2Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold; all things have become new.”
This Scripture passage states plainly “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation….” The Holy Spirit clearly does not mean in the Scripture passage that one in Christ ought to be a new creation or is trying to be a new creation. He means, as the Scripture passage states, one who is in Christ is in fact a new creation.
In other words, the characteristics of a new creation make up and are manifested in anyone who is in Christ. Anyone who is in Christ lives the life of a new creation. The idea of a new creation means change has taken place from a former state. Thus, being in Christ produces a transformation which results in a new creation or a new being changed from the former sinful state which existed prior to being in Christ.
The word creation used in the passage denotes the result of a creative act. It is the same word used in the Bible to denote what God has created, produced, designed, or brought into existence (Mark 10:6; Mark 13:19; Romans 1:25; Revelation 3:14). And so, a sinner who comes to Christ is effectively assimilated into Christ and God makes of that sinner a completely new person. This implies there is an operation of the creative power of God in the conversion of a sinner in Christ to transform the person into a new creation.
The new creation in Christ is therefore not the product of human effort or genetic inheritance. It is the result of the creative work of God in Christ. John describes God’s sovereign work in producing this new creation in Christ as being born again solely of God. We read in John 1:12-13: “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” What all of this says to us is that the conversion of a sinner who comes to Christ is the result of the powerful work of God alone through Christ without any input from man.
It is important that we understand the divine process of conversion and not mistake conformity to certain religious rituals and customs, joining churches, self-fostered change in behaviour, and social forms of rehabilitation for Christian conversion. Paul emphasizes the futility of these things in the transformation of a sinner in Christ in Galatians 6:15: “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.”
New creation Christians are offspring of God, born anew of God. God by His grace through salvation has created us new creatures in Christ. If we are Christians, by faith in God we must define ourselves according to what the word of God says we are, and not according to our feelings or the opinions of men. We were once sinners, dead in sin and iniquity, but by the grace of God we now are converted and transformed by divine creative power in Christ.
We are not aspiring to be but are new creatures in Christ and we live and walk as new creatures in Christ. Therefore, let us stand on our faith in Christ and live fully the newness of life which we have in Christ in whom God has made us to be new creations.
Showing posts with label transformation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label transformation. Show all posts
Monday, January 19, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
New Creation Christians: Being in Christ
2Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold; all things have become new.”
To fully appreciate who we Christians are, we need to grasp the true meaning and thoroughness of the change God produces in one who has become a believer in Christ. The Scripture passage, 2 Corinthians 5:17, plainly describes this change as a transformation from an old to a new creation.
The Scripture passage first identifies what is the fundamental root-cause of this change. It is being “in Christ.” One must be in Christ to experience this change.
The Scripture passage is plainly making a distinction between people who are in Christ and people who are not in Christ. It is good to note the distinction is not between people who belong to a religious organization or church group and people who do not belong to a religious organization or church group. The distinction is clearly between being in Christ and not being in Christ.
What does it mean to be in Christ? According to the Scriptures, to be in Christ is to be taken into Christ to become a vital part of Christ.
Jesus used the parable of the vine and its branches in John 15 to illustrate this integral connection between Him and those who abide in Him. In the parable, the branches of the vine are so united with the vine as to derive their existence and all their nourishment from the vine. The branches are sustained by the vine and share the life and substance of the vine.
Jesus explains in the parable in John 15:4-6: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
According to Jesus, as the branches of the vine have no existence and cannot function if separated from or outside the vine, so no genuine Christian can exist or function as a true Christian outside or independent of Him. To be in Christ means therefore to be in union with Christ and to be in absolute dependence upon Christ. Any one who is in Christ is sustained by Christ with the life and strength of Christ and shares in the character and Spirit of Christ.
Therefore, being in Christ is a necessary condition or fundamental basis for being a new creation Christian. "If any man is in Christ" denotes all who are in Christ. Hence, all who are in Christ are transformed into new creation Christians. It implies that this profound spiritual change of a human being is universally possible.
Any one from any culture, nation, tribe, people, and religion can undergo that Christian transformation. But the necessary condition is that they must be in Christ.
To fully appreciate who we Christians are, we need to grasp the true meaning and thoroughness of the change God produces in one who has become a believer in Christ. The Scripture passage, 2 Corinthians 5:17, plainly describes this change as a transformation from an old to a new creation.
The Scripture passage first identifies what is the fundamental root-cause of this change. It is being “in Christ.” One must be in Christ to experience this change.
The Scripture passage is plainly making a distinction between people who are in Christ and people who are not in Christ. It is good to note the distinction is not between people who belong to a religious organization or church group and people who do not belong to a religious organization or church group. The distinction is clearly between being in Christ and not being in Christ.
What does it mean to be in Christ? According to the Scriptures, to be in Christ is to be taken into Christ to become a vital part of Christ.
Jesus used the parable of the vine and its branches in John 15 to illustrate this integral connection between Him and those who abide in Him. In the parable, the branches of the vine are so united with the vine as to derive their existence and all their nourishment from the vine. The branches are sustained by the vine and share the life and substance of the vine.
Jesus explains in the parable in John 15:4-6: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”
According to Jesus, as the branches of the vine have no existence and cannot function if separated from or outside the vine, so no genuine Christian can exist or function as a true Christian outside or independent of Him. To be in Christ means therefore to be in union with Christ and to be in absolute dependence upon Christ. Any one who is in Christ is sustained by Christ with the life and strength of Christ and shares in the character and Spirit of Christ.
Therefore, being in Christ is a necessary condition or fundamental basis for being a new creation Christian. "If any man is in Christ" denotes all who are in Christ. Hence, all who are in Christ are transformed into new creation Christians. It implies that this profound spiritual change of a human being is universally possible.
Any one from any culture, nation, tribe, people, and religion can undergo that Christian transformation. But the necessary condition is that they must be in Christ.
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