The New Man
The New Man
(2 Corinthians 5:17)
What a privilege it is to be here tonight; to stand in this pulpit, to trace the footsteps of the many godly men who have stood here before me, to be in God’s house in the presence of friends, family, teachers, mentors and fellow seekers. What a privilege and honor it is to share this time and especially God’s Holy Word with you.
Like many of you, I’ve recently had an opportunity to get out and work in my yard. The impetus for this is quite simply that my grass had changed from a dismal shade of brown to a vibrant shade of green. This visual change was accompanied by a gradual increase in the height of the grass culminating in a decree that I get outside and take care of it. As it turns out, spring is in the air and everything is in the throes of rapid and exponential growth.
I cannot help but notice God’s wonderful timeliness in this regard for just when I could not tolerate the shabbiness of winter any longer He has suddenly replaced it all with rich colors, exciting smells and the invigorating sound of people using power tools to shape their environments to their purposes.
As it is a privilege to be here tonight so too is it a privilege to live in a country where we can be concerned with the appearance of our yards! What a blessing that I may wile away a beautiful afternoon outdoors enjoying that which The Lord has created. Every time that I step out the door and don my work gloves, I am immediately reminded that my God is a God of creation.
In fact, we can barely crack the cover of God’s Holy Word before this point is brought to our attention. It is in Genesis that we discover that the fifth word of The Bible is ‘created.’ ‘In the beginning, God created’. Everything that was or is or will be exists simply because God’s will dictates that it is so.
Now, in our advanced culture, there are many who would disagree. Theorists would have you believe that I am a random occurrence, descended from the monkeys and that I have come down from the trees to stand before you. It may very well be that my wife would agree with that assessment but the fact is that nothing could be farther from the truth. As a man, I am fearfully and wonderfully made. As a Christian, I am something new and exciting, a creation that is constantly in a state of being created.
I stand before you as a living testimony to the transforming power of God through the manifestation of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Like the saints of old, like all the believers since Calvary, I am the new man.
Like the grass in my front yard, I was once a barren stand of death. My life was characterized and defined by the things I did or had done. There was nothing new going on, there was no growth, there was no hope, only death and decay. My life was a perpetual winter, cold and dreary as I lived according to the ways of this world. Though I could see the sun, I shielded myself from its warmth. Though the life-giving water fell all around me, I did not have the capacity to drink it up. Though I existed in a rich field, I could not take advantage of the nourishment. By my choices I had separated myself from God. By my hard-heartedness, I had condemned myself to eternal death. By my faithlessness, I had condemned myself to eternal damnation.
But then, as now, spring has come. That which was and is dead is cast away burned in the fire of God and in its place is something new.
I am here now to share with you how God brings about life where there is death. To explore how God brings about renewal where there is stagnation and this not through our actions but through Jesus Christ our Lord and him crucified yet resurrected.
Our text for this exploration is found in Paul’s second epistle to the church at Corinth. Please pick up a Bible and turn with me to second Corinthians, the fifth chapter, seventeenth verse. Many of you may have committed this lovely verse to memory and rightfully so. Even so, let us not depend on our memory but rather return to the very source of our strength, God’s Holy Word. In second Corinthians, the seventeenth verse of chapter five, according to the New King James Translation we read …
17 Therefore, if anyone sis in Christ, he is ta new creation; uold things have passed away; behold, all things have become vnew. [1]
Rather than focus on this text alone, allow me to return to God’s word that we may receive the full measure of God’s blessing. I will do so by beginning at verse 11, chapter 5 of 2 Corinthians. Let us be blessed as we luxuriate in the richness of God as we read…
11 Knowing, therefore, kthe terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences.
12 For lwe do not commend ourselves again to you, but give you opportunity mto boast on our behalf, that you may have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart. 13 For nif we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that oif One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, pthat those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 qTherefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, ryet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone sis in Christ, he is ta new creation; uold things have passed away; behold, all things have become vnew. 18 Now all things are of God, wwho has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that xGod was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not 4imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are yambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For zHe made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become athe righteousness of God in Him.
