8:20
Creation was subjected to futility. This was a deliberate act on the part of God. We read about it in Gen 3, when God cursed creation in response to man’s sin. Creation has not been functioning at its best ever since. So the cursing was deliberate, it did not “just happen”. But it was also done in hope. God knew His plan of salvation from the very beginning, and He knew that the cursing was temporary, it was until the plan of salvation was completed. There is a lot of talk and protests these days about the environment. The best thing that could happen for the environment is for man to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. We should note the Biblical use of the word “hope”. In common usage it usually means something that might happen, or something that we would like to happen. In the Bible it is usually a sure hope, something that is guaranteed to happen.
8:21
When God’s plan of salvation is complete, i.e. when Christ returns and we are all raised or transformed, then creation will be set free from its bondage. Creation will then function precisely as it is meant to function. It will “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God”. Man is absolutely central to God’s plans, because God has ordained it to be that way. Then there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and we will be amazed at the results.
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