I am a New Creation

Well, now we come to the preaching of God's Word.

And as I mentioned, tonight we're going to be considering our identity as a new creation.

And while there's many passages in the New Testament that focus on this theme,

we're going to be concentrating on 2 Corinthians 5 this evening, starting in verse 14.

But let's turn to the Lord again in prayer before we read His Word.

Thank you.

We pray this in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

2 Corinthians 5, starting in verse 14.

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this,

that one has died for all, therefore all have died.

And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves,

but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.

So from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view.

Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.

The old is gone. The new is here.

All this from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ,

and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.

That God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ,

not counting people's sins against them.

And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.

We implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us,

so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

And this is the Word of God.

Now, I'm sure many of you know the Christian author and apologist of the 20th century, C.S. Lewis.

And probably many of you are familiar and have even read one of his most popular works,

The Mere Christianity, where he makes his argument in defense of Christianity.

Much of the mindset and the thinking that he went through in coming to know Christ Himself.

And in this book, there's four main sections.

He argues for the existence of God.

He gives a defense of Christian theology.

He discusses Christian ethics and then considers the doctrine of the Trinity.

But it's interesting how he concludes his book,

because he anticipates a very basic question for anyone who's reading the book

and has thought through and considered all that he says.

It's as if the question is, someone says,

Okay, all that you've said is well and good,

but if Christianity is true,

why are not all Christians obviously nicer than non-Christians?

And C.S. Lewis admits this is a very reasonable question to ask.

When someone becomes a Christian,

we expect them to have some marked change in their life.

We recognize that when a Christian behaves badly,

this is a bad testimony.

It makes Christianity very unbelievable to the outside world.

And so Lewis points out,

he recognized that niceness, though, is not the goal of Christianity.

He says that although niceness is an excellent thing,

we should make every effort to produce a world where people grow nice.

He said we must not suppose that even if we succeeded in making everyone nice,

we should have saved their souls.

He says for mere improvement is not redemption.

God became man to turn creatures into sons,

not simply to produce better men of an old kind,

but to produce a new kind of man.

It is not like teaching a horse to jump better and better,

but like turning the horse into a winged creature.

Of course, once it's got its wings,

it will soar over fences which could never have been jumped

and thus beat the natural horse at its own gain.

And so what Lewis is discussing here is the exact topic

that we're going to be focusing on in our passage this evening,

this new creation.

The fact that Christ didn't die for us to become better versions of ourself.

He didn't die for us to simply be able to alter our behavior

or to alter our appearance.

He died that we may bring about internal change

and eternal change,

that we are transformed from dead to living,

from old to new.

And so this is a theme, like I said before,

this resonates throughout Paul's writings.

I could have chosen any number of passages this evening

to consider what Paul talks about new creation.

And so while we focus on 2 Corinthians 5,

we are going to be jumping around a bit,

considering a few different passages,

especially in Romans.

But the three things I'd like for us to consider this evening

are first, our need for new creation.

Second, the means of new creation.

And third, the effect of new creation.

And so let's consider first our need for new creation.

Now when we talk about new creation,

it's with the assumptions kind of implied

that this is not a first creation.

There must have been some old creation or original creation.

And we see that by going to the very beginning of the Bible

in the book of Genesis,

where it talks about God creating the world out of nothing.

In the span of six days,

He separated darkness from light.

He made the sea and dry lands.

We see that He made the sun and moon and stars,

the birds of the air and the fish of the sea and land animals.

And each day, God looked at His creation and said,

this is good.

But on day six, we see the climax of His creation.

Because on day six, this is when God created man.

God created man to be distinct from the rest of His creation.

He says that God created man in His own image.

In the image of God, He created man.

Male and female, He created him.

And so we recognize that the very essence of our beings,

the very essence of our human nature,

is being created in the image of God.

And so after the creation of man and woman,

God placed Adam and Eve in the garden, as we know,

to work and to keep the land.

He gives them this priestly duty of ruling

and subduing creation to extend God's blessing

throughout the earth.

And with His command comes,

or with His role, rather, comes a command,

that you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge

of good and evil,

for if you do, you will surely die.

And so we see then, at the very beginning of this relationship,

that God makes a covenant with Adam.

What we call the covenant of works.

It's a promise to Adam.

He says, keep the law.

