The Biblical Metanarrative of Work: Creation, Fall, Redemption, & New Creation
Thomas Pollock Anshutz, “The Farmer and His Son at Harvesting” (1879)
The following is a brief bird’s-eye view of the biblical material that I will be discussing in future posts.
CREATION
· Humanity was made in the “image” of God and is given a mandate to work the earth and care for it. (Genesis 1:27-28)
· In Eden, work and rest is in proper balance. God works and rests, and in so doing, establishes the pattern for humanity. (Genesis 2:1-5)
· God has designed that society’s provision comes through work. We all have an important role in the functioning of a flourishing community. Through our work, we find our meaning and purpose in the world. (Isaiah 28:24-29)
THE FALL
· The ground has been cursed so that success in work is no longer a guarantee. As a result, our work can feel futile. (Genesis 3:17-19, Jeremiah 12:13)
· Also, our tenuous relationship to work leads us either to despise work or idolize work. Like everything else in life, in the fall, our relationship to work became seriously disoriented. (Proverbs 21:25, Ecclesiastes 4:4)
· The fall opened the door to slavery and other forms of exploited labor because if you covet great things but don’t want to do the labor yourself, you use the labors of others to get it for yourself. (James 5:1–5)
GOSPEL REDEMPTION OF WORK
· The victory of Christ gives us the opportunity to restore our relationship to work by conforming our hearts to God’s and empowering us by his Spirit. (Colossians 3:23–24 , Titus 2:14)
· This Spirit-empowered work is not pointing back to Eden, but rather to new creation.
WORK IN THE NEW CREATION
· The eternal state is not a nonmaterial existence floating amongst the clouds – it is earthy. In fact, it is the earth resurrected. (Rom 8:18-25). In the new creation, we will not sit around as passive consumers, but instead we are told that the “kings of the earth will bring their glory” (i.e. their human and cultural achievements) into the new Jerusalem. Isaiah says we will build houses, plant vineyards, and our labor will not be in vain – we will long enjoy the work of our hands in the new heaven and new earth. (Isa 65:21-23) This is not merely Eden restored, it’s Eden fulfilled. In God’s work of new creation through Christ, our relationship to the work of our hands is fulfilled.