This question was the topic of one of our classroom discussions online for my course on the Theology of the Pentateuch.  Much of what follows derives in large part from my work on living as a cultural reconciler.  In response to this question, here is what I had to say:

As one that adheres to the Reformed Tradition, I would say that our efforts in tending to all of creation are rooted in the Creation-Fall-Redemption narrative.  In reference to Redemption, God through Christ not only redeems His elect back to Himself, but the redemptive work of Christ restores all of creation.

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

In Colossians 1.19-20 we read, “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross” (italics mine).  What stands out in these verses is this simple point: Christ not only reconciles people to God through faith in Him, He also reconciles creation itself.

The English verb reconcile (Greek: apokatallasso), is derived from a combination of two words: re – again, and conciliate – make friendly.  When you combine the two together you get “to make friendly again.”  In other words, reconcile carries with it the idea of people being on friendly terms again after a dispute or estrangement.

The context of Colossians 1.20 makes it poignantly clear that Christ redemptive work on the cross is not only applicable to mankind, but to all of creation.  “The ‘all things’ of verse 20 occurs five other times in the context,” begins Douglas Moo, “and in each case the referent is the created universe.”

He goes on to say, “And, of course, in this context, Paul goes on to specify that the scope of ‘all things’ includes things on earth or things in heaven.  The neuter form (Greek ta…ta) and the parallelism with verse 16 make clear that all created things are included” (The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, pgs. 134-135).

The scope of redemption is as great as the scope of the Fall and the effects of sin: it embraces humanity and creation (Albert Wolters, Creation Regained, pg. 72).

The effects of sin have permeated the entirety of God’s good creation and have caused it to be estranged from Him, to the point that it is groaning for restoration (Romans 8.20-22).

The reconciliation of creation has not yet occurred in the fullest sense, in that creation is restored to its original state before the Fall.  The reconciliation of those for whom Christ died and everything in the world will be culminated in His return and completely made right again with God (Isaiah 52.6-10; 65.13, 17; 2 Peter 3.12-13; 1 John 3.2; Revelation 21.1-8, 22).

In the end, tending to God’s creation is a crucial part of the Gospel, for “the meaning of the gospel of Christ is not just an inner question, but also a matter of outward renewal. Its meaning is not limited to the salvation of the soul, but also extends to the body. It is related not only to a new heaven but also to a new earth” (Bob Goudzwaard).

[Question: Is there anything that you would add to this?]

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The following is from Dr. Russell Moore on the pending environmental catostrophe to take place in the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s an excellent piece that I found through Justin Taylor’s blog and Dr. Moore provides an excellent take on Biblical Environmentalism.  You may also be interested in What is Biblical Environmentalism?   

As I type this, I am looking out at the Gulf of Mexico. You could have seen a similar sight out the window of the hospital where I was born, just a few miles down the road here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. Now, though, those waters I grew up with, gently lapping against the sand, are threatening to bring with them millions of gallons of oil, spewing up from an exploded rig out in the Gulf. Five years after Hurricane Katrina leveled this hometown of mine, it is bracing for the worst environmental disaster in the history of the United States.

Some conservatives, and some conservative evangelicals, act as though “environmentalism” is by definition “liberal” or even just downright silly. Witness a lot of the evangelical rhetoric across social media on Earth Day a while back: mostly Al Gore jokes and wisecracks about cutting down trees or eating endangered species as a means of celebration.

Do some environmentalists reject the dignity of humanity? Yes. Do some replace the reverence for creation with that due the Creator? Of course. This happens in the same way some do the same thing with reverence for economic profit or any other finite thing.

There’s nothing conservative though, and nothing “evangelical,” about dismissing the conservation of the natural environment. And the accelerating Gulf crisis reminds us something of what’s at stake.

The incoming tsunami of oil isn’t just about the beaches, although that will be environmentally and economically catastrophic. Just as problematic is the creeping of the oil into the inland estuaries and marshes and waterways. The crisis could potentially destroy the eco-systems of birds, shrimp, oysters, and other lifeforms.

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From John Frame in Christianity and Culture:

As they fill the world, they are to rule it. They are not to be terrified by the natural world, like Dorothy and her friends, who cried about the lions and tigers and bears. Nor are they to be fearful of electrical storms, or earthquakes, or desert heat. Rather, they are to march through the world as kings and queens, taking possession of everything. They are to harness the animals, the heat and cold, the electricity and seismic energy, to serve their own purposes. That means development. Adam and Eve are not to leave the world untouched, as some radical environmentalists would prefer. Rather, they are to use the resources of God’s creation, to bring out the potential of the heavens and the earth, to facilitate their rule under God. They are to turn the creation into a culture, into a home for human society.

Of course, use is one thing, exploitation something else. Adam’s family had to remember that they were made of dust. They were not God; they were finite, not infinite. To live, they needed to eat. So although God gave them the right to rule the earth, in one sense they were subordinate to the earth. They needed the earth for their food and shelter. That’s another difference between creation and culture. God creates the world, but does not depend on the world at all. The world depends entirely on him. But in human life, there is mutual dependence between ourselves and the world. The world depends on us to fill and rule it, but we depend on the world for our very existence.

So, just as God told Adam to “take care” of the Garden (Gen. 2:15), Adam’s family was to “take care” of the earth. God wanted them both to use and to preserve. To use, but not to use up. So God later told Israel to rest the land after six years of cultivation. Man is to rule the earth, but also to serve it. He is to be a servant-king. That is the basis of biblical environmentalism (pgs. 2-3).

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