I am making everything new, (Rev. 21:5).
Did you know you live in an old order? That is what the Book of Revelation calls the present fallen world we live in. The old order is a place where suffering, evil, pain, mourning, and death surround us on a daily basis. The problems of the world, and the problems of individual men and women in the world are the product of being fallen people living in a fallen world. The good news is that one day the old order is going to pass away. Today’s text informs us that there will be a new order, and in that new order Jesus promises that he will make everything new. For those who look forward to living with Jesus forever, three “new things” about the new order jump out in the Bible.
One day, those who live in the new order will actually get a new body. When you are twenty, such a promise might not mean much unless you suffer from a physical handicap. But around fifty years of age, the promise begins to take on new significance. The classic text on the new body is found in I Corinthians, chapter fifteen. Paul lists some of the characteristics of the new body in that passage. He says it will be glorious, incorruptible, and fit for the heavens. So if yours is falling apart…take heart!
We also can look forward to a new mind. The Bible says that we will “know fully, even as we are fully known.” Scientists tell us that we use less than ten percent of our brain’s ability. This fact was the basis for the movie “Lucy” that is in theaters as I write. I’m not sure we would all use our brains in the way Lucy does in the movie (which I haven’t seen). I’m actually quite sure we won’t since this new mind will be in perfect harmony with the mind of Christ. In this life we periodically have experiences where we tap into the mind of Christ. In the new order, we will always be able to tap into it. We will have a nine-hundred percent experience of mind expansion.
A third new “thing” we can anticipate is a new spirit. Our spirit is a lot like our mind. We currently experience what the Bible calls the “first-fruits” of the Spirit. What if our spiritual capacity is only functioning at a ten percent level? That would mean that our most intense spiritual experiences are only one-tenth what they will be in the new age. That is probably why David wrote that in God’s presence is “fullness of joy”, (Psalm 16:11).
One of my favorite cars I owned was a 1967 VW 21-window microbus. It was amazingly cool! It was also amazingly slow! Those old VW engines had the capacity to blow up a bit too easily. As a result, VW engineers installed “governors” on the engines. When you hit a certain rpm, your engine was kept from revving any higher. This restrictive device was installed for the good of the engine. I think that is what God has done with our bodies, minds, and spirits. Living in this old order, we can’t handle one hundred percent capacity without “blowing up” or making a mess of things. But one day, Jesus will make all things new. On that day, there will be a new you and a new me. And a new heavens, and a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. I’m convinced our minds can’t even imagine what that is going to be like. After all, they are only working at ten percent of their capacity!