THAT THE CREATION ITSELF ALSO WILL BE SET FREE FROM ITS SLAVERY TO
CORRUPTION: hoti kai aute e ktisis eleutherothesetai
(3SFPI) apo tes douleias tes phthoras: (2Pe
3:13)
But according to His promise we are
looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells
(see note
2 Peter 3:13)
Set free (1659)
(eleutheroo = the ending " -oo"
means not only will it be set free but it will be seen as set
free) means to cause someone (in this case some thing, the creation) to
be freed from domination of the corrupting effects of Adam's sin. The
picture is that of the emancipation of slaves. The idea is that the one
set free is at liberty, capable of movement, exempt from obligation or
liability, and unfettered.
Eleutheroo
is used 7 times in the NT - Jn. 8:32, 36; Rom. 6:18, 22; 8:2, 21; Gal.
5:1
In the future
Christ will reveal the sons of God in their glorified state and at that
time God will remove the curse from His creation.
Until the Spirit
is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness (specifically
referring to the land of Israel but applicable to the entire world at
the time the Redeemer returns to Zion at the end of the
Great Tribulation
and beginning of His
Millennial Reign)
becomes a fertile field and the fertile field is considered as a forest.
(Isaiah 32:15, see notes
Romans 11:26)
(At the return of
the Redeemer described above God says) I will pour out water on
the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My
Spirit on your offspring, And My blessing on your descendants And
they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water.'
(Isaiah 44:3, 4)
And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will
be the only one, and His name the only one (At the beginning of
Messiah's
Millennial Reign).
10 All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south
of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from
Benjamin's Gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner
Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's wine presses. 11 And
people will live in it, and there will be no more curse, for Jerusalem
will dwell in security. (Zech 14:9, 10, 11)
When will Christ redeem the earth. First, observe that the price of
redemption to set all captives to sin free was paid for in full by
Christ on Calvary, when He became our
Goel
or
Kinsman Redeemer.
This redemption began to be realized for us as believers on the day of
our salvation (set free from the guilt and power of sin) and will
culminate in the future when we are glorified (set free from the
presence and even the pleasure of sin).
As far as the redemption of the creation and specifically planet earth,
this process begins will begin to be effected when the Lamb takes the
Seven Sealed Scroll from the Father, this Scroll almost certainly
represents title deed (Rev 5:6, 7, 9, 12, 13-see notes
5:6,
5:7,
5:9,
5:12,
5:13).
Remember that now planet earth is held by a "squatter" so to speak and
his name is Satan. God has given Satan temporary right and might over
earth, the right and might which Adam forfeited when he sinned.
We know that we are of God, and the
whole world lies in the power (exousia = right and might) of the
evil one. (Satan) (1Jn 5:19)
The "squatter" has
authority only temporarily for Jesus prophesied (in the context of
alluding to His coming crucifixion) that...
Now judgment is upon this world (On
one hand the judgment refers to Christ as bearing the believer's sins
and the judgment they deserved and on the other hand is judgment upon
all who reject His bearing their sins and who will suffer their own
judgment). Now the ruler of this world (Satan) shall be cast out.
(Jn 12:31)
And so when the Lamb Who Alone is worthy to open the Scroll, breaks the
first seal (Rev 6:1-note), He sets in motion the events of Revelation
(chapters 6-19) which culminate in the Second Coming of Christ as King
of kings to set up the promised Messianic Kingdom on earth. (Re 19:11,
15, 20:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, - see
notes on
19:11,
19:15,
20:1,
20:2,
20:4,
20:5,
20:6)
William Newell comments...
Now although we who are in Christ are
new creatures, yet God has left our bodies as the link with the present
“groaning” creation. Meanwhile, how “the bondage of corruption” appears
on every side! Death—are not all creatures in terror of it, seeking to
escape it? Every decaying carcass of poor earth-creatures speaks of the
‘bondage of corruption.” What ruin man’s sin has effected throughout the
creation, as well as upon himself! It was God’s good pleasure, that when
man sinned and became estranged from his God, all creation, which was
under him, should be subjected to the “bondage of corruption” along with
him, in decay and disease and suffering, death, and destruction,
everywhere,—of bondage, with no deliverer. (Verse
by Verse)
Spurgeon comments that...
