Creation and Consummation: The Church as the Goal of History

About the Author

S.E. Wang is the Cofounder and Director of Theological Content for the Center for House Church Theology. A sixth generation Christian from Beijing, China, he received a Master of Arts in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary.

Creation and Consummation: The Church as the Goal of History

So God created humanity in his own image,

in the image of God he created them;

male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

—Genesis 1:26-31

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

—Revelation 21:1-5

Working from a redemptive-historical framework grounded in biblical theology, Edmund P. Clowney described the church in trinitarian terms that corresponded to the three persons of the Trinity: “the people of God,” “the body of Christ,” and “the fellowship of the Spirit.” (1)

This study presents the church as the goal of redemptive history, enriching our understanding of ecclesiology. In light of God’s will and the chronological progression of his plan for creation, I will attempt to explore eschatology, which is rooted in his creational design, by examining Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22. Moreover, by relying on a holistic doctrine of creation supported by an eschatological framework, I will attempt to find unity between the doctrine of creation and soteriology and between anthropology and ecclesiology. From this I will show that the church is not only the goal of history but the final humanity (2), the ultimate fulfillment of God’s original design for creation. The church is humanity made in the image and likeness of God who forever represents his sovereign rule. The church is the goal of history. 

The Ultimate Goal of Creation: Creational Eschatology

In the realm of Christian theology, the doctrine of creation is often derived almost entirely from the first two chapters of Genesis. Although the literary narrative structure of Genesis is framed in a chronological sequence, the narrative itself was not written merely to record the chronological sequence of creation but to highlight the creation of humanity, who is the center of all of God’s creation. Humanity is the object of God’s will. From a theological perspective, anthropology is at the center of the doctrine of creation.  

Humanity Is the Center of Creation

There are seven creation narratives in Genesis 1, and the creation of humanity in verses 26-31 is the longest of them. In these six verses, God reveals the structure of the relationship between God and man and between man and creation through the revelation of his will for creation, through his acts of creation, and through his commands to man (and to all other created things). As the Creator of all things, God possesses supreme authority, and man, as one made in the image and likeness of God, must submit to God on the one hand and represent him on the other, faithfully using the authority God has given him to exercise dominion over the whole earth and everything in it, which God has entrusted to him. This is the will of God in creating all things and in creating humanity. 

Genesis 1:26-31 can be divided into three sections. The first section, verse 26, reveals God’s self-revealed will and purpose for creation. The second section, verses 27-30, record the specific acts of creation that God performs in order to accomplish said plan. Verse 27 describes God's specific work of creating man. Verses 28-30 record God’s direct commands and instructions to man (and to humanity), further clarifying how God will complete his work of creation. Humanity accomplishes God’s ultimate will for creation by accepting the mission God has given him, actively obeying his commands, and executing his plan—being fruitful and multiplying, filling the earth and subduing it, and exercising dominion over all things. The third section, verse 31, contains God’s appraisal of creation.

Humanity is Made in the Image of God

Compared with the previous six creation narratives, verses 26-31 are unique. In verse 26, God, as the agent of creation who is issuing commands, does not authoritatively speak forth the object of creation and create through his words. Instead, he speaks to himself and shows up from a subjective point of view to reveal his will and purpose for creating man—namely, to create people in his own image and likeness. God’s revelation of himself as “us” and the phrase “our image and likeness” point to a corresponding personal relationship between God and created human beings. The One who was in the beginning speaks and creates another being in his image, after his likeness. God, through his own appearance, reveals his will for a created being whose likeness corresponds to his own, foreshadowing the appearance of another. This structure does not appear in the previous six creation narratives, nor is this possible.   

Looking at this entire verse, we can see that God will make a whole humanity (“them”) according to “our image and likeness.” Humanity as a whole is the image and likeness of God. As a community, humanity accomplishes the work of exercising dominion over the earth and all things. When we talk about the image and likeness of God, we often mean man as an individual, but the way verse 26 is written as a whole reveals that this “image” and “likeness” refer not just to individual men but also to humanity as a whole. The three-in-oneness of God corresponds to the many-in-oneness of humanity. Therefore, humanity exercises dominion over the earth like God. 

