Reason 1: God Desires to Live with His Creation
REASON 1
WHY GOD BECAME MAN
God Desires to Live
with His Creation
John 1:1-18
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.
8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone is coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.”
16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
The Creation of the World
There are many reasons expounded in the Bible as to why God became man. One of the most prominent reasons is that He came to pay the penalty of sin. However, the Bible offers another view which we have not given enough attention to. A perspective that would have gone unnoticed had we not read the Gospel of John carefully. The prologue of John’s gospel proclaims that the coming of Christ into the world is the perfect fulfillment of what God had planned on account of creation.
Theology typically distinguishes between a Creator God and a Redeemer God. God is the creator of all things, and when God completed all that He had created, God then redeemed man who had fallen into sin. This classical notion is affirmed by many theologians, including those in Reformed circles. However, through an immense amount of critical study, some Reformed theologians have made a notable discovery:
God’s words indicate
His activity in creating
merely the beginning of a process,
and not the end of the story.
This is consistent with God’s plan before creation. Some theologians now believe that God’s creative activity is an ongoing process that takes time to complete, and that what God begins is unfinished. God is still creating to reach perfection, as revealed in the book of Revelation. This process continues to this day. As stated in Romans 8:
“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Rome 8:22).
Why does Paul say that the whole creation groans like a woman in labor? Because of the fall, every aspect of God’s creation is cursed. The whole creation reflects the curse of sin and is in a state of pain and disorder.
Like a woman in labor who endures the agony of birth pangs, the groaning pains of childbirth will not last forever without the hope of new life. Once the baby is born, she no longer remembers the agony, but instead feels the joy of bringing new life into the world. Similarly, the suffering of this creation, like the pain of childbirth, leads to a glorious new world. The intense pain leads to a joyful outcome.
All of creation groans
in waiting for
the perfection of the world.
We have seen myriads examples of conflict between man and nature. One will inevitably destroy the other. For example, volcanoes spew lava to make the soil fertile, but often at the cost of human lives. Similarly, the interaction of tectonic plates causes earthquakes and creates major landforms, but also destroys human lives. The Bible is clear that since the first day of man’s sin, God has had a plan to restore His creation.
Creation is an ongoing process creativity, and God is present in the emergence of new life. John Calvin stated that “we are the new creation and not yet finished being created.” As the image bearer of God, man has not yet been ushered into perfection, and therefore, the earth has not been completely created.
As Paul said, “There was the first Adam, but it is the last Adam who will usher all creation into perfection.” We all experience the brokenness of the world in different ways. But we can find relief and hope in our Savior who came to save us. In Romans 8, Paul discusses the redemption of the body as part of the redemption of the creation.
“Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies” (Rome 8:23).
The inheritance of God’s children is intended to be glorious. When they are in their glory, the whole creation will also inherit their glory.
The Hope of Creation
The Gospel of John is a remarkable book in the New Testament. It is different in language and ideas from the other books of the New Testament, especially the Synoptic Gospels. John has a profound understanding. Unlike Matthew, Mark, Luke and Paul, John pays particular attention to the heavenly realm.
The apostle John was greatly influenced by John the Baptist. He was a pivotal figure in salvation history, known as the voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way for the coming Messiah (Isaiah 40:3). The central theme of John the Baptist’s ministry was “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 3:2).
There are striking similarities between the teachings and the lifestyle of John the Baptist and those of the Qumranites, a separatist Jewish sect from the Second Temple period. Some Qumranites formed an ascetic monastic community that lived in caves around the Dead Sea. They lived in groups, shared their material possessions, and were not involved in worldly affairs. Instead, they engaged in disciplined study and worship, longing for God’s kingdom to be established on Earth.
John the Baptist was also an ascetic who lived in the desert between the city of Jerusalem and the Dead Sea. He wore clothes of camel’s hair and ate locusts and wild honey. By living apart from society, he prepared himself for ministry. His preaching was strongly influenced by that of the Qumranites. He preached boldly like the Old Testament prophets and taught like the Qumranites.
If we compare the teaching of John the Baptist in the Gospel of John with that of the Synoptic Gospels, we find interesting differences. The apostle John portrays John the Baptist as a gentle character who emphasizes quiet meditation, patience and a life of earnest prayer. The apostle’s portrayal of John the Baptist’s character illustrates the spiritual substance of the apostle, who is able to look beyond the outward appearances of ordinary life.
John’s fascinating theme
is that earthly realities
reflect heavenly ones.
