10-02-04-Who We Are-New Creations
In John 3:3 Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be “born again” to be a part of the kingdom of God. But Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was saying and asked Jesus how a man could be “born again.” We may struggle with the same question. How can we who are born in this world as sinners become the children of God? Today we are going to look at Who We Are: New Creations in Christ.
2 Cor 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Cor 5:17 (NLT) What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!
This scripture tells us that we ARE a new creation. Like a new born baby, we start a new life. But why do we need a new birth? Can’t we simply be cleaned up and made better by doing good deeds and living right?
We are born in this world as fallen creatures because of the sin of Adam. We can try as hard as we want to clean ourselves up, but it just won’t work. Many people try to become “godly” by living a good life. But being a “good” person does not make us a godly person. The only way we can become a godly person is by having God live in us. For Him to live in us, we need a new creation. We need a new nature.
It is like when your child draws on a wall with a crayon. You can paint over the crayon, but it will bleed through. No matter how many times you paint over the crayon, it will keep coming back. That is what sin is like in our lives. No matter how many times we try to be “good,” we will fail.
God illustrated this in the Old Testament by calling His people Israel to be a godly people. The way they were to be godly was by following God’s laws. God gave them ample opportunity to be obedient, but they failed miserably time and time again going after other gods and disobeying His laws. Their lack of faith and unbelief (Heb 3:12-4:2) kept them from obeying God’s laws. Finally, God had to judge them severely to show them that He could not allow them to continue in their blatant sin of idolatry and adultery. In the middle of that judgment, we read a promise that God gave through His prophet Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 31:33-34 (NIV)) We have this passage quoted in Hebrews 8:10-12 and 10:16-17 Note: I will be their God, and they will be my people” is missing in ch. 10).
Hebrews 8:10-12 (NIV) 10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”c
Hebrews 10:16-17 (NIV) 16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
God’s desire was, and always has been, to have a people that would be a holy people—a people who desired God as much as He desired them. A people who would have His laws written on their hearts. But to do that He would have to make a new covenant that would not be based on obedience to the old laws. This new covenant would be based on faith in the one sacrifice of God’s son, Jesus Christ. No longer would the outward laws and rituals determine whether a man was godly. Now it would depend upon the laws written on the heart of a man. Further it would depend upon God forgiving them of their sins and remembering them no more.
Why then must we be “born-again” or become “new creations”? Because, the heart of man is naturally wicked.
Jeremiah 17:9-10 (NIV) The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. . . . 10 “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind. . . ”
“The root of sin is unbelief in the goodness of God. . . . All sin ultimately makes it way back to our firmly rooted distrust of God, and our desperate determination to find life on our own.” [i] It was the sin of unbelief that kept the children of Israel wandering in the desert for 40 years and prevented them from entering the promised land (Heb 3:12-4:2).
The Bible insists that regeneration (new birth) is absolutely necessary. Apart from it, all persons are dead in trespasses and sin (Eph 2:1). . . . An unregenerated person is unable to understand the things of God, and no amount of good works can change it (1 Cor 2:14; Ti 3:5). This is why Jesus insisted, in his dialogue with Nicodemus, “You must be born again” (Jn 3:7). [ii]
No matter how much God desired to have a holy people, He first had to cleanse the heart and forgive the sin of man, so He could write His laws on the new heart. The only way this cleansing could take place was by a blood sacrifice, because God’s law said that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.” (Heb 9:22). Now the blood of bulls and goats had been sacrificed for centuries and it did not change the heart of one man—even David the “man after God’s own heart,” cried out that his heart was wicked and he needed a cleansing from his sins (Psalms 51:1-10). So there had to be a greater sacrifice and that was the blood of Jesus Christ, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world “(John 1:30).
Once that perfect sacrifice had been made, then God could make a man who would have faith in Jesus Christ a new creation. In 2 Cor 5:17, it says IF any man is IN CHRIST, he is a new creation. The key to our new birth is believing in Jesus Christ as the sacrifice for our sins. We must always remember that our salvation is from God. It is not based on how good we are, because as we have seen, we can never be good enough because our heart is naturally wicked.
