II Corinthians 5:17

A New Creation

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

A new creation brings to mind a thing of beauty. If you have ever experienced the blessing of a child, it is amazing to see this new creature before you. New parents are always in awe of this new creation before them. It is a new life, completely dependent on them for nourishment and well-being. When we come to know the Lord, we too, are a new creation, completely dependent on Christ for nourishment and well-being.

What did we look like before humbling ourselves and coming before the Lord? We were sinful creatures, ruled by our sin nature. Paul writes to the Roman Church expressing his disappointment with his own sinful nature.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Romans 7:18-19

At some point in time in our lives, we all feel the way Paul felt. We know what is right, we know what we ought to do, yet we continue to do the very thing we detest. We continue in our sinful ways because we are sinful creatures.

In our current culture, we all see “good people” who give their time or their money to worthy causes. In the eyes of the world, these “good people” deserve to be in heaven one day. But, we must remember, “that nothing good dwells in [us]”. There are no “good people”; “good people” will sin, no matter how great a philanthropist.

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Romans 3:10-12

“Good people” can do good deeds, but those good deeds are stained by the evil that lies within them. Before humbling ourselves before the Lord, we were all filled with tendencies of turning away from our Heavenly Father. “[We] were dead in the trespasses and sins in which [we] once walked, following the course of this world… and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-2a, 3b) We needed to be renewed. We needed a Savior. God sent us that Savior in His Son, Jesus Christ. God showed us His love by leaving His heavenly seat and coming to us here on earth. He came in the flesh, fully man, as Jesus Christ, yet sinless. God gave us a way to become a new creation. Through his grace and mercy, our old sinful self passed away.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

Our new self in Christ has been set free from the flesh. Is that to say we will no longer sin? Of course not! “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (Romans 8:1) We have become a new creation; a new purpose for our lives has come with the submission to Jesus Christ as our Savior. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) Under grace, we are a new creation; Thanks be to God.

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:24-25a

2 Corinthians 5:7 Study Guide

English Standard Version (ESV)