Reclaiming Genesis by Melvin Tinker

Author:Melvin Tinker [Tinker, Melvin]
Language: eng
Format: azw
Publisher: Lion Hudson
Published: 2010-08-19T16:00:00+00:00

The passage in Romans 8:19–21 is highly significant and has been taken by some to mean that things such as disease and natural disasters are themselves the result of the fall, which implies an absolutely perfect world before the fall: “The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” This would run counter to William Dumbrell’s argument, to which we referred in chapter 1: “If we look at the available scientific evidence we find there is nothing to support the notion of a perfected creation from which there has been a subsequent falling away or deviation.” So how is it to be understood?

C. F. D. Moule has commented that Romans 8:19–21 means that “man is responsible before God for nature. As long as man refuses to play the part assigned him by God, so long the entire world of nature is frustrated and dislocated. It is only when man is truly fitting into his proper position as a son in relation to God his Father that the dislocation of nature will be reduced.”53 What we see in the person and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ is a restoration of that “glory” which is yet to be fully revealed and in which his followers will share. For example, in Mark 4:39 we have the episode of Jesus calming the storm, in which the disciples respond, “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him!” This has often been taken as evidence of the deity of Jesus, by reference to Psalm 89:9, which addresses Yahweh: “You rule over the surging sea; when its waves mount up, you still them.” While it is no doubt indicative of deity, may it not also be indicative of what man was originally meant to be and do under God, fulfilling the creation mandate of Genesis 1:28 in subduing the earth? Here in Mark 4, Jesus, the Son of Man, is exercising stewardship over the earth. He is the one who thus fulfils Psalm 8, according to Hebrews 2:6–9:

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.