order! His eternal purpose is inextri cably bound up with His plan of re demption. Only through the cross can the kingdoms of this world be come the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ. Our Saviour won the title deed to the universe by virtue of His redemptive work on Calvary’s cross. Verse 20 clearly states that re demption was not a voluntary in volvement. When man lost his head ship and dominion through sin, he dragged the entire creation with him. God would not allow an imper fect man to operate a perfect order. Whatever man touches he corrupts! Beaches and streams are cluttered and polluted by sewage and garbage. Mountains are over-run by greedy land-grabbers. The only restorative for creation is redemption itself. Man will not deal with his sin, even on the basis of Christ’s atonement. Therefore, God will exercise His sovereign prerogative to set things in order in His own way and time. The existential philosophers of our day see absolutely no future for the world. One writer says, “We’re re ceding into an abysmal pit of oblivi on. Civilizations are likely the drag on-fly’s existence. We are no more important and purposive than the one-celled creatures. The Universe is like a great sea of solid jelly; then, on some moon-lit night, the waves disappear and the sun rises on a glassy sea, and all of life has gone! Such is not the Christian’s view point. There was a time when the “morning stars sang together ^and the sons of God shouted for joy. There was a time when every animal was domestic and every tree of the field bore fruit. Today the ocean shells and the night-winds moan their funeral song! Bird-song is in a minor key. Jungles abound with vicious and avaracious beasts. Disease lurks everywhere, even within. Death flows like a flood of lava across the land scapes of the world. Wars, catastro-
with it yet. He is still at work, “per fecting it until the day of Jesus Christ.” There is a practical obligation in view of this coming glory. The greatest institution in the universe is the Church, regardless of the criti cism leveled against it. All of God’s purposes revolve around it. What is the Christian’s obligation in this present hour? Most believers have a very shallow conception of Christian commitment. They get by as conveniently as possible. God, however, operates on a maximum scale. He never thinks of “how lit tle” He can do, but of “how much.” Only those who have been willing to “go all out” for Jesus Christ will find the fulfillment of Romans 8:18. C hapter T wo G od ’ s new order will be preceded by suffering. This is to be ex pected in the Christian life. We are not to shun it. Our Saviour could not avoid the cross and neither can we! We “must reckon that the sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed.” All of creation anticipates its “day of release.” The word manifestation in Romans 8:19 is the same as in Revelation 1:1. It also appears in Co- lossians 3 :4. This refers to the com ing of Christ for His saints. Phillips renders the verse, “The whole crea tion is on tiptoe, to see the wonder ful sight of the sons of God coming into their own.” That is what distin guishes Christian philosophy from evolutionary philosophy. Things aren’t gradually evolving into a bet ter order. Only the coming again of our Lord Jesus Christ will set things right. God is not dependent upon the U.N., the elimination of Communism, peace in Viet Nam, world govern ment, or even the restoration of Is rael, to pave the way for the new
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