“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” – 2 Corinthians 5:17
LIGHT FOR NOW: The Christian life does not begin with self-improvement; it begins with a new creation.
God does not renovate the old man; He creates a new one in Christ.
Perhaps no verse captures the miracle of the new birth more beautifully than 2Corinthians 5:17. Paul declares: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature”. Notice the phrase: “In Christ”. This is one of Paul’s favourite expressions. It speaks of the believer’s union with Christ. The moment a person believes the gospel, he is united with Christ. Christ becomes his life, his standing, his righteousness, and his identity. Paul then says: “He is a new creature”.
The expression “new creature” comes from the Greek words kainē ktisis, meaning a new creation. The word kainē does not merely mean something repaired or improved. It refers to something new in kind; something that did not previously exist. This is astonishing. God does not take the old sinful nature and gradually improve it; He brings forth an entirely new creation. Imagine a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. The butterfly is not merely an improved caterpillar; it is a transformed creation. In an even greater way, the new birth brings forth a new creation in Christ.
Paul continues: “Old things are passed away”. What are these “old things”? It is the old identity governed by the ministration of death, that is, the law of death works. It is the spiritual conditioning of the man under the ministration of condemnation. More precisely and contextually, the legal system (the law of death works/the ministration of death) which governed the old creation has passed away. This does not mean memories disappear. Nor does it mean believers instantly become mature. Rather, it means that the old man in Adam defined and governed by the law no longer defines your identity before God.
Then Paul says: “Behold, all things are become new”. The word “behold” is an invitation to pay close attention. Paul is saying: “Do not overlook this”. “See what God has done”. Everything has become new because the believer now stands in a new relationship with God. He has a new Father, a new life, a new righteousness, a new citizenship, a new destiny, and a new nature. This is why believers must stop speaking the language of the old creation.
Many still say: “I am just a sinner trying my best”. But Scripture says otherwise. You were a sinner, now you are a saint in Christ. You were dead in trespasses, now you are alive unto God. You were once darkness, now you are light in the Lord. The Christian life is therefore the daily expression of this new creation. Holiness is the expression of the new nature. Love is the expression of the new nature. Forgiveness is the expression of the new nature. Victory is the expression of the new nature.
The believer does not struggle to become what God has already made him. Rather, he renews his mind through the Word and allows his outward conduct to reflect his inward reality. This is why transformation begins with revelation. When you continually see yourself as God sees you, your conduct gradually aligns with your identity. Never forget this: The greatest miracle that ever happened to you was not merely that your sins were forgiven. It was that God made you a new creation in Christ. And as a partaker of the divine nature, you are now called to live like the person God has already created you to be. Hallelujah!
INSTRUCTION: Refuse to speak negatively about yourself today. Speak the language of the new creation. Let your words agree with what God says about you in Christ.
CONFESSION: Father, thank You that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. The old life has passed away, and Your life now lives in me. Help me to see myself as You see me and to live each day in the reality of my new identity, in Jesus’ name, Amen. Glory!
For More Light; get the message, “Now we are in Christ” by Dr. John Linus
QUOTE: The believer’s greatest transformation is not a change of behaviour but a change of nature through the new birth.
DAILY BIBLE READING: MORNING: 2CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5; EVENING: EPHESIANS CHAPTER 4:17-32
LIGHT FROM THE WORD 