God’s Purpose for Creating Humanity: Exercising Dominion

The purpose for which God created humanity was to give them the authority and mission of exercising dominion over “all the earth” and over all living creatures (verses 26 and 28). The structure of verse 26 places humanity in a position between God himself and other creatures and gives him the responsibility to rule (authoritatively) over all things. This is the purpose for which God made man. Although it does not state it directly, the words “image” and “likeness” in this sentence imply a few things: 

1. Only those who possess the image of God have the ability to exercise dominion; 

2. The creation of humanity and his exercising dominion over the earth and all things are the specific manifestation of his having the image and likeness of God; 

3. The fact that humanity exercises dominion over all things because he is “like” God demonstrates that he exercises dominion as a representative of the Creator of all things; 

4. Because he has the image of God and has been given authority by God to rule over all things, humanity should submit to the authority and rule of God as all other things do and fulfill the mission he has been given.  

God Created a Community to Bear His Image

Verse 27 summarizes the specific creative act that God performs in order to accomplish his will to create people. On the one hand, the chiastic structure of the first half of the verse emphasizes again the prominent position that humanity enjoys as being made in the image of God. On the other hand, it further reveals that the image of God includes both male and female. As humans, both men and women in their essence possess the image of God. In this sense, there is no difference between the sexes. At the same time, it reveals the equally important but often overlooked truth that not only does a single human (male or female) possess the image of God individually, but the community formed by the union of man and woman also possesses this image on another level. (3) As a created being possessing the image of God, man is both an individual and a community. 

God’s plan in verse 26 to “make man in our image, after our likeness” is related to “in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” in verse 27 and “God blessed them…and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth’” in verse 28. In other words, God’s eternal will and plan for creation revealed in verse 26 is accomplished in three steps: 1) God himself actively creates man and woman; 2) God blesses them; 3) God commands them to be fruitful and multiply that they might fill the earth. Through God’s specific act of creating humanity in his image, the word “creation” takes on a double meaning. It can narrowly refer to God’s own personal act of creation ex nihilo, namely the “work” mentioned in Genesis 2:2-3. But it can also more broadly refer to the completion of all of his creative works mentioned in verse 26, including his active works and his commands to humanity (to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth”), as well as his image-bearers’ obedience to and fulfillment of these commands. In this sense, “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” is one aspect of the broader meaning of God’s creation. It is the specific way in which he creates man in his own image and likeness. God actively commands humans on the one hand, and humans actively obey on the other. By actively obeying God’s commands through biological and cultural “fruitfulness,” humanity “subdues” the earth as God’s representative and accomplishes the goal of both their own creation and God’s creation of humanity and of all things.  

God and Humanity Will Accomplish God’s Purposes Together

The first half of verse 28 has a similar structure to verse 22, which records the blessing of God and his command to creation—“be fruitful and multiply.” (4) One detail that is different is that God ’s command in verse 28 contains the indirect object “God said to them”—Adam and Eve, while verse 22 lacks an indirect object (“God blessed them, saying…”). Moreover, in the second half of verse 28, God speaks to Adam and Eve in the form of a command, repeating his will for creation mentioned in verse 26—that they would actively exercise dominion over all things. In the Bible, the content of the first personal interaction between God and Adam and Eve concerns accomplishing God’s plan for creation, and it takes the form of a command. This is very revealing. If we compare this with the previous six creation narratives, we can see that this unique and crucial personal interaction between God and man is a special characteristic of man’s being made in the image of God, and it is the result of his special status. When God, who actively creates, gives a command to another agent who can also actively create, this demonstrates a kind of personal cooperation. (5)

When the one actively creating and commanding speaks to the one who bears his image, he presupposes and looks forward to his creation listening to him and acting on his words. At the same time, it is a person’s duty, as the created image of God, to listen to and obey him. It is also the completion and fulfillment of that image. God’s active, creative work, together with his commands and humanity’s continual, active obedience to this mission, fulfill God’s creation mandate.  

The Eschatological Tension in Creation

Within the entire plan and sequence of God’s creation revealed in verse 26, there is a gap between humanity exercising dominion over the earth and ruling over all things on the one hand, and God’s active work of creation on the other. 