[2]
So ends the reading of God’s Holy Word. May The Lord God continue our transformation through this reading of His Word.
In this passage, we can see that the Apostle Paul, in writing to the Corinthians is defending and explaining his motives. In verse 11, that Paul reveals that he is motivated by a righteous fear of The Lord, in his words “the terror of The Lord.” This is not a reference to a politically correct ‘reverent awe’ but rather to ‘knee-knocking, shaking in your boots, fight-or-flee type terror.’
Paul is further motivated by “the love of Christ” as we read in verse 14. It is important to note that Paul is not referring to a ‘love for Christ’ but rather to the extent of Christ’s love for us. This is, in fact, such a strong motivator for Paul that in this verse he lets us know that he is compelled by the love of Christ.
In verse 16 Paul draws a firm distinction between seeing people through the eyes of the world and through the eyes of Christ. This then is a reference to Paul’s own transformation and rebirth process and forms the basis of Paul’s very behavior. Though this passage is a personal defense of Paul’s behavior, it is no less applicable to our own lives today.
Continuing on to verse 17, Paul explains this dramatic change in motive and behavior as he refers to what can only be called a miracle. It is this miracle of creation, of rebirth, that brings me before you tonight.
In reading this passage, one cannot help but notice the progression in reference to the old self found in the beginning in verses 11-15, an explanation of the new self-in-Christ as found in verses 17 through 19 and then instructions for the reborn self as we take on the mantle of the ministry of reconciliation found in verses 20 and 21.
Indeed, in this text we find ample food for thought, lively debate and numerous sermons. Yet today, as spring is in the air, I wish to draw your focus to the beauty of the seventeenth verse. Let us spend the remainder of our time together expounding this one inspiring sentence.
We are, after all, modern-day Corinthians and in desperate need of the hope and inspiration of God’s powerful creation in our own lives. Let us behold how all things become new!
Even as Paul had a before and after, so too must we shun our old selves and exchange them, not change them, for totally new never-before-seen selves; selves that are founded and grounded firmly in the person of the resurrected Christ. In our realization of God’s divine creation that is the new man, there are four elements revealed in our text; herein we find condition, creation, condemnation and consummation.
As we begin to divide up the word, let us begin with “therefore.” It is, after all, there… for a reason. It is the lynch-pin of this passage and marks the point where we go from being what we were to what we are to be. It is because “we regard no one from a worldly point of view” that we may become new creations. The “therefore” is there for the purpose of anchoring us to Christ! It cries out “for that reason” there is hope! “For that reason” there is a future! Before the ‘therefore’ there was only worldliness and death.
At the ‘therefore’ there is Christ and after the ‘therefore’ we discover the condition; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ…”
First, let us understand that it is the word ‘if’ that creates the condition. And that ‘anyone’ refers to everyone, whether they be Jewish or Gentile, Hebrew or Greek, first century Christian or twenty-first century man, quite literally, anyone. And contrary to modern interpretation, “is” means to exist. This then leads us to the term “in Christ.”
In order for us to understand what it means to be ‘in Christ’ it may be helpful to first understand what we are in if we are not in Christ. The sad but obvious truth is that those that are not in Christ are actually in Adam and therefore inherit the legacy of Adam which of course is exile and death.
What then does it mean to be in Christ? How can we tell whether or not someone, whether or not we are in fact, in Christ?
Many would argue that we may see evidence, proof if you will that someone is ‘in Christ’ by the works they perform. Some may argue that it may be revealed in our personal relationships. Still others would posit that it is in our obedience to all of God’s decrees that we may be found to be ‘in Christ.’ Yet I would argue that it is none of these! We need look no further than the words of our lovely savior Jesus Christ as found in the New International Version translation of John 15:5 wherein Jesus says;
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [3]
Here we can see the totality of our own helplessness that “apart from Christ we can do nothing.” Clearly then, it is not by our works nor is it by our obedience that we may be “in Christ” for without Christ, we are ‘in Adam’ and can do… nothing.
