by Kevin Burton
In certain animated cartoons you have seen, someone waves his arms, pronounces “presto change-o” and this becomes that. The old thing becomes a different thing.
Is it that way for a believer, becoming a new creation is Christ: Yes and no.
Faith in and surrender to Jesus Christ, converts one from lost to saved, death to life, hell-bound to heaven-bound. This is the instant change part as seen in the spiritual.
But that moment of conversion begins a process of change in the physical world. It doesn’t happen all at once.
What changes can be expected?
“The new creation is described in 2 Cor. 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” reads a passage on www.gotquestions.org. “The word ‘therefore’ refers us back to verses 14-16 where Paul tells us that all believers have died with Christ and no longer live for themselves. Our lives are no longer worldly; they are now spiritual.”
“Our ‘death’ is that of the old sin nature which was nailed to the cross with Christ. It was buried with Him, and just as He was raised up by the Father, so are we raised up to ‘walk in newness of life’ (Romans 6:4). That new person that was raised up is what Paul refers to in 2 Cor. 5:17 as the ‘new creation.’”
“Sanctification begins in regeneration. The Spirit of God implants in man that new living principle by which he becomes ‘a new creation’ in Christ Jesus,” writes Alistair Begg, speaker on the Truth For Life radio ministry. “This work, which begins in the new birth, is carried on in two ways-mortification, whereby the lusts of the flesh are subdued and kept under, and vivification, by which the life that God has put within us is made to be a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.”
“This is carried on every day in what is called perseverance, by which the Christian is preserved and continued in a gracious state and is made to abound in good works unto the praise and glory of God; and it culminates or comes to perfection in glory, when the soul, being thoroughly purged, is caught up to dwell with holy beings at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” Begg writes.
“To understand the new creation, first we must grasp that it is in fact a creation, something created by God,” the gotquestions article reads. “John 1:13 tells us that this new birth was brought about by the will of God. We did not inherit the new nature from our parents or decide to re-create ourselves anew.”
“Neither did God simply clean up our old nature; He created something entirely fresh and unique. The new creation is completely new, brought about from nothing, just as the whole universe was created by God ex nihilo, from nothing. Only the Creator could accomplish such a feat,” the gotquestions passage reads.
“Second, ‘old things have passed away.’ The “old” refers to everything that is part of our old nature—natural pride, love of sin, reliance on works, and our former opinions, habits and passions. Most significantly, what we loved has passed away, especially the supreme love of self and with it self-righteousness, self-promotion, and self-justification. The new creature looks outwardly toward Christ instead of inwardly toward self.”
“Along with the old passing away, ‘the new has come!’ Old, dead things are replaced with new things, full of life and the glory of God. The newborn soul delights in the things of God and abhors the things of the world and the flesh. Our purposes, feelings, desires, and understandings are fresh and different.”
“We see the world differently. The Bible seems to be a new book, and though we may have read it before, there is a beauty about it which we never saw before, and which we wonder at not having perceived. The whole face of nature seems to us to be changed, and we seem to be in a new world. The heavens and the earth are filled with new wonders, and all things seem now to speak forth the praise of God.”
“What about the Christian who continues to sin? There is a difference between continuing to sin and continuing to live in sin. No one reaches sinless perfection in this life, but the redeemed Christian is being sanctified (made holy) day by day, sinning less and hating it more each time he fails,” reads the gotquestions passage.
“Yes, we still sin, but unwillingly and less and less frequently as we mature. Our new self hates the sin that still has a hold on us. The difference is that the new creation is no longer a slave to sin, as we formerly were. We are now freed from sin and it no longer has power over us (Romans 6:6-7). Now we are empowered by and for righteousness.
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