He Came to Make All Things New

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. – John 1:1-3

Jesus, the Word, was there at the beginning. Eternally existing as Triune God – the Father, Spirit, and Son – created the world and all of its inhabitants. Not a single grain of sand or strand of hair was created that He didn’t speak into existence.

Jesus dressed Adam in flesh before He had worn it Himself.

He watched as Adam and Eve sunk their teeth into the forbidden fruit. Their sin formed a chasm between man and God, but He’d already formed a plan of reconciliation. Even as He drove them from the garden and put them under a curse, He was preparing to come to earth. Someday, He would go to another garden, a place called Gethsemane, and He would obey where Adam failed. He would redeem us from the curse, by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13).

He would restore the gift of heaven and earth.

For millennia, He waited. Generations of prophets pointed to the coming Messiah, paving the way for His arrival. Isaiah prophesied: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel – “God with us.”

700 years later, Isaiah’s prophesy would finally be fulfilled. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). Jesus, who first created man in His likeness, humbled Himself and was born in the likeness of man (Philippians 2:6).

The God who birthed the world into existence, filled the womb of a young Jewish woman. The King of the Ages descended from His throne to lay in a lowly manger. To be with us.

Jesus’s birth marked a new beginning. As the firstborn over all Creation (Colossians 1:1) and the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18), he came to make all things new. This wasn’t just a future promise, but an immediate reality for anyone who turned to Him for salvation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Sin created separation between man and God, a chasm that we could never fix on our own. But God so loved the world that he orchestrated a way of salvation.

Jesus came to fulfill the law that Adam broke and redeem the world that Adam lost. He put on flesh and blood, so that He could spill his blood as the final sacrifice for sin. Stretched upon a cross, His dying words, “It is finished!” sealed the promise of our redemption. Immanuel, God with us, made a way for us to be with Him forever.

Questions to Consider:

1. How does this passage point to the divinity of Christ?
2. What does it mean for Jesus’ followers to be a new creation?
3. How can you strive to grow in humility? Why is humility central to Christlikeness?
4. Consider the prophesies Jesus fulfilled. How does this deepen your faith in his future promises?

Author’s note: This devotional was first posted in an advent series for my church.