David W Palmer
(2 Corinthians 5:17–18 DKJV) "Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. And all things are of God."
The apostle Paul says here that anyone who is "In Christ" is a "new creation." This is amazing when we consider that God invested only 6 days in creation—as recorded in Genesis 1—and then rested. Since that time, he hasn't done any other creating (apart from the creative miracles of healing and restoration, etc., which are more corrective than inventive). Yet here in this passage, the Holy Spirit says that God has done another creation—called a "new creation."
The new creation is the zenith of God's creative works; it took thousands of years to set up, and it is arguably the greatest of His ingenious achievements. In view of this, we need to make a detailed study of the new creation, until we have a complete Scriptural understanding of it. Then we will be able to discover what it means for us and how to apply it. When we know what God's word says, we can use this truth to undergo the daily challenge of renewing our minds to his way of thinking in this area. To begin, let's go back to an earlier passage in Paul's letter to the Romans:
(Romans 6:1–8 DKJV) "What will we say then? Will we continue in sin that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How will we that are dead to sin, live any longer in it? (3) Don't you know that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore, we are buried with him by baptism into death that just like Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we will be also in the likeness of his resurrection—(6) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed—that from now on we should not serve sin. (7) For he that is dead is freed from sin. {8} Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him."
This passage describes those who are "in Christ" as having been killed and then resurrected. Paul explains his understanding of the "death" aspect of this in verse 6: "Our old man was crucified with him." He is literally saying that when Jesus died on the cross, he didn't just die for us; he died as us! This is remarkable; a study of Paul's writings reveals that the reason God did this is because our old nature was unfixable. The only way of dealing with the old sin-addicted nature was to kill it, annihilate it, and then to raise up a new creation in its place:
(Romans 6:4 DKJV) " ... just like Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Through Paul, the Holy Spirit says that we should walk in the "newness of life." He says that we should walk in it in the way Jesus was raised from the dead: "by the glory of the Father." This again shows that our new holy, righteous life is possible—but only through the manifest power and glory of God.
How did God achieve this amazing new creation, and what exactly is it?
According to 2 Corinthians 5:17 (our opening scripture): "if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation"; the new creation is us "In Christ." That is, it's not a remake of the old you; it is a completely new invention—something that didn't exist before. And we have no other way to exist as a new creation apart from being, "in Christ." That is why we who are born again are no longer "in Adam," or individual beings. God's word calls us "one new man" in Christ (Eph. 2:15). What does it mean to be "in Christ," and how do we get there?
After years of looking at this question, I have concluded that being "in Christ" and "walking in the spirit" are virtually synonymous. That is, we are "in Christ," when we are:
Born again (John 3:3),
Led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:14),
Walking in the spirit (Gal. 5:16, 25), and
"Clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49 ESV).
After all, the word "Christ" means the anointed one or his anointing (Strongs G5547). So, if anyone is a new creation when they are "in Christ," they are a new creation when they are "in the anointing"—that is clothed in, led by, and walking in, the Holy Spirit. We must emphasise again that walking in step with the Holy Spirit is about an intimate relationship with Him who is holy—in agreement with what he thinks, says, and stands for.
After his resurrection, Jesus told his original disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were "clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24:49 ESV). When this power clothed them, they were literally "in" the power, or "in the anointing," or "in Christ." They were new creations; "if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation."
Acts 2 and forwards reveals that when Jesus's eleven apostles were clothed in Holy Spirit power, a miraculous change happened in them. This is particularly evident in Peter; he went from being a denier of Jesus, to a bold proclaimer of Jesus's deity and resurrection. In addition, he had the courage to go beyond simply confessing Christ publicly, to actually convicting those who crucified him (Acts 2:23). Truly, after Peter was clothed in the anointing, he was a radically different man; God had recreated him! Peter was then exemplifying the "new creation" that God so cleverly masterminded and brought into being at the resurrection of Jesus.
So, in short, when Jesus died on the cross, our old nature died with him; he took the old us with our sin-nature into himself on the cross; then he died with us in him and went to hell (where all who carry guilt go to be punished).
However, a holy new creation came into existence when Jesus arose, because all those who were in him were resurrected with him. (Scripture says he was the "first born" from the dead (Col. 1:18 KJV).) This could not have happened if any of our sins were unpaid, or if any of us were still on Satan's register of hell-bound sinners. Praise the Lord! Jesus arose because the divine blood sacrifice of his death for us, and as us, was a complete success.
God is a genius; in this process, he cleverly shifted us out of Satan's kingdom into Jesus's kingdom (Col. 1:12–13). The old us literally disappeared from Satan's register of eternally lost sinners, because the old nature died and went to hell with Jesus. However, it legally ceased to exist when he arose, and God created a new one in his place.
Today, to identify fully as God's new creation; I encourage you to ensure your faith is in Jesus—his death, burial, and resurrection for you—and in him alone for your justification from sin. Also, ensure you are clothed with power from on high through Jesus's mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit; and that you are living by faith and walking in the spirit. When you completely identify with being dead in Jesus's crucifixion and alive with him at his resurrection, you are a new creation—born again, clothed in Holy Spirit, led by the Spirit, and living by faith in the almighty God. Is this you today? If not, what will you need to change, adjust, or receive from God.
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