Restoring the World as a
Garden-Sanctuary

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Question
How and why will humanity's redemption impact the rest of creation?
Answer
We are reminded that, at the very beginning of creation, it was all very good. God the Creator pronounced his pleasure on everything that he had made. It was very good. No sin, no suffering in any way to stain the joy and the delight of Adam and Eve in the fellowship of their Creator. Of course, we know what happens in Genesis 3. They're tempted. They succumb to the temptation. They rebel. Paradise is lost, as John Milton said. But God's intention is to bring us to paradise, to bring us to a place, really, a sanctuary, a temple, a garden-temple, in which we enjoy fellowship with our Creator again.

Answer by Dr. Dennis E. Johnson

Dr. Dennis Johnson is professor emeritus of practical theology at Westminster Seminary California, where he taught from 1982 to 2018. He previously pastored Orthodox Presbyterian churches in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, and East Los Angeles, California. Dr. Johnson was Associate Pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Escondido. He served as moderator of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church General Assembly and Presbytery of Southern California, moderator of the South Coast Presbytery in the Presbyterian Church in America, member of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church Committee on Christian Education, and Trustee of Covenant College.