The new creation (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: καινὴ κτίσις) is a concept found in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

and

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

, related to the new life (ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς) and new man (referring to the spiritual rebirth through Christ Jesus) (καινός ἄνθρωπος) but with reference also to the

Genesis creation narrative The Genesis creation narrative is the creation myth of both Judaism and Christianity, told in the book of Genesis chapters 1 and 2. While the Jewish and Christian tradition is that the account is one comprehensive story, modern scholars of ...

In the Old Testament

The theology of new creation arises from the Old Testament. In light of the coming destruction as covenant curses, the prophets also speak of a subsequent restoration afterwards. Among the ways that this restoration is described is through new creation. For example, Isaiah 65:17 (NIV) reads, “See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind." The remainder of the Isaiah 65-66 explore the nature of new creation.

In the letters of Paul

The language of a new creation is not limited to the two verses in the

Authorized King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...

that include that actual phrase (Gal. 6:15, 2 Cor 5:17). Other passages, such as Galatians 6:12-16, 2 Corinthians 5:14-19, Ephesians 2:11-22, Ephesians 4:17-24, and Colossians 3:1-11 present new creation teaching also, without that exact phrase. Other references to the concept include Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." The old, Adamic creation could not be said to be in any sense "in Christ," so this must therefore be speaking of ''new'' creation. Often the themes of the Genesis creation and new creation are contrasted, according to N. T. Wright, in Colossians chapter 1, where the old creation and new creation in Christ (1:15-20) are compared with the new creation (vv. 21–23).

Other New Testament references

The first words of Matthew may also be an allusion to the idea of a new creation, with a

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

in Matthew's word ''genesis'' (γένεσις) between the meanings of "origin", "Genesis" (the first book of Moses) and "genealogy": * Genesis 1:0

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

: The Book of Creation f Moses(Βίβλος γενέσεως �ωσέως * Matthew 1:1

Koine Greek Koine Greek (, ), also variously known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek, Septuagint Greek or New Testament Greek, was the koiné language, common supra-regional form of Greek language, Greek spoken and ...

: The Book of Creation of Jesus Christ (Βίβλος γενέσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ) There are also allusions of new creation in the Gospel of John including: * John starts with the words "In the beginning was the word," mirroring the beginning of Genesis. * Jesus' final words in John are "it is finished" John 19:30, mirroring the words of "completed" in Genesis 2:1. * Emphasising twice that the resurrection events occurred on "the first day of the week" John 20:1,19. * The resurrection of Jesus being the implied eighth sign after seven signs in the Gospel of John, indicating a week of creation and then a new creation beginning with the resurrection. * The resurrection of Jesus takes place from within a garden tomb (19:41) and, upon encountering the risen Jesus,

Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cr ...

initially thinks him to be "the gardener" (20:15). This emphasis on the garden and Jesus being the gardener, may be an allusion to Eden, the garden God planted (Gen. 2:8) to which the first humans were sent to be gardeners. * Jesus breathes on the disciples, saying "receive the Holy Spirit" John 20:22, mirroring God breathing into Adam in Genesis 2:7. References in the other Gospels include: * The story of the two disciples and Luke stating that "their eyes were opened," 24:31, mirroring Genesis 3:7.Wellington Cathedral "Emmaus: Fallible Frightened Friends" April 2012
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References

{{reflist, 2 Biblical exegesis New Testament words and phrases Genesis creation narrative

In the Old Testament

In the letters of Paul

Other New Testament references

See also

References