Keep it exactly, and keep it perpetually,

and you will have life.

And I will be with you.

I will be your God and live with you,

and you will live with me.

But obviously we recognize in this story

that this goal isn't achieved by Adam and Eve.

They are tempted by the serpent.

They eat of this forbidden fruit.

And ironically, in this attempt to become more and more like God,

they actually become less of God.

They become less than what they once were.

And so because of their obedience,

sin enters the world.

This image of God that man had possessed becomes defaced.

And we know when Adam fell, all man fell.

We are all corrupt.

We are all totally depraved.

It says in Romans,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

And so consider the state in which we've fallen.

This is something that the Westminster Shorter Catechism talks about,

the misery in which we have fallen.

And it says, this is question 19.

The answer is this.

He says,

So is there any question that we are in need of new creation?

Do we recognize the condition in the state that we were once in before Christ?

If you are not in Christ,

do you recognize the severity of the state in which you stand now?

Without new creation, we stand as sinners condemned,

unable to keep the gospel,

unable to keep the law,

unable to save ourselves,

helpless and hell bound.

And so in recognizing this reality,

then this leads us to our second point,

the means of new creation.

We recognize our need for new creation.

Well, how does this new creation come about?

How do we avoid this outcome of death and hell?

The temptation may be for some within the church,

certainly from those on the outside looking in,

the thought that Christianity is about trying harder

or being better.

Be a good person and God will accept you.

Do your best and God will do the rest.

But we recognize that's not the gospel.

That's not how it works.

It's important for us to understand the function of the law

when we consider the means of this new creation

because the law was created before the fall.

And Adam and Eve had the ability to keep the law.

They also had the ability to break the law.

And we know that they chose to break the law.

So after the fall, this dynamic changes.

No longer do we have the ability to keep the law perfectly.

We certainly have the ability to break the law.

And so consider what the law does for us then.

The law serves as a mirror for us, first and foremost,

that we may look at the law and recognize our own sinfulness.

We recognize that we cannot keep the law.

We think about the Westminster Confession again

when it talks about the law.

In chapter 9 it says,

The law causes us to discover the sinful pollution of our nature,

our hearts, and our lives.

And so while the law can still be useful to us as believers,

it's a rule of life.

It convicts us.

It reveals our need for Christ.

It shapes us into becoming more and more Christ-like.

It cannot save us.

And so this is what Paul argues over and over again in his epistles.

In Galatians 2 he says that if righteousness were through the law,

then Christ died for no purpose.

Romans 8, throughout Romans actually Paul refers to the law,

he talks about the law as being the law of sin and death.

So he's not talking about a law that gives life.

He's talking about a law that brings judgment.

And so to the church, even in Galatians,

in thinking Galatians again,

there's this desire within the church

to adhere to religious ceremony and custom

and thinking that's a way that God is going to be pleased with me.

And Paul says there,

Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision mean anything.

What counts is new creation.

And so that's the point that he's making here in 2 Corinthians 5.

It's not about our own efforts that bring about new creation.

How does it happen?

Paul tells us here,

it's through Christ and his representation.

And so what does that mean when we think about Christ as our representative?

Well, as some of you know,

before I moved to Scotland,

I practiced law.

I practiced medical malpractice defense law.

So I defended and represented doctors

who had been sued by their patients.

And so my responsibility was to represent these doctors

in the course of their case going through the court system.

And so I would represent them in filing documents,

in going to court for hearings,

in depositions of expert witnesses,

in arguing in front of a jury.

And as I did so,

I did so as their representative.

But in the eyes of the court,

it was as if that doctor himself

was taking all these steps.

When I would sign a motion with the court,

I'd write my name,

but it would always say under it,

as a representative for Dr. So-and-so.

And so if we think about this representation

from a spiritual perspective,

there's two options when it comes to representation.

We can have a representative in Adam,

or Christ can be our representative.

And so Paul talks about this in Romans.

Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

if you have your Bibles,

you want to turn there,

Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5:17

verses 17 and 18.

He says this,

For if by the trespass of one man

death reigned through that one man,

how much more,

with those who received God's abundant provision of grace

and of the gift of righteousness,

reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ?

Consequently, just as one trespass

resulted in condemnation for all men,

so also one righteous act

resulted in justification and life for all men.

So it's a lot of words to say this.

As Adam as a representative,

he brings condemnation and death.

