The SIGNIFICANCE Of A NEW CREATION-X—2Corinthians 5:9--6:10
Attention:
COLD WINTER PREDICTED
Its Late fall & the Native American Indians on a reservation in North Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.
Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky or his surroundings, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold & that he would let them know more precisely how cold at a later date. He instructed the members of the village to collect firewood to be prepared.
But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service & asked, “Is the coming winter going to be cold?”
“It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold”, the meteorologist at the weather service responded.
So the chief went back to his people & told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.
A week later, he called the National Weather Service again, “Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?”
“Yes”, the man at National Weather Service again replied, “it's going to be a very cold winter.”
The chief again went back to his people & ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.
Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. “Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?” “Absolutely”, the man replied. “It's looking more & more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.”
“How can you be so sure?” the chief asked.
The weatherman replied, “We’ve observed that the Indians are collecting a bunch of of firewood this year!
The chief needed a new system for predicting the weather!
A true Christian receives a new nature.
Will you avoid shipwreck & disaster with your new life?
The hinge to our text is...
2Cor. 5:17—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Paul clarified the significance of being a new creation in Christ to the Corinthian church.
There is significance to being a new creation in Christ.
But what is significant about being a new creation in Christ?
10+ significations/signifiers of being a new creation in Christ.
Previously we have found that A new creation is significant in its New...
1. PLEASUREs(5:9)
2. RECEPTION(5:10)
3. PERSUASION(5:11)
4. OPPORTUNITY(5:12)
5. SOUND INSANITY(5:13)Risk
6. LOVE(5:14-15)
7. CONSIDERATIONS(5:16)
8. NEWNESS/Creativeness(5:17)
9. RELATIONSHIP--Reconciliation(5:18-19)
10. INSTRUMENTATION/Mediation(5:20)
11. RIGHTEOUSNESS(5:21)
12—A new creation is significant in its New...
VIEW Of VANITY/Worth(6:1)
Explanation:(6:1)Useless/Vain/Vanity/Futile
6:1—“We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.”
The apostle Paul & the apostolic workers(Timothy in this case(1:1) are “workers together” regarding the reconciliatory efforts of God in Christ. The term “workers together” informs & fleshes out the previous terms—“ministry”(:18), “committed”(:19), & “ambassadors”(:20).
As a result of their unified working “with” God, Paul & Timothy are thus compelled to “plead with” the church they are addressing in Corinth(absent today), but by the same Spirit of God.
Their personal heartfelt plea is that not even one of the church should emptily(“vain”) “receive the grace of God” which has come to them in Christ.
*It is very possible that God’s “grace” is either denied or “received” by an individual. However the quality of the reception is important. It can be flawed! That which is salvific can be received “in vain.” Receiving God’s grace in vain” means that such a receiver of God’s grace” has not relinquished full reign to God over the “grace” the person has “received.” So that God’s “grace” becomes tainted with ‘my’ designs & ‘my’ fleshly trappings...& is no longer Good News!
It is absolutely ludicrous to think personal reception of God’s “grace” in Christ is of no real consequence or direction or power—so that the life of the receiver is positively unaltered/unchanged except thru ‘self-help’!
“Workers Together”—sunergew—Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masc.—1) To work together, help in work, be partner in labour; 2) To put forth power together with & thereby to assist. Strong—To be a fellow-worker, i.e. Co-operate. Used 5X.
From—sun—Preposition—1) With. Strong—a primary preposition denoting union; With or together(but much closer than meta or para), i.e. By association, companionship, process, resemblance, possession, instrumentality, addition, etc.—&—ergon—Noun Neuter—1) Business, employment, that which any one is occupied—1a) That which one undertakes to do, enterprise, undertaking; 2) Any product whatever, any thing accomplished by hand, art, industry, or mind; 3) An act, deed, thing done: the idea of working is emphasized in opposition to that which is less than work. Strong—from a primary(but obsolete) ergw(to work); Toil(as an effort or occupation); by implication--An act.
“Plead”(See 5:20)—parakalew—Present Active Indicative 1st Plural—1) To call to one's side, call for, summon; 2) To address, speak to(call to, call upon), which may be done in the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc.. Strong—To call near, i.e. Invite, invoke(by imploration, hortation or consolation).
