Are You a New Creationist? (2 Corinthians 4:6)

Children's Lesson (click here)

I. Kinds of Creationism

Creationism can be defined as (and I quote) “the belief that the universe and living  organisms  originate from specific acts of divine creation, as in the biblical account, rather than by natural processes such as evolution.” (that's from the Oxford English Dictionary). As that definition mentioned, in spite of what some confessed Christians believe, the Bible explicitly teaches creationism. As we read this past week in the opening chapters of Genesis, everything exists, including us, because an all-powerful God simply willed them into existence.

Of course, not every sincere Christian agrees on how this happened or when this happened. For example young-earth creationism (as the name communicates) understands that the age of the universe is relatively recent, since Genesis 1 speaks of (along with many other passages) the “six days” of creation. Each day is said to have a morning and an evening, and thus, these seem to be normal 24-hour days. When you combined this with numbers from the genealogies in Genesis, you have an earth that is anywhere from 6000 to 10,000 years old. But other believers are old-earth creationists. They argue that the “days” of Genesis 1 can be understood as longer periods of time, since the word yom (“day”) in Hebrew can refer figuratively to durations of time that are much longer than 24 hours. Therefore, this group often accepts the claims of most modern scientists that the universe is around 13.7 billion years old, and the earth around 4.5 billion years. And yet, belief in an earth that is much older doesn't imply belief in what's called macroevolution as the mechanism by which all things were created. Both young-earth and old-earth creationists hold to a special creation of all things by God, including mankind.

But as fascinating as those discussions are, I would argue that by far the most important kind of creationism is what we might call new creationism. Let's unpack that idea by looking together at 2 Corinthians 4, a chapter from last week in Our [new] Bible Reading Plan for 2024-2025.

II. The Passage: “Has Shone in Our Hearts” (4:6)

Having just contrasted (in chapter 3) the old covenant through Moses and the new covenant through Jesus and the Spirit, Paul begins 2 Corinthians 4 by emphasizing the integrity of his ministry, especially to those unbelieving Jews for whom the gospel of grace is veiled. Such people are blind to the truth of the gospel, not because Paul is distorting or obscuring the message. The reason they won't accept the truth is that (v. 4) “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” But Paul wants to make it abundantly clear that his new covenant ministry is not radically disconnected from the Old Testament, but in fact, radically fulfills it. This is why he writes what he does in our main verse, 4:6. Paul explains...

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Now we cannot miss the Old Testament reference that Paul is using here. This is not an exact quote, but still a clear allusion to Genesis 1, verses 3 and 4, which states, “And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light... And God separated the light from the darkness.”

Why this allusion to Genesis 1 in 2 Corinthians 4? The rest of the verse explains why. God-decreed, divinely-given light has also shone into our darkness. This isn't literal sunlight. But it is S-o-n-light. As the verse explains, God “has shone in our hearts to give... [what kind of light?]... to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

So think about what Paul is telling us here: the God of Genesis 1, the very same God, the Maker himself, the One referred to by David in Psalm 33, where it says, “For he spoke, and it came to be” (v.9); the One who (according to Proverbs 3:19) “founded the earth by wisdom and established the heavens by understanding.” (CSB); the One Paul spoke about when he said, “For from him and through him and to him are all things.” (Romans 11:36)... this same, powerful, awe-inspiring Creator is still at work today. Where? How? 2 Corinthians 4:6... “in our hearts”.

Does that encourage you? It absolutely should. Just as the Spirit of God was said to be hovering over the waters in Genesis 1:2, Paul writes only a few verses earlier in 3:18 that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” So the light that the God of Genesis 1 has shone in our hearts is not only light that brings us saving knowledge of Jesus, it's also light that continues to transform us into the image of Jesus. Ten verses beyond our main text, Paul says the same thing. Look at 4:16... “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” Transformed. Renewed. I don't know about you, but I desperately need to hear this.

And this amazing connection between Genesis 1 and 2 Corinthians 4 continues into chapter 5, reaching its fullest expression in 5:16–17. Look over there. Paul writes there...

