Tag: Redemption

Not just either/or but both/and

Original Perfection

The notion that things are not always monochromatic in character appears from time to time in the course of Scripture. 1 Kings 5:4 and Philippians 2:12f., for example, indicate that at least two factors are involved. However, since it is saturated with sin, Augustinian theology attributes everything that appears to come short of perfection solely to sin. For example, it depicts creation, including Adam and Eve, as originally perfect instead of ‘good’, that is, useful or fit for its intended purpose, and is forced to think in terms of what it calls “the Fall” and its consequent curse on the entire creation. (1* It is difficult to see how Adam who at the start like a baby, Gen. 2:17; 3:5,22, cf. Dt. 1:39; Isa. 7:15f.; Heb. 5:12-14, did not know the law (commandment) by which good and evil are established and judged could be originally righteous. Righteousness is gained by keeping the law, Dt. 6:25; 24:13; Rom. 2:13; 6:16; 1 John 3:7, just as unrighteousness or sinfulness is acquired by breaking it, Gen. 3:6; 1 Sam. 15:24f.; Rom. 6:16; James 2:9-11, etc.) And needless to say, the corollary of this is restoration which is a prime characteristic of the old covenant (cf. e.g. 2 K. 8:1; 2 Chr. 24:4; Jer. 29:14, etc.) and relates to this world. In this way we arrive at the creation, fall, restoration schema characteristic of Reformed theology (see e.g. the book under that title by A.S.Kulikovsky.)

Adam and Eve

This schema is manifestly false. One has only to consider the fact that morally speaking Adam and Eve far from being originally perfect, holy and righteous were in the event characterized on the moral level solely by their sin. Initially like infants they knew neither good not evil (Gen. 2:17; 3:5,22; Dt. 1:39; Rom. 9:11), then like all children they broke the first commandment they received. (The Bible refers frequently to the fact that we sin in our youth, not while we are babies when we do not know the law, e.g. Gen. 8:21; Jer. 3:25.) In this way they lost what was obviously their innocence (cf. Dt. 1:39; Eccl. 7:29; Isa. 53:6; 1 Pet. 2:25). In truth, they were challenged as those who were in the process of creation in the likeness of God to achieve righteousness by keeping the commandment that God had given them and thereby meet the condition of (eternal) life (Gen. 2:17). To pinpoint the issue, only the righteous can achieve the goal of eternal life in heaven as the frequent and pervasive repetition of Leviticus 18:5 and many similar verses (e.g. Ezek. 20:11,13,21) indicates. This is of the essence of biblical teleology. In plain words then I conclude that all who follow Augustine confuse the beginning with the end. (2* See further my articles on The Order of Salvation, Cart-Before-The-Horse Theology)

Creation

But if Adam and Eve were far from naturally perfect, the same is true of creation. While it may be freely acknowledged that creation as the finished product, including man, is described in Genesis 1:31 as “very good”, that is, like the completed tabernacle (Ex. 39:32-43; 1 K. 7:51), ideally suited to its purpose, it was far from being perfect as God who needs nothing (Ps. 50:10-12; Acts 17:25, cf. Job 41:11 ESV; Rom. 11:35) is perfect (cf. Lev. 11:44f.; 19:2; Mt. 5:48). In contrast with its Creator, creation which is “hand-made” (3* On this see my Manufactured Or Not So) needs to be constantly sustained by the sovereign providence of God (not to mention its dominion by man) apart from which it lapses into chaos and becomes subject to dissolution (Jer. 4:23ff.; 2 Pet. 3:7,10-12, cf. Job 34:14f.; Ps. 104:29, etc.). If we deny this, we in effect deny the transcendence or holy otherness of God and put both him and his creation in the same category as the gods of the heathen who are continuous with, or immanent in, nature. (It is worth remembering at this point that when Egypt was ruined, Ex. 10:7, so were her gods, Ex. 12:12, cf. 18:11, and so in the end with all other false gods, cf. Dt. 33:27 NRSV, Isa. 45:20; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; Gal. 4:8. By contrast, the one true God remains when creation ceases to exist, Ps. 102:25-27, etc.) The argument that creation was originally ‘perfect’ because it was made by God is in light of biblical teaching quite fallacious, as I shall endeavour to demonstrate below.

While we may freely concede that creation was good in the above-mentioned sense of the term, it was not merely good but as the product of time it was by divine design temporal (Gen. 1:1), even temporary (2 Cor. 4:18), and hence in strong contrast with its eternal and transcendent Creator. Creation has both a beginning and an end but God has neither (see, e.g., Ps. 102:27; 113:4-6; Isa. 43:10b; 57:15; 66:1f.; Heb. 7:3,6; Rev. 5:13.) Furthermore, as “manufactured” or “made by hand” (Ps. 102:25; Isa. 48:13, etc.), it was naturally subject to ageing and obsolescence (Ps. 90; Heb. 1:11) and hence inherently corruptible and destructible (Mt. 6:19-21; Luke 12:33; Rom. 8:18-25; Heb. 1:10-12, etc.).(4* On this see again my Manufactured Or Not So) Accordingly, the things that are made and seen (Rom. 1:20) are precisely the things that are ultimately destroyed so that the permanently unshakable may remain (Heb. 12:27, cf. 2 Cor. 4:18). At the end, when the plan of salvation is complete and all things have been subjected under his feet, God will be all in all as he was before creation began (1 Cor. 15:28). In this sense we may gladly acknowledge the idea of restoration (Acts 3:21).

The Law/Old Covenant

In view of the fact that the old covenant relates to the present world (cf. Mt. 5:18; Rom. 7:1), it is scarcely surprising to find that it too is considered “good” (2 Cor. 3:7, cf. Rom. 7:12). For all that, like creation itself (Heb. 1:10-12), it is nonetheless temporary, and provisional (2 Cor. 3), and since it is inherently obsolescent it eventually becomes totally obsolete (Mt. 5:18; Rom. 7:1; Heb. 8:13). This point is underlined by the fact that it was “written by hand” (cheirographon, Col. 2:14), visible and hence temporary (2 Cor. 4:18). (5* I am indebted to James Dunn for stress on the visibility of the law. See further my Faith and Invisibility – Seeing the Invisible)

Flesh

As the product of creation the flesh is also “good”, and certainly not evil as in Greek dualism. It too was created by God and was the earthly tent not only of Adam but of Jesus himself (cf. John 1:14) “for a little while” (Heb. 2:7,9). It was also “made by hand” (Job 10:8; Ps. 119:73; Isa. 45:11f.; 64:8, etc.) and hence naturally corruptible (Gal. 6:8, etc.) and destructible (Rom. 8:13, cf.vv. 18-25). As animated dust (Ps. 78:39; 103:14), apart from the spirit the flesh dies (Job 34:14f.; Ps. 104:29; Eccl. 3:20; 12:7; James 2:26). In contrast with the living God, it is intrinsically mortal (cf. Rom. 1:23).

According to Augustine the flesh was sinful (cf. the tendentious NIV which translates sarx as ‘sinful nature’ even where sin is obviously not involved as in Galatians 6:8 and Romans 8:13). He maintained that Jesus, though flesh, was not sinful because he was Virgin born and not the product of carnal concupiscence. Though the flesh is intimately associated with sin since it provides its primary bridgehead in temptation (cf. Rom. 8:3), it is not, as we have seen, evil as such (cf. Greek dualism). However, as part of creation it was meant to be under the dominion of man and hence his slave. As the case of Ishmael makes plain, a fleshly slave irrespective of sin cannot inherit along with the child of promise who is the child of the free woman (Gal. 4:30). Jesus had made his flesh his slave and gave it for his people in death (Col. 1:22; 1 Pet. 3:18), but when risen from the dead never to die again (Rom. 6:9), even he, the Son of God, could not take it to heaven without change (John 8:35; 1 Cor. 15:50f.). After all, it was naturally corruptible. (6* See my Two ‘Natural’ Necessities)

It is a sad fact that most Christians seem to be totally unaware that in exercising dominion over the earth, they are thereby meant to be controlling their own earth-derived flesh which stems from it and is inherently temporary and subject to ageing even apart from sin (cf. Luke 3:23; John 8:57). As temporary, our visible flesh (cf. 2 Cor. 4:18) is intended to be the slave of our invisible and generically incorruptible spirits (cf. James 3:3, etc.). (Our spirits are of course subject to moral corruption and vulnerable to the judgement of God, cf. Heb. 9:14.)

Jesus

All Christians acknowledge Jesus Christ as both God and man. According to Hebrews 7:16 (cf. vv.3,24f.,28) he had an indestructible life, but not according to the flesh. As temporal flesh he suffered from the same natural defectiveness as all his fellows (cf. Phil. 2:6f.). (According to the OED the word ‘defect’ means lack of something essential or required. So the body (flesh) without the spirit is dead, James 2:26, cf. Job 34:14f.; Ps. 104:29; Eccl. 12:7). He also was born of woman (Gal. 4:4) or ‘manufactured’ in the womb of the Virgin Mary (cf. Heb. 10:5) and through her he was hence physically clay or dust like Adam whose son he was through his mother (Luke 3:38). Since he could not rise above his source, as flesh he was as mortal as his mother or he could not have died.  Again, since he was raised from the dead fully restored (John 10:17f.), he must have remained flesh as he himself intimated (Luke 24:39, cf. John 20:17,26-29, etc.). As such, though he was no longer susceptible to death since he had kept the law which promised life (Rom. 6:9; 1 Pet. 1:18; Rev. 1:18), he was still corruptible and hence still lacking his Father’s incorruptible (Gk) heavenly perfection (Rom. 1:23). So, to avoid permanent bondage to corruption and gain the freedom of the glory of his sonship (Rom. 8:21), he had to be (re)transformed on his ascent to heaven (John 6:62; 1 Cor. 15:50f., cf. John 17:5,24). (7* On Romans 8:18-25 see my Romans 8:18-25) When we see this, we can appreciate that while Romans 6:9 points to his eventual immortality, Acts 13:34 underlines his incorruptibility. In other words, he had reassumed his Father’s generic nature (cf. John 17:5,24) but this time as man (cf. 2 Tim. 1:10). (8* See further below on God, and note my No Return To Corruption)

Arianism

This prompts the ancient question raised by Arius (cf. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Islam): was Christ God or was he a creature? With passages like John 1 in mind the church has held that he was the eternal Word and hence not a creature. For all that, there is a sense in which Arius was right. As flesh born of the Virgin Mary, Jesus was clearly created (Gal. 4:4; Heb. 10:5) like Adam before him (Luke 3:38). This raises yet another question: was Mary the mother of God (theotokos)? The question is apt to mislead, but taken at face value we are bound to say no. Created herself, she could only be the mother of her fleshly baby, of Jesus, the human being, not the Word. The perishable cannot produce the imperishable (John 3:6; 1 Cor. 15:50b)!

There is yet another vital point that should not be missed. The author of Hebrews refers to Jesus’ prayers in “the days of his flesh” (5:7). If we resist the impulse engendered by some commentators and reference Bibles to confine these days to the Garden of Gethsemane, we can then appreciate the fact that like Adam before him Jesus too was prone to death (Gen. 2:17) and constantly threatened by sin (Gen. 4:7, cf. 1 Pet. 5:8) whose wages were death. Consequently, if Jesus had failed to master the evil that lurked at his door (cf. Mt. 4:1-11; Heb. 4:15) he too would have died for his own sin and been disqualified from dying for ours. In the event, he succeeded in controlling his flesh with all its potential for evil (cf. Rom. 8:3) when confronted by the law (cf. Rom. 7:14), along with the world and the devil. In a word, he triumphed overcoming all temptation and trial (Heb. 4:15). By doing so he proved his pedigree as the true Son of God, the one and only Saviour of man (Acts 4:12, etc.). As such he was able to serve as our pioneer into heaven itself (Heb. 6:19f.; 9:24; 12:1f.).

