The New Creation

Text - 2 Corinthians 5.17

2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB95

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Introduction

New Year and January

January replaced Marched as the first month of the Gregorian sometime around 150 B.C.

March - from the Roman god Mars

January - from Janus

See articles on Janus

New Year and the People

New year has become an opportunity to start again, or try again

Truth is nothing is new in this world.

Nothing is New under the Sun

Solomon saw the vanity of life without “divine origin and purpose”

Ecclesiastes 1:1–10 NASB95

The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” What advantage does man have in all his work Which he does under the sun? A generation goes and a generation comes, But the earth remains forever. Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. Blowing toward the south, Then turning toward the north, The wind continues swirling along; And on its circular courses the wind returns. All the rivers flow into the sea, Yet the sea is not full. To the place where the rivers flow, There they flow again. All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, Nor is the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, “See this, it is new”? Already it has existed for ages Which were before us.

Verse 9 - that which has been is that which will be…

Verse 10 - it has already existed for ages

God’s creation fell into a cycle of vain existence that slowly destroys all the beauty and goodness that God has placed in it.

Until Christ came...

The Gospel of Christ is the way out of the cycle of destruction into a new beginning!

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

New - grk. kainos, original and of a kind unseen before

God’s new creation was not seen in the first creation.

Everything is new!

Why Christ?

The Creative Word

Hebrews 11:3 NASB95

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.

He was the Agency of Creation

John 1:3 NASB95

All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

He was the Beginning of the creation of God

Revelation 3:14 NASB95

“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

He was the Creator!

Colossians 1:16–17 NASB95

For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.

The Four Elements Necessary for Life

In the first creation, God provided all 4 elements for human life on earth.

He created the light

Genesis 1:3 NASB95

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

He created the waters

Genesis 1:6–10 NASB95

Then God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” God made the expanse, and separated the waters which were below the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. God called the expanse heaven. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day. Then God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that it was good.

He gave the breath of life

Genesis 2:7 NASB95

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

He gave man food for his body

Genesis 2:9 NASB95

Out of the ground the Lord God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Jesus, the Word made flesh, offered the same things to the world.

The Same Creative Word that provide light, water, air and food to the natural man, now came to give Himself as the Light, Water, Bread and Breath of Life to all who believe!

He offered Himself as the Light of life

John 1:4–5 NASB95

In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 1:6–10 NASB95

There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

John 3:19–21 NASB95

“This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

He offered as the Water of Life

John 4:10–14 NASB95

Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” She said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do You get that living water? “You are not greater than our father Jacob, are You, who gave us the well, and drank of it himself and his sons and his cattle?” Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

He offered Himself as the Bread of Life

John 6:33–35 NASB95

“For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

John 6:48–51 NASB95

“I am the bread of life. “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

He gave the breath of Life to His disciples - those who believed in Him!

John 20:19–22 NASB95

So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, “Peace be with you.” And when He had said this, He showed them both His hands and His side. The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

But the Holy Spirit actually came at Pentecost

Acts 2:1–4 NASB95

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.

These are the “supernatural elements” necessary to produce and sustain “supernatural life” - the New Creation!

New Creation comes only after Reconciliation

2 Corinthians 5:18–19 NASB95

Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

New Creation would not have been possible if Christ did not die on the Cross to pay the price of sin.

2 Corinthians 5:20–21 NASB95

Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

New Creation is the reward of reconciliation with God!

Be reconciled to God!

Conclusion

Galatians 6:15 NASB95

For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.

People value religion, race, culture above all things.

Not with Paul!

All that matters in this life is the “new creation”!

Without the New Creation, all things will remain the same.

There is nothing new under the sun.

There is nothing new in January

With the new creation, there is no need reflect on January!

all things have become new in life!

IF WE WANT “NEW THINGS” FROM GOD THIS YEAR -

LET US ASK FOR “NEW CREATIONS”!

LET US ASK FOR SOULS TO BE CONVERTED, DELIVERED FROM SIN, AND BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT!

NEW EQUIPMENT AND STUFF ARE NOT REALLY NEW. THEY ARE JUST PROPS IN THE KINGDOM.

GOD IS MOST CONCERNED WITH HIS NEW CREATION!

GOD WANTS TO FILL HIS KINGDOM WITH NEW CREATURES - CREATED IN HIS IMAGE, QUICKENED BY HIS OWN SPIRIT!

IF YOU ARE A NEW CREATION IN CHRIST - ARE YOU?

You are no longer satisfied with natural light, water, air, food!

Your desire reaches for the supernatural sustenance of the Life that is in you now!

You’ll want to bask in the “Sunlight of God’s Presence”!

You’ll want to be filled by the Fountain of the Holy Spirit !

You’ll want to be fed by the Bread from heaven everyday!

You’ll want to breathe the air of God’s holy Presence!

YOU MUST BE A NEW CREATION!

ONLY A NEW CREATION CAN PRODUCE A NEW CREATION!

Song:

“Desperate”

And I… I’m desperate for You!

and I.... I’m lost without You!