WHO ARE WE IN CHRIST?
READING
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
INTRODUCTION
If we want to communicate the Gospel to anyone, they will want to see how this Gospel, which we say is so important, impacts our daily lives. How can we explain it? Do we know what changes God has made in us?
Today's verse is a very good starting point for each one of us.
1. “IF ANYONE IS IN CHRIST”
First the ‘If.’ The new life and relationship with Jesus are not guaranteed to everyone. It depends on one thing and one thing only, being ‘in Christ.’
What then does ‘In Christ’ mean? It is a state of a relationship we need to be in for the changes written in this verse to take place. The question is how do we attain that state of being ‘in Christ’?
1 John 5:1 tells us that, “everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,”
‘Believe’ (pisteuo) means we must put our faith in a person to whom we entrust our spiritual life, our eternal life - Jesus Christ.
This shows the level of commitment required from us and demonstrates that we are born of God. A full unrestrained commitment that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God and Son of Man.
John 3:3 In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
When we have that level of faith, we are born again. This word ‘again’ really means ‘from on high’ (anothen). Only God can do this; it is completely out of our hands. Our eternity – Heaven - is completely dependent on being born again. All this from God alone nothing in our power.
Now, the enemy can only look at you and see to whom you belong. So long as we keep sin out of our lives, he can never cause us harm, we wear God’s colours as they did in days gone by.
Ephesians 1:13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit.
The enemy can try (Eph 6:13-18) but we have the full armour of God to defeat him.
Ephesians 6:13-18 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
2. “HE IS A NEW CREATION”
Part of our rebirth is our spirit being renewed by the Holy Spirit. We have been changed to have a direct connection to the eternal since the Holy Spirit is within us. See the words in Titus.
Titus 3:5b He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
Part of that renewal is focused on changing our minds, which is the battleground for the enemy. In this, we have a responsibility to reject the model that this world gives us, i.e. this society.
Paul covers this in Romans:
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, in order to prove by you what is that good and pleasing and perfect will of God.
We must also not allow this world to control our minds, or set our morality, but have our minds transformed by the Holy Spirit’s renewal so that we will know God’s will – yes, we will know His will. Not only that, we will have proof, knowledge and understanding of God’s purpose. Does that not astound you?
Be aware, though, that this transformation is not a ‘one-off.’ We are being changed not were changed. This is a day-by-day process and we need to stay close to the Lord.
These changes are not just in the mental or spiritual areas.
Long ago Ezikiel spoke of a change in the emotions of those whom God would renew.
Ezekiel 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
In this prophecy, God states He will change the whole of our nature and give us new desires, and new passions.
He will:
* Renew our minds
* Enlighten our understanding
* Correct our judgment, and
* Refine our will
Why? So that we can have that new spirit to motivate our new hearts.
Further, He will take away the heart that is hard, cold, frozen to good, unaffected by heavenly things; that are slow to recognise the words of God.
Finally, He will give us that heart of flesh, one that can feel, enjoy and experience love for God and all men … and so create a proper home for the living God.
Do you think this is too hard for God or too hard for you? Let us look at real examples of the Apostle Paul and the man who wrote the famous hymn ‘Amazing Grace,’ John Newton.
TESTIMONIES OF NEW CREATIONS
Apostle Paul
Here we have someone who agreed with the murder of Steven, who hunted Christians and had them thrown into jail. A murderous opponent of Jesus and His young church.
Yet one visit from the Lord and he is a brand-new creation – then a vibrant servant of the Gospel, who brought that Gospel, through immense sufferings, to us Gentiles. The greatest missionary.
John Newton: A New Creation
For us more normal human beings let us look at the life of John Newton. While on a slave ship in a severe storm, on its eleventh day, sailor John Newton was tied to the ship’s steering wheel from one o'clock in the afternoon until midnight. Newton had time to think. His life seemed as ruined and wrecked as the ship he was trying to steer.
Newton had a reputation for blasphemy, obscenity and immorality, which even shocked many sailors. He was known as ‘The Great Blasphemer.’ He sank so low at one point that he was even a servant to slaves in Africa for a brief period. His mother had prayed he would become a minister and had taught him the Scriptures. Some of those teachings came to his mind at this point.