Nature

Nature in its entirety is prone to corruption as is evident from Genesis 1 (cf. Rom. 8:18-25; Heb. 1:10-12). Grass is perhaps the primary symbol of death and corruption throughout the Bible (Isa. 40:6-8; James 1:10, etc.). All things animal (Ps. 49:12,20), vegetable (Gen. 2:9) and mineral (1 Pet. 1:7,18) eventually yield to corruption. Little wonder that Paul, not to mention Jesus (e.g. Mt. 6:19f.; Luke 12:33; 16:9), Peter (1 Pet. 1:3f.) and John (1:2:15-17), teaches us to focus on things that are above and to put to death what is earthly (Col. 3:1-5).

Man-made Objects

Since they stem from a corruptible and futile creation (Rom. 8:18f.; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Heb. 1:10-12) all man-made objects show evidence of being naturally perishable and ultimately futile. Like everything else ‘hand-made’ (cheiropoietos) they are only temporary servants used for a temporary purpose (cf. Ps. 119:91; Col. 2:22). Thus in Luke 13 Jesus indicates that men die not only as a result of the sinful acts of others (v.1) but also because as sinners themselves they are prone to fall foul of what insurance companies call “acts of God” (v. 4, cf. 1 K.5:4; Eccl. 9:11f.). One of the greatest contrasts in the Bible is that between the man-made (or better “hand-made”) temple and the body of Christ (Mark 14:58; John 2:19-21). Even Samson was crushed by a man-made temple!

Animals

Since animals are not made in the image of God and cannot understand the law, they cannot break it and thereby become wage-earning sinners (cf. Rom. 4:15, etc.). Though they are fed by God himself (Ps. 104:27-29), since their food is perishable and not living bread (John 6:51), it can only sustain their physical life temporarily, as Psalms 104:21 and 106:20, for example, imply. It follows from this that when fleshly man refuses to eat bread from heaven (cf. Mt. 4:4; John 6:32f.), he ranks himself with the animals which are confined by nature to perishable food (Ps. 106:20; Eccl. 3:19-21; Ps. 49; 2 Pet. 2; Jude 10). Since they sow only to the flesh, they reap inevitable corruption (Gal. 6:8).

The Wages of Sin

The Bible teaches in unmistakable language that for man the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23, cf. 5:12). Tragically, however, Augustinians exalt this element of our creed to a universal principle and make sin the cause of all death. They fail to realize that (a) if death is wages it cannot be the result of imputation which excludes wages (Rom. 4:1-8, cf. 5:12); (b) since sin is defined as transgression of the law (cf. 1 Sam. 15:24; Rom. 4:15; James 2:9-11; 1 John 3:4, etc.) only those who break the law can earn wages (Rom. 4:15; 5:12, etc.), and (c) procreation, which countered the effects of death, was scheduled or on the cards before sin entered the world (Gen. 1:11, etc.). When we consider the animal world (including babies) that by nature does not know the law yet is still susceptible to death and corruption, we have no alternative but to conclude that death and corruption are also the result of an amoral natural condition purposely and deliberately ordained by God. He always had an invisible hope in mind for those who put their trust in him (cf. Romans 8:18-25; Heb. 1:10-12; 11:1, etc.).

Flesh and Spirit

In contrast with his Creator who is spirit (John 4:24) man as created in the image of God is, first, flesh and, second, spirit (1 Cor. 15:46). This contrast is emphasized by the difference between a man and an animal which is flesh but not spirit (Isa. 31:3). While as flesh man like the animals, as we have noted above, is fed by God (Gen. 2:9; Ps. 104:21,27f.), he nonetheless dies (John 6:49) and suffers corruption. On the level of the spirit, however, the situation is different. Man can feed on the word of God (Mt. 4:4), even on the Word himself (John 6:56), the living bread whose very words are spirit and life (John 6:63). How important it is then to recognize the need of those who are first born of the flesh to be born again of God (John 1:13) by his word (James 1:18, cf. John 1:12). Only in this way can they live forever (John 3:1-8).

It is here that Abraham’s dual role as father of both his physical and his spiritual children assumes importance (Rom. 4:11f.). John the Baptist’s somewhat scathingly derogatory remark in Matthew 3:9 (cf. John 6:63) brings out the pejorative nature of the flesh in comparison with the spirit. In John 8 Jesus himself distinguishes between those who rightly claim to have a physical relationship with Abraham but fail to exercise faith as he did (cf. Rom. 2:28f.).

Death

While Joshua 23:14 and 1 Kings 2:2 tell us that death is the way of all the earth, Genesis 19:31 informs us that procreation, which counteracts death (cf. Gen. 1:11; Heb. 7:23), is also the way of all the earth. This stands in sharp contrast with the world or the age to come where according to Jesus himself there is neither death nor procreation (Luke 20:34-36). On this basis we are forced to infer that death and corruption are natural and not necessarily associated with sin. (Confusion arises when we fail to recognize that while Adam was created mortal, pace Augustine, he was promised life if he kept the law. He didn’t, therefore having sinned, he earned wages in death. If he had kept the law and achieved the righteousness which was its consequence, he would, like Jesus, have gained life, Lev. 18:5, etc., and escaped from the natural mortality characteristic of this evil age, Gal. 1:4.)

God

The Bible makes it clear beyond dispute that God is not only immortal but also incorruptible. Though these characteristics are closely related, it is vital for us to recognize that they not synonymous.  So when we read in 1 Timothy 1:17, NIV, for example, that God is ‘immortal’ (cf. Rom. 1:23; 2:7) we need to be aware of the fact that the word is aphtharsia which means ‘incorruptible’. On the other hand, in 1 Timothy 6:16 we read correctly that God is immortal (athanasia).  Regrettably this distinction is eroded by most translations with the result that Paul’s statement in 2 Timothy 1:10 in the NIV, for example, is reduced to a tautology. (9* Sad to say Harris entitles one of his books “Raised Immortal”, yet the text on which he bases this is 1 Corinthians 15:52 which refers to incorruption – aphthartoi.) Since life and immortality are virtually synonymous it repeats itself. But in fact the word translated ‘immortality’ is aphtharsia not athanasia. The importance of this is fundamental for understanding Jesus’ incarnation, resurrection and ascension. For when he became incarnate Jesus also became subject to the death and corruption which characterize the flesh by nature. But when he rose physically from the dead, even though he was still flesh (Luke 24:39) he had conquered death and was no longer subject to it (cf. Rom. 6:9; Rev. 1:18). On the other hand, it is of paramount importance to recognize that, since he had been restored as flesh (cf. John 10:17f.) but had not experienced corruption (Acts 2:27,31; 13:35,37), he was obviously still corruptible. In this condition he was daily growing older and hence about to disappear (Heb. 8:13). So, in order to overcome his fleshly bondage and liability to corruption he had of necessity to be set free and escape (cf. Rom. 8:21). This was achieved by his ascension transformation (cf. John 20:17; 1 Cor. 15:50f.). In this way, he gained complete generic as well as moral and spiritual conformity with his Father at whose right hand he sat. Alternatively expressed, he regained as man the glory he shared with his Father before the world began (John 17:5,24). As Paul intimates, having brought life and incorruption to light (2 Tim. 1:10) and inherited the sure or eternal blessings of David, he would no more return to corruption (Acts 13:34, cf. Heb. 7:26; 9:28), which would have been, metaphorically speaking, tantamount to returning to Egypt. This of course is the essence of Paul’s gospel.

So, to emphasize my point, when Jesus was glorified, he had as man gained both his Father’s immortality and his incorruptibility and was fitted to sit at his right hand (cf. Phil. 3:21; Heb. 1:3). If we accept Christ as Saviour, we can do the same (Rev. 3:21, cf. Heb. 2:10ff.).

Justification By Faith and Judgement By Works

There is no question that justification by faith is the heart of the gospel (Rom. 1:16f., etc.). Fortunately, since the Reformation this has received a great deal of emphasis in Protestantism, but, regrettably, it has not always been fully applied. The mere fact that many churches still implicitly deny it by baptizing babies which cannot by nature exercise faith provides ample evidence of this. This point having been made, however, it needs to be remembered that Luther himself not only loudly proclaimed that he had been baptized (baptizatus sum) as a baby also cast aspersions on the letter of James as an epistle of straw. Bluntly, he failed to give due emphasis to the importance of works not only in the Christian life but in the lives of non-Christians. The latter point is seldom if ever made, but it appears clearly enough in Scripture. Paul himself points out that the heathen man’s uncircumcision becomes circumcision when he keeps the law by nature (Rom. 2:26-29). The implication is that though the heathen may lack the written law and the informed faith based on the promises peculiar to the Jew, yet since faith is relative it is nonetheless on occasion demonstrated by works, and  flowers when Christ is received (Eph. 2:12f.,17). After all, ultimately the promise embraces believers, their children and all those who are far off (Acts 2:39). And we must never forget that the ‘gospel’ was preached to Abraham the great exemplar of faith (Gal. 3:8f.) who was certainly among the “far off” (cf. John 8:56; Heb. 11:13). If this is so, the idea that all the heathen are indiscriminately damned is not supported by Scripture (contrast e.g. Qu. 60 of the Larger Catechism and sometimes the idea that extra ecclesiam non salus, that is, outside the church there is no salvation. Little wonder, for if it were true, it would imply the universal damnation also of children! Again, we must infer diminished responsibility even if the term is not actually used in the Bible (cf. e.g. Mt. 12:38-42; Luke 11:29-32). Recognition that Scripture teaches recapitulation (or what might be variously called trans-generationalism or genealogical continuity) would rid us of many problems regarding this subject. (10* See my Recapitulation in Outline, I Believe in Recapitulation. Christopher Wright refers to “trans-generational inclusiveness”, p.287, and J.A.Thompson to “genealogical continuity”, p.281.)

End Times

In describing his trials and tribulations in passages like 2 Corinthians 6:4f. and 11:23-29 Paul makes it plain that though sin is often involved, so too are outward circumstances associated with nature and this age. From time to time he uses general words like thlipsis and ananke which frequently relate to the end-times. Thus while the Bible makes it clear that at the end of history comes the judgement (cf. Heb. 9:27) more than one factor is involved. Jesus likens the end to Sodom and Gomorrah (Luke 17:28-30) where it is noticeable that along with the judgement of man (cf. Heb. 9:27) there is also the destruction of the land (Rom. 9:28, cf. Luke 13:1-5 referred to above and also the temple, Mt. 23:38). Two factors are also in evidence in Luke 21:9-36 and parallel passages: on the one hand, there is evidence of judgement on human wickedness and, on the other, signs of creation’s natural corruptibility and destructibility even if it is exacerbated by sin. It may be claimed, of course, that the two are interconnected and that the one leads to the other as is maintained by Augustinians who believe in a universal curse following the Fall. But there is some powerful evidence militating against this. For example, despite being inhabited by the wicked Canaanites, the Promised Land remained nonetheless an “exceedingly good” land (Num. 14:7), a type of heaven in fact, and one (compulsorily) to be desired by the Israelites as the promised gift of God. (Would God have deliberately given his chosen people a bad inheritance? Cf. Rom. 8:32.) Again, after the flood it is made clear that seedtime and harvest will continue while the earth remains (Gen. 8:22. See further my Cosmic Curse?)  So though, at the end, creation like the material temple will be desolate or uninhabited on account of man’s malevolent rejection of Christ, it needs to be recognized that it (creation) was slated for destruction from the start in that it was “made by hand” (Ps. 102:25, cf. Mark 14:58) and was hence shakable and destructible irrespective of sin. (Pace modern translators of Romans 8:18-25 who make this passage mean the redemption of creation which is surely the polar opposite of what the apostle intended. See further my Romans 8:18-25. Note also Galatians 4:21-31 where the present Jerusalem, the home of bondage, is implicitly dispensed with. France’s comments on Matthew 23:38 are appropriate at this point.) The same is true of the human body of flesh which derives from the corruptible earth. It will be either destroyed on account of sin (2 Cor. 5:1, cf. Rom. 8:10; 1 Cor. 6:13) or changed, that is, replaced as in the case of Jesus and the end-time saints (1 Cor. 15:50f., cf. Heb. 1:12).

