IN CHRIST WE BECOME A NEW CREATURE

Proclamation:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; the old has gone, the new is here.”  2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)  The King James Version (KJV) of The Bible for this verse reads: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Explanation:

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Corinth.  Paul begins this chapter with a discussion of believers waiting for their new heavenly body. (2 Corinthians 5:1-5) He says that while they are present in the body they are absent from The Lord, but he would rather be absent from the body and present with The Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:6-8)  He also tells them that we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and receive that which is due us based upon what we did while we were in the body, whether what we did was good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)  Then he states that if any man has accepted Christ, he is a new creature; the old things he used to be and do have passed away, and all things are now new.  This is because God has reconciled us onto Himself through Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)  He ends the chapter by saying that we are ambassadors for Christ, who had no sin but became sin for us, so that we might become righteous in the sight of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

Application:

We were totally sinful before we accepted Christ into our life.  We knew nothing but sin.  After we accepted Christ, we received The Holy Spirit of God which dwells within us, pushed our sinful nature aside, and changed our life.  When we became a new creation, we identified our self with Christ and not with the world.  However, we did not completely lose our sinful worldly nature, and from time to time we struggle with letting it regain control of us. (Romans 7:19-21)  We will not lose our salvation when we sin but we break the fellowship with Christ. (Psalm 51:12)  We have within us the capacity to do that which is right, but we have to choose to follow the right path because God gave us the ability to choose. (Joshua 24:15)  He said whosoever will, let him come. (Revelation 22:17)  We must choose to live by new principles, exhibit new behavior, and speak different words.  We have been given a new heart and there should be some outward display of this. (Ezekiel 36:26)  We should have new affections, new appetites, new behavior, new desires, new ideas, and a new outlook on life.  If you are still doing all of the same old things, you should question yourself and change.