From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh [i.e., simply according to the old creation]. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh [i.e., we simply saw him as just a man], we regard him thus no longer. [17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he [or she] is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Did you hear that? That brothers and sisters is new creationism. If creationism is the “belief that the universe and living  organisms  originate from specific acts of divine creation”, then we could say that new creationism is the belief that your life has become a perpetual worksite for specific acts of divine re-creation, meant to prepare you for a new universe. You have been transformed through Jesus, and you are being transformed. You have been renewed in Jesus, and you are being renewed. Between 4:6 and 5:17, Paul talks a lot about the sufferings of the present age... AND... about the glory of the age to come. And we talked about that glory in the previous message, as the book of the Revelation gave us a glimpse of the restoration that God has in store for our universe. But please don't miss that the new creation has already begun. According to Paul, according to God through Paul, it's already begun in you, believer! The new creation is presently unfolding in God's new covenant people!

III. Encouragement as a New Creation

But let me ask you this: do you feel like a new creation this morning? If God has given you (and is giving you) a clear perspective on where you were and where you are now, then it may be that you really can feel that you are a new creation this morning. If that's true, keep going, brother, keep going, sister. Keep giving thanks to God and keep walking in those new things, those better things that the Creator has willed into your existence by saving you.

But I suspect many of us would answer that question differently. If we're being honest with our-selves and others, we might confess that we do NOT feel like a new creation. I'm not saying you are unsure about your salvation. You may simply feel... stuck. Your spiritual life may feel... dry. You may feel sluggish. Maybe numb. Maybe rudderless.

If that's you, if that has been you, if that could be you again, then please be encouraged by what God is showing us this morning about being a new creationist. Your feelings on any given day, while not unimportant, do not change what God has done and is currently doing in your life. Do you believe that? “If anyone is in Christ”, his or her life has become a perpetual worksite for the Creator of all things. Specific acts of divine re-creation have taken place and are taking place, according to God's grace, power, and promises. As we are “beholding the glory of the Lord” through eyes of faith, God really is transforming us “into the same image [the image of our Lord] from one degree of glory to another”.

One of the ways we can be encouraged by the Creator's work of re-creation, of new creation, in our lives is by simply looking around us. In another letter, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For his [God's] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” (Romans 1:20) So when we take the time to think about our Maker's handiwork, and what it reveals about his “eternal power” and “divine nature”, we can find incredible encouragement.

For example, as a creationist, you can look around and conclude that none of this is here by accident. In the same way, as a new creationist, you can be reassured that your life, that your circumstances, that your struggles are no accident. Just as there is design in the things God has made, so too is there a design for the things God is remaking. And you can trust Him for that design in your life. Similarly, when you look around and see his power on display in creation, you can be reassured that the same power that established the mountains, the same power that drives the tide and the hurricane, the same power that filled the earth with life, the same power that sparked every star, is at work in you even now, accomplishing a far greater work of creation. As He sustains all things in this perpetual dance of life, he will sustain us. And we could go on. Look at the beauty all round you. Be in awe of it. But please don't miss the beauty of what the same Creator has done, is doing, and will do in your life. Be in awe of it! These are the hallmarks of our Creator's work of creation. And that work is happening even now... in you.

So if you feel stuck or numb or sluggish this morning, please look to the Creator of all things. And please remember that doing that also means looking to Christ, for as John 1 reminded us this week, “All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3) All things were made through the Son. That includes you and me! And now, this same Son is remaking us, by the will of God, through the Spirit of God. We are now new creations. But as in Genesis 1, it all commenced with... His word; specifically, the gospel. When did the Creator God shine in our hearts and give us light? When he activated that “knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ”. When he took it from being a mere message and decreed in our hearts that it should be saving truth; a means of new creation. Look back to that message, brothers and sisters. Cry out to God and ask him for eyes to see the beauty of his gospel work, of his new creation in your life. Ask Him to encourage you by it, to reassure you of his design and power as Creator. Then step out with a renewed faith to actually live this remade life that is being remade. This how Paul went on to describe that life in 5:14-15... “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; [15] and he died for all, that those who live [those who now live, as new creations] might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”