“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;

the old has gone, the new has come.” -2 Corinthians 5:17

When one receives Christ as Savior and Lord, he/she is a ‘new creation.’ He has a new relationship with God: justified, sanctified, glorified, and more. He also has a new heart, and is a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. These are the blessings of being reconciled to God in Christ.

The key truth here is that we are ‘in Christ.’ Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us that when we heard the Word of Truth and believed, we were “included in Christ” and were marked with the Holy Spirit guaranteeing our inheritance. As Ephesians 2 tells us, we were once dead in sin, but then made alive with Christ, having been saved by grace. This is one of the great mysteries of our salvation – how we are joined to Christ by faith and then receive all the benefits of his life and work. That is the good news of the Gospel, that we are united with Christ.

A problem we all encounter is when we don’t feel like a ‘new creation;’ it can seem to be an overstatement to say ‘all things are new.’ The truth is twofold: we are a new creature, part of God’s new creation; but we also know that God is not finished with us yet. This is demonstrated in 2 Corinthians 3:18 where Paul says that, “We...are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the lord, who is the Spirit.” We are in the being transformed – present tense. It is demonstrated again in 2 Corinthians 4:16 where Paul says that we are, “being renewed day by day.” We are being renewed – present tense. God is not finished with us yet, we are a work in process. Yet Paul goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that we are a new creation in Christ – and that is the deepest truth about who we are.

The Apostle Paul states this reality again in Galatians 6:15 when he says, “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.” We are to live out the reality of the new creation in Christ, even while we are so unfinished. Our worship, our study of the Bible, our fellowship and the Lord’s Supper all serve to remind us who we are in Christ; that we are indeed a new creation. We celebrate this and give thanks to God for this, and then seek to live it out.

Pastor Tim, August 5, 2007