2 Corinthians 5:17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Who doesn’t love this verse? It truly is one of the most glorious summations of the Christian life in all of scripture. Let’s start today by breaking it down:
Therefore – This little word connects Paul’s thoughts. He’s been explaining why we work to persuade others about Christ, and why we no longer see others only in the flesh.
if anyone is in Christ – We are in Christ and Christ is in us. This is our new position. All that is Christ’s is ours.
he is a new creation – This looks forward to the age to come and the restoration of all things. In Christ, we are already living as part of this new order.
the old has passed away, behold the new has come – In Paul’s thinking Christ’s death and resurrection ended the old age and inaugurated the new. The future is now!
Please understand that Paul is NOT introducing a new concept here. The prophets wrote of these things hundreds of years before Paul did. They spoke of the new creation as the culmination of faith in God: new heavens and new earth, new bodies, new hearts, new minds, new desires, new love, new life.
Isaiah 42:9. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare;
Isaiah 48:6. From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known.
Ezekiel 11:19. And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,
Jewish thought saw a day coming when God would usher in a new age. It was called the Day of the Lord. The Messiah would come. The dead would be raised. The judgment would take place. And then God would re-create everything.
So how can Paul say that this has already happened to us?
Because of Christ. When God took on flesh and became the Christ, he became the New Creation. He inaugurated the new age. He launched the Day of the Lord. Now, all who are in Christ are also God’s new creation. We have already been resurrected (spiritually). We have already been judged. We have already been made new. We have already been reconciled to God and the rest of creation.
But (this part is important) not yet fully. You see Christian, the battle for the new creation still rages all around us and inside of us until Christ claims his final victory. Therefore, to embrace the reality of the new creation within us, we must embrace the reality of our transformation by way of the ongoing battle of Christ’s cross over our sin and selfishness. By the power of the cross we must fight to look deep inside. We must fight to repent. We must fight to put to death the sinful desires that would replace Christ in our hearts. And we must fight to embrace grace and hold tightly to the cross of our Savior.
“To live is Christ” unites us to Christ as the future new creation right now. The victory is won! And yet the battle of the new creation rages in each of us. The battle that can be won daily as we live by faith and trust in who and what we are in Christ.
You
What evidence is there of the new creation in you? The battle? The victory? Both?
You in Christ
How can your union with Christ bring the hope of the new creation victory to your life right now?
Christ in you
“The old is gone the new has come.” Is there something “old” that you are still holding on to today? What “new” way has Christ revealed to you?
***
Playlist: The New Creation.
Click Here to this playlist on Spotify!
***
To see today’s post from the TLIC Family blog –> Click Here
To Live is Christ 