Everything here is blighted, and
subject to storm, or to decay, or to sudden death, or to calamity of
some sort. It is a fair world, but there is the shadow of the curse over
it all. The slime of the serpent is on all our Edens now.
Corruption
(5356) (phthora
from phtheíro = to destroy by means of corrupting, to spoil as
does milk. Ethically phtheiro was the opposite of
sozo) refers to a
state of ruin or destruction with the picture of deterioration,
dissolution, disintegration, ruin, perishing, decay or rotting like organic matter
(breakdown of organic matter). Phthora was sometimes used of decaying
food, which turns from that which is beneficial to that which is
harmful.
The basic idea of phthora is not a sudden destruction owing to
external violence, but a dissolution brought about by internal decay. It
describes decomposition which brings to mind the picture of loathsome
decaying matter replete with maggots and other macabre microbes!
Figuratively the idea is that of the horrible thought of the "rotting"
of one's morals which become more depraved with greater loss of
integrity as a result of "slow internal decay".
Phthora pictures a departure
from the original or from what is pure or correct and aptly depicts the
moral filth and pollution of the world without God! It is the very
opposite of "the divine nature."
Vine comments
that phthora is...
the result of the withdrawal of life
(which alone maintains the physical organism in effective being) is the
dissolution of the body; this process is called corruption, and is
attended by conditions repugnant to the senses of the living. This idea
of repulsiveness is extended to the moral sphere....Apoleia and phthora
signify not the destruction of being but of well-being, not an end of
the existence of a person or thing. (Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
Phthora was used
in Greek to refer to destruction of a fetus and thus to a miscarriage or
abortion (Epistle of Barnabas 19:5), which was said to make the mother
unclean for 40 days. It was used in Greek to describe the ruination of a
person through an immoral act such as the seduction of a young woman.
Peter indicates this
corruption is one of the effects of false teachers upon themselves (note
2 Peter 2:12) But
these,
like
unreasoning
animals,
born as
creatures of
instinct to be
captured and
killed,
reviling
where they
have
no
knowledge, will in the
destruction {phthora}
of
those creatures
also be
destroyed {verb form
phtheiro}].
Phthora
is used 7 times in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Exodus 18:18, Daniel 10:8). Here are some of the uses in the OT
Greek...
Psalm 103:4 Who redeems your life
from the pit (pit in Hebrew = destruction, decay as in Ps
16:10 and in several context pictures a state of death, in some context
to Sheol - Job 33:24, Ezek 28:8) (LXX= phthora
= corruption!). Who crowns you with
lovingkindness and compassion
Isaiah 24:3 The earth will be
completely laid waste (LXX=
Greek literally reads corrupted [phtheiro] with corruption [phthora]!) and completely despoiled, for the LORD has spoken
this word.
Daniel 3:25 He answered and
said, "Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the
fire without harm (LXX= phthora
= corruption!), and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the
gods!"
Jonah 2:6 "I descended to the roots of the mountains. The earth with its
bars was around me forever, But Thou hast brought up my life from the pit
(pit in Hebrew = destruction, decay as in Ps 16:10 and in several
context pictures a state of death, in some context to Sheol - Job 33:24,
Ezek 28:8) (LXX= phthora
= corruption!), O LORD my God.
Micah 2:10 "Arise and go, For this is no place of rest Because of the
uncleanness that brings on destruction, a painful destruction (LXX= phthora).
There are 8 uses of phthora in the
NT...
Romans 8:21 (note) that the creation itself also will be set free from its
slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the
children of God.
Comment: Corruption is here viewed as a evil power which effects all
of creation as a result of Adam's sin in
Romans 5:12) Vine comments that phthora
is used in the New Testament either
of decay and death, in the physical sphere (as here and in 1Cor 15:42,
50; 2Pet 2:12), or of moral degeneracy (as in Col 2:22; Gal 6:8). The
phrase “bondage of corruption” is taken by some in an objective sense,
as signifying bondage which produces corruption, by others subjectively,
as the bondage which consists in corruption. The latter seems to be the
meaning -
Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E.
Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is
the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is
raised an imperishable body... 50
Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the
kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
Comment: Here phthora describes that which is subject to corruption, perishing
or decay and stands opposite aphtharsia - that which is incorruptible or
imperishable.
