For the last few months we have been discussing the belief that God is creating a new world. The One who is seated on the throne has promised, “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). We’ve seen how this is an extension to the original promise to Abraham when God told him, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). And now we find ourselves in the middle of this unveiling reality of the kingdom of heaven fully manifesting on earth. 

We are living in the days after Christ has already completed the work necessary for the total salvation of the whole world. And yet, we still see so much unfinished business. Still, it will be good for us to remember that ultimately it is God’s promise that He will make all things new, not us. Yes, He wants us to be a part of healing the nations, but the heavy lifting is ultimately done by Him. We can do our small part with simple things like giving a cup of water to a little one (Matthew 10:42). 

Colossians chapter 3 gives us great insight into the nature of the gospel and the new world in Christ.  Paul starts off by saying, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God” Colossians 3:1). Paul is sharing a core part of his theology by saying we have been risen with Christ. It is the same thing he explains in Ephesians chapter 2:5-6. 

The reality is, the whole world was created through Christ. Paul said this earlier in the book of Colossians when he wrote, “All things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17). Loving the ones He created, He carried the whole world to the cross to die for the sins of mankind. This is why Paul could confidently say, “One has died for all, therefore all have died” (2 Corinthians 5:14).  

But because we are still in the middle of God’s promise to make all things new, people need to wake up to what Christ has done, and be baptized in order to completely and publicly identify themselves with the death and resurrection of Christ. This is what brings it to life. This is how the mystery of Christ is revealed in flesh and blood. It’s humans giving their lives to the One who first gave His. It’s saying yes to be married to the One who offered His hand in marriage at the cross. 

We are not physically resurrected yet. When Christ appears in His second coming, then we will receive our new physical glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50-55). Paul warned us to not teach that we’ve already been physically resurrected. This can confuse and wreck the faith of people. He wrote to Timothy, “Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:17-18). 

But on the other hand Paul does teach that we have already been spiritually resurrected with Christ, meaning our entire way of life, mind, emotions, and even physical healing has been resurrected to new life in reconciliation with God (Ephesians 2:5-6; Colossians 3:1). Just as Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, so are we. And so we get to experience the real love of the Father. That’s the reality that the church gets to live in. And in that place, living like men and women who are seated in heaven but living on earth at the same time, we are ushering in the new world of Christ.