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4 Jan:
What Kind of “NEW CREATURE” Are WE To Be???
2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature”
Given that this is the first Sunday of a new year I chose this topic to coincide with the idea of being a NEW creature in the Lord. In this verse Paul tells us that those who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior will become a new person. The old things that use to define us and control us no longer do so and instead there are now new things which guide us and direct us.
I want to look at two aspects of our lives today – those things of this world which were in our lives and also those things which MIGHT be in our lives today.
In order to understand being “in Christ” we need to look at a couple of verses:
- I Cor 6:11 “Such were some of you in this world, but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. You see in this verse three verbs: washed, sanctified and justified – ALL in the name of the Lord. This means our being sanctified or set apart and our being justified, which is being made right in the sight of God, all happens because we can claim the name of our Lord as our Savior. This situation occurs because we are first – washed in the name of the Lord:
- Rom 6:3,4,5 “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father; so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection.” It is our being united with Him in baptism that we have become sanctified and justified.
In Him we are sanctified and justified before God and NEW CREATURES.
- SO, our being “in Christ” is by following the prescription of hearing, believing, repenting and being baptized as prescribed in Acts 2:38
So lets go back to our first verse and look at the whole passage: 2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” In order to see how it is that old things pass and become new – we need to go back to a previous verse: 2 Cor 5:4 “For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.” Paul has indicated here that what we know on this earth, the days that we live here are often times very difficult and that we want to be SWALLOWED up by LIFE!!! I believe that is a reference to Jesus’ promise to bring us an ABUNDANT LIFE!! But what does this mean or how does it happen? The next verse gives us a good indication: 2 Cor 5:5 “Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge -- verse 9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.” WHY do we want to be pleasing to Him? Rom 8:15,16 “…you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ The spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God”. We want to be pleasing to Him because we are no longer children of Adam and of this world – we are children of God. Gal 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. 2 Cor 5:9 “We also have as our ambition to be pleasing to Him.”
We have been washed, cleansed, united with Christ and therefore we are sanctified and justified.
Now lets look at the whole verse in today’s passage:
2 Cor 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, new things have come.”
In order for us to be this “New Creature” two things must happen:
We must: 1) removing the old things and we must 2) bring in new things.
WHAT “OLD” things have passed away??
1 Cor 6:9,10 “Or do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. “
There are a host of scriptures listing the sins of this world: 2 Cor 12:20 Eph 4:31 Col 3:8 1 Tim 3:11 5:13 Tit 2:3 Jas 2:11 1 Pe 2:1, 12 Rev 21:8 22:15
These are a whole host of verses which condemn the way the world operates – and THESE are the old things that have passed away.
Now like breaking any habit – when old things are removed they need to be replaced by other things. This is where becoming a new creature comes into play.
As we read the Word, meditate, study and open ourselves to His Spirit – as we begin to pray, listen and better understand what God wants from us and who he wants us to be – we can begin to fulfill the expectation stated in Romans 12:1,2 “Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and prefect.”
The desire to be transformed and be a living sacrifice WITH Him is motivated by the love and sacrifice He made for us! 2 Cor 5:14,15 “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” The LOVE OF CHRIST controls us because we give ourselves over to Him and no longer live for ourselves – BUT FOR HIM!!!
And that allows us to wrap this section up with two verses:
Eph 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them”.
2 Tim 1:9 echoes this: 2 Tim 1:9 “God has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not because of anything we have done to deserve it, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity”
Col 3:1,2 “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above …. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things of earth.”
Verse after verse refers to our being called for the purpose of doing His will and producing good works. Being His ambassador NOT out of compulsion but out of love and being led by the Holy Spirit.
So, as we enter into this New Year I would encourage you NOT to make some crazy wild religious or even earthly resolution. INSTEAD, resolve to be more open to His Spirit, immerse yourself in His Scriptures and the doing of His good works. We are not working to earn salvation but rather because we want to be pleasing to Him as any child does for their parent. This will then bring us into a enriched, fulfilled and joyous life that He has promised us.
28 Dec: What Was the Purpose of Christmas?
Luke 1:21 “She will bear a son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Luke 2:10.11 “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”
So, the question may arise to ask why was it necessary that Christ come to earth and become a mortal human being? The answer at the core of this question can be found in Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” But to reiterate the question: why did Jesus have to be born and become a man to save the lost?
- Heb 2:17,18 “Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
- Heb 4:15 “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
- John 3:14,15,16 “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up – so that whoever believes will, in Him, have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not parish, but have eternal life.
In order for Christ to experience His mortality it was necessary for Him to leave heaven and start His life in the event we now know as Christmas.
- Heb 2:6,7 “. . . What is man, that You remember Him? Or the Son of Man, that You are concerned about Him? You have made Him for a little while lower than the angels. . .”.
- Mtt 1:18,23 “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.” “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name “Immanuel”, which translated means, “God with us.”
In other verses of Scripture, we see Jesus’ earthly development: Luke 2:52 “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature and found favor with God and men.” Scripture then leapfrogs forward to the time of Jesus beginning His earthly ministry”:
Mtt 2:13-17 “Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan to be baptized. . . . [Then John baptized Him.] When Jesus came up the heavens were opened and the spirit of God descended upon Jesus and a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’”
From this time forward Jesus begins to fulfill His title “Immanuel: God with us.”
Mtt 7:28,29 “When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” Luke 5:15 “But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses.” Luke 4:40 “While the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and laying His hands on each one of them, He was healing them.” John 12:44-46 “And Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, does not believe in Me but in Him who sent Me. He who sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.”
Jesus was truly bringing our loving Father into the presence of man. God’s loving grace was evident in the way Jesus interacted with mankind while here on this earth. He offered forgiveness for the woman caught in adultery, was condemned for eating with sinners, empathized with loved ones who lost Lazarus and removed demons from people’s lives. This compassion and concern exemplify the purpose for His time here on earth and the purpose for which He came.
The clearest illustration of God’s love for us is illustrated by Jesus on the cross: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life”
The clearest illustration of Jesus’ love for us can be seen in Jesus on the cross: Luke 23:33,34 “When the soldiers came to the place called “The Skull,” they nailed Jesus to a cross. They also nailed the two criminals to crosses, one on each side of Jesus. 34Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people! They don't know what they're doing.” Even on the cross Jesus is offering compassion and forgiveness to sinners. Even on the cross Christ is promising Paradise for one of the thieves hanging next to Him.
Paul puts it this way: Phil 2:5-8 “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
The love that Christ has for us sinners was clearly illustrated during His life on earth. He was born under humble circumstances, He journeyed many miles during His three-year ministry – administering healing and teachings, drawing man to Himself and to God.
John records Jesus’ own words about this:
John 12:32,33 “’And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.’ But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.”
What was the purpose of Christmas? It was the first step in a progression of steps that puts Christ on the cross as a sacrifice for mankind.
But the good news Jesus brought to humanity does not end with His death:
Mtt 28:5,6 “And the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid; I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying.”
And His story is still not done: Acts 1:9-11 “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. While they were gazing upward two men in white clothing said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
And the story is still not finished: 1 Thess 4:16,17 “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. The we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.”
Now the story which began with the birth of a small baby boy in a manger – will finish with us all joining the Lord in the New Heaven and New Earth. This is why we celebrate the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ and this was the purpose of His coming – to reunite us with God!!!
Or, as He put it – to seek and save the lost!!!