Galatians 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh
reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from
the Spirit reap eternal life.
Comment: No one would bother to
harvest a field of decaying matter. The deeds of the flesh are
always corruptive and can only make a person progressively worse. The
ultimate corruption is eternal death, the wages of sin. John Stott
writes that
Every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse
a grievance, entertain an impure fancy, wallow in self-pity, we are
sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious
influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we
ought to be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature,
every time we take a risk that strains our self-control we are sowing,
sowing, sowing, to the flesh --
The Message of Galatians. Inter-Varsity Press.
1984.
Colossians 2:22 (note)
(which all refer to things destined to
perish with the
using)-- in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men?
2 Peter 1:4 (note) For by these He has granted to us His precious and
magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
by lust. (Here phthora describes the total destruction of an
entity).
2 Peter 2:12 (note) But these, like unreasoning animals, born as creatures of
instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no
knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be
destroyed. (Clearly phthora here is used in an ethical sense and refers
to moral decay.
2 Peter 2:19 (note)
promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of
corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.
(Here it refers to a general inward depravity)
INTO THE FREEDOM
OF THE GLORY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD:
eis ten eleutherian tes doxes ton teknon tou theou: (Ro
8:19; Rev 22:3, 4, 5)
Freedom (1657)
(eleutheria from eleutheros = free, at liberty, capable of
movement, exempt from obligation or liability, unrestrained; see study
of verb form
eleutheroo) describes
the state of freedom, independence, liberty freed from domination, in
context domination of the corrupting effects of Adam's sin.
The idea is that the one set
free is at liberty, capable of movement, exempt from obligation or
liability, and unfettered. The creation is pictured as a slave who
have in a moment has been given freedom and is now capable of movement
and exempt from obligation to a harsh taskmaster, free to move
unfettered.
Eleutheria
- 11x in the NT - Rom. 8:21; 1 Co. 10:29; 2 Co. 3:17; Gal. 2:4;
5:1, 13; Jas. 1:25; 2:12; 1 Pet. 2:16; 2 Pet. 2:19
Children
(5043)
(teknon) emphasizes family relationship based on regeneration, while
"sons"
(huios) stresses legal standing.
Teknon literally refers to those who are "born ones" and in the
plural refers to descendants, to posterity or to children. Here teknon
is used figuratively to refer to those who have by grace through faith
been born (again by the Spirit - John 3:5, 6, 7, 8, Eph 2:8, 9-note)
spiritually (Jn 1:12, 1Jn. 3:1, 2, 10; How can we be certain we are
children of the Living God? = 1Jn 5:2). Believers
also are God's children (tekna = “born ones”) by the new birth (Jn 1:12,13
1Jn 3:1,2).
The Holy Spirit bears testimony to our human spirit that we are children
of God (teknon), without article, thus, children of God by nature), and
our Spirit-energized spirit thus joins the Holy Spirit in a
joint-testimony to that fact.
The glory of
the children of God - (see
Table comparing Rapture vs Second
Coming of Christ) This refers to the time when all believers are
glorified (future tense salvation - see
Three Tenses of Salvation).
This is the day that creation
anticipates for it is the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom
from death and decay.
There are two stages of setting creation free. The first stage begins
when Messiah returns to reign in
the Millennium.
(Click
The
Millennium 3
for a
Scriptural description -- primarily by the OT prophets -- of this
1000 year time Messianic Age on earth). The second stage follows the
1000 year Messianic
age,
the Millennium,
when God will create “a new heaven and a new earth” as John records in
Revelation 21...
And I saw a new heaven and a new
earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there
is no longer any sea.
(see note) And I saw the
holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready
as a bride adorned for her husband. (See notes
Revelation 21:1;
21:2)
John adds in the
next and final chapter of the Revelation...
And there shall no longer be any
curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His
bond-servants shall serve Him and they shall see His face, and His name
shall be on their foreheads. (See notes
Revelation 22:3;
22:4)
Peter
describes this time writing that...
But according to His promise we are
looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
(See note
2 Peter 3:13)
William Newell comments...
