If there is one overriding theme in the Bible flowing from Genesis to Revelation, it’s God’s redemptive story that centers around the coming of Jesus Christ.
Like a single thread in a beautiful tapestry, your story and mine, whether we realize it or not, are mysteriously inter-woven into God’s story. But unless you personally see yourself as part of God’s story, you’ll miss the incredible significance of what that story is all about and how it can impact your life not only for time, but for eternity. That story can be summed up in five key words—relationship, rebellion, rescue, restoration, and response.
Relationship
THIS IS ETERNAL LIFE, THAT THEY MAY KNOW YOU, THE ONLY TRUE GOD, AND JESUS CHRIST WHOM YOU HAVE SENT. – John 17:3
In the beginning God created the first man (Adam) and the first woman (Eve) as personal beings made in His own image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-27). He did so that they might know Him in a personal relationship that would allow them to be fully satisfied in Him, to reflect His glory1 and to experience the joy of His presence forever. This included giving them a mind to know Him intimately, a heart to love Him passionately, and freedom of choice to trust Him implicitly, obey Him willingly, and serve Him faithfully.
Such was true for man then, and it is still true for man today. Such a relationship with man has always been, and still is, and always will be the desire of God’s heart. We can try to find true joy and happiness in other things, but there is only one thing that can truly satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. I’m talking about longings so deep we may not even recognize them for what they. That one thing is having this kind of relationship with the God who designed us for this very purpose. Anything else will fall far short. As Saint Augustine, one of the early church fathers (354-430 AD) once said, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.” 2
Rebellion
ALL OF US, LIKE SHEEP, HAVE STRAYED AWAY. WE HAVE LEFT GOD'S PATHS TO FOLLOW OUR OWN. – Isaiah 53:6 NLT
At first Adam and Eve enjoyed this beautiful relationship with God, fully satisfied with Him and in Him. But everything changed when they began to entertain the idea that there might be something more in life that they were missing. Something that might enhance or enrich their lives even more than what they already had in their relationship with God. In their innocence and ignorance they believed a lie that they could become equal to God Himself, living to satisfy their own selfish desires rather than living obediently according to God’s design. They thought they could make their life better on their own apart from God. But they quickly discovered that they had believed a lie–something that would have tragic consequences not just for them, but for all of their descendants yet to be born (which includes us today).3
A.W. Tozer, in describing what happened to us as the human race says,
God formed us for His pleasure, and so formed us that we, as well as He, can in divine communion enjoy the sweet and mysterious mingling of kindred personalities. He meant us to see Him and live with Him and draw our life from His smile. But…we have broken with God. We have ceased to obey Him or love Him, and in guilt and fear have fled as far as possible from His presence…So the life of man upon the earth is a life away from His presence, wrenched loose from that “blissful center” which is our right and proper dwelling place, our first estate, which we kept not, the loss of which is the cause of our unceasing restlessness. 4
His words pretty much sum up the problem. We all, like Adam and Eve, have misused our freedom to go our own way rather than God’s way, living as though we are equal with God and free to do whatever we want to do that will satisfy our own selfish desires. Our rebellion against God has erected an invisible wall that separates us from God, making it impossible for us to enjoy the relationship that we were meant to have with Him. Because of sin we all have become alienated from the God who created us to know Him, to enjoy Him, and to live in relationship with Him forever.
Furthermore, one day we will all stand before God in judgment (Rom. 14:12). The prophet Nahum makes this very clear when he says, “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Nahum 1:7). The penalty for our sin is eternal banishment from the presence of God (2 Thess. 1:9) in a place totally devoid of every good thing that makes life worth living. To be banished from the presence of God is to be banished from the true source of all that is good in this world and the next (James 1:17). Our only hope is that someone will rescue us from the crushing burden of sin and its guilt, because there is absolutely no way that we can rescue ourselves.
Rescue
FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. – John 3:16
Imagine yourself walking through the woods in the dark along a path that you’ve never travelled before. You’re tired and hungry and anxious to get home where you can sink into your favorite easy chair with a cool glass of iced tea in your hand. Suddenly, without warning you find yourself falling down–down–down into a deep pit. The landing is a hard one, cushioned only by the soft, oozy mud at the bottom. The darkness is thick, the air is stale, the walls are high, and your clothes are covered with that oozy mud.