Galatians 1:4

It is all too easy to assume that when Paul refers to this evil age in Galatians 1:4 he has only sin in mind. But has he? We have no sure way of knowing though we may note references like 1 Kings 5:4 where evil may be both natural (cf. Isa. 45:7; Amos 3:6) and moral. (11* It is arguable, however, that Galatians in its entirety is an explanation of how we can escape from this present age. See further my Escape). In light of what he says in Romans 8:18-25 and 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10, for example (12* Cf. my The Correspondence Between Romans 8:12-25 and 2 Corinthians 4:7-5:10), where sin is not mentioned, Paul suggests that, like creation itself and the lowly (cf. Phil. 2:7f.; 2 Cor. 8:9) body or tent subject to destruction or change (i.e. replacement), which we presently inhabit, this age is inherently defective. (13* It is doubtless failure to appreciate the natural corruption of creation which led to Job’s perplexity, see e.g. 10:8f. He rightly maintained his integrity and could not accept that his sin provided an adequate explanation of all his troubles.) If this were not so, there would be no need for a second (cf. Heb. 8:7; 10:9b). In John’s gospel, not to mention the Pauline epistles where we must concede that sin is often in evidence, the flesh as such is constantly regarded in depreciatory fashion (cf. 3:6; 6:63). Thus this (present) age is set in strong contrast with the glorious age to come (Mt. 12:32; Luke 20:34-36; Rom. 8:18; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Eph. 1:20f.; 1 Tim. 6:17, etc.). Without going into more detail, I conclude that not only is sin characteristic of this age but so also is its inherent defectiveness or corruptibility (cf. 1 K. 5:4, KJV; Eccl. 9:11f.). And this is surely by divine design as Paul teaches in Romans 8:18-25 (cf. Heb. 1:10-12). If this is so, then escape is paramount and it can be achieved only through faith in Christ, our pioneer into heaven itself (cf. Heb. 2:10). (14* Commentators often refer to the frustration of creation as if it is the result of sin. But this is to miss the point that creation, including the flesh which stems from it is inherently corruptible, futile and unprofitable, cf. Ecclesiastes, John 1:13; 3:1-8; 6:63. It simply serves a temporary purpose and will eventually disappear having outlived its usefulness, cf. Heb. 1:11; 8:13. The whole of nature, not to mention modern scientific theory, testifies to this. See again my Romans 8:18-25)

Creation and Evolution

In the dispute between (atheistic) scientific theory and Christian insistence on creation by God there is a good deal of misunderstanding on both sides. While the former emphasizes evolution as if it in itself (inexplicably) possesses inherent creative power, Christians stress the beginning of creation (Gen. 1:1) out of nothing (cf. Rom. 4:17) but usually ignore its intrinsic developmental or evolutionary nature under the Spirit of God. (15* I reject the literal 24-hour days of Genesis 1 out of hand. It runs contrary to everything we know by science, by history, by experience and above all by theology. See further my Twenty-Four Hours? – Reasons why I believe the Genesis days are undefined periods of time, The Two Ages) On the one hand, time, chance and spontaneous generation are difficult to swallow regarded as sources of this world; on the other hand, “Christian”, especially fundamentalist, denial that man has an animal beginning (cf. 1 Cor. 15:46, etc.) is also surely beyond the pale. (16* See further my  Creation and / or Evolution) The God who created the world also sustains it until it has served its purpose (cf. Gen. 8:22) and then brings it to its appointed end in destruction (Heb. 12:27; 2 Pet. 3:10). Since man is a product, even a miniaturization of creation (dust) on the natural level, he inevitably follows the pattern of creation (cf. 1 Cor. 6:13; 15:50; 2 Cor. 5:1). However, since he is also created in the image of God, he is able to transcend his flesh on the spiritual level through faith in Christ who serves as his pioneer into the age to come (cf. Heb. 2:10; Phil. 3:21; Col. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:3f., etc.). Naturalistic physical evolution is, as is freely admitted by many, aimless, purposeless, meaningless and ultimately futile. But this is precisely as God intended it to be (Rom. 8:20, cf. Eccles.; 1 Cor. 15:12-19). Not for nothing did Paul talk of crucifying to himself the world (Gal. 6:14) and the flesh (Gal. 5:24, cf. Rom. 6:6) and Jesus of being in the world but not of it (John 17:14f., cf. 6:63). My assumption on the basis of the evidence is that man is the subject of both creation and evolution (perfection) on both the physical and spiritual levels. While the former is merely temporal (cf. animal life in general) and is subject to age (Heb. 1:11; Luke 3:23; 2 Cor. 4:16-18; Heb. 8:13, etc.) and ultimate demise, the latter is permanent. When faith in Christ is exercised, a new (spiritual) creation is involved (John 3:3-7; 2 Cor. 5:17) by which man is fitted for heaven and the presence of God. (17* The distinction between creation and physical development in the old covenant and spiritual recreation and sanctification in the new covenant should be noted. Whereas in the former the end is universal death and destruction, cf. 2 Cor. 3; Heb. 8:13, in the latter the end is eternal life, cf. Rom. 6:22.  See further my Creation and / or Evolution).

Conclusion

I began this article by denying that sin is the sole cause of ‘evil’ in this present age (Gal. 1:4). The truth is that the contrast between this world and world to come stems primarily from the divine decree, plan and purpose. Even the Pharisees, if not the Sadducees, believed that this present ephemeral age was to be followed by the permanent (eternal) age to come (Luke 20:27-40, cf. Eph. 1:20f.; Heb. 1:6, 2:5; 6:5, etc.). While it is true beyond equivocation that sin exacerbates the situation in this present age, it also ensures that God alone will be our Saviour or Rescuer (Isa. 45:20-25; Phil. 2:9-11) as he always intended to be (Rom. 3:19f.; 11:32; Gal. 2:16; 3:22, etc.). Unless we take both factors, that is, not only sin but also natural corruption, into consideration, understanding the Bible and the world in which we live becomes impossible. The Augustinian worldview which is dominated by sin is frankly absurd and represents a massive distortion of what the Bible actually teaches. (18* See further my Worldview, The Biblical Worldview)

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References

J.D.G.Dunn in Covenant Theology Contemporary Approaches, ed. Cartledge and Mills, Carlisle, 2001.

R.T.France, The Gospel of Matthew, Grand Rapids, 2007.

A.S.Kulikovsky, Creation, Fall, Restoration, Geanies House, Fearn, 2009.

J.A.Thompson, Deuteronomy, Leicester, 1974.

Christopher Wright, Deuteronomy, Massachusetts, 1996.

The doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus is absolutely indispensable to the Christian faith (1 Cor. 15:12-19) and failure to understand its character is fraught with potential disaster. While the vast majority of professing Christians would concede this, there are nonetheless subtle ways in which the Jesus’ physical resurrection can be undermined apart from express denial of it. One of these ways would appear to be the notion rampant in early twenty-first century that Jesus’ was transformed when he rose from the grave. It is vital for us to examine the issue, if only relatively briefly.

First, the Psalmist claimed that the Messiah would not see corruption (Ps. 16:10, cf. Acts 13:34-37). The unavoidable inference from this in light of later teaching is that in contrast with God (Rom. 1:23) he was to be by nature both mortal and corruptible, yet, as one who would keep the law and gain life (Lev. 18:5), he would escape permanent death (the wages of sin) and corruption (the normal result of death) (cf. Acts 2:22-24).

Second, Jesus taught that regeneration was the indispensable prelude of entry into the kingdom of God (cf. Gen. 2:17; Rom. 7:9f.). In other words, in order to serve as man’s pioneer to glory (Heb. 2:10-13; 6:20; 12:2), he himself, as one who was born of woman was flesh (Gal. 4:4), had to be born again (John 3:5f., cf. 1 Cor. 15:50).

Third, since he had gained (eternal) life (Mt. 3:13-17), Jesus was able to predict his physical resurrection but not (in as many words) his transformation (John 2:19f.; 10:17f., cf. Mark 9:31, etc.). However, he implies the latter by strongly emphasizing his return to the Father (e.g. John 7:33; 13:1,3; 17:5,24; 20:17). We conclude then that just as he had  undergone an incarnation transformation when he came into the world, so he had to undergo an ascension transformation when he left it (1 Cor. 15:51ff.).

Fourth, the suggestion that Jesus was transformed at his resurrection would seem to be a contradiction in terms. It smacks of evasion, not victory over death. A transformed Jesus is by definition not a physically resurrected Jesus. Bluntly, transformation would appear to eliminate or make redundant physical or fleshly resurrection. This inference is supported by the fact that those who experience decay like David (Acts 2:29) undergo bodily but not fleshly (1 Cor. 15:50) redemption or resurrection transformation (Rom. 8:23, cf. Luke 20:37f.; 1 Cor. 15:42-49; 2 Cor. 5:1) at the general resurrection.

Fifth, the NT proves the physicality of Jesus’ resurrection by asserting that he was seen, heard, touched (e.g. John 20:14-29; 1 John 1:1-3). Otherwise expressed, he was accessible to the physical senses of human beings (contrast 2 Cor. 4:18; Rom. 8:24f.). This being so, we are compelled to conclude that he had not been transformed and glorified (cf. 2 Cor. 5:6-8, pace Bruce, pp.36,228, Stott, p.191).

Sixth, Jesus himself said that he was flesh and bone (Luke 24:39). According to Marshall (p.902), bones are essential to resurrection (cf. Lazarus et al.).

If Jesus had been transformed:

1. He would not have asserted that he was still flesh (Luke 24:39).

2. Paul would not have insisted in 1 Corinthians 15:50 that it is impossible for flesh to enter heaven or the corruptible to inherit the incorruptible. In view of this, we must conclude that the inherently temporary cannot be eternalized or glorified (cf. John 3:5f.; 2 Cor. 4:18).

3. He would not have been visible (2 Cor. 4:18, cf. 5:6-8). Apart from the disciples who are exclusively eyewitnesses prepared beforehand (cf. Acts 10:40f.), Jesus tells Doubting Thomas that those who have not physically seen him are blessed (John 20:29). This clearly implies that they will see him only by faith (cf. Heb. 11:27) in order to be justified and thus gain life in conformity with the gospel (cf. Rom. 1:16f.).

4. In light of his teaching in John 6:25-69, where like the Psalmist (104:14,21) and Job (38:39-41) he underlines the implication of Genesis 1 which is that perishable food is eaten only by the perishable, Jesus would not have eaten with his disciples (John 21:9-14; Luke 24:42f.; Acts 10:41) unless he was intent on deceiving rather than enlightening them.

5. If he had already undergone transformation glorification as many claim, he would not have promised the outpouring of the Spirit after his glorification which clearly took place after his ascension (John 7:39; 16:7). (It would appear that John 20:19-23 is proleptic, anticipatory of Acts 2.)

6. He would not have prayed that his disciples should see his heavenly glory (John 17:5,24).

From this we infer that if he had been transformed, his glory (majesty and splendour) would have been manifest to his disciples here on earth. In the event, they either failed to believe or to recognize him or even mistook him for the gardener. Some glory!