The key is to remain in Christ and this through faith alone. The Apostle Paul in Galatians, chapter 5, verse 6 remarked that “6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
[4]
It is through faith alone that we may “become” ‘in Christ.’
It is through faith alone that we may be ‘in Christ.’
It is through faith alone that we may “remain” ‘in Christ.’
It is by faith alone that we are united to Him as the branch is to the vine. Faith is the very glue that binds us to Christ!
Here we have the condition, “if anyone is in Christ” which is followed by creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation…”
‘He’ of course refers to the ‘anyone’ previously mentioned, gender notwithstanding. And in a comforting way, the word ‘is’ continues to speak to our existence, both now and in the future. The little letter ‘a’ makes mention of the uniqueness of our person in Christ. Not that our individual identity is of any consequence but it is important to note that we do not become a shapeless and insignificant component. No, The Lord God created us each individually and in our rebirth, in our re-creation, our unique nature is retained.
But… what we are is a new creation. In the Greek, the word ‘new’ implies a new nature quite different from anything previously existing, not merely recent. The term creation here refers to the thing which has been created. With that in mind then, ‘the reborn Christian exists in a form and with a nature not previously known as the direct result of the process of creation.’
It is critical to note that the sense of this creation is not that there is suddenly a totally new creation, but rather it is a continual, ongoing act of creation. We are new creations in the process of being continually created. It is a process not a project. Were it not so, a new believer would be swept up to heaven immediately and our churches would be empty!
As an observer of this process, we may be inclined to look for evidence of this new creation. The plainest means by which we may discern this wondrous moment is in the profession of faith. It is through the “sinner’s prayer” or simply by the raising of a hand accompanied by a sincere change of heart. Perhaps it is a bowed head and a shed tear and nothing more visible. This particular aspect of becoming a new creation is between the believer and The Lord. It is not subject to our interpretation or recognition as it is a matter of the heart, the soul and The Spirit.
It is in the heart that we find the wondrous act of creation contingent upon the condition. “If anyone is in Christ, he IS a new creation.” Yet, this is not without condemnation; “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;”
The ‘old things’ to which the scripture refers are our… old… world-loving… flesh-satisfying selves. This extends to include our patterns of sinful behavior; idolatry, pride, lust, anger, gluttony, bitterness and greed, to name but a few. It quite literally encompasses all the ways of the world to which we have become accustomed and to which we willingly yield. The ‘old thing’ is our willingness to conform to this world. The ‘old thing’ is the unrepentant heart that “has passed away.”
The tense of the verb “has” implies that this matter is concluded, it is done, it is finished. Indeed, it is finished and has been finished ever since the Lord Jesus Christ called out with his dying breath, “it… is… finished.”
Upon our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we share in his crucifixion on the cross. The Apostle Paul stated this so eloquently in Galatians 2:20 wherein he rejoices “20 I have been hcrucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh iI live by faith in the Son of God, jwho loved me and gave Himself for me. [5] “
To this rejoicing of Paul I add my own joy and praise!
Evidence of this ‘passing away’ is quite often starkly apparent in the life of the new believer. We ‘put away’ the ways of the world; selfish pursuits of pleasure and material gain, patterns of sinful behavior and habits of every kind are left at the foot of the cross. Though the sinner may have spent a lifetime practicing these behaviors, they all pass away and continue to pass away till such time as we bow before Christ Jesus at our final judgment.
Our condemnation is realized in the death of our old carnal selves. If we are in Christ, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone!”
And to that I say, good… riddance!
So, we have the condition; being “in Christ”, we have creation; “he is a new creation” and we have the condemnation; “old things have passed away.” But our joy is multiplied as we continue our exegesis of this passage towards consummation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
This section begins with the imperative ‘behold’ and in this context it means to perceive through sight or apprehension. Thus we are to sit up and take notice! Something important comes next! And what comes next is that ‘all things have become new.’ That is to say that every aspect of the created thing in the person of the redeemed has become something other than what they were previously. The sinner… has become saint, the lost… has been found and sight… has been restored to the blind. My mind cannot comprehend a miracle more profound than the salvation of a single sinner. There is nothing in this realm more important to my family than the miracle of my own salvation.