As your mind begins to clear, you come to realize that you are trapped at the bottom of that pit. But not to worry. You’re sure you’re smart enough that when morning dispels the darkness you’ll easily figure out a way to get out and get home. You try to sleep, but sleep escapes your grasp. Then, as the light of dawn begins to make its way slowly downward to the bottom of the pit, you begin to look around, only to discover that there is no hope of climbing up the slick, smooth walls of the pit. There really is no way out of that pit without help from above. “Surely someone will come along the path and hear my cries,” you think to yourself.
Finally, when all hope is nearly lost, you hear a voice from above, “Hey, anybody down there?” Immediately you cry out for help. Thank God, your rescuer has finally shown up. He throws down a rope and says, “Grab on to the rope, and I’ll pull you out of the pit!” But then you begin to have second thoughts. “What if the rope isn’t strong enough?” “What if the rope breaks and I fall back into the pit?” Can I really trust the rope?” “And what about the man?” “He’s a complete stranger.” What if wants to rob me and then throw me back into the pit? Can I really trust the man?”
You decide that trusting the rope and the man is better than staying at the bottom of the pit. So you grab the rope and hold on tight as he pulls you out of the pit. As you climb out of the pit you look into the face of your rescuer, and what you see is gentleness, kindness and love. And you think to yourself, “Thank God my rescuer finally came.”
You might think that because we have turned our backs on God by living to pursue our own selfish desires, God has turned His back on us. But that’s not the case at all! In spite of our rebellion against Him, God wants to restore the relationship with Him that we have severed by our rebellion against Him. The Apostle Paul makes this very explicit when he says, “[God]…wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. Jesus gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (1 Tim. 2:4 NLT). Because of His love for us, in spite of our sin, God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ, came to rescue us from our alienation and our bondage to the corruption and death that are the consequences of sin. As the Apostle Peter explains, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God” (1 Peter 3:18 NLT). Mission accomplished!
Through His death Jesus rescued us from the bondage of our sin and guilt, and through His resurrection He rescued us from the ultimate consequence of sin, which is death. As a result, Jesus has made it possible for every human being to be restored to the relationship with God that we were created for. As the Apostle Paul writes,
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God” (Rom. 5:6, 9-11 NLT).
Now, because of what Jesus has done, we have the opportunity to experience a new life in Christ that not only abundantly satisfies the deepest longings of our heart, but that lasts forever (John 10:10, 28-29). Jesus wants to give us a life that overflows with peace and joy more satisfying than we could possibly imagine. Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful” (John 14:27). And again He says, “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full” (John 15:11).
Debra Rienstra sums it up so beautifully when she says,
You are loved enough [by God] that God will see you exactly as you are; and if you are willing, God will take it from there. God will begin to remove the burdens and distortions of sin, rescue you from the powerful downward forces of sin, recreate you into the person you were designed to be, and draw you into the kind of communion with himself that is our true life, our highest purpose. 5
This is only the beginning of what God has in store for those who put their trust in Him. There’s still more! Much more!
RESTORATION
AND HE WHO SITS ON THE THRONE SAID, BEHOLD, I AM MAKING ALL THINGS NEW. – Revelation 21:5
To use the language of English poet John Milton (1608-74), the story of God’s redemptive love begins in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, as “paradise lost,” and ends in Revelation, the last book of the Bible, as “paradise regained.” God’s story begins on a note of tragedy with man’s rebellion against God and its tragic consequences for the human race and the entire world. But it ends on a note of triumph with God’s restoration of the human race and our entire world to all that it was originally intended to be—and more! Again, as Dina Rienstra puts it so well,
When Christians use the word salvation, they are referring to a rich, multi-dimensional experience and a promise of that experience’s fulfillment. For Christians salvation means both rescue from sin, death, and hell in their many manifestations and restoration to perfect relationship with God, each other, and creation. We feel this rescue and restoration happening here and now, and we are promised that it will be completed in the future. 6
As the book of Revelation draws to a close, its author, the Apostle John, writes, “And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new'” (Rev. 21:5). This work of making all things new has already begun in the lives of those who have begun to experience God’s grace in being rescued from sin’s grip and its devastating consequences. The Apostle Paul puts this in simple terms when he says, “…Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4:16 NIV), and again, “…If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17 NIV).