Into the liberty of the glory of the
children of God—As Paul shows we already have liberty in Christ,—the
liberty of grace. The “liberty of the glory of the children of God”
awaits Christ’s second coming. How blessed it is to know that into that
glorious liberty, creation, which has shared “the bondage of
corruption,” will be brought along with us!
Contrast the state of creation now with the Millennial order described
in Isaiah 11:6-9: The wolf dwelling with the lamb the leopard with the
kid; the calf, the young lion, and the fatling together, and the little
child leading them. The cow and the bear feeding, their young ones lying
down together; the lion eating straw like the ox; children playing over
the serpent’s hole: “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy
mountain for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the
waters cover the sea.” (Verse
by Verse)
><> ><> ><>
Wayne Barber
summarizes Romans 8:20-21...
You may ask, what
did the plants, the animals, the birds do to deserve "being subjected to
corruption," which means death and decay? We must understand this. It
was all because of man’s sin. No part of nature exists like God intended
it to.
Look again at
Romans 8:20:
"For the creation was subjected to
futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in
hope."
Now, again, he
doesn’t tell us when it was subjected to futility, but we already know
when. Romans 5:12:
"Therefore, just as through one man
sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread
to all men, because all sinned."
Notice that it
says, "creation was subjected." It did not subject itself. God Himself
subjected it. It’s interesting to me that so many environmental agencies
are making noble attempts to turn the tide of corruption that has
devastated both man and his environment since the fall. But, it will
never cease until the Creator, who subjected it, removes the curse and
creates a new heaven and new earth.
"Futility"
is the word mataiotes, emptiness, that which is vain. The idea of
the word mataiotes is the idea of being without success, of being unable
to achieve a goal or purpose. You see, because of man’s sin, no part of
nature now exists as God intended it to be, and as it originally was.
This is a cursed
world we live in, yet in spite of that, God’s glory and beauty are still
seen in it. Look back to Romans 1:20:
"For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they
are without excuse."
So "the creation
was subjected to futility, not of it’s own will." The word here is
hekon, not voluntarily, not willingly. The word for "not" is
ou, which means "not in any way" willingly.
"But," the verse
goes on, "because of Him who subjected it." Again, God subjected it.
Why? Because of man’s sin. Subjected comes from the word
hupotasso, to subordinate. God Himself subjected it to the impossibility
of ever getting better on it’s own.
All this happened
because of man’s sin. Why? Read verse 21, picking up the last two
words of verse 20,
in hope, that the creation itself
also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of
the glory of the children of God."
"In hope"
is the word elpis, which carries the meaning of confidence,
expectation. So you could translate it "certain hope"—hope that
is never uncertain. Just as man’s sin brought corruption to the
universe, man’s restoration to righteousness will be accompanied by the
restoration of the earth and it’s universe to their divinely intended
perfection and glory. We can be certain of that.
Will be set
free is the word
eleutheroo.
We have seen this word before in Romans. It carries the idea that, not
only will it be set free, but it will be shown to be free. Everyone will
know it.
God will set it
free. There will come a time when the creation will be fully restored to
its desired perfection and glory. Free from what? From its "slavery
to corruption."
The word here for
"slavery" is douleia, which indicates any kind of bondage.
"Corruption" is phthora, that which is perishable, that
which decays. Again, all of nature is in a current that is heading into
corruption and seems to be on tiptoes waiting for the event when the
sons of God are revealed.
Martin
Lloyd-Jones made this wonderful insight
I wonder whether the phenomenon of
the Spring supplies us with a part answer. Nature every year, as it
were, makes an effort to renew itself, to produce something permanent;
it has come out of the death and the darkness of all that is so true of
the Winter. In the Spring it seems to be trying to produce a perfect
creation, to be going through some kind of birth-pangs year by year. But
unfortunately it does not succeed, for Spring leads only to Summer,
whereas Summer leads to Autumn, and Autumn to Winter. Poor old nature
tries every year to defeat the "vanity" of the principle of death and
decay and disintegration that is in it. But it cannot do so. It fails
every time. It still goes on trying, as if it feels things should be
different and better; but it never succeeds. So it goes on "groaning and
travailing in pain together until now." It has been doing so for a very
long time.... but nature still repeats the effort annually. But, it will
be set free one day from this corruption "into the freedom of the glory
of the children of God."