7. He would not have told Mary not to hang on to him because he had not yet ascended to the Father (John 20:17).

8. He would not have appeared in one (physical) form to the early apostles before his ascension and in another (glorified) form to Paul after it (Acts 9,22,26). When Paul claims to have seen the Lord (1 Cor. 9:1), there is no indication that he ever saw him physically as the earlier apostles had seen him.

9. He would not have appeared different in heaven to John (Rev. 1:12-18; 2:18; 19:11-16). (Stephen’s vision at the point of his death in Acts 7:56 reflects Daniel 7:13.)

Corruption or Decay

In the NT there is a movement from the corruptible creation to the incorruptible heaven, from the natural to the spiritual (John 3:1-8; 1 Cor. 15:46; 1 Pet. 1:3f., cf. 2 Tim. 1:10), from the old covenant to the new covenant, from the temporary and provisional to the eternal and permanent, from the ‘hand-made’ to the ‘not hand-made’ and from the shakable to the unshakable (see espec. Hebrews). That creation is naturally corruptible apart from sin is implied or affirmed by numerous texts like Genesis 1:1; 8:22; Psalm 90:2; 102:25-27; Isaiah 34:4; 51:6; 54:9f.; Matthew 6:19f.; 24:35; 1 Corinthians 7:31; Hebrews 1:10-12; 1 Peter 1:4,7,18,23-25; 1 John 2:17 and so on. (1* It is worth noting that the perishable things of 1 Peter 1:18 are to be equated with the created things of Hebrews 12:27.) So the idea that Adam, who stemmed from the earth (Gen. 2:7), became mortal and corruptible only after he had sinned is an egregious error. Surely what is true is that in contrast with his Maker (Rom. 1:23) he was naturally mortal and corruptible by creation.  If it is replied to this that death is the wages of sin, one cannot but agree (Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:56). The point is, however, that though he was naturally corruptible flesh like the sinless perishable animals which are fed on perishable food, he was also made in the image of God and as such able to seek incorruption, honour and glory (Rom. 2:7,10; 1 Pet. 1:7). More specifically, Adam was promised eternal life IF he attained to righteousness by keeping the commandment (Gen. 2:16f.; Lev. 18:5, etc.). He failed and all his progeny like him in their turn (Rom. 5:12). But there was one exception, that is, Jesus who alone did not sin (Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22, etc.). (2* The traditional order of salvation or ordo salutis, based as it is on the unbiblical notion of original and birth sin, gives priority to regeneration. It is clearly false. See my The Order of Salvation, Redemption Applied (Order of Salvation), The Order of Salvation in Romans, Cart-Before-The-Horse Theology.)

Non-corruption

If Jesus was transformed and glorified at his resurrection from the dead, it must be asked why his non-corruption is stressed (Acts 2:27,31; 13:34-37)? Surely, if his flesh did not succumb to decay as flesh normally does after death, we are forced to infer that when he rose, he remained what he was before, that is, corruptible flesh (cf. Rom. 8:13; Gal. 6:8) and certainly not transformed or glorified (cf. Luke 8:55). Clearly the reason why he had to ascend is to be found precisely here (John 20:17). Though he had conquered death and was no longer subject to it (Rom. 6:9), as flesh (Luke 24:39) he was still liable to corruption. This being so, it was indispensably necessary for the transformation he had undergone at his incarnation to be counteracted or reversed by re-transformation at his ascension (1 Cor. 15:50ff.). If as man he was to share again the eternal glory of God (John 17:5,24), his corruptible flesh (like the corruptible creation from which it derived, Heb. 1:10-12), had to be subdued and ultimately dispensed with. Only in this way could he lead his fellows into the presence of God (Heb. 2:10-13; 1 Pet. 3:18).

We need also to consider the fact that Paul presents God the Father, in stark contrast with man his hand-made or manufactured creature (Job 10:8; Ps. 119:73), as both incorruptible, that is, not subject to decay (Rom. 1:23; 1 Tim. 1:17), and immortal (1 Tim. 6:16). Regrettably most modern translations erode this distinction and virtually make immortality and incorruptibility synonymous. (3* See e.g. Guthrie, p.130, Mounce, p.61, contrast Vine, pp.131,320). For the sake of clarification, it needs to be added here that the incarnate Jesus gained eternal life by uniquely keeping the law, whereas we, his disciples, gain it by being justified by faith in him. Keeping the commandment or law was the (pre)condition of life made to Adam (Gen. 2:17), and to others like the rich young man (Mt. 19:17), and Paul (Rom. 7:9f.). As one who had kept the commandments and had therefore gained life (Lev. 18:5; Mt. 3:13-17, etc.), Jesus was not liable to death, that is, the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23). So, once he had freely laid down his life for his sheep, death no longer had any hold over him (Acts 2:23f., cf. Rom. 6:9f.; Rev. 1:18). But since he could not live forever and inherit the eternal blessings of David on this temporal corruptible earth (Acts 13:34, cf. Luke 1:32f.; John 18:36), he had of necessity to ascend transformed to heaven to rule at his Father’s side as the paradigm of the saints at the end of history who neither die nor experience physical resurrection (Rev. 3:21, etc.). In case my point is missed, I would stress that Jesus’ death and resurrection occurred on our account not his. Thus, if we ignore his vicarious death, his sinless life was one of ‘natural’ or unhindered, though punctuated, progress to perfection (Mt. 5:48; Heb. 2:10; 5:9; 6:1; 7:28, cf. Phil. 3:14.)

The deduction we necessarily make from this is that the transformation of the incarnate and hence corruptible Jesus on earth is excluded.  If not, his physical resurrection is logically eliminated and rendered redundant and his ascension reduced to mere drama. To express the issue alternatively, since glorified flesh (sarx), as opposed to body (soma, cf. John 17:5,24; Phil. 3:21), is a contradiction in terms (1 Cor. 15:50, cf. John 3:1-8), Jesus’ resurrection transformation made him a ‘ghost’ (Luke 24:39) and not a physical body. In light of the evidence we are compelled to conclude that he was no more transformed at his resurrection than he was when he walked on the sea (Mt. 14:26; Mark 6:49). (It is pertinent to add here that ‘miracles’ like his appearance behind closed doors, John 20:26, were no more significant than were those that occurred to his disciples, Acts 5:19; 12:7-10, etc. They prove nothing except perhaps the fact that Jesus was kept hidden from the world, John 14:22; Acts 10:41. They are minor matters compared with walking on the sea or stilling the storm where transformation is clearly not at issue. On this see e.g. Geisler, pp.215f.)

Jesus and David

Furthermore, we must ask why the resurrection of Jesus is contrasted with that of David in Acts 2 and 13? The answer surely lies in the fact that whereas David underwent corruption, Jesus did not. For the decomposed David, whose death was the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23) like that of the rest of us (Rom. 8:10), a redemption transformation (cf. Rom. 8:23) lay ahead of him at the general resurrection, the fruit of Jesus’ own resurrection (1 Cor. 15:20,23). But for Jesus himself whose defeat of death (1 Cor. 15:54-57; Heb. 2:14f.) was evidenced by his rising uncorrupted (and hence still corruptible flesh) from the grave, transformation, which according to Paul is a universal necessity, had to occur at his ascension like that of the saints at the end of history (1 Cor. 15:51ff., cf. also Enoch and Elijah). It perhaps needs to be added here that various writers note that the term resurrection while used specifically of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead especially in the gospels is frequently used comprehensively to cover resurrection, ascension, exaltation and heavenly session. (4* See e.g. Gaffin in “The Forgotten Christ”, p.213; Harris, Raised Immortal, p.93.)

The Return of Jesus

While many (e.g. premillennialists who apparently hold a la Augustine that sin is the only problem with this world and that he was not transformed even at his ascension) think that Jesus will return to this corruptible earth in the flesh in spite of Acts 13:34, Hebrews 4:14 and 7:26, the NT clearly teaches that, though genuinely human, he will return in the glory of God (Luke 9:26, etc.) or as man glorified. They ignore the fact that from the beginning God intended the development, maturation, perfection or even evolution (cf. e.g. Beale, p.396 n.2) of man made in his image both as individual and community to full maturity (cf. Eph. 4:13), to his own moral and generic likeness (Gen. 3:5; Rom. 8:29; 2 Pet. 1:4, etc.). This intention was uniquely realized in Jesus, the second Adam and representative man. He alone attained to eternal life and achieved the perfection and glory of God (Mt. 5:48; Rom. 2:7,10; 3:23). Having done so, he now sits on the throne of God (Mt. 28:18; Rev. 3:21) as man embodied and glorified in the image and likeness of God (Heb. 1:3, etc.).  But definitely not in corruptible flesh (Rom. 1:23; 1 Cor. 15:50)!

ADDITIONAL NOTE on “The Forgotten Christ” ed. S.Clark, Nottingham, 2007

At the time of writing (Oct. 2008) it seems to be taken so much for granted that Jesus was transformed at his resurrection that scholarly writers do not even attempt to justify the assertion. However, assertion requires substantiation, and this brings me to works like the “The Forgotten Christ” ed. S.Clark, where the authors simply assume what clamours for proof.

It needs to be recognized first that the theology of this work is based on the traditional Augustinian worldview briefly set out by McGowan (p.46, cf. pp.201ff.): creation was originally not merely ‘good’, that is, useful, but perfect like God (cf. p.206); Adam was the covenant head and representative of all his progeny (e.g. pp.195,197); he disobeyed the commandment; universal death and curse ensued (cf. pp.46,51) altering the very constitution of creation including Adam (cf. pp.201ff.), so now on account of sin physical redemption is a necessity. In this scenario, though truly a son of Adam (Luke 3:38) and like his fellows in every respect (Heb. 2:17), Jesus mysteriously avoided the imputation of sin (cf. p.192), and became our Saviour. (5* To refrain from sinning is one thing, cf. John 8:46; 1 Pet. 2:22, but to avoid its imputation is wholly different. The fact that he was God is beside the point. Failure to impute sin to him as a man who was born of a sinful woman, cf. Ps. 51:5, makes him different from, not like, his fellows and hence docetic. See further my essays on original and/or imputed sin.) It is against this basic background that the essayists write, and, not surprisingly, though without adequate evidence, they discover that by postulating without apology the physical transformation of Jesus at his resurrection they can also postulate the redemption of the whole material creation (e.g. pp.158,202,226,230, etc.) to which the NT is clearly opposed (6* See e.g. John 3:1-8; 1 Cor. 15:50; 2 Cor. 4:18; Heb. 1:10-12; 6:7f.; 12:27; 2 Pet. 3:7,10-12 and, I would argue, especially Rom. 8:18-25 on which see my Romans 8:18-25).

To my knowledge the Bible nowhere links the resurrection of Jesus with the redemption of creation (pace e.g. Harris, G to G, pp.245ff.). Rather, man as flesh and spirit reflects cosmological dualism (cf. espec. 1 Cor. 15:47 and my Biblical Dualism). By nature, earth (from which flesh derives) and heaven (from which spirit derives) are even more fundamentally different than proverbial chalk and cheese. The former is God’s footstool and is intended to be man’s (Gen.1:28, cf. John 16:33; Heb. 2:6ff.). It belongs to the temporary present age and, since it has a beginning (Gen.1:1), it is doomed to pass away at its end (Mt. 24:35; Luke 20:34-36, etc.).  The latter is God’s throne and belongs to the eternal age which by definition already exists. For us, however, it is still to come and we still have to enter it (John 3:3,5f.; 1 Cor. 15:50).

