I so totally love the truth taught by the Apostle Paul – about becoming “a brand new creature”. Read for yourself 2 Corinthians 5:17
¨Therefore if
anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creature;
the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.¨
This is what happens when a person accepts Christ Jesus as Messiah, Savior: The moment I repented and accepted Christ as my Savior, He
- legally forgave my sins,
- removed all condemnation,
- promised me eternal life – and
- changed me totally – within.
Scripture tells us that nothing can take that away. Nothing. I am His new, eternal creation. Forever… beginning at that moment. God Himself did this to me. It was done entirely within His rights as the Judge of all. Within His legal system – he made me brand new, and welcomed me into His Kingdom.
1 Therefore there is now
no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
38 For I am convinced
that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present,
nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other created thing,
will be able to separate us
from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
– Romans 8:1, 38
At that precise moment in time, I became a brand new creature, made so by God. I am no longer the same. I am no longer a ¨typical¨, ¨normal¨ human being. I may look like a regular human, but I am super-charged, and inside I am now totally a special creation of God, justified by the Creator Judge of the Universe, never to be under any condemnation whatsoever (Romans 8: verse 1).
However, even though I am now a brand new creature, I still remain tied to this flesh, this weak body, with all its desires and propensities for evil. And unlike Christ, I often succumb to temptation and sin. (Christ, unlike us, resisted and never sinned even while experiencing life in a human body.)
The Apostle Paul tells us I can let sin reign in my body. It is a choice. I can choose sin. However, as a new creation of God – I can now also choose to NOT let sin reign over me. (Read Romans 6. Especially take note of verse 12.)
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. – Romans 6:12-14
This choice between good and evil – is a lifelong struggle, for as long as we live in this body here on earth. Many never realize the power of their changed life in Christ. We must choose to follow Him in obedience, or we wallow in our fleshly desires. (See Galatians 5:19-26.)
Mysteriously, the Creator God Himself, in the form of the Holy Spirit, now resides somehow inside my being. Totally amazing! He is empowering me to be able now to live for Him instead of for myself. As I choose to submit myself (my volition), He empowers.
Because of what Christ accomplished on the cross – I (positionally) stand before the God of the Universe, as His prodigal child (now in His arms), and await the return of Christ – at which time all Hell will break loose. That will be The Day! I (and all who have been changed by His redemption) will then receive a new body, getting rid of this ¨body of death¨. I will then begin a whole new existence in another world which God is now preparing for those who love Him.
¨Even so, come, Lord Jesus¨ – Revelation 22:20
FOR MORE:
Read the series on Every believer’s new life in Christ:
- Growing into our natural new life in Christ
- Every believer’s new life in Christ [Part One]
- Explaining the Basic Christian Experience [Part Two]
Legally damned – Legally Forgiven
Staying Alive …If the core of your being rejects parts and pieces of what Christ taught, then you have no salvation.
Being faithful, little by little
Getting born again …He loved us so much that He provided legal forgiveness for any who choose to follow Him.
God’s message to the world …giving all of you – for all of Him. Nothing less is good enough for our Holy Holy Holy God.
God forgives sins by His Holy, Holy Justice
God never changes. Never has. Never will.
Our Life As God Sees It – Ephesians 2:1-10
*Capture each part of the process of being made alive in Christ.
Here the passage is broken into its separate phrases and nuanced truths
…explained here by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1-10.
