Introduction: As we mentioned in the opening of this service, today is Communion weekend. On the surface, it may seem that a series on the end-times has nothing to do with Communion, but that is far from the truth. In this message, we will see that the Communion has a lot to do with the end-times. As we walk through Romans, we will be talking about Paul’s view of the world, more specifically Creation. Understanding creation is important because it will impact how we see the New Creation in the end of times. Somewhere in it, we will find that Communion is also connected. Today’s message is titled MAPPING HISTORY – 2.
Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.”
Context: Last weekend, we learned about the Romans Debate. It is a technical term used by scholars to understand why Paul wrote the Book of Romans. If you believe, as some scholars do, that Paul wrote the letter to address some situation in the Roman church between the Strong and the Weak (Romans 12-16), then you will understand it a certain way. It will color your perspective of this book. It will also impact its authority in your life. In other words, if the Book of Romans is only for a certain church at a certain place and time, then it is not binding on other churches in other places and times. To the contrary, if you hold that the Book of Romans was Paul’s magnum opus, the summation of his view on the grand doctrine of salvation and the Christian life, then you will understand it in a whole different way. I believe that the answer is somewhere in the middle – Yes, Paul had the Roman church in mind when he wrote this letter to them, but he also had the church at large all over the world, in all places and times, also in mind. A key verse in favor of this both-and view is what we just read – Romans 1:8 “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.” The church in Rome in the first century was becoming famous among Christians all over the world for their faith. Maybe, this was their faith in Christ for salvation. Maybe, it was their faith in God for big things. Maybe, it was their faith in the sense of convictions and boldness in the face of persecutions. We don’t know for sure, but the church in Rome was becoming a model church for all the other churches.
Something else was happening in the church in Rome. There was division in the body between Jewish background believers and Gentile background believers. To understand this, we need a little lesson from history. In AD 49, the Roman Emperor Claudius passed an edict to expel all the Jewish people from the City of Rome. Listen to Suetonius – “As the Jews were making constant disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome.” Here “Chrestus” is more than likely a reference to Christ. After the Day of Pentecost, when many Jewish people placed their faith in Jesus, there was a great backlash from their own people. You see that clearly in how Paul was going about persecuting Christians and how later, when he became an apostle, his Jewish people were coming after him and the churches. Rome was big on peace and order, and this was not going to be tolerated. Interestingly, this expulsion is also mentioned in the Book of Acts 18 1 “After these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.”
So, let’s try to understand the situation of the church in Rome – the first believers there were Jewish background believers. Then, the doors were flung open to Gentile background believers. When there was conflict between the Jewish people and Jewish people who had become believers, two different groups, the rulers didn’t like this. The Roman Emperor Claudius expelled all Jewish background people. Now the church in Rome had only Gentile background believers for a while. After Claudius, when the Jewish background people were back in Rome, the Gentile background people had a sense of superiority towards them. Paul wrote this letter not only to address this situation in Rome but also to address similar situations in churches everywhere in all times. Even though Claudius didn’t expel Christians from Alexandria, Egypt or Athens, Greece, Antioch, Syria, similar things were also happening there. As the church was growing, there were more and more Gentile believers and less and less Jewish believers. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Paul was writing to all believers in all places and all times to understand how their salvation was grounded in the Old Testament but not Judaism. At the same time, this did not mean that God was through with Israel, ethnic Jewish people. That’s where Romans 9-11 come in, but that’s for a later time.
The Book of Romans was written by Paul to educate the Gentile background dominated believers, which he knew would be the future of the church, and he begins with cosmology. Listen to Romans 1 18 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.”We will come back and talk about the wrath of God and how the ungodly suppress the truth in the weeks ahead. For now, I just want to focus on the “ktiseos kosmou” = “creation of the world.” What Paul is mentioning here is known as biblical cosmology (not cosmetology) – both creation and the order of creation. There are other words that Paul also uses, but these are the key ones. This is very important in understanding end-times prophecy. Ernst Käsemann, a famous German theologian once wrote – “The tension between cosmology and anthropology characterizes the whole of Paul’s theology.” In other words, if you want to understand what Paul’s theology was about, it is the relationship between his understand of this creation and his understanding of human beings. Someone (T. J. Lang) added that this tension must be viewed from the vantage point of eschatology. In fact, imagine Paul’s theology as a shoelace and the three sets of holes are cosmology, anthropology, and eschatology. Paul’s theology is lacing cosmology, anthropology, and eschatology.
With that said, there are 4 things to understand about Paul’s cosmology:
- Paul’s cosmology comes from the Old Testament.
Psalm 11:4a “The LORD is in His holy temple, The LORD’S throne is in heaven…”
Psalm 29 3 “The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, “Glory!” 10 The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever.”
This means that the whole cosmos was created to be God’s temple or dwelling place. In this temple, there is God’s glory in creation and also God’s glory in humanity, made in the image of God. Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork…” Psalm 8 3 “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him? 5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and honor.”
Not only creation, as in the Universe and Planet Earth, along with all the creatures and human beings, but God has also created divine beings in his cosmos. They were created to rule his world in truth and justice.
2. Unfortunately, Sin has corrupted God’s cosmos.
Genesis 3 16 To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it’: ‘Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.”
Quick clarification: Old Earth compromises these truths. Young Earth was the view of the Old Testament believers. Also, the whole Flat Earth issue is a distraction.
Not only was creation with human beings fallen, but also many rebelled against God when they joined Satan. Listen to Psalm 82 1 “God stands in the congregation of the mighty; He judges among the gods. 2 How long will you judge unjustly, And show partiality to the wicked? Selah 3 Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4Deliver the poor and needy; Free them from the hand of the wicked. 5 They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable. 6 I said, “You are gods, And all of you are children of the Most High. 7 But you shall die like men, And fall like one of the princes.” 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; For You shall inherit all nations.”
Paul recognizes how these fallen beings try to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus – Romans 8 38 “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
3. There is a Renovation coming.
Isaiah 24. 19 The earth is violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly. 20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, And shall totter like a hut; Its transgression shall be heavy upon it, And it will fall, and not rise again. 21 It shall come to pass in that day That the LORD will punish on high the host of exalted ones, And on the earth the kings of the earth. 22 They will be gathered together, As prisoners are gathered in the pit, And will be shut up in the prison; After many days they will be punished. 23 Then the moon will be disgraced And the sun ashamed; For the LORD of hosts will reign On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem And before His elders, gloriously.
4. Through Christ, the entire cosmos, including us, are eagerly waiting for our total redemption.
Romans 8 18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”
5. In the meantime, the church is the representative of the New Creation to come.
Ephesians 2 19 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”
How about Communion? 1 Corinthians 11 17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. 18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. 19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. 20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper. 21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
1 Corinthians 11 23 “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; 24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. 27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. 28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.” Guess what word that is? Cosmos.
Are you ready for the Communion or are you desecrating the temple of God? Are you saved?