God’s direct act of creating man and woman does not fully accomplish the entirety of his will for creation (i.e. to create a whole humanity in his own image and likeness and exercise dominion over all things and rule over the whole earth). This gap must be filled in by humanity through his active obedience to and completion of God’s commands throughout history. Created men and women must work together with God to accomplish his will for creation.

This plan for creation has been partially but not completely fulfilled. It is the responsibility of God’s image-bearers to complete this work over time through active obedience. This creates a tension that is in essence a kind of personal cooperation that takes place in time and space. This tension points to the historical end of God’s plan for creation as revealed in verse 26—the ultimate fulfillment of his will for creation. It is here where eschatology begins to emerge. The tension we find in God beginning to accomplish his will for creation but not yet fulfilling it, and the tension we find in the personal cooperation between the creator God and his created image-bearers through his commands to them, both create a kind of perpetual tension that we can refer to as eschatological tension. It is also a kind of existential and ethical tension. From this, we can see that eschatology is deeply rooted in God’s creation and originates from God’s unfulfilled will for creation. The reason eschatology exists is because the work of creation is not yet complete. 

God’s Continual Provision for Humanity

In order to enable humans and all things to fulfill God's commands (creation and dominion), verses 29-30 specify what blessings God gives him—material provision. This important aspect of creation also creates boundaries around humanity’s dominion and power. If God gives vegetables and fruit to man to provide for his physical needs, how does he provide for the spiritual needs of those made in his image and likeness who will actively obey his commands? This provision repeatedly appears in verses 28-30—God leads them by his own presence and word. Through God’s presence and word humanity understands the will of God. The God who reveals and commands in verse 28, the God who calls Adam and Eve “them,” meets them face-to-face in verse 29 and directly addresses them as “you,” becoming an intimate, personal friend. From out of the heart of the “us” who appear in verse 26 comes God’s beloved “you.”

Even though God’s process of creating humanity is very different from his previous six creations, the Bible still uses the same phrase to conclude them: “and it was so.” God said, “Let there be,” and there was. He commanded, and it was so. When God sets his heart on doing something, he accomplishes it, regardless of how he does so. When God examines all of his creation in verse 31, he says it is “very good,” even though the final scene depicted in verse 26 has not yet become reality, because everything rests in his will and will develop in accordance to his plan.

Genesis 2:1-3 summarizes the entire creation of heaven and earth from the first chapter. After God completes his direct acts of creation, the seventh day begins—and it is very different. On the seventh day, God no longer engages in direct creation ex nihilo. He rests from his work. From then on, it is created people who must, under God’s blessing, actively obey him and complete his work of creation. In this sense, people—the image and likeness of God who by obeying God accomplish his plan for creation and dominion—are the resting place of God. God rests because people will continue God’s work. God rests among people as we work, and people work while resting in God. 

The Garden of Eden: Humanity’s Birthplace and Nursery

The structure of Genesis 1:26-31 provides us with a more detailed and dramatic description of creation in which humanity is completely at the center. It highlights God’s presence and meticulous care for humanity. Genesis 2:4-25 gives another account of God’s work of creation mentioned in Genesis 1:27-30, this time focused on the garden of Eden.  

God’s Provision

God places man in his own carefully prepared garden and supplies him with ample provision (verses 8-14). Beautiful trees cover the garden, satisfying his aesthetic needs and producing fruit to sustain him. The garden contains a water source, a river that nourishes the garden, as well as gold and precious stones. All of these things symbolize abundant provision. Verses 8 and 15 both state that the Lord placed man in the garden of Eden. Verses 9-14, sandwiched in between them, highlight the richness of the garden. 

More importantly, the garden of Eden is the garden of God. It is essentially like a tabernacle or temple in which God dwells. God places humanity in his own dwelling place, his own home. God’s home is humanity’s home.

Humans: Keepers of the Garden

Corresponding to God's active work of creation is his image-bearers’ working and keeping of the garden (verses 15-17). One key aspect of working and keeping the garden is guarding the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” It must not be eaten, and the one whom it must be guarded from is man himself. Because of God’s command, humans play the dual role of both guardians and (potential) trespassers.  

