Creation (is) subjected to futility…

(Romans 8:20)

Paul provides essential revelation in his great doctrinal letter that he hopes will revolutionise the reader’s relationship with his life, but none strikes so hard as the spiritual reality that anything gained and achieved is meaningless and worthless within this creation. The world of men and women, indeed, the earth upon which they tread along with every cosmic body will be destroyed by God. Thus, mortal life is futile, because God subjected his creation to futility.

The Greek word Paul employs mataiotés (ματαιότης) means inutility, i.e. good for nothing; figuratively speaking that which is transient or debased. It derives from mataios, an adjective meaning ‘worthless.’

Of course this is not a fresh revelation, a similar one was given to the Kohelet, the Preacher whom some consider to be Solomon. He opens his thought experiment by immediately giving his conclusion, ‘all is in vain’ (Ecclesiastes 1:2). The Hebrew word hebel, literally a vapour or mist conveys all the same understanding of mataiotés [for more on this see post 1/6/23 entitled Pointless].

And it is important to understand what Paul is revealing, referencing and reflecting on his present circumstances of personal suffering.

As Saul of Tarsus, he was a rising star, destined for greatness. He was born a free man and a Roman citizen, which meant he could travel unrestricted throughout the Empire protected by the full agency of the imperial state. He was a Pharisee and as such sent at thirteen to study under Gamaliel, the greatest teacher of the age. He learned Hebrew (remember, it was not a spoken but ceremonial language) but also Greek and some Latin. He was familiarised not only with the full Scriptures (most only knew the books of Moses and some of the Prophets) but the writings of Plato, Aristotle and other Greek philosophers. He became a member of Greater Sanhedrin as a young man (hence his presence at the stoning of Stephen, when as a junior councillor, he was told to guard their precious coats); doubtless, he would have become High Priest in time. All this then Paul gave up to follow and suffer hardship for Christ. How could he do this? Because God revealed to him that all mortal achievement meant nothing, as seen by the full quotation:

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:18-21)

And it was God that deemed it thus. Creation was debased, corrupted by human rebellion, so while humanity lived, people did so in a broken creation, with lives limited in years and ultimately achieving nothing. But God has made a way into a fresh creation, one free from the corruption debasing the present one, and this means that Paul’s revelation did not discourage him, quite the opposite, it galvanised him to work harder than ever. Even though his mortal circumstances took a distinct turn for the worse on the road to Damascus, he was reborn in a new reality. Thus, he strove not for gaining fame or present glory through advancing his Pharisaic career, but for his and others’ souls; as the soul being the only part of this creation that will not disappear.

And of course, Jesus taught this to his disciples in metaphor:

‘Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.’
(Matthew 6:19-20)

Part of a detailed teaching, known as the Sermon of the Mount, Jesus directly tutored his close disciples to rethink their earthly priorities. To the astonishment of eaves-dropping crowd – and doubtless, the disciples themselves – Jesus tells them this life is not where the reward comes. This is in complete contrast to the earthly blessings offered Israel for obedience in the Law of Moses (see Deuteronomy 28).

Only through Jesus’ obedience, including subjecting himself as the perfect sacrifice would these blessings be realised, but not in the present but a future life. Through faith in Jesus as that way there is a life within a New Creation, one revealed in the Prophets:

“For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
or come into mind.
But be glad and rejoice for ever
in that which I create;
for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,
and her people to be a gladness.
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and be glad in my people;
no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping
and the cry of distress.”
(Isaiah 65:17-19)

One disciple present at Jesus’ extended teaching in the Galilean Hills, John, also shares direct revelation of this:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”
(Revelation 21:1-4)

This earth and all of the present creation ceases to be, and with it any of the achievement of humanity. John also sees this as all is wiped away, hearing the lament over those who now realise the futility of their lives:

“The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your delicacies and your splendours
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”
(Ibid 18:21)

In this same vision, the city of Babylon in all its grandeur is the symbol of this utter failure, and is in contrast to the New Jerusalem. But Babylon is only an analogy for all that humanity created for themselves, and this means nothing to God and so is destroyed along with everything else. Peter, another disciple describes this:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
(2 Peter 3:10)

Jesus revealed in godly majesty will snatch everything away that belongs to mortals, including believers, if they continue to treasure worldly things.

The world cannot be saved or fixed but souls can be restored to God. This is the only labour which will be rewarded, and that through believing Jesus to be God’s anointed. Everything else is futile, without exception. It is not by the achievements of men or women that eternal life is gained, but by only one man, sharing in his achievement is the best all that can do. After meeting Jesus in the spirit, Paul spent the remainder of his mortal life teaching people this, and is rewarded for this by a place in the New Jerusalem. As he wrote to those he ministered to on Philippi:

If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law …
(Philippians 3:4-9)

And it is to be noted that what comes to English as ‘rubbish’ is skubalon σκύβαλον, literally what is thrown to the dogs, but is actually a term for excrement. Paul considered and knew his earthly achievements were dung, compared to anything he did apart from Jesus. That is the message for all believers everywhere and in what little time remains to communicate to the world.