Today, in our series of 31 studies in The Story, we have come to the end, which, in some ways, is only the beginning. In reviewing Revelation 21 I was struck by verse 5, "He who sits on the throne said, 'Behold, I am making all things new.'" Note that he says, "all things new, " and not "all new things." There is some continuity implied. This led me to look at what all of these "things made new" might be. And this led me to a much deeper appreciation of what must be included when we hear Jesus say, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you" (Lk 22:20). Here, in brief, is the journey that I took through the New Testament looking at these "things made new."
It begins at the end. In Revelation 21:2 we see a new Jerusalem, the holy city, that encompasses the entire world of God's people and in which there is no evil.
Just before that we see in Revelation 21:1, "A new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and first earth have passed away, ...". Here is the location of the new Jerusalem -- a new heaven and a new earth.
A new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem require a different kind of resident. Thus, we have Paul saying in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "if anyone is in Christ he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." To be this new creature, Jesus said, requires a new birth. As he told Nicodemus, "You must be born anew (again, from above) of water and the Spirit" (Jn 3:3,5).
And this results in a new name. In Revelation 3:12 the Son of Man, the Lord of the church, promises: "He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God .... I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem. And I will write on him my new name."
It was to make all of this possible that Jesus gave us a new covenant. The nature of a covenant is to bind together two or more parties. In the new covenant we are bound together with God and with one another. Thus, the Lord's supper becomes a "communion," a "participation," a "fellowship."
And in this fellowship all of these "things made new" are already upon us. Already we are "new creatures in Christ." Already we are residents of and have a foretaste of the new heaven and new earth and of the new Jerusalem. All because in our baptism we have said yes to the new covenant provided for us by the one who said, "this cup is the new covenant in my blood which is shed for you."
This calls for a celebration. Lets do it now as we partake of the Lord's Supper.
