Completion

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) 

I yawned in bored anticipation—I was attending a lecture which a friend (John) was giving on the subject of water.  John is an expert on water and its sustainability.  I was there out of respect for him as a friend and colleague.  The subject did not excite me in anyway.  However John opened his talk with a startling statement: he declared ‘all the water in the earth is all the water there has ever been in the earth.’  I had never thought of creation in that way before.  Suddenly I was struck by the realisation of the completion and totality of God’s creation.

A few days later, I drove past a building site and saw a huge pile of top soil ready for landscaping.  I realised that John’s logic applied to the earth also, all that is in the earth is all there has ever been.

God perfects His creation of earth and water in Genesis 1:9-10, “And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry ground ‘land,’ and the gathered waters he called ‘seas.’ And God saw that it was good.” Clarke’s commentary on this verse states, “These two constitute what is called the terraqueous globe, in which the earth and the water exist in a most judicious proportion to each other.”

God in His marvellous power and wisdom was delighted by His creation. It was flawless perfection, resplendent in magnificence.  Then God made us from the dust of the ground. Clarke’s commentary admits that, ‘The body derives its origin from the earth, or as the Hebrew ‘aphar’ implies, the dust; hence because it is earthly it is decomposable and perishable’—Perfect in physical form.

However we are not complete—creation of man is ongoing.  The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”  In Galatians 6:15, pre-eminence is given to this new creation: “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.”

The physical creation was perfect but temporary—a new creation is waiting in the wings.  How do we know?  It is promised, and by God’s divine instruction, written down in Revelation 21:5, “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”

Everything new then really will be complete perfection—including us!

Prayer
Great wonderful Creator, thank you for this beautiful earth that we are so unworthy of, thank you for Jesus of whom we are also unworthy, thy kingdom come when we will be made perfect by you.
Amen

Study by Irene Wilson

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About the Author:
Irene Wilson is a Deaconess in the Watford Congregation of the Worldwide Church of God UK, where she also serves on the Pastoral Council.

Local Congregation:
Worldwide Church of God Watford
St. Peter’s Church
61 Westfield Avenue
Watford,
Herts.
WD24 7HF

Meeting Time:
Saturday 11AM

Local Congregational Contact:
George Henderson
Phone:  01923-855570
Email: george-sue.henderson@tesco.net