The garden of God is not only a place where humanity is fed and grows up. It is also a land to be worked and guarded. Under God’s providential care, the garden is a protector of humans, and it is also protected by humans under his dominion. At the same time, as humans guard the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they are also guarding their own humanity, which bears the image and likeness of God. In fact, this is the most important thing that Adam and Eve guard in God’s garden. 

From a creational perspective, mankind’s protection of created humanity and of God’s garden, and his obedience to God’s commands, are God’s way of protecting him through the realm of creation. This personal, cooperative, and loving relationship is revealed in space and time through the fulfillment of specific commands to protect and obey. God, the garden, and people, created in the image and likeness of God become a kind of guarded community. Will people protect their place in this community, or will they separate from it? Will they trust and obey the God who created them, who provides for them, and who commands them, thus becoming obedient guardians? Or will they disobey God’s will and become trespassers of the garden? In light of God’s commands in Genesis 1:28-30 and the eschatological tension of creation, the command in Genesis 2:16-17 and people’s capacity to choose force them to make a decision: will they become guardians who accomplish God’s will and purpose for creation, or will they leave it all and become traitors? Verses 16-17 significantly increase the eschatological tension of the doctrine of creation.

The garden of Eden is also where Adam begins to practice exercising dominion (verses 19-20). He exercises this authority in God’s intimate presence and under his guidance. His naming the animals is an expression of his authority. 

A Partner and Praise

Verses 18 and 19b-25 are the song of man. This song begins with God. God creates a woman to complete the creation of humanity, and after he creates woman, man sings a song that echoes throughout the universe and ascends upward into worship. God has now completed his creation of humanity—man and woman, who will produce all of humanity and who bear within them the enormous potential of all humanity. The song the man sings in response to his wife gloriously reveals their interpersonal relationship. It expresses elation, celebration, and joy. Moreover, their predestined union into one flesh reveals the archetype of the image and likeness of God himself, and thus they themselves become a kind of praise to God. (6) Man’s helper appears in order to accomplish God’s will for creation. The two rejoice in each other and exult in God. Humanity, created in the image and likeness of God, in the end becomes a kind of oration and praise to God, fulfilling God’s will for creation in Genesis 1:26. 

Against the backdrop of God’s plan in Genesis 1:26, the end of Chapter 2 creates great suspense and tension, further enriching the eschatological nature of creation. Will humans obey God's command to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth,” thus fulfilling God’s creational plan in Genesis 1:26? Will they guard the tree of the knowledge of good and evil according to God’s command and become guardians of God, the garden, and humanity? What will humanity in its final form look like, and what will their dominion over and protection of the earth and all things look like? 

In chapter 3, Adam and Eve forsake the “community” of God, the garden, and mankind, and go from being guardians to trespassers. They exile themselves, sewing loincloths to cover their nakedness and hide from God, abruptly ending the expectations of chapters 1 and 2. In the end, under the judgment of God, they are driven out of God’s garden and leave the face of God. From then on, after chapter 2, humanity falls from the paradise that once resounded with the song of man into a world of dust void of the presence of God. A civilization built by humanity in which God is not present can never become an eternal city of glory. At most, it can only be a temporary shelter in the darkness outside the city. 

What will become of God’s image bearers? Can God's will and plan still be accomplished? Will the “it was so” proclaimed in Genesis 1:30 ever truly be a reality? It is here where redemptive history, originating from God’s unfailing love, begins. (7)

The Consummation of God’s Creation in the Book of Revelation

The doctrine of creation depends not only on the first two chapters of Genesis but also on the last two chapters of Revelation, especially Revelation 21:1–22:5. The first and last chapters of the Bible complete the entire creation narrative. The former highlight God’s will and plan for creation, describe his first creative acts, and record the commands he gave to those made in his image and likeness that they might complete his work of creation. The final two chapters of the Bible reveal an eschatological picture of the consummation of God’s plan for creation. They are a continuation of the song of man described at the end of Genesis 2, a song which turns into eternal worship of God. These chapters also give exceeding hope to men living in this present eschatological tension. The importance of the last two chapters of Revelation to the doctrine of creation has long been largely ignored. These chapters should be considered just as important for understanding creation as the first two chapters of Genesis. 