However, that day at the steering wheel, March 21st, 1748, was to be a day Newton would remember forever: "On that day the Lord sent from on high and delivered me out of deep waters," wrote Newton. Only God's amazing grace could and would take a rude, irreligious, slave-trading sailor and transform him into a child of God.
Newton left slave trading and was called to the ministry at the age of thirty-nine, when he began forty-three years of preaching the Gospel of Christ including writing one of the world's most famous hymns, 'Amazing Grace.'
In 1779 Newton moved to London where he joined William Wilberforce, a member of Parliament and a prime mover in the abolition of slavery, who was strongly influenced by John Newton's life and preaching. Newton's book, ‘Thoughts on the African Slave Trade,’ based on his own experiences as a slave trader, was very important in securing the British Empire’s abolition of slavery in 1833.
John Newton – truly a new creation by the grace of God.
3. “THE OLD HAS GONE”
In all these changes, the old self is being changed as we go forward in our relationship with Jesus. However, let us remember that the old life will not willingly release us.
When we are in Christ the way we used to think is gone, or rather ‘is going,’ because He lives in us, we are to submit our being to Him and with the help of His Spirit, we can now focus on His will for our lives. the book of Colossians chapter 2 verses 13 -15 tells us that the record of our sin has been nailed to the cross and we as new creations are free from any form of accusation by the enemy, Satan.
Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection allow the old things that held us in bondage to be gone which are sin, pride, selfishness, old habits and not walking in love. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can do all things through Him who strengthens us.
Our old nature, though, is removed gradually with the help of the Holy Spirit. This is never a finished work for us. Old habits and old likes will always try to pull us back.
Part of this removal of the old can be painful since some old friends can be those who would happily draw us back to their lifestyle … cutting some relationships may be needed until our faith is stronger and mature.
Paul Explains It So Well
Romans 6:1,2,6,7 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin-- 7 because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
In our new creation life, we must pray for the help of the Holy Spirit because our old nature and the new nature will struggle a lot before we surrender. Even Paul had such a struggle and this is why he wrote in Romans 7:
Romans 7:14,15,17 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me
Thank God through His Son Jesus Christ that the old things in our lives are passing away and all things are now becoming new in our lives. His power alone enables us to overcome.
4. THE NEW HAS COME
This must be a real work. Let us review being ‘in Christ’ to be certain of what this means.
If we want the promises of 2 Corinthians 5:17 to be true in our lives we must, of course, be ‘Born Again.’ The meaning?
And if we are in Christ we are:
* Joined to Christ
* Belong to Christ
* Grafted in Christ
And through this, we have become a ‘New Creation.’
In all this, we remember that:
* Jesus has paid the full price for our salvation
* Jesus came to set us free from the kingdom of Satan
* The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus has given us eternal life
* Jesus is the way, the truth and the life - John 14:6 – this is key
So, what does this mean?
* Everything we have done is forgiven through the blood of Jesus that was shed for us
* In Christ everything in us becomes new
* In Christ we are accepted into the kingdom of God
* In Christ we are His beloved … His dearly loved, cherished
* In Christ we have His Spirit - Romans 8:9
* In Christ we are joint heirs with Him
* In Christ we have a new life
We are new creations and because of this truth we can bear fruit to His glory as we remain in Him according to John 15:5 and in Christ we have now become members of His body and this is awesome to know that we have Him in us as new creations.
The book of Romans 8:1 records that there is no condemnation in our lives and when we are ‘In Christ,’ if God is for us no one can be against us.
There are lots of benefits for new creations in Christ.
* We are free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
* Christ becomes our wisdom from God - that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption (1
Corinthians 1:30)
* In Him, we have passed from death to life as a new creation (1 John 3:14)
* A new creation in Christ becomes His workmanship and is created in Him for good works (Ephesians
2:10)
* As a new creation, we are brought near the throne room of grace because of His blood (Ephesians
2:13)
All this is possible because this new creation, this new ‘me’ has shown up thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit.
Because I am now that new person mentally, spiritually and emotionally I can become like Jesus daily as my relationship with Him grows. Now I can truly live this verse:
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
However, the only thing preventing this is ‘the old’. The old life, the old habits and even the old friends/colleagues who pull us away from Jesus.
This ‘old’ must go. Are we holding on to it? Do we need to remove that ‘old’ from our relationship with Jesus?
If so, today is the day we must start letting go
