New Creation Living: Following Jesus Into A Transformed Life Series

New Creation Living: Following Jesus into a Transformed Life”

Discipleship (Following Jesus) Series – 2 Corinthians 5:17

Introduction: A Question That Changes Everything

Let me begin with a simple but searching question: What really changes when someone follows Jesus?

Is Christianity merely a change of opinion, a moral upgrade, a religious badge? Or does the Gospel promise something far deeper—something radical, something eternal?

In a world obsessed with self-improvement, rebranding, and reinvention, the Bible declares something far more glorious: not self-help, but new creation.

Our anchor text today, 2 Corinthians 5:17, does not whisper incremental change. It shouts resurrection transformation. And this verse sits at the very heart of discipleship—what it truly means to follow Jesus.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)

Church, this is not poetic exaggeration. This is Gospel fact.

Paul writes 2 Corinthians to a troubled but beloved church in Corinth—an urban, morally complex, pluralistic city not unlike our own cultural moment. Corinth prized status, rhetoric, image, and power. Into that context, Paul proclaims a Gospel of weakness, reconciliation, and radical transformation.

Chapter 5 centres on:

Eternal hope beyond the grave

Reconciliation with God through Christ

A new identity rooted not in performance, but in union with Jesus

Verse 17 is not an isolated slogan; it is the fruit of the cross and resurrection.

“Anyone who belongs to Christ…”

The Greek phrase en Christo (“in Christ”) is one of Paul’s most beloved expressions. It speaks of union, not mere association. To be in Christ is to be joined to Him by faith—His death becomes your death; His resurrection becomes your life.

Discipleship begins not with behaviour, but with belonging.

“Has become a new person”

The Greek word kaine ktisis means new creation—not refurbished, not repaired, but newly made. Paul intentionally echoes Genesis language. Salvation is nothing less than God speaking life into spiritual deadness.

“The old life is gone”

The word parerchomai means “to pass away permanently.” The old dominion—sin, guilt, condemnation, slavery—has lost its authority.

“A new life has begun!”

This is resurrection language. Christianity is not turning over a new leaf; it is receiving a new root.

Point 1: Following Jesus Means Receiving a New Identity

“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.” (Romans 8:15, NLT)

Paul contrasts slavery to sonship. In the Roman world, adoption conferred full legal status. In Christ, believers receive a new family name.

Word Study:

Huiothesia (adoption) — a legal declaration, not a feeling.

In a culture that defines identity by sexuality, career, politics, or trauma, disciples of Jesus root their identity in grace, not labels.

Tim Keller: “The Gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet more loved and accepted in Christ than you ever dared hope.”

That tension is where discipleship lives. We don’t deny our brokenness—but we don’t live under it either. Jesus gives us a new name.

The Passport Analogy

When you become a citizen of a new country, your passport changes—but so do your rights, responsibilities, and loyalties. You may still speak with the old accent, but you live under a new authority.

Church, salvation is a change of citizenship. Heaven becomes home. Christ becomes King.

Point 2: Following Jesus Means Leaving the Old Life Behind

“Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven…”

(Colossians 3:1, NLT)

Paul addresses believers tempted to blend the Gospel with old patterns.

Apothesthai (“put off”)—to strip off like old clothes.

New creation living demands daily repentance. Discipleship is not perfection, but direction.

John Piper: “The greatest enemy of faith is not doubt but contentment with lesser things.”

If we cling to the old life, we mute the joy of the new one. Following Jesus means letting go.

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as people of light!”

(Ephesians 5:8, NLT)

Paul does not say you were in darkness—you were darkness. Identity precedes behaviour.

The Renovated House

Imagine buying a house only to keep every rotten beam and broken pipe. Salvation is not cosmetic. Jesus tears out the foundations and rebuilds from the ground up.

Point 3: Following Jesus Means Living as an Ambassador of Reconciliation

“So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.”

(2 Corinthians 5:20, NLT)

New creation leads to new mission.

Presbeuo—to represent officially.

In a divided, angry world, disciples embody grace, truth, and reconciliation.

Max Lucado: “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way.”

Grace transforms. Discipleship is God’s love refusing to abandon us to our sin.