The Complete Arrival of the Eschaton: The Consummation of Creation

Genesis 1:1: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” corresponds to Revelation 21:1: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” The word “new” (καινός) in the phrase “a new heaven and a new earth” corresponds to the word “first” (πρῶτος, which can also be translated as “initial”). It is “new” in an eschatological sense. This eschatological "newness" comes in the form of a vast “heaven and earth,” which reflects God’s original creation. This signifies the final and complete arrival of the eschaton and the ultimate completion of God’s original creation. Before the Fall, the phrase “in the beginning” points to an “end.” And after the Fall, we see the hope of “newness” (a “new heart,” a “new spirit,” a “new day,” a “new creation,” etc.). These expectations are finally realized in the eschatological arrival of the “new heaven and new earth.”

The Complete Fulfillment of Salvation

Within the context of the “new heaven and new earth,” John sees a vision that is revealed to him: “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Rev. 21:2). A voice from the throne then explains the meaning of this revelation in clear terms: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people” (Rev. 21:3). The “dwelling place of God” refers to the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from God. That holy city becomes God’s final tabernacle, his final abode, his final resting place. Compare the phrase “he will dwell with them, and they will be his people” with verse 7: “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” These verses unquestionably reveal the ultimate fulfillment of the covenant of grace and the complete arrival of what God promised: “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”  

Jesus's incarnation as “Emmanuel” is ultimately fulfilled in the holy city, the new Jerusalem. From then on there will be no more sea, and there will be no more tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain, for salvation has been fully accomplished. He who is seated on the throne says, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5). The “newness” in Revelation does not simply refer to the initial creation and its corresponding fulfillment in the eschaton but also to the complete fulfillment of salvation. 

The New Jerusalem Is the Church Made Perfect

The new Jerusalem is a “bride,” the wife of the “Lamb.” In Ephesians 5, the relationship between husband and wife in marriage points to the mystery of Christ’s relationship to his church. Here, the Lamb is Christ, and the bride—the new Jerusalem—is the church finally perfected. The people whom God chooses throughout the course of redemptive history ultimately become a city. (8)

The fundamental element of this city is humanity. On the gates of the city are written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, and on the foundation of the city walls are written the names of the twelve apostles in the New Testament. Two images come to our minds from these descriptions. One is of the twelve tribes of Israel standing before Mount Sinai making a covenant with God. God will be with them—he will be their God, and they shall be his people. They are a congregation of men and women chosen by God to serve him—a human community that belongs to God. The other image is of Jesus speaking in the district of Caesarea Philippi to his apostles, represented by Peter: “On this rock I will build my church.” The New Testament church is a congregation that belongs to Jesus Christ, and it has both continuity and discontinuity with that Old Testament congregation. It is a people set apart through the person and work of Christ on the cross on the basis of God’s redeeming work and revelation in the Old Testament. 

What God creates through his work of salvation in the Old and New Testaments is a human city descended from and belonging to heaven. This holy city built on the complete twelve tribes and twelve apostles is a complete humanity. This image in essence points to human community. This holy city of equal length, width, and height is in essence the most holy place of the Old Testament where God rests (1 Kg. 6:20). It is a temple city. But there is no temple in this city, for the Lamb is its temple, the dwelling place connecting God and man. On the one hand, the holy city and the most holy place are united. All sin that separates humanity from God has been completely eradicated, and true sanctification has been accomplished. On the other hand, the Word has become flesh—divinity and humanity have been united in the person of Christ. God is with man. The complete union of God, the holy city, and humanity have become a community that is no longer separated or divided. God will rest forever in the midst of his people.  

The Final City of Man is the Consummation of God’s Will for Creation

The new Jerusalem is not only the consummation of God’s salvation but the consummation of his will and plan for creation. It is the final city of humanity—of those made in his image and likeness. This city of man is not only a city made up of God’s chosen people. It is also humanity as revealed in God’s will and plan for creation in Genesis 1:26—the fulfillment of the “them” made in “our image and likeness.” 

