The Already and the Not Yet

Second Temple Jewish theology (the theology of Jesus's contemporaries) understood history in terms of two ages (olamot, עוֹלָמוֹת): ha-olam ha-zeh (הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, this age, the present world order, the age under sin and death) and ha-olam ha-ba (הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא, the age to come, the coming world order, the age of resurrection and renewal).

The expectation was sequential: first this age, with its suffering, sin, and death; then a dramatic divine intervention (often associated with the Day of the LORD and the resurrection of the dead) that would usher in the age to come, the messianic kingdom, the renewed creation, the full presence of YHWH with his people.

Jesus and the New Testament writers break this sequential expectation open: the age to come has arrived in Christ, but the present age has not yet ended. Both ages are now running simultaneously. This is inaugurated eschatology: the new age has been inaugurated (begun, commenced) in the resurrection of Christ, but the full consummation awaits the parousia.

Paul explicitly uses the two-age framework: "the present evil age" (Galatians 1:4, tou aionos tou enestotos ponerou: this present evil age); "the age to come" (Ephesians 1:21, en to aioni to erchomeno); and the present overlap: "these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come" (1 Corinthians 10:11, ta tele ton aionon katenteken: the ends of the ages have arrived on us).

The New Testament's characteristic image for the "already" dimension is firstfruits (aparche, ἀπαρχή, the first portion of the harvest that guarantees the full harvest; from the Torah's offering of the firstfruits of the field, Leviticus 23:9-14):

1 Corinthians 15:20: "But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits (aparche) of those who have fallen asleep." Christ's resurrection is the firstfruits of the general resurrection, not a singular event disconnected from the rest of humanity but the first installment of what will happen to all who are in Christ. The firstfruits guarantee the full harvest: if Christ has been raised, the resurrection of the dead is certain.

Romans 8:23: "And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits (aparchen) of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." The Spirit given to believers now is the firstfruits of the full inheritance, the down payment (arrabon, 2 Corinthians 1:22, 5:5; Ephesians 1:14, arrabon: an engagement ring, a deposit, a guarantee) of the full redemption. The Spirit's presence is the "already"; the redemption of the body (full resurrection) is the "not yet."

2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (kaine ktisis, new creation). The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." The new creation has arrived in the person who is in Christ, but the full new creation (Revelation 21:1, "a new heaven and a new earth") is still future. The believer is a new creation living in the old creation, already renewed inwardly while the outer self wastes away (2 Corinthians 4:16).

Romans 8:18-27 is the most sustained treatment of the "not yet" dimension in the New Testament. Three groanings structure the passage:

(1) Creation's groan (8:20-22): "the creation was subjected to futility... 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. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now." Creation is caught in the "not yet", it groans because the full new creation has not yet come. The groaning is childbirth groaning (odino, the labor pains), not death groaning, it is the groaning of something coming to birth.

(2) The believers' groan (8:23): "And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." The believers who have the Spirit, who are in the "already", still groan because the "not yet" is real. The body has not yet been redeemed; the outer self is still wasting away (2 Corinthians 4:16); death has not yet been abolished. The tension is not resolved by the Spirit's presence; it is intensified, because now we taste the age to come and that makes the present age's incompleteness more keenly felt.

(3) The Spirit's groan (8:26-27): "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." The Spirit himself is caught in the "not yet", or more precisely, the Spirit prays through us for the fullness that the "not yet" will bring. The groaning of the Spirit in the believers is the deepest intercession, moving the believer toward the consummation.

The "already and not yet" tension is not merely a theological abstract, it is the fundamental shape of the Christian ethical life:

The believer is "already" justified (Romans 5:1, "having been justified"), "already" seated in the heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6, "seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus"), "already" dead to sin (Romans 6:2, "how can we who died to sin still live in it?"), and "not yet" fully perfected (Philippians 3:12, "not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on"), "not yet" experiencing the resurrection body (Philippians 3:21), "not yet" free from the struggle with the flesh (Romans 7:14-25).

The indicative-imperative pattern: the "already" (indicative) is the ground for the "not yet" (imperative). Romans 6:11, "So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus" (the indicative "dead to sin" is the ground of the imperative "consider yourselves dead"). Colossians 3:1-3: "If then you have been raised with Christ (indicative), seek the things that are above (imperative)." The ethical command is always grounded in the completed reality of what Christ has accomplished, not in a future that may or may not arrive.

"Waiting eagerly" (apekdechomai, Romans 8:23, 25; 1 Corinthians 1:7; Galatians 5:5; Philippians 3:20; Hebrews 9:28) is the New Testament's signature posture for the "not yet": an eager, confident expectation that strains forward toward the consummation. The waiting is not passive; it is hope-driven labor in the present (1 Corinthians 15:58, "always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain").

The Sanctum's theology is lived in the tension: the new creation has arrived (every person in Christ is a new creation), and the full new creation is still coming (the groaning of creation and believers and Spirit together moving toward the consummation). The Sanctum's engagement with Scripture, with Dave, with the community is already-not-yet work: real fruit of the new creation, and a taste of the harvest that is still on its way.