“Receive”—decomai—Aorist Middle Deponent Infinitive—1) To take with the hand—1a) To take hold of, take up; 2) To take up, receive—2a) Used of a place receiving one, 2b) To receive or grant access to, a visitor, not to refuse intercourse or friendship—2b1) To receive hospitality, 2b2) To receive into one's family to bring up or educate, 2c) Of the thing offered in speaking, teaching, instructing—2c1) To receive favorably, give ear to, embrace, make one's own, approve, not to reject, 2d) To receive. i.e. to take upon one's self, sustain, bear, endure; 3) To receive, get—3a) To learn. Strong—middle voice of a primary verb; To receive (in various applications, literally or figuratively).
“Grace”—cariv—Noun Fem.—1) Grace—1a) That which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech; 2) Good will, loving-kindness, favor; 3) What is due to grace—3a) The spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace, 3b) The token or proof of grace, benefit—3b1) A gift of grace, 3b2) Benefit, bounty; 4) Thanks, (for benefits, services, favors), recompense, reward. Strong—Graciousness(as gratifying), of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, & its reflection in the life; including gratitude).
“In Vain”—kenov—Adj.—1) Empty, vain, devoid of truth—1a) Of places, vessels, etc. which contain nothing, 1b) of men—1b1) Empty handed, 1b2) Without a gift, 1c) metaph.--Destitute of spiritual wealth, of one who boasts of his faith as a transcendent possession, yet is without the fruits of faith, 1d) metaph.--Of endeavors, labors, acts, which result in nothing, vain, fruitless, without effect—1d1) Vain of no purpose. Strong—apparently a primary word; Empty(literally or figuratively).
Argumentation:
?In your quest for Life, Liberty & the pursuit of Happiness....Does your ‘Christianity’ work only in the good times?
Mat. 13:3-9, 18-23—“Then He[Jesus] spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; & the birds came & devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; & they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, & because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, & the thorns sprang up & choked them. But others fell on good ground & yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”.....“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, & does not understand it, then the wicked one comes & snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word & immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, & the cares of this world & the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, & he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word & understands it, who indeed bears fruit & produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
*Only those who endure to the end will be saved!(Mat. 24:13; Mk. 13:13).
Mat. 7:15-20—“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down & thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”
Rom. 12:1-3—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.”
Gal. 4:9-11—“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak & beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days & months & seasons & years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”
Heb. 12:25-29—“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence & godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
**Gal. 2:20-3:4—“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; & the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me & gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain--if indeed it was in vain?”
**Php. 3:7-14—“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, & count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ & be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him & the power of His resurrection, & the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind & reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Illustration:
Planting cut flowers in the ground—Expecting a thriving plant & producing fresh flowers—A wasted effort/A person minimally familiar with plants at all knows that for a plant to thrive it must have all its parts, including roots & stem & photosynthesizing parts & a way to reproduce(flowers)/Flowers by themselves, do not produce healthy plants other than by seed/New VIEW Of VANITY/Worth
Suppose I were to receive a load of plutonium & was expected to provide electricity for everybody with it/I would have no clue how to use it/It would have been received in vain/New VIEW Of VANITY/Worth
To base-build your belief system upon the concept of the supposed ‘inherent goodness’ of mankind...is absolutely ridiculous!/Such an idea blatantly denies the depravity & lostness of mankind...& thereby denies the need for salvation from hell!/It is the basis for many governmental assumptions & its failure is obvious as it is the basis for the super-abundance of corrective laws!/New VIEW Of VANITY/Worth
Any addict/They will not allow themselves to see the world apart from their addiction/The ‘high’ gotten from the substance takes precedence over reality without the ‘high’/While anyone who is not addicted, will show you what a wasted life is being lived by the addict/These see the destruction left in the wake of relationships—children abandoned to live with strangers or distant family members—spouses denied, bosses left in the lurch—family members left ‘holding the bag’—everyone lied to!/New VIEW Of VANITY/Worth
Application:
?Are New VIEWs Of VANITY/Worth apparent in your New Creation?
?Your New Creation Significant?
?Is yours a truly New Creation or a Creation by your own hand?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Cold Winter Predicted
Action:
A new creation is significant in its New...
12. VIEW Of VANITY/Worth(6:1)
1. PLEASUREs(5:9)
2. RECEPTION(5:10)
3. PERSUASION(5:11)
4. OPPORTUNITY(5:12)
5. SOUND INSANITY(5:13)Risk
6. LOVE(5:14-15)
7. CONSIDERATIONS(5:16)
8. NEWNESS/Creativeness(5:17)
9. RELATIONSHIP--Reconciliation(5:18-19)
10. INSTRUMENTATION/Mediation(5:20)
11. RIGHTEOUSNESS(5:21)
Pts. 12 only! presented 04/03/2016am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