Only those who conform to God’s image and likeness are true humans. Compare the glory of the Lamb’s bride revealed to John by the angel in Revelation 21-22 with the judgment of the “great prostitute” revealed to him in chapter 17. The great prostitute is united with a beast. She is the great Babylon on earth (Rev. 17:5). The community made up of God, the new Jerusalem, and his people that is represented by the bride in chapter 21 stands in contrast with the community made up of the beast, Babylon, and its people in chapter 17. The former is a glorious city that bears the names of all of its inhabitants (represented by the tribes and apostles). It is clear, bright, and joyful. It is united to God, and its people possess and reflect the image of God. They are the ones whom God had in mind to create. The latter is a city of destruction that is impure, abominable, licentious, and rebellious. It is united to the beast, and the image of God in them is continually diminished until the city falls and becomes a dwelling place for demons (Rev. 18:2). Man is no longer man. God’s choosing and separating of two kinds of people throughout the course of history is both a process of redemption and a process of fulfilling his design for creation. His ultimate goal is to create humanity in his own image and likeness according to his will. The history of redemption is the history of creation. 

All of the elements of the original garden of Eden appear in perfected form in the new Jerusalem.  The garden of God is ultimately transformed into a perfect city of humanity, which is the consummation of creation. The abundant supply of gold and precious stones in the garden are transformed into walls and streets in the new Jerusalem, and they are exceedingly glorious. The river that flowed out of Eden and nourished the garden becomes the river of life that flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The fruit that was pleasant to the sight and good for food becomes the tree of life that abundantly yields twelve kinds of fruit. The leaves that appeared in Genesis 3 and were used to cover humanity’s nakedness become medicine to satisfy their true needs.

However, the command to “be fruitful and multiply,” a subject that appears repeatedly in Genesis and throughout the Old and New Testaments, is not mentioned in the new Jerusalem. The city walls, which symbolize the final human community, measure 144 cubits (which is the number of perfection, 12 × 12), and the saints repeatedly appear in Revelation in an assembly of 144,000. Those men and women whom God had in mind to create—the saints whose names are written in the book of life—have already been created through “being fruitful and multiplying.” God’s command has been accomplished. 

The tree of life that appears in the garden of Eden also appears in the city, but we do not see the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is because God’s command to guard humanity has been accomplished. Humanity has matured and been perfected. In place of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil we see something that did not appear in the garden of Eden: the slain Lamb. He was exiled from the garden into the wilderness, resisted Satan’s temptations, and guarded his own humanity. Through prayer in the garden of Gethsemane he walked to the cross, and on that tree he rescued lost humanity. Then, one morning in a graveyard, he forever perfected humanity through his victorious resurrection. The sinless Lamb trekked through the wasteland of fallen humanity, and through his death and resurrection, through his protection, salvation, and re-creation, he perfected man and turned the graveyard of humanity into a garden of heaven. 

Humanity, now perfected by the Lamb, fully reflects the image and likeness of God: "his name will be on their foreheads” (Rev. 22:4). They will never again leave the face of God: “And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light” (Rev. 22:5). Mankind exercising dominion in the garden of Eden, his working and keeping it, and his naming of the animals are eventually perfected so that man now “reigns” as king and exercises dominion over the whole earth (the new heaven and new earth), and he will reign forever (Rev. 22:5). Now God’s plan for creation is fully accomplished. “He who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true’” (Rev. 21:5). And the statement of Genesis 1:30 is finally fulfilled: “And it was so.”

The Church is the Goal of History

The garden of Eden is the birthplace and nursery of humanity. The new Jerusalem is humanity fully grown and perfected. The end of salvation is the completion of creation. Creation brings forth salvation, and salvation completes creation. 

Within the structure revealed by the first two chapters and the last two chapters of God’s holy Word, creation and redemption do not exist merely as two stages of redemptive history. Rather, they both share the same purpose and goal. They are the same work of God throughout all of history—they are inseparable. Salvation includes re-creation, and creation is accomplished through salvation. Similarly, biblical anthropology and ecclesiology become two inseparable realms of theology, two aspects of the same subject. Anthropology focuses on creation and the Fall, while ecclesiology focuses on the process of salvation and the formation of God’s people. In the realm of anthropology, God’s ideal expression of humanity is the church—men and women in community, and the final, perfected church is a community of men and women created by God. 