John uses rich imagery, and his theology narrates both symbolism and reality. In addition, John emphasizes and records more of the metaphors Jesus used to reveal his identity than any other gospel, providing some of the most famous word pictures of Christ, such as “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35), or when Jesus declared himself the light of the world: “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
In addressing the Kingdom of God, John’s view is not political. Instead, he focuses on a disgraced woman who draws water from the well in broad daylight and is welcomed to join into the community of God’s Kingdom. When Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman about the living water, their mundane conversation becomes a powerful lesson. The Gospel of John, among other gospels, is considered to have the most spiritual substance behind its texts. John uses mundane conversation to hint at Jesus’ identity.
John’s sublime approach to theology,
revealing that the hope of heaven
surpasses the hope of this world.
In the prologue, John emphasizes the importance of the unity between the Creator and His creation. He reveals that the book of Genesis conceals the great mystery of God that has remained hidden for thousands of years.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Through him (the Word) all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3).
The phrase “In the beginning” unmistakably echoes Genesis 1:1, taking us back to the creation of all life, including the animals of the land, the birds of the air and the fish of the sea. This culminates in the creation of man in God’s image. John proclaims that Jesus is the God who created everything and was fully present at the creation of the world.
The opening chapter of Genesis lays the foundation, but it may seem that something is missing. Many themes are introduced without being made clear. It is important to note that God created everything good.
God alone
is eternal and uncreated.
He transcends all that is created.
Pantheism, Deism, and Atheism
There are two distinct realities that cannot be mixed or confused. However, it is important to note that God is the source of everything in creation, but creation is not identical with God. The idea is like a painting, have you ever seen a painting where the artist is inside his painting? Absolutely not. What you see is a self-portrait of the artist in the painting.
It is important to distinguish
the unity of Creator and creation
from pantheistic beliefs
that equate God with nature
and call human beings
into religious communion
with the natural world.
Unlike pantheism, deism believes in a God who created the world and then let it run its course. This belief system is shared by the vast majority of modern Christians. The teachings of Deism were first postulated in the 2nd century BC by the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. He believed that the gods were unconcerned with mortal affairs and lived without suffering, which he considered to be the perfect life. Undoubtedly, our lives would be meaningless if the Creator and His creation had nothing to do with each other, and this will consequently lead us to another belief called atheism.
Does life have meaning without God? According to the Bible, God created all things, giving them their own origin and purpose. Therefore, true meaning and purpose can only be found in God and we can fully appreciate His creation by recognizing its significance from the Creator.
God Dwells with His People
Something seems to be missing in Genesis. God wants His people to dwell with Him in a place He has created. But He has not yet dwelt with them on earth, so creation has not yet reached its final point. The central theme of John’s gospel is God’s dwelling with His people.
In John 1:38, when the first disciples followed Jesus, He asked them, “What do you seek?” They replied, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” They have been living with Jesus ever since. This brings us back to John’s prologue, where he tries to convey that this creation is imperfect because God has not lived with us.
Life is meaningless
without God’s presence,
even if we achieve great wealth
and fame like King Solomon.
Although King Solomon was wiser than any other king on earth, he could not bring true hope to God’s creation. Consequently, meaning cannot be found in ourselves or in the universe around us because they lack ultimate purpose and value. It can only come from a transcendent personal Creator. For this reason, we must recognize that something crucial is missing in this world.
Do we know what is missing in us? What is missing in the church and in the world God has created? It is important to identify what is missing in our lives in order to begin to seek answers. Needless to say, when it comes to our relationship with our Creator, which is the most essential part of human’s life, we often neglect it. We may think that we have everything we need and that all will be well. But if we think that life is just about finding pleasure here and there, we won’t be able to see what’s missing.
Wise people recognize
that there are some flaws in the world
and strive to resolve them.
The Creator Dwells in His Creation
The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, God became man. We can safely conclude that this is the most glorious theme ever written in human history and this is the reason why Christianity is profusely different from other religions.
The essence of Christianity
is that God dwells with humanity
in the New Heaven and Earth.
God sent His Only Son into the world as the beginning of His indwelling. This is what Christmas is all about-the beginning of the restoration of God’s creation.
The incarnation of Christ is the beginning of the restoration of heaven and earth. As we reflect on Christmas, let us remember that the new creation has begun and God is working to bring it to completion. In God’s full presence, there will be no evil, no sorrow, and no death. There will be no more conflict between man and nature, Satan and sin. The incarnation of Jesus Christ marks this monumental work of perfect creation.
Creation will be perfect,
just as God intended
from the beginning of time.
