 1:1]

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth… [Revelation 21:1]

There is something involved about the heavens and the earth. They often occur together; and it is no mistake that John ends the Revelation by drawing on the primitive language of Genesis in presenting the new ideal. They are intricately connected.

One World

It is in vogue in modern Christianity to make a distinction between “this life” and “the next.” All kinds of colorful language is used to distinguish between heaven and earth. But in the original creation poem, they are classed as one creation. They are one world. And to the first man, walking in the garden in the east of Eden, he must have felt this way. He and God shared a unique bond – there was a communion between them, a sharing. Although he did not have the terminology for it, his spirit was united with God’s spirit and he was at one with all of God’s creation.

Talking about God’s Kingdom, Jesus said that in order to see it you have to be “born of water and spirit.” (John 3:5) There is a physical and spiritual side to every human being. We were created for a world comprised of both – but sin tore us away from the spiritual. This is why the spiritual feels so unnatural to us. Our humanity has been conditioned by generations of living according to the flesh.

When we look at ourselves as totally physical beings, it should not surprise us that we see only animals. From a physical point of view, our bodies function as those of animals. We eat we sleep; we reproduce; we defend ourselves; we attack others. We function. Without the spiritual aspect, we are just animals.

In fact, we are worse than animals because we have the capacity for a whole life – a unique existence that fuses the spiritual and physical. An animal is fully physical. They are complete as is. We are not. We are left incomplete and broken.

Twisted and Turning

When sin entered the equation, it twisted the creation away from God. Under its subtle but constant pressure, our race warped and bent out of form and into distortion. With every successive generation we become more broken, more altered from our original form.

Often the Bible uses the term repent for seeking God’s righteousness. It literally means “to turn.” If you think of sin in terms of twisting creation away from God, then repentance is seeking our original form – our original position. It is not becoming something we are not, but rather becoming something we were intended to be.

God is seeking to restore the connection we shared with him, but sin has twisted us. We cannot connect as we are without damaging ourselves. The process of being reformed to God’s image – our original form – is painful and often requires time and pain. Sometimes it requires bending beyond what is actually required so we will naturally fall into the proper form.

Why should it surprise us that this process of restoration is difficult? Realigning something as complex as a human being is not like rewiring an electrical outlet. There are millions upon millions of interconnected beliefs, emotions, thoughts, processes involved. God is at work; we are at work; but even in the best case scenarios, it is often trial and error on our part.

Ultimately…

God has in mind the redemption and restoration of his entire creation, not just individuals. Ultimately, this thing of salvation is not just about “souls” but about reuniting heaven and earth as it was meant to be. It is not about properly understanding biblical prophecy or appropriately exegeting Greek and Hebrew pronouns. It is about the restoration of man and his dominion as part of the kingdom of God.

We get to be a part of that reconciliation and redemption – not as crusaders and warriors but as teachers and caregivers. As God twists us back into connection with him and he becomes more real to us, we become more human and we call others to this walk. We walk in Jesus’ light and call others into the light.