Question
How will the creation experience God’s redemption?
Answer
I think Christians all around the world are wrestling with the impact of the environmental movement and environmental concerns. A lot of Christians are very uncertain about how to respond and what their role should be. As I understand the Bible, it teaches ultimately that the creation itself will be affected by God's promises, that it's not just humans whom God is concerned about, it's his entire creation. So, as I read the Scripture at least, God has plans for this actual world we live on. He created it. He's concerned about it. He has a future for it. Exactly what that future will look like is hard to say. The Bible talks about a new heaven and a new earth, which I think is in some continuity with this present world but also is a transformed world, a redeemed world, a place where believers will live forever, enjoying the presence of God and Christ. I do think, therefore, that the future of what God is doing in the created world carries some implications for how we treat God's world now, that it is his creation, and we should work as his people at being very good stewards of the creation he has made and plans to redeem.
Dr. Douglas Moo is the Kenneth T. Wessner of New Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School.
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