It would seem to follow from this that in order to conquer death Jesus had to rise physically from the grave. Since his flesh did not experience the complete corruption (decay) that is the normal and universal consequence of death, it must have remained corruptible. But if so, he then had to be changed at his ascension like all his end-time fellows who neither die nor see corruption (1 Cor. 15:51ff.). Of course, what the writers in “The Forgotten Christ” (e.g. Gaffin, pp.199f.) are saying is that all death and corruptibility stem from sin (Gen. 3:17-19) despite the obvious fact that according to Genesis 1 before the advent of sin God made perishable food for perishable animals (Num. 22:4; Dt. 11:15; 104:14,21; 106:20), which do not sin (cf. John 6:25-69). (7* See further my Death Before Genesis 3.)

The apostle Paul makes it clear beyond reasonable dispute that where there is no law, there is no sin (Rom. 4:15; 5:13; 7:1-25). If this is the case, then death is the wages of sin (Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 15:56) only for those, that is, human beings, who are capable of understanding the law (cf. John 9:41; 15:22,24), which ipso facto excludes little children (Dt. 1:39, etc.) and animals. However, since we know that the latter die, we are forced to infer that death is a natural feature of this temporal creation which was never designed to last forever (Heb. 1:10-12, cf. Rom. 8:18-25, etc.) least of all to be redeemed. It follows from this that Adam did not experience a fall from the perfection, holiness and righteousness that characterize God alone; rather, being a naturally mortal and corruptible creature (cf. Rom. 1:23) made in the image of God, he was promised escape (to eternal life) if he kept the commandment or law (Gen. 2:16f.; Dt. 30:15-20, etc. See further my Escape.). He did not, but Jesus as the second Adam did! And having died for his people, he was raised from the dead in what was identically the same physical body, significantly referred to as a (removable) tent (John 1:14, cf. 2 Pet. 1:13f.), in which he had lived and died hitherto. If this was not the case, then his resurrection was phantasmagoric (Luke 24:39, cf. Mt. 14:26). It never really occurred, at least within human experience as we know it. In light of the fact that all resurrections on earth known to us (e.g. Lazarus) are physical, the same must surely hold true with regard to Jesus. (8* To argue as some do that after his resurrection Jesus was no longer subject to death, Rom. 6:9, fails to appreciate the fact that he was not personally subject to death BEFORE he died. The point of the gospel is that in contrast with Adam he first gained life for himself by keeping the law, cf. Mt. 3:13-17, then freely gave it for his people. Once he had done this and had risen from the dead, death no longer had any claim on him. He had no more reason to die.) On the other hand, the apostle makes it plain that transformation only occurs beyond history, and surely this is true of Jesus who, had he not given his life for his people, would not have died at all. If the saints at the end of history do not die and therefore do not rise but are nonetheless changed at their rapture ascension, surely the same must be true of Jesus.

But there is another point. In the above book, Gaffin, following his mentor Murray whose exegetical contortionism was noteworthy not least in his  “The Imputation of Adam’s Sin”, insists in his detailed analysis of 1 Corinthians 15:42-49 (which ideally requires much longer treatment) that “the biblical doctrines of creation, including man as God’s image, of the fall and sin, Christology, soteriology and eschatology are all addressed decisively by these verses” (p.193) and proceeds to maintain, rightly in a sense, that Paul goes back to creation before the putative ‘fall’. However, Gaffin is so conditioned by and imbued with the Augustinian worldview that in the course of his exposition he indulges in extensive eisegesis, special pleading and even what he himself calls “overly subtle exegesis” (p.200). His intention is to establish that Adam (and creation for that matter) before the so-called ‘fall’ was constitutionally different from what he was after it. (9* Gaffin’s Augustinian view of the ‘goodness’ of creation referred to in Genesis 1 is clearly astray. He fails to recognize that the ‘very good’ creation of Genesis 1:31 was no more perfect than the ‘exceedingly good’ land of Numbers 14:7, which the Bible itself clearly regards as provisional, Heb.3,4, cf. 11:9. On p.206, contrary to the evidence, he denies the basic inadequacy of the material creation despite the fact that it is ‘made by hand’, Ps. 102:25; Isa, 45:12, etc., and therefore neither perfect nor eternal. See further my Manufactured Or Not So. The word ‘good’ certainly does not mean ‘perfect’ as suggested by McGowan above, p.46, contrast p.203. Paul sees creation as still ‘good’ in NT times, cf. 1 Tim. 4:3f.) It is for this reason that he is anxious to progress from what he terms protology to eschatology (pp.198,203). Since for him the relationship between fall, sin, curse, corruption and the rest are fundamental to the biblical worldview, this is necessary. But it fails to reckon with the fact that sin and curse might not be in Paul’s purview. The comparison of the apostle, who is intent on answering the questions “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” (15:35), is not between pre-fall Adam’s and Jesus’ resurrection body but the contrast between Adam’s earth(l)y body of dust as such whether sinful or not sinful and Christ’s resurrection body. What, we may ask, has corruptible dust to do with sin (or with good for that matter, cf. Rom. 7:18)? In other words, Paul is contrasting the earthly body of dust with the heavenly body of spirit irrespective of sin, and subtle distinctions like that between vv. 44a and 44b do not lead to any other view. (On the latter, see e.g. Thiselton, p.1279.)

On page 197 Gaffin infers from what he terms the ‘theological logic’ of Romans 5 and 1 Corinthians 15 a covenant parallel between Adam and Christ as heads and representatives (though he admits it is not explicitly mentioned, p.196f.). He claims (p.197) that his view, though resisted in some quarters, is of the first order or magnitude of importance and he virtually challenges his readers to contradict it. So, having the temerity to take up the gauntlet I unhesitatingly reply, first, that there is no evidence at all in Scripture that Adam was our covenant head and representative. (10* See further my Covenant Theology, Did God Make a Covenant with Creation?, An Exact Parallel?) He was simply archetypal and hence representative man according to the flesh, and it is only as flesh that we can be said to be ‘in him’ as even Jesus was as his son (Luke 3:38). To put the issue bluntly, the imputation of Adam’s sin apart from faith is a fundamental fallacy or, more to the point, an appalling heresy, which, if it were true, would embrace Jesus himself. (See further below.) Second, Gaffin’s position is plainly contradicted by reference to Jesus himself as the second Adam. For he who was, as are all agreed, without sin despite his sinful ancestry including the prostitute Rahab, nonetheless had a perishable body simply because he was born of a woman whose original progenitor was dusty Adam. (Job’s question of 15:14, cf. 14:1, is a good one!) It is therefore to go completely beyond the evidence to argue that the pre-resurrection body of 44a, which is marked by perishability, dishonour and weakness in verses 42f., belongs not to creation but to the fall and its consequent curse (p.199). The plain truth is that Jesus as first Adamic flesh was clearly mortal (he died), corruptible (he got older), weak (2 Cor. 13:4), prone to temptation, sweat, fatigue and endowed with a lowly body (Phil. 3:21) like his brethren (Heb. 2:17) apart from sin and consequently required change like the rest of us (1 Cor. 15:51ff.).  So appeal to Romans 5:12ff and 1 Corinthians 15:21f., which he quite wrongly regards as covenantal, does nothing to help Gaffin’s case since these texts are  irrelevant to it. Indeed, it may be added that the gospel is founded on the fact that our salvation or resurrection, as Hebrews 2 insists, was achieved by a fellow human being who came to us in the likeness of our own flesh prone to sin though it is (Rom. 8:3, cf. 7:14). No wonder that Gaffin is not happy with the expression “created corruptible” (p.201 n.11) and the idea that the “original creation is inherently defective” (p.206). Yet this is surely the biblical position as Hebrews 1:10-12, many other texts and sheer ‘theological logic’ indicate. In 1 Corinthians 15:35ff. sin is not on the horizon, or, as Gaffin would say, not in Paul’s purview, until verse 56. Paul is dealing with corruptible nature (protology, if you like) irrespective of sin.

Gaffin fails to realize it but his position has catastrophic consequences for his (Reformed or Augustinian) theology. Why and how? it may be asked.

First, we must note that while Gaffin insists on the antithetic parallelism involved in these verses, he fails to see that it relates to man’s generic nature as flesh not to sin (contrast Rom. 5:12-21) which he himself has excluded in his (protological) premises. For if Adam was perfect (equal with or like God from the start?), we must ask, on the one hand, why he was put on probation and promised eternal life if he kept the commandment (11* See on this espec. A.A.Hodge, pp.122f.), and, on the other, how and why he fell. After all, Jesus himself, who is presented to us as inherently imperfect at his fleshly birth and knowing neither good nor evil like Adam before he received the commandment (cf. Isa. 7:15f.; Luke 2:40-52), had to be perfected in order to achieve the glory and perfection of God. (12* Writers on theological themes seem to miss the fact that man is by creation imperfect both generically and morally. It is only as he achieves moral perfection that he can achieve the generic perfection of the glory of God as God’s son.) Apart from stress on perfection, in Hebrews things that need replacement like the law, which relates to the flesh (cf. Heb. 7:16; 9:10), and the temple (cf. Mark 14:58), though ‘good’, that is, useful or serving an earthly purpose, are also intrinsically faulty or inadequate (Heb. 7:18f.; 8:2,7,13, cf. Gal. 3:21). But, second, on the basis of his assumptions Gaffin is able to present us with an incorruptible Jesus only by ignoring, first, Jesus’ highly dubious human pedigree, for Jesus was not only a son of Adam the man of dust (Luke 3:38, cf. John 3:6) but of his progeny who were made in his image (Gen. 5:1-3; Mt. 1:1-16). In other words, Gaffin’s attempt to present us with a Jesus who is a de novo second Adam like the pre-fall first is impossible. It ignores, even expunges, (the recapitulation of) history (cf. Mt. 2:15, etc.). Jesus himself as the second Adam and hence a son of the first (Luke 3:38) had to be corruptible flesh in order to overcome the world (cf. John 16:33; Heb. 2:9, etc.), the flesh (Heb. 2:17, cf. Rom. 8:3) and the devil (John 14:30) by his obedience. The fact is that the biblical worldview that Gaffin attributes to Paul (p.199) is his own or rather Augustine’s.

Second, the author of Hebrews teaches us that Jesus was as one who was born of woman (Gal. 4:4) like all his (physically normal and not abnormal, p.199) brethren in every respect (Heb. 2:17). This obviously means that he replicated their physical or fleshly if not their moral nature. Moreover, unlike his heavenly Father, since he was incarnate he was like them subject to temptation (Mt. 4:1-11; James 1:12-16) and had to endure along with the rest of us the (natural) war between flesh and spirit (Gal. 5:16-26; James 4:1-4; 1 Pet. 2:11) but without sinning (Heb. 4:15, pace Art. 9 of the C of E). Third, as Paul indicates in Romans 1:23, man, even the incarnate Jesus (!), is both mortal and corruptible by nature, that is, as flesh in obvious contrast with God who is spirit. Fourth, Jesus was naturally subject to corruption (decay) for the simple reason that he got older (cf. Luke 2:40-52; 3:23; John 8:57) like the creation from which he emanated through Adam whose son he was (Heb. 1:11, cf. 8:13; 2 Cor. 4:16). It is very disturbing therefore to find that various writers attribute aging to sin! Perhaps this is why Philip Eveson (p.66) posits the creation of Adam fully grown! A man who does not undergo development is an oxymoron and not a man, certainly not representative man according to the flesh. In fact, Eveson’s contention is scuttled by Jesus himself, for he, the second Adam, came into the world as a baby and underwent normal, if flawless, physical maturation. (13* See further my Twenty-Four Hours? – Reasons why I believe the Genesis days are undefined periods of time) In other words, (a) though human physical nature is acquired by birth apart from sin, (John 3:6, pace Augustine and carnal concupiscence), our moral nature is personally and individually acquired by our either breaking or keeping the law (Rom. 4:15; Eph. 2:3; 1 John 3:7, etc.), and therefore (b) though sin (or righteousness for that matter) cannot be transferred to offspring except by imputation which requires faith (as in the case of Jesus when he was made sin, 2 Cor. 5:21), its effects including suffering can (Num. 14:3,29-33, contrast Dt. 24:16, etc.). So while Adam had a deleterious but unspecified effect (pace Pelagius) on his progeny (Rom. 5:12ff.), that effect was clearly not sin transmitted or imputed. Where there is no sin, its imputation is regarded throughout Scripture as evil (e.g. 1 K. 21:10; Luke 23:10, etc.). However, if Adam’s sin is imputed apart from faith to innocent children, then Jesus was necessarily implicated and God implicitly charged with evil. (See further my Imputation, Straightforward Arguments against the Imputation of Adam’s Sin to his Posterity, etc.)