When we are rescued from sin and death, we restored to the relationship with God that He intended for us to have with Him all along. But that’s not all! He also begins a work of renewal right now within us so that we are no longer the same person we used to be and are becoming progressively more and more the person that God designed us to be. That work of renewal and transformation will continue throughout the course of our life until it is brought to completion in the day of Christ’s coming. As Paul writes, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns” (Phil. 1:6 NLT).
As I’ve already said, this is just the beginning of God making all things new. Those who have experienced God’s grace in being rescued from sin’s grip and its devastating consequences in their lives still live in mortal bodies subject to disease, sickness, corruption, pain and death. That too will change in the day of Christ’s coming as Paul says,
“Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory” (1 Cor. 15:51-54).
Yes, in the present God brings restoration to our inner being by giving us a new heart. But in the future, at Christ’s coming, He will bring restoration to our outer being by giving us a new body. It will be a brand-new body that is immortal, no longer subject to disease, sickness, pain, sorrow, corruption, or death. It will be a body that is indestructible and that reflects the magnificent glory of God. Those who have died will receive this new body through resurrection, and the bodies of those who are still alive at His coming will simply be transformed into brand new bodies. All this will happen “…in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Cor. 15:52). How awesome to think that each of us can experience the reality of becoming a brand new person with the promise of a brand new body that will live forever, no longer subject to disease, sickness, pain, sorrow, corruption, or death.
This, however, raises a significant question? How can this be true since clearly we live on a planet that is subject to decay and death, not only among humans, but in the animal and plant kingdoms as well? How can this be since we live in a world where, because of sin, everyone and everything eventually dies? The Apostle Paul answers this question when he says, “Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay” (Rom. 8:20-21 NLT).
God’s rescue and restoration plan is not just for the human race, but for the entire planet on which we live. The Apostle John describes what will happen in the day of Christ’s coming when he says,
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:1-4).
Such will be the new world that God has in store for those whom He will rescue from their bondage to corruption, sin and death. We will live on a brand new earth where there is no more curse and everything is perfect in every way, just as it was in the beginning. We will dwell in a city that is bigger, better, and more beautiful than any city we’ve ever known. God, whose throne is now in heaven, will come to live on the new earth forever among His people in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. No more sadness. No more pain. No more death. All the old stuff marred by sin will be gone, and everything will be new and better—far better—than ever before. Indeed, the old order of things will entirely be ancient history, as all things will have been made new. And this is the way it will be forever throughout the endless ages of eternity. Hallelujah!
RESPONSE
“THE TIME HAS COME, HE SAID, THE KINGDOM IS NEAR. REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS. – Mark 1:15 NIV
So how do we come to experience this new life in Christ and this new hope of a glorious future forever? Jesus tells us in His own words when he says, “Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15 NIV). Repentance is “…a fundamental paradigm shift: an inward change of mind…that results in a change in the way we live.” 7 In this case, repentance is a reversal of what happened in the garden of Eden. It is choosing to trust God to enable us to turn away from living life our own way according to our own design in order to embrace living life God’s way according to His design. Believing the good news involves taking God at His word and trusting Him to do what He’s promised to do. In this case it’s trusting God to restore us to a brand new relationship with Him and to give us a brand new life in Christ that is both abundant and eternal. This is the life that we were created to have from the beginning. It’s the life that our hearts have longed for all along, but we just didn’t know it.
Are you willing to take this step of repentance and faith to receive new life in Christ? If you’ve never done so, there’s no better time than right now. What the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians nearly two thousand years ago is still true today when he says, “Indeed, the right time is right now. Today is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2 NLT). When you make this decision it will change your life. To put off this decision is to do so at your own peril. Do it today!
– An excerpt from Allan Stewart Maitha’s book, “THE COMING: Our Only Hope For a Better World”. All Scripture references are taken from the New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise indicated.
1. God’s glory is the radiant beauty of His infinite perfection (definition my own)
2. Dan Graves, “Article #15,” Christian History Institute, https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/incontext/article/augustine, (accessed 28 April, 2022)
3. You can read the full account in Gen. 3:1-24.
4. A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, 22-23.
5. Debra Rienstra, SO MUCH MORE: An Invitation to Christian Spirituality (San Francisco, CA, Josey-Bass, 2005), 60.
6. Debra Rienstra, SO MUCH MORE: An Invitation to Christian Spirituality, 62.
7. Mary Jo Leddy, Radical Gratitude (ORBIS, 2014).