The church is the new Jerusalem, the eternal, holy city of humanity. Every local church we see today is the eschatological presence of that heavenly human community. The work of the Holy Spirit is to create a community in the church that reflects that final, perfect human community and that displays the glory of God. The church works together with God the Spirit, not only in the work of redemption but in the work of creation, and creates together with God the everlasting humanity of God’s design. 

The church is not only the goal of redemptive history but the goal of history. The visible churches spread throughout the world today are the new Jerusalem in a historical context. They are the scaffolding of the heavenly city of man. In their essence they are cities of men redeemed to display the glory of that holy city. And through the work of the Holy Spirit, they are continually sanctified as they approach that eternal city, until salvation is finally and completely accomplished. 

At the end of history, the song of man will resound again and echo throughout the farthest ends of creation.  

God is the Alpha and Omega of Salvation. He is the beginning and end of creation. He is the one who, at the beginning of creation, spoke and “it was so.” He is the one who, on the cross, whispered, “It is finished.” And he is the one who, in the end, declares from his throne, “It is done!”

Behold! Creation will be fully consummated. Humanity will be prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. God will dwell with his people, and they will be his resting place. The new heaven and the new earth will resound with the song of man, but this time it will be the woman, the church as bride, who will sing forever: “I at last am bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh.” 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

S.E. Wang is the Cofounder and Director of Theological Content for the Center for House Church Theology. A sixth generation Christian from Beijing, China, he received a Master of Arts in Religion from Westminster Theological Seminary.

Notes

1.  Clowney and Bray, The Church: Contours of Christian Theology. 

2. The word “אָדָם” in Hebrew can refer to humanity in general or to man as an individual. 

3. This point is expressed in Genesis 2:24 when God establishes the most basic communal unit—the family. God’s will is to create both individual men and women who each bear his image as well as a community of humans (humanity), made up of men and women, that bears his image. God’s image and likeness are reflected in humanity on two levels—in man as an individual and in humanity as a community. In other words, the three-in-oneness of the triune God is itself the image of God and is present in created men.  

4. This phrase is identical in the original language in both verses. 

5. This cooperation occurs both between God and humanity and between men and women based on their possessing the image and likeness of God. 

6. All of the beauty that man displays is a result of his being made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, this beauty itself is in essence a kind of praise and worship of God.  

7. There are many rich expositional treatments and theological works regarding the eschatology of Genesis 3. See for example Beale, A New Testament Biblical Theology and Kline, Kingdom Prologue.

8. Many commentators have made this observation. See Beale, The Book of Revelation, 1039–1121; Mounce, The Book of Revelation, 388–98; Osborne, Revelation, 745–67; and Gaebelein, etc., The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 12, Hebrews Through Revelation, 591–98.

Bibliography

1. Alexander, T. Desmond. From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.

2. Bar-Efrat, Shimeon. Narrative Art in the Bible. London; New York: T & T Clark International, 2004.

3. Beale, G. K. A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2011.

4. ——. The Book of Revelation. Reprint edition. Eerdmans, 2013.

5. Clines, David J. A. The Theme of the Pentateuch. Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1997.

6. Clowney, Edmund P, and Gerald Lewis Bray. The Church: Contours of Christian Theology. Downers Grove, Ill: InterVarsity Press, 1995.

7. Gaebelein, Frank E.; Morris, Leon; Burdick, Donald W.; Blum, Edwin A.; Barker, Glenn W.; Johnson, Alan F. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 12: Hebrews Through Revelation. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.

8. Gaffin, Richard B. Resurrection and Redemption: A Study in Paul’s Soteriology. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed Pub. Co., 1987.

9. Kline, Meredith G. Kingdom Prologue: Genesis Foundations for a Covenantal Worldview. Overland Park, Kan: Two Age Press, 2000.

10. Mounce, Robert H. The Book of Revelation. Revised edition. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 1997.

11. Osborne, Grant R. Revelation. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2002.

12. Ridderbos, Herman N. Paul: An Outline of His Theology. Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1997.

13. ——. When the Time Had Fully Come: Studies in New Testament Theology. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2001.

14. Sailhamer, John. The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary. Library of Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1992.

15. Vos, Geerhardus. The Pauline Eschatology. Phillipsburg, N.J. .: P & R Pub., 1994.

This article was first published in Church China magazine.

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