Conclusion

The plain truth is that fall, original, imputed or birth sin and cosmic curse stemming from the sin of Adam are figments of Augustinian fancy which distort biblical teaching in general. (14* On Augustine see my Augustine: Asset or Liability?.) Creation, including man, is subject to the bondage of corruption (decay) by divine decree, that is, by nature (Rom. 8:18-25; Heb. 1:10-12). God clearly intended it to be that way since he always had something better in mind for the creatures he had made in his image (cf. 2 Cor. 5:5) as opposed to those that were not, that is, their elevation to sonship. But since they all sin and come short of his glory (Rom. 3:23; 5:12), in accordance with his plan of salvation he sent Jesus into the world as one of them in the likeness of sinful flesh to overcome sin (Rom. 8:3) and serve as their pioneer to glory (Heb. 6:20; 12:2). Thus he did what we all in our fleshly weakness fail to do (Rom. 7:14), that is, keep the law, gain life and confirm his Sonship. (15* Reformed theology, following Augustine, places the blame for man’s putative ‘fall’ from perfection (!) almost exclusively on the devil. In the Bible it is the weakness of the flesh, vulnerable as it is to temptation, which receives far more emphasis as Gen. 3:6, Rom. 3:19f., 7:14, 1 Cor. 1:29 and Gal. 2:16, for example, indicate. That is why the flesh, Rom. 13:14, Gal. 5:16, or what is earthly in us is meant to be put to death or overcome, Col. 3:5. From the beginning man was meant to exercise dominion over all created things including his own flesh. Only Jesus succeeded, John 16:33; Heb. 2:9, etc.) He did more, however. He freely gave his flesh (Col. 1:22; 1 Pet. 3:18), which was not liable to death because he had faithfully kept the law, for us and thus brought life and incorruption (Gk) to light (2 Tim. 1:10) to enable us to become generically like God in whose image we were made from the start (cf. Rom. 8:29; 2 Cor. 3:18).

So, finally, we need to note that transformed or glorified flesh (pp.167,182) and redeemed creation (pp.202,212,226) are but two sides of the same coin. (16* In his note on pp.202 Gaffin rightly sees the connection between the flesh and creation in general. This raises two important questions, however. First, how can Gaffin who identifies man’s ‘outer self’ of 2 Cor. 4:16, p.227, with the ‘flesh’ p.230, proceed to posit the redemption of creation on the basis of Romans 8:18-25, to which he refers at least four times, when Paul, following Jesus in John 3, clearly denies the redemption of the flesh in 1 Corinthians 15:50? If the flesh cannot be redeemed, then neither can the creation from which it stems. They both suffer from old age or corruption by nature, cf. Luke 3:23 and Heb. 1:11. Next, in the second section of his essay, having denied on p.218 the immaterial composition of the resurrection body, Gaffin then stresses that Jesus ‘became’ after his resurrection and ascension what he was not before, p.219, and that he was a ‘changed man’, p.220. In the event this ‘changed man’ turns out to be a life-giving Spirit with a capital ‘S’ in contrast with Adam who was a living soul. Is Gaffin, who comes close to equating or identifying Christ with the Spirit, p.221, suggesting then that the Spirit has flesh or materiality? He is in danger of being hoist on his own petard. The biblical antithesis or dualism between flesh and spirit relates primarily to nature, not sin. It reflects the difference between heaven and earth, respectively God’s throne and footstool.) They are both contradictions in terms. On the one hand, Jesus insists on the absolute necessity of a second, that is, a spiritual, birth or birth from above (John 3:1-8) which implies that flesh as opposed to spirit cannot enter the kingdom of God. This implication is substantiated and endorsed by Paul who says specifically that flesh and blood cannot inherit that kingdom (1 Cor. 15:50a). On the other hand, Paul insists without reference to sin that all that is inherently corruptible cannot inherit the incorruptible (1 Cor. 15:50b) and that all that is physically visible is inherently temporary (2 Cor. 4:18). In case we have any questions about what is corruptible, texts like Matthew 6:19f., Luke 12:33, 16:9,  Hebrews 1:10-12, 10:34, 12:27 and 1 Pet. 1:3f.,7,18,23 leave us in no doubt that all manufactured or created things which are visible and temporary by nature (2 Cor. 4:16-18) are involved (cf. Gen. 1:1; Mt. 24:35; 2 Pet. 3:7,10-12). In other words, the idea that the material creation including the flesh, which is extraneous to God, will be redeemed is ruled out of court. It is man having shed his tent of earthly flesh (clay, cf. 2 Cor. 4:7; 2 Cor. 5:1; 2 Pet. 1:13f.) who finds his place in heaven endowed with an appropriate spiritual or heavenly body (2 Cor. 5:1) like the one Jesus gained at his ascension exaltation (Phil. 3:21, cf. John 17:5,24). What 1 Corinthians 15:42ff. demonstrate beyond reasonable dispute is that while our resurrection may be corporeal (soma) ensuring continued personal identity, it will not be physical/natural (sarx). Dust, not to mention sin, cannot go to heaven, as even Job, not to mention Paul (1 Cor. 15:50), seemed to recognize (10:9; 15:15; 25:5). Like the transient, corruptible, destructible creation itself it is destined to pass away (Mt. 24:35).

See further my Romans 8:18-25, The Destruction of the Material Creation, Restoration and Replacement, Will Creation Be Redeemed?, The Essence of the Case Against the Redemption of Creation, When Was Jesus Transformed?, From Here to Eternity, With What Kind Of A Body Do They Come?

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References:

G.K.Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, Leicester/Downers Grove, 2004.

F.F.Bruce, The Book of Acts, Grand Rapids/London, 1954.

S.Clark, ed., The Forgotten Christ, Nottingham, 2007.

N.L.Geisler, The Battle for the Resurrection, Nashville, 1992.

D.Guthrie, The Pastoral Epistles, London, 1957.

M.J.Harris, From Grave to Glory, Grand Rapids, 1990.

M.J.Harris,  Raised Immortal, Basingstoke, 1983.

A.A.Hodge, The Confession of Faith, London, repr. 1958.

I.H.Marshall, The Gospel of Luke, Exeter, 1978.

W.D.Mounce, Pastoral Epistles, Nashville, 2000.

J.R.W.Stott, The Message of Acts, Leicester, 1990.

A.C.Thiselton, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, Grand Rapids/Carlisle, 2000.

Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, Nashville, 1985.

In “Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond” edited by Darrell L.Bock, Grand Rapids, 1999, it seems to be generally agreed that the reason why writers who claim to accept in common the authority of Scripture arrive at different conclusions regarding the millennium is that they have different presuppositions or preunderstandings (pp.214,264,267,285ff., etc.). There is little doubt in my mind that this is true. So, in rejecting outright a literal millennium, it is necessary for me to make my own preunderstandings clear.

Interpretation

First, I believe that the teaching of Christ and the apostles in the earlier part of the NT forms the foundation of our faith (Eph. 2:20, cf. 1 Cor. 3:11) and that the book of Revelation repeats it in symbolic and apocalyptic form. Therefore, it seems to me, despite the fact that a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:2-7 is exegetically possible, that

(a) the burden of proof lies heavily on those who claim that new truth about a literal thousand-year millennium is being taught, and that

(b) on its assumption a general consensus about what it involves must, in principle, be attainable. To my knowledge both proof and consensus have hitherto eluded us. Consequently, I am convinced that any attempt to read the book of Revelation literally without the confirmation of the rest of the NT is not only fraught with danger but also incapable of substantiation. Other considerations apart, the notion of a literal millennium must ever remain deeply suspect.

The Finished Work of Christ

Next, I believe that the notion of a literal millennium undermines the finished work of Christ. According to the book of Genesis, in order to achieve glory and honour man’s vocation was to exercise dominion over the temporal earth (1:26,28; Ps. 8:5f.), to keep the commandment (2:16f.) and to resist the devil (3:1-6). He failed. By contrast, the second Adam, as Hebrews 2:9, Matthew 3:17 and John 14:30f., for example, demonstrate, accomplished all three. Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, exaltation and heavenly session (Acts 2:24,33-36) put this beyond reasonable doubt. But more to the point, as Hebrews 2:9f. in particular indicate, Jesus’ victory was representative His achievement embraced all those who believed in him (cf. John 12:26;17:24; 2 Cor. 4:14) on whose behalf he came in the first place (Mark 10:45, etc.). According to the author of Hebrews he is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, and according to Paul we are already more than conquerors in him (Rom. 8:31ff.).

If this is true, then a return to earth on the part of Christ and his fellow believers is redundant. (See further my A Summary of Reasons Against the Return of Christ to Earth, Is Jesus Coming Back to earth? at www.kenstothard.com /)  Since he has already overcome the world (John 16:33; 17:4f.; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5,12f.), it is totally unnecessary. To posit its repetition is like going back to Egypt in denial of the exodus (Dt. 17:16; Acts 7:39). It detracts from his finished work and brings into question the entire plan of salvation. Any hint of repetition suggests imperfection, as the author of Hebrews is at pains to indicate (Heb. 7:27; 9:25-28, etc.). I therefore conclude that a literal millennium is an addition to and hence in effect a subtraction from the gospel that was originally received (Gal. 1:9). It is in its logical outworking another gospel (Gal. 1:7) and hence to be rigorously rejected. It is propagated only on pain of anathema (Gal. 1:9, cf. Rev. 22:18).

The Work of the Holy Spirit

On the face of it, it would seem that a literal millennium also undermines the effectiveness of the work of the Holy Spirit. As I understand it, Christ sent his Spirit into the world to apply his finished work or accomplished redemption to all subsequent believers “till the work on earth is done” (1* This is part of the refrain of the gospel song “There is a Redeemer” by Melody Green.) and the number of the elect is complete (Rev. 6:11, cf. Rom. 11:25f.). As Paul asserts in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 (cf. Eph. 1:20-22; 1 Pet. 3:22) our Saviour rules from his heavenly throne putting everything in subjection beneath his feet (cf. Mt. 28:18). There is no suggestion that the work of the Spirit requires supplementation by means of a literal millennium. Again I conclude that addition means inevitable subtraction.

Transformation

Fourth, the NT makes it clear that the incarnation involved the transformation of the Word of God from previous glory (John 1:1f.,14; Phil. 2:6; 1 Tim. 3:16). In order to achieve as man for man the purpose of God, Jesus, the second Adam, had to be born of woman, that is, made flesh (Mt. 1; Luke 2; Gal. 4:4) as a true son of the first Adam (Luke 3:38), but only for a little while (Heb. 2:7,9). In the words of Paul, he had to empty and humble himself in order to take on the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7f.). But once he had accomplished his mission and proved victorious in the flesh (cf. Rom. 8:3, etc.), it was necessary for him as flesh to undergo transformation once more (cf. John 20:17; 1 Cor. 15:51ff.) – back to the divine glory and perfection he had enjoyed before (John 17:5,24). For flesh and blood can no more inherit the kingdom of God than the impermanent (corruptible) can inherit the permanent (incorruptible, 1 Cor. 15:50). Thus, at his ascension, he was transformed and passed through the heavens (Heb. 4:14) permanently separate(d) from sinners (Heb. 7:26) and made perfect forever (7:28; Eph. 4:10). Like his heavenly Father, on whose throne he sat (Heb. 1:3; Rev. 3:21), he ruled in the world to come (Eph. 1:20-22; Heb. 1:6; 2:5). It is at this point that Jesus’ full humanity and divinity coincided (cf. John 10:30); the divine had permanently assumed the human. In heaven the throne is that of the God and the Lamb (Rev. 5:13; 6:16; 7:10,17).