Having said that, it is important to note that the verb “become” has a prolonged tense, meaning that it has become, is becoming and will become. It is a reference to the continual transformation within the heart, mind and spirit of the believer in response to the indwelling Holy Spirit.
How then are we to witness this change in the life of the repentant? With the ‘old passing away’ we see the laying down at the foot of the cross our sinful behaviors and habits. But in this moment of consummation, at the point where “all things have been made new” we pick up a whole new set of behaviors.
We may pick up a fervent prayer life, we may pick up the reward of a daily devotion, we may pick up the habit of loving others which manifests itself in every single one of our interpersonal relationships. We may even find ourselves volunteering to perform acts of service and we may find that our hearts are moved to support mission activities. We may open our hearts and our purse-strings yielding completely to God’s will. But supreme among all these worthy behaviors is the lifelong pursuit of a deep and abiding relationship with God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son under the expert and convicting leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, BEHOLD in this one verse, this one sentence the condition, the creation, the condemnation and the consummation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Brethren, let me be clear about this. When we throw open the doors of our hearts and invite Jesus into our lives, he comes. And with his coming, we are forever changed. I don’t mean that we are modified and improved like ‘new’ Coke or ‘new and improved’ laundry detergent. I mean that we die with him on the cross and what was… is no more. We then share in his resurrection from the grave and in that moment we become something new and exciting, we become the new man.
In His infinite wisdom, God has not reserved this privilege for the fortunate few. In fact, to refer to it as a privilege is to demean and tarnish the great gift of salvation. This gift of redemption, rebirth and re-creation is yours to receive.
I encourage you to open your hands, open your arms and receive the reality of your death-and-rebirth in the spirit that God intended. I call upon you to abide in Christ, release the old things to the grave and become what God intends, a new creation.
Brother and sister, there is room at the cross for you. If you have not yet begun your transformation, now is the time. If you’re feeling a little uncomfortable in your seat, take heart in that! Behold! The conflict you feel is occurring in the spiritual dimension as Satan battles The Spirit for control of your eternal destiny.
But only you determine the outcome. Only you can heed the prompting and prodding of The Holy Spirit to give your life to Christ.
If you’re ready to be ‘in Christ’… if you’re ready for ‘the old to pass away’… if you’re ready for the ‘coming of the new’… now is the time for action. Open your heart, bow your head and pray to God, admit that you need Him, believe in the power of Jesus Christ who was crucified and resurrected, confess your sins and be forgiven, become the new man.
Let us pray…
s [John 6:63]
t [Rom. 8:9]
u Is. 43:18; 65:17; [Eph. 4:24]; Rev. 21:4
v [Rom. 6:3–10; Col. 3:3]
[1] The New King James Version. 1996, c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
k [Heb. 10:31; 12:29; Jude 23]
l 2 Cor. 3:1
m 2 Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:26
n Mark 3:21; 2 Cor. 11:1, 16; 12:11
o [Rom. 5:15; 6:6; Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:3]
p [Rom. 6:11]
q 2 Cor. 10:3
r [Matt. 12:50]
s [John 6:63]
t [Rom. 8:9]
u Is. 43:18; 65:17; [Eph. 4:24]; Rev. 21:4
v [Rom. 6:3–10; Col. 3:3]
w Rom. 5:10; [Eph. 2:16; Col. 1:20]
x [Rom. 3:24]
4 reckoning
y Mal. 2:7; Eph. 6:20
z Is. 53:6, 9
a [Rom. 1:17; 3:21]; 1 Cor. 1:30
[2] The New King James Version. 1996, c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
[3] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
[4] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.
h [Rom. 6:6; Gal. 5:24; 6:14]
i Rom. 6:8–11; 2 Cor. 5:15; [Eph. 2:4–6; Col. 3:1–4]
j Is. 53:12; Eph. 5:2
[5] The New King James Version. 1996, c1982. Nashville: Thomas Nelson.