2 Corinthians 5:17, A Needed Change

Psalm 16:8 “I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.”

Introduction....

i am like any other parent. i can remember when my kids were born, remember some events in their early lives. you know, dance recitals, sporting events, and so on...

then you see their personalities start to show. they truly become defined with their own characteristics. in other words they become their own person...

now because of dna, you see yourself and the other parent in there from time to time but they have become their own person...

sometimes you like that person and sometimes you don’t but that is still your baby...

they couldn’t stay those sweet, cute innocent babies and toddlers, they had to grow and change...

some changes are good and some are bad but there is a change...

but one thing, i hope you have noticed is who did they change with or who did they change for....

did they change for this world, if you pay attention there will be signs,.

or did they allow christ to change them...

now you must remember, we as parents and/ or role models, we have something to do with this...TALK, PREACH.....(disciple making starts at home)

if the change was for this world, another change is needed...

if the change was with christ, they need to hold and maintain with him...

let back up a quick second, i pray that you have been changed with christ....

Paul makes it clear in 1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

what you say Paul, A change is needed in everyone lives.

mindsets change, priorites changes and guess what outcomes change...

they say the definition of Insanity, is doing something the same way over and over but expecting a different outcome...TALK, PREACH......

there is a needed change in everyones life that needs to happen and if that change is with the right person, everything else will fall into place...

who is that person, Jesus Christ...

Jesus makes us new, thru him, with him and in him...

but let me point this out, being a new creation doesn't mean that we are perfect. It means that we are changed and that we are being changed...TALK, PREACH......

but we all are in the need of a change and we need to stop trying to do it by ourselves and let Jesus lead us

and as disciple makers, we need to be telling someone, the same thing....

Let’s look at the story...

Text/ Story

Starting at v12 thru v21 is considered Paul’s instructions on how we are reconciled with God.

and how is that....thru Christ...

and Paul is a great example of a needed change..

Paul (Saul) a former prosecutor of the church, saw Jesus only as a Messianic pretender, but that one day on the road to Damascus, he now worships Him as the Christ of God and the Lord of the universe...

Romans–Revelation 2 Corinthians 5:16, 17

This is the difference that the resurrection has made...

a deeper meaning of this text tells us, that

Reading Corinthians: A Literary and Theological Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians The Apostle’s Motives (5:13–17)

the fact that Christ died for all implies universal disobedience, all are dead in sin

Reading Corinthians: A Literary and Theological Commentary on 1 & 2 Corinthians The Apostle’s Motives (5:13–17)

The objective of Christ’s death was to reverse the problem (universal disobedience) and to insure that “those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised

so Paul appeals to the the church at corinth to be reconciled and to help someone come to Jesus so they can be reconciled.

God’s will we look at it next week but Paul calls himself and anyone that is will to be a disciple maker a Ambassador for Christ, v20.

what is accomplished from this needed change,

whereas man was dead to God, thru Christ we are alive to Him

no relationship, now there is one

living in sin and immorality, a change will help you stay away from sin and immorality

on our own we doomed to a spiritual death, eternal separation from God but with this changed we can live eternally in His presence..TALK, PREACH.....

this text has so much meat on it and is so powerful, it should help realize that we must realize that as Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

and next we should realize that we need a change in our lives and that we can not do it by ourselves

and finally that once we have seen what He has done in our lives, we need to be telling someone, about a needed change...

New Hope something has to change and the change starts with you, thru Jesus...

but for today we will focus on just verse 17

let’s go deeper...

Points...

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

let’s walk thru this text...

first, THEREFORE....

when such words are used it is signaling a continuation of the previous verse or sequence that is happening,

and v17 is actually a continuation of v 14-16...2 Corinthians 5:14–16 “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.”

Paul is saying Jesus is no longer flesh and we do not serve flesh but We know Him now in the Spirit, by the Spirit." ...TALK, PREACH......

John 4:24 “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.””

Paul rolls v17 over after the people have a understanding that we do not serve flesh...flesh is weak and corruptible, but when Jesus rose from the dead and went away, that body that was flesh that walked the earth was no more but He went back into His true form and that is how we should serve and him and come to Him...

Next, if anyone is in Christ,

This change is for anyone...

This is a promise for anyone. Anyone! It doesn't matter what class, what race, what nationality, what language, or what level of intelligence. Anyone can be a new creation in Jesus Christ.

This is a promise for anyone who is in Christ. This is not a promise for those who are in themselves, or in the religion of men, or in someone or something else. This is for those in Christ....TALK, PREACH.......

let’s be clear on what it means to be in Christ...walkss and lives in Christ day by day, denying yourself and all of the ungodliness and lusts of this world. it means we should be bearing fruit of the spirit. It means you are attached to christ...you can fool me but you cant fool God, there are signs...TALK, PREACH......

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Five: Motives for Ministry (2 Corinthians 5:9–21)

He died that we might live through Him: “God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him” (

That what it means to be in Christ...do some self inventory...

next, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;..

Paul here teaches the great principle of regeneration. Jesus Christ changes those who come to Him by faith and who are in Christ. The saved are not "just forgiven." They are changed into a new creation.

 Being a new creation is a gift from God received by faith.

Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible Chapter 5

The renewed man acts upon new principles, by new rules, with new ends, and in new company. The believer is created anew; his heart is not merely set right, but a new heart is given him. He is the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

Jesus said it best over in John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”” TALK, PREACH......

and in his letter to the church at Ephesus Paul stated, Ephesians 4:22–24 “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” TALK, PREACH.....

it is only thru Jesus with the help of the Holy Spirit that this old can be put away and that change happen...

but let’s be clear about something, being a new creation doesn't mean that we are perfect. It means that we are changed and that we are being changed...TALK, PREACH......

a final statement, all things have become new....

"The man is not only mended, but he is new made… there is a new creation, which God himself owns as his workmanship, and which he can look on and pronounce very good." (Clarke)

you know in Genesis, after God had finished working on that day, scripture says God looked back and said it was good. For example, Genesis 1:31 “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

so my question to you today, with God looking at your heart and your works, can He say and pronounce that it is good....take a second, i will wait...TALK, PREACH......

Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the New Testament Chapter 5

We must have a spiritual evaluation based on the Word of God....

are you truly in christ according to the Word..

have you allowed the Spirit to help you put away the old and become a new creation according to the Word

have you had your needed change...

Conclusion..

God gave us his son so that we, thru Him, could have access to the Father.

Why? because on our own, we would never make it to heaven.

we are as filthy rags in His eyesight on our own because of our sinful nature but He knew a change was needed and Jesus is that change..

we just can not go to the Father as we are, but if you are truly in Jesus, a change will happen and you will become a new creature..

and we need to tell a sin sick world that good news as well...

TALK, PREACH, CLOSE...