Retransformation Excluded

From this we are forced to draw certain conclusions. First, Jesus will never be flesh again. To be so he would have to enter his mother’s womb again (Luke 1:35, cf. John 3:4). But this, even if it were necessary or possible, would mean that his mother who, like David, experienced corruption (Acts 2:29) would also have to re-enter the womb of her mother who has also been subject to corruption. Thus we are involved in a process of regression which cannot logically terminate till the earth itself has been re-created. But where does a literal millennium fit into this scenario? The question hardly requires an answer.

Second, if Jesus has now regained the glory of God he shared before the foundation of the world, he cannot dwell on the earth (1 K. 8:27; Acts 7:49f.). In view of this it is not at all strange that Paul denies his return to earthly corruption in any form (Acts 13:34). (2* See further my No Return To Corruption, No Going Back. This belies Ladd’s assertion, p.236, that the consummation means nothing less than the descent of the heavenly Jerusalem to earth, a contradiction in terms if ever there was one. He refers to Revelation 21:2 which fails to mention earth at all – not surprisingly, since it has already passed away as 20:11 and 21:1 indicate. Ladd then informs us that God will finally visit men to transform a fallen order and dwell among men on a redeemed earth. This is a clear indication that his thinking is governed by the worldview of Augustine, on which see my The Biblical Worldview, Worldview. He seems to have forgotten that God visited the earth briefly, Heb. 2:7,9, in Christ not to redeem it but men from it, cf. my Escape! Earth by its very nature is visible, temporary and corruptible. It is therefore paramount for us to be rescued from it as the Israelites were from Egypt.)  When he returns (3* I become increasingly convinced that the term ‘return of Christ’ is overworked and misleading. While acknowledging that Jesus himself says he will come again (palin erchomai, John 14:3, cf. Acts 1:11; Tit.2:13, etc.), the word parousia strictly means presence and, according to Dunn, is never used in the NT in the sense of return, p.296 n.11. In light of the fact that Jesus tells his disciples that he will be with them to the end of the age, Mt. 28:20, the other two words used in this connection with the second advent, epiphaneia or appearing and apocalypsis or revealing, suggest that his present invisibility will give way to visibility, cf. Michaels in comment on 1:7 in WBC 1 Peter, 1988, p.32, at which time creation will flee away, Rev. 20:11; 21:1, cf. 6:14; 16:20. Clearly, more needs to be said in this connection.) it will be in the glory of the Father (Mt. 16:27; 25:31; 26:64; Luke 9:26) not to deal with sin again (repetition) but to rescue his people (Mt. 13:27; Heb. 9:28; 1 Cor. 15:51f.). He will thus bring them transformed in his moral and generic likeness (1 Pet. 4:6; 2 Pet. 1:4) into the heavenly presence of God as his children (2 Cor. 4:14; Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:18).

Third, Scripture makes it abundantly clear that so far as man is concerned there is a progressive movement from flesh to spirit (1 Cor. 15:46) or from ground to glory. This movement is epitomized in Jesus’ earthly career which ended with his ascension to heaven. Thus, the idea that this process should be reversed when Jesus returns to this earth in the flesh is contrary to the gospel, as Paul makes clear in Galatians 3:3, for example. In any case, Paul banishes the notion in Acts 13:34 where he tells us that Christ’s resurrection (4* I take it that Paul is using the word resurrection in this passage to include ascension, exaltation and heavenly session, as the second part of the verse implies.) precludes any possibility of a return to earthly corruption.

Our Heavenly Call

The initial call of mortal man in Genesis 2:16f. (cf. 3:1-6), which is also implied in Genesis 1:26-28 (cf. Ps. 8:5f.; Rom. 2:7,10; Heb. 2:9; 1 Pet. 1:7), is to gain eternal life and incorruption. This call is strongly underscored in the NT by references such as John 3:16,36, 20:21, 1 John 2:25 and 5:11-13.  Paul (Phil. 3:14; 1 Thes. 2:12), Peter (1 Pet. 5:10) and the author of Hebrews (3:1) also stress that our call is a heavenly call to glory. It is almost superfluous to add in the light of this evidence that Christ is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) which we shall share with God (Rom. 5:2; 2 Cor. 4:17). And just in case we have any illusions that this hope is earthly both Paul (Col. 1:5, cf. Rom. 8:20,24f.) and Peter insist that it is heavenly (1 Pet. 1:3f.). We are thus forced to conclude that an earthly millennium is not on the horizon, and, not surprisingly, believers who have trimmed their lamps go directly to the marriage feast (Mt. 25:10, cf. Luke 20:34-36). (It might profitably be added here that once we are married to Christ, there will be no divorce!)

Sin the Only Problem?

The hidden assumption of premillenialism, like so much of Western theology, is that all our problems stem from sin. Thus, it is almost universally held that the sin of Adam brought death not merely to himself but to the entire universe! The sin-obsessed Augustine, whose erroneous thinking still governs us even in the 21st century, failed to recognize that, as Genesis 1:1 implies, a temporal creation is necessarily subject to corruption (cf. Ps. 89:47). God made it that way in hope (cf. Rom. 8:18-25). The truth of this is underlined by the paradox of Jesus himself who on the one hand as a man of dust, a true son of Adam (Luke 3:38), had a beginning, grew older (Luke 2:41ff.; John 8:57) and hence was ready to vanish away (2 Cor. 4:16; Heb. 8:13), but on the other hand possessed indestructible life (Heb. 7:3,16). In other words, as flesh, a product of the corruptible earth, he was necessarily mortal even apart from sin; it was only as spirit that he was immortal and incorruptible. So while he died in the flesh, he continued to live in the spirit (1 Pet. 3:18) which he committed to his Father even as he died on the cross (Luke 23:46). To object here that Jesus did not see corruption after his death but rose again in the flesh is beside the point. In dying for others he was not earning wages on his own account. His resurrection, which demonstrated the efficacy and validity of his death on our behalf (Rom. 4:25) and clearly underscored the return of his spirit to his lifeless body (cf. Luke 8:55; James 2:26), did not obviate the necessity of his ascension, transformation and glorification (John 20:17). For how else could he inherit the eternal blessings promised to David (Acts 13:34, cf. Luke 1:32f.).

The premillennial assumption seems to be that Christ must return to earth to demonstrate man’s dominion subverted by Adam’s (imputed) sin and a universal curse on the earth. But as has already been made clear, the victory of Jesus as the second Adam over a sinful world and a recalcitrant creation was representative and does not require repetition. A literal millennium achieves nothing that has not already been achieved. Christ’s work was both a finished and victorious work (John 16:33; 17:4f.; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5,12f.).

The Kingdom of God

Fifth, Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). In light of this he did not pose a political threat to the rule of Rome. Pilate seemed to be convinced by this, though many of Jesus’ followers were not (cf. John 6:15; Acts 1:6). In any case, the kingdom of God to which Jesus frequently refers is in Matthew’s gospel usually designated the kingdom of heaven wherein righteousness dwells (Mt. 5:6,20; 6:10,33, cf. Rom. 14:17; 2 Pet. 3:13).

When reflecting on the kingdom, it is vital for us not to forget that Jesus was a Son of David who was promised eternal rule (2 Sam. 7; Ps. 89). Luke tells us that the Lord God will give  Jesus the throne of his ancestor David and that his kingdom will be endless (1:32f.). Apart from other teaching along the same lines (e.g. Acts 2:34-36; 13:34; 15:16f.), it is hard indeed to see how Jesus can (cf. Acts 7:49f.) and why he should return to reign on a temporal earth.

The author of Hebrews also lays stress on Jesus’ heavenly rule (1:6; 2:5) and priesthood (5:6; 7:17). In both cases their everlasting or eternal nature is underscored, as it had been long before in 2 Samuel 7:13 and Psalm 89:27-29,36f. (cf. Luke 1:32f., etc.). Since this is so, a temporal earthly rule of a mere thousand years is not on the horizon.

This Age or the Age to Come

This raises the question of the age to which the millennium belongs. As we have just seen, it cannot occur in the eternal age to come. And since dormant sin re-appears at the end of the thousand years when the devil is released, it must belong to the present age. This of course should be evident from the fact that the saints are in the flesh which derives from a temporal earth. Again, however, we are confronted with a re-incarnated Jesus. Just how he can be flesh again after ascending transformed to his Father in heaven without, as suggested above, re-entering his mother’s womb is more than a little difficult to explain. (It might be remembered at this point that some premillennialists argue that 1 Corinthians 15:50 refers only to sinful flesh. Behind such thinking seems to lie the Augustinian idea of an originally perfect and hence immortal Adam!)

But this by no means brings our difficulties to an end. For if Jesus and the saints who like David have already seen corruption are going to return to earth in the flesh, then they are also going to be subject to aging and corruption once again. One premillennialist writer whose book is on my shelves avers without batting an eyelid (on video) that Jesus is going to return in the flesh just as he was when he ascended, and still 33 years old! While he apparently recognizes that in heaven Jesus’ aging process was suspended despite his still being in corruptible flesh (!), he fails to realize that once he comes back to earth his biological clock will begin to tick again. Since this is so, at the end of the millennium Jesus will be 1033 years old, putting Methuselah, who was only 969, in the shade. Even if, however, we reject the notion that individuals such as Adam, who is clearly both individual and community, achieved such stupendous ages, there will inevitably be marriage and birth during the millennium (contrast Luke 20:34 and cf. Heb. 7:23). I humbly suggest this is a highly unlikely scenario. As I shall insist further below, apart from the fact that an intermediate earthly kingdom is unknown to Scripture, the very idea is based on a fundamental misconception. But in any case, we are yet again faced with the problem of repetition. If the literal millennium is all it is said to be, then Jesus’ victory in the flesh (John 16:33; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:9, etc.) prior to his death and resurrection is an illusion. On this assumption, Paul should never have written Romans 8:31ff. (cf. Rev. 3:21, etc.).

Perfection

As intimated above, it is Augustinian theology that forms the background of premillennial thinking. Augustine fostered the notion that God originally created the world and its inhabitants Adam and Eve perfect and as a result had to posit a calamitous fall and a consequent cosmic curse. But the idea that creation was originally perfect is belied by the very first verse of the Bible. Only God is perfect and he has neither beginning nor end (Isa. 57:15, cf. Heb. 7:3). While heaven is his throne, earth is his footstool (Isa. 66:1; Mt. 5:34f.). In light of this it comes as no surprise that the Creator and his creation are distinguished throughout Scripture (Ps. 90:2; 102:25-27; 103: 15-17; Isa. 40:6-8; 51:6,8; Heb. 1:10-12, etc.). The one is to be worshipped but the other not (Dt. 4:19; Rom. 1:25, etc.). Perfection (maturity, completion, Jas. 1:4) is the goal of man made in the image of God (Lev. 11:44f.; Mt. 5:48); he alone of all flesh has both the vocation and the concomitant capacity to attain to the divine likeness and be perfected as Jesus himself was (Heb. 2:10; 5:9; 7:28). The material creation, like the flesh, is a law to itself and achieves its own fleeting perfection before its ultimate demise.