So what does it mean to be a “new” creation? We may also use terms like to be “born-again,” “born from above,” “saved,” converted,” or “regenerated.”
· new, kainos (kahee-noss); Strong’s #2537: New, unused, fresh, novel. The word means new in regard to form or quality, rather than new in reference to time, a thought conveyed by neos.[iii]
The term “new nature” refers to the spiritual transformation that occurs within the individual when a person believes in Christ as Savior. The Christian becomes a “new man” (Rom. 6:6; Eph. 2:15; 4:22–24; Col. 3:9, 10). . . . (There are) two Greek words, both meaning “new.” One word means “new” in the sense of renovation (to repair), the other in the sense of fresh existence. The latter is used to describe the Christian. The Christian is not a renovated or refreshed version of the old; rather, the Christian is brand-new with a new family, a new set of values, new motivations, and new possessions.
The “old man” is still present in the new life and expresses himself in corrupting deeds (of the flesh) such as lying (Eph. 4:22; Col. 3:9). The “new man,” to be visible, must be put on as one would put on a new suit of clothes (Col. 3:10). In other words, the new nature must be cultivated or nurtured by spiritual decisiveness to grow in Christ. We must not revert to putting on the old suit of the former life; rather, we must continue to grow in this new life (Eph. 5:8).
The message of the new nature is a message of supreme hope: the Spirit of God can accomplish a life-changing transformation for all who will only believe in Christ.[iv]
2 Peter 1:3-4 (NIV) His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate (share) in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
The “new” creation has the divine nature of God dwelling in him so that he can escape the corruption of the world caused by evil desires. Does that mean we are perfect? No, we still have a fleshly nature that we must overcome. However, it does mean that we have become the righteousness of God—IN CHRIST.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) God made him who had no sin to be sina for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
This renewal involves a mighty change in the person. It is a work of the Holy Spirit, breaking the dominion of sin and implanting proper attitudes and desires. The regenerated (born-again) person freely and joyously does the will of God.
The believer now possesses a new life from God through the process of spiritual birth. Christians are born of God (Jn 1:12–13). And it is only through this spiritual birth that one may participate in the kingdom of God and receive his Spirit. Those born into God’s family reflect his righteous character (1 Jn 2:29). They are freed from habitual sin (3:9; 5:18). In James 1:18 this process of birth is attributed to the power of the Word of God.
Jesus taught Nicodemus about the absolute necessity of being born again, or born from above, as a prerequisite to entering the kingdom of God.
The initial experience of regeneration (new birth) is followed by a continuing renewal in the life of the Christian. The newborn are to desire the pure milk of the Word of God in order to grow (1 Pt 2:2). Paul commands an ongoing transformation by the renewing of the mind (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:23). The new person remains in a process of constant renewal (Col 3:10), and the inner self is renewed daily (2 Cor 4:16).
The present result of the new birth is a new person or new creation for whom old things are replaced by new (2 Cor 5:17). . . .It involves laying aside the old nature (Eph 4:22) and putting on the new nature (v 24). In the final analysis, however, this is never the result of human effort alone. We are God’s workmanship (2:10). [v]
(We) are apt to think that when a man is saved, old habits, evil thoughts, and lustful looks are forever done away, and everything becomes literally new in a person’s life. We know that this is not true. The verse does not describe a believer’s practice but rather his position. Notice it says that if anyone is in Christ. The words in Christ are the key to the passage. In Christ, old things have passed away and all things have become new. Unfortunately, “in me” not all this is true as yet! But as I progress in the Christian life, I desire that my practice may increasingly correspond to my position. One day, when the Lord Jesus returns, the two will be in perfect agreement. [vi]
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c Jer. 31:31-34
[i] Dwight Edwards, Revolution Within, p. 49
[ii]Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (Page 1116). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[iii]Spirit filled life study Bible. 1997, c1991 (electronic ed.) (2 Co 5:17). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[iv]The Open Bible : New King James Version. 1998, c1997. Includes indexes. (electronic ed.) (2 Co 5:17). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
a Or be a sin offering
[v]Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (Page 1116). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.
[vi]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments (electronic ed.) (2 Co 5:17). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.