The Perfection of the Creature

So far as man’s flesh is concerned, it achieves perfection (maturity, completeness) in this world. As the lamb becomes a sheep, so a baby becomes a man or woman. Then in accordance with the law of its creation (Rom. 8:20) it declines in subjection to its natural  corruptibility and entropy (2 Cor. 4:16, cf. Mt. 6:19f., etc.). On the other hand, what is spiritually perfected (Heb. 2:10; 5:9) remains perfect forever (Heb. 7:28), while the imperfect passes away (cf. 1 Cor. 13:10). Acts 13:34 apart, I conclude that Jesus’ return to a corruptible earth is out of the question. Perfection once achieved does not return to imperfection. Retrogression in Scripture is a sin (Dt. 24:16; Jer. 7:24, etc.), while progression to spiritual maturity seen in terms of both destiny and destination is of the essence of the gospel (Eph. 4:8-16; Col. 1:28; 4:12; Jas. 1:4). As intimated above, Paul makes this especially clear in Galatians. While in 1 Corinthians 15:46 the apostle indicates that man moves from flesh to spirit (and from law to Spirit, Rom. 7-8), in Galatians 3:3 he remonstrates with those who seem intent on reversing the process. After being born again by the Spirit, ending in the flesh is inherently contradictory. Again in 4:9 and in Colossians 2:20 he is implicitly saying the same thing. Going back results inevitably in curse and death as it did in the wilderness (Jer. 7:24; 1 Cor. 10:5; Heb. 3:17, etc.); going forward leads to blessing and life (Jer. 32:39-41; 1 Pet. 2:11f., etc.). Spiritual and corporeal (somatic) perfection are attained in heaven not on earth.

Augustinian Theology

It is one of the ironies of history that premillennialists who are so hotly critical of Augustine’s opposition to chiliasm are nonetheless so profoundly governed by his worldview. (See further my Worldview, The Biblical Worldview.) They readily accept the traditional but radically unscriptural dogmas of original perfection, Fall, original sin and a universal curse on creation, yet it is precisely these that give rise to what they see as the need for a millennium. Once these are excised, as they should be, from our thinking, no amount of exegetical ingenuity and hermeneutical expertise will elicit a literal thousand-year millennium on this earth. The entire Bible is opposed to it. Or is it?

Covenant Theology

This brings us to covenant theology. As I have described elsewhere, many years ago I ran into trouble trying to understand traditional covenant theologies and eventually concluded that both the Reformed and the Dispensational varieties were flawed. It is impossible to go into detail here, but one of my main conclusions was that while old and new covenants are to some degree ethically continuous, they are nonetheless essentially different or discontinuous (cf. my Covenant Continuity and Discontinuity).  The old covenant is oriented to this material world and not unnaturally emphasizes the rule of law which, being transient and provisional (2 Cor. 3:11, etc.), operates only so long as the world exists (Mt. 5:18, cf. Rom. 7:1). The new covenant relates essentially to heaven (cf. Mt. 6:10) or the world to come and remains forever (Mt. 24:35). It existed here on earth only as a promise (Jer. 31:31-34) until it was inaugurated, like the kingdom of God, by Jesus (cf. 2 Tim. 1:10). It is essentially spiritual and is dictated by the Spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 3).

If this is so, it is almost inevitable that premillennialists, especially those of the dispensational variety, who are governed by a literal interpretation of the OT entertain the largely materialistic hopes of the OT. Even a scholar of the calibre of G.E.Ladd, a classical premillennialist who rejected dispensationalism, was earth-centred in his eschatology. Like so many others, he was conditioned by the Augustinian worldview. He failed to recognize that this material world, of which man in the flesh is a part, was created temporal (Gen. 1:1) and naturally corruptible but in (invisible) hope (Rom. 8:18-25). Thus the plan of salvation involves our escape from it (Gen. 2:17, cf. Rom. 8:20,23). This present (temporal) age must give way to the (eternal) age to come. And since we, the children of dusty Adam (Ps. 103:14, etc.), are incapable of meeting the condition of our escape, that is, a sinless life in the flesh (Gen. 2:17; Lev. 18:5; Dt. 32:46f. Ezek. 33:15, etc.), it has been achieved for us by Christ (Rom. 8:3). Our own undeniable sins (Rom. 3:23; 5:12; 6:23) have been covered by his death and we are saved by his life (Rom. 5:10).

The plain truth is that the old covenant is spiritualized in the new covenant. An obvious example of this is the non-literal inheritance of Abraham in Hebrews 11. (Strictly speaking, it is literal as opposed to allegorical, spiritual as opposed to material. Like the temple, it is real or true as opposed to shadowy.) The city or land he looked for was invisible and therefore  heavenly (Heb. 11:8-16; 12:22; 13:14, cf. Phil. 3:20). Like Jesus’ kingship (John 18:36), it was not of this creation (Heb. 9:11). The tragedy of premillennialism is that it attempts to pour new wine into old wineskins with the result that the significance of the true gospel is largely lost (Mark 2:21f.).

Biblical covenant theology points to another matter of basic importance. I have argued at some length in my Covenant Theology, Covenant Theology in Brief (cf. Did God Make a Covenant with Creation? Covenant Continuity and Discontinuity, that proper study of the Bible evinces three dispensational covenants affecting the race – one each respectively with Noah, Moses and Christ (cf. Rom. 1-3). While the first two continue to operate in this world, they are inherently provisional pending the end of history and of the material creation (cf. Mt. 5:18; Rom. 7:1). Only the Christian covenant is permanent (Mt. 24:35, cf. the promissory Abrahamic and Davidic covenants). But it needs to be recognized that since the individual recapitulates the history of the race, these covenants are miniaturized and epitomized in the individual, not least in the second Adam who is thereby fitted to become universally representative (cf. 1 John 2:2). This is made especially plain in Galatians 4:1-7 where Jesus is shown to be first a child or slave of nature (Gentile), second, a son of the commandment (Jew), and, third, the beloved Son of his heavenly Father and archetypal Christian (Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). (So far as Paul himself was concerned, see Romans 7-8.) If this is true, on premillennial presuppositions we ought to expect a mini-millennium in the life of Jesus himself. But we do not. What we do see is increasing opposition and hostility culminating in his death. And we see precisely the same in the eschatological experience of his people as a whole, as non-millenarians (amillennialists) have frequently testified. All of us go through (the) tribulation in one form or another (Acts 14:22, cf. Gal. 5:16f.; 1 Pet. 2:11). But those who are alive at the end of the present dispensation can expect not a golden age but persecution of a particularly vicious kind when evil achieves its own maturity or perfection (Gen. 15:16; 1 Thes. 2:16; Rev. 13). And with the rejection of the gospel in the West and intense opposition to it elsewhere, one cannot help but wonder if that end is drawing close (Rom. 13:11—14). One thing is clear: nature itself is beginning to manifest more obvious birthpangs than usual (Mt. 24:8). (Not to mention recent earthquakes and tsunamis, I write this on a day when Victoria in Australia in the grip of drought is ablaze.)

Conclusion

On the basis of my preunderstandings of the Bible, a literal thousand-year millennium under the rule of Christ in the flesh and on the earth is out of the question. It reflects a basically unbiblical worldview and anthropology. Furthermore, it is an addition to Scripture which Scripture itself severely condemns (Rev. 22:18). It should be rejected out of hand and its devotees called on to repent on pain of divine judgement (cf. Gal. 1:6-9).

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ADDITIONAL NOTE on Historic Premillennialism

Since writing the above I have read with immense interest and profit A Case for Historic Premillennialism, ed. Blomberg and Chung. Short of writing an extended separate critique along the lines of the above, I here append some comments on Gnostic dualism.

On page 129 Donald Fairbairn in a fine essay on Contemporary Millennial/Tribulational Debates tells us that at the heart of Gnosticism lies a profound dualism which he apparently regards as false, though see my Biblical Dualism.  He maintains that it surfaces in four crucial areas.

First, he says it leads to the idea that the material world is evil and unredeemable. This however, from a biblical point of view is false logic, since from Genesis 1:1 the Bible depicts the material creation not as evil but as intrinsically temporal and corruptible (Ps. 102:25-27; Isa. 51:6; Mt. 6:19f.). Furthermore, to infer from this that salvation applies only to the soul and not to the body is again to err. Scripture clearly teaches the redemption of the body (Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:45-49) but certainly not of the flesh which derives from the naturally corruptible (Rom. 8:18-25), visible and temporary (2 Cor. 4:18) material creation which is destined for destruction (cf. 1 Cor. 15:50; Heb. 12:27, etc.).

Second, Fairbairn says that Gnosticism denigrates history. Perhaps it does, but to draw the conclusion from the destruction of the material creation which is clearly taught in the Bible that the panorama of history played out in the physical world is of little consequence is quite misguided. After all we are judged by the deeds we do in the body! The world is the testing ground in which we as those who are created in the image of God are called to exercise dominion (Gen. 1:26-28, etc.) with a view to our ultimately becoming children of the resurrection. Jesus as the second Adam achieved his victory on earth and in so doing ensured our own triumph (Heb. 2:6-13).

Third, Fairbairn contends that Gnosticism leads to a distinction between two competing gods – the lesser, material god of the OT and the higher, spiritual God of the NT. In the Bible, however, God is the God of both testaments. For all that, there is no denying that the old covenant in contrast with the new relates primarily to this material earth and to the flesh (Mt. 5:18; Heb. 7:16; 9:8-10 contrast Mt. 24:35, etc.). As scholars regularly point out the OT people were more earthly than heavenly oriented (e.g. Bruce, pp.298f.,339; Ladd,). Both Paul and the author of Hebrews insist on the limitations and defective nature of the law which, like the creation itself, is temporary and provisional (see e.g. 2 Cor. 3:11; Heb. 7:18f.).

Fourth, while it may be true that Gnosticism implicitly harbours a docetic view of Christ, this is not true of the Bible which clearly emphasizes the reality of the incarnation. If Jesus did not conquer in the flesh as the second Adam (Rom. 8:3), then he did not conquer at all (Heb. 2, etc.). But it must be promptly added that his victory in the flesh led not merely to his physical resurrection from the dead but to his transformation ascension and return to former glory (John 17:5,24). As Irenaeus, despite his premillennialism, once said, he became what we are so that we might become what he is, and that is certainly not corruptible flesh, which would make nonsense of  Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58.

As intimated above, the problem with premillennialism of whatever hue is, first, its Augustinian worldview and, second, its lack of an adequate covenant theology.

(See further my essays on the redemption of creation and original sin including A Brief Critique of ‘Surprised by Hope’ by Tom Wright, A Brief Review of ‘The Mission of God’ by C.J.H.Wright. Note also Romans 8:18-25, Covenant Theology, Manufactured Or Not So, The Corruptibility Of Creation, Spiritualisation, The Biblical Worldview, Worldview, Did Jesus Rise Physically From The Grave?, Thoughts on the Redemption of Creation, etc. )

Note:

Christians are a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9) who rule on the earth (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). They also rule in heaven with Jesus (Rev. 3:21; 20:4,6, cf. 1 Cor. 6:2f.). The thousand years of Revelation 20 is clearly the Christian dispensation and there is no evidence whatsoever of an intermediate kingdom which in any case serves no discernible purpose. Christ has already conquered (John 16:33; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5, etc.). Already in the process of putting his enemies under his feet, he is heading for the grand finale or consummation.

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References:

Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung, eds., A Case for Historic Premillennialism, Grand Rapids, 2009.

F.F.Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Grand Rapids/London, 1964.

J.D.G.Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, London/New York, 2003 ed.

G.E.Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, 1974.

J.R.Michaels, WBC 1 Peter, 1988.