Christ as a representative

brings justification and life.

And so is there really any question

who we want to be our representative?

Christ as our representative

brings about new creation.

How does this happen?

Look at verse 14 of our text.

It says,

We have concluded this,

that one has died for all,

therefore all died.

All have died.

Christ is our representative

in his death.

His suffering

is our suffering.

His death

is our death.

And so this may be

a little

different

for some of us,

perhaps,

when we think about this,

when we consider our death

along with Christ's death,

because often we may think of

Christ as being our substitute.

We think of the Passover lamb

whose blood was placed

on the doorpost.

Christ's blood was shed for us.

That's absolutely correct.

Christ is our substitute.

But Paul is saying

more than that here.

Not only is he our substitute,

he is our representative.

Because we see

a substitute dies

so that others don't have to.

A representative

serves as a delegate

for his people,

including them

in his sacrificial act.

And so this is what

Christ did for us.

If he is our representative

in our death,

if we die in Christ,

what do we die to?

Well, he says in verse 16,

so from now on

we regard no one

from a worldly point of view.

Though we once regarded

Christ in this way,

we do so no longer.

And so this worldly point of view,

this is the NIV translation.

I think it's probably

more accurately translated

in the ESV.

It's literally

according to the flesh.

We regard no one

according to the flesh.

We no longer live

in the flesh.

The flesh

no longer controls us.

And so if we think

and go back to Romans again,

Romans 7 this time,

verses 4 through 6,

we see a passage

that's very similar,

a very similar parallel

to 2 Corinthians 5 here.

But Paul uses

different language.

Rather than talking about

just flesh

or dying to flesh,

he says something else.

He says,

we have died to the law

through the body of Christ.

And so we see

in these two texts,

Paul is equating

the law

and the flesh.

And so if we stay

in Romans 5,

chapter,

verse,

Romans chapter 5,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

verse,

I'll get this right,

Romans chapter 7,

Romans 7:5

verse 5,

see how this comes together.

He says,

for while we were living

in the flesh,

our sinful passions

aroused by the law

were at work in our members

to bear fruit for death.

Consider that deadly sequence

he puts together here.

This language of flesh

and sin

and law

and death.

This is what we die to.

In Christ,

this is how we are crucified

with him.

Our old self

is no longer

a slave to sin.

We have been set free

from the bondage

of sin

and death

and law

and sin.

And so Christ

is a representative.

Yes,

he is our representative

in our death,

but also

our representative

in our life.

We are also

raised with him.

Verse 15

of our text.

And he died for all

that those who might live,

those who live,

might no longer

live for themselves,

but for him

who for their sake

died and was raised.

Verse 17.

Therefore,

if anyone is in Christ,

the new creation has come.

The old has gone

and the new is here.

And so we see

this drastic

change

and transformation

from death

to life.

We die

with Christ

and we are raised

with Christ.

And so this transformation

is really

something we see

all around us

in creation, right?

We think about this

time of year,

the autumn,

the trees changing colors

and falling to the ground.

We do not rake them up

so that we can collect them

and try to stick them

back on the tree

the next year, right?

Because we recognize

that with their death

comes new life

behind them,

new leaves

in the spring to come.

Think about seeds

that fall from a plant

and they go into the ground.

What has to happen?

The outer husk

of that seed

has to die

so that new life

will come through it.

And so this is what

Paul is saying here

going back to Romans 6 again,

Romans 6, 4.

We were buried with him

by baptism into death

in order that

just as Christ

was raised from the dead

by the glory of the Father

we too

might walk

in newness

of life.

This is a total

transformation

from death

to life.

And so it's important

though what Paul

gets at in this passage

is not only pointing

out this transformation

but how it happens.

That it is the work

of the Trinity

that brings about

this transformation

in our lives.

Think about this.

Notice in verse 18

he says,

all this is from God.

The one who created

the heavens

and the earth

now brings about

new creation

working to restore

his image

in each one of us

that was damaged

by the fall.

And so he says,

the Father then,

how does he do this

through the Son?

We already talked

about Christ

as a representative

but Paul goes

further here.

He says,

this new creation

comes to those

who are in Christ.

It is only in Christ

that the veil

is removed

from our hearts.

That's what he says

earlier in chapter 3.

So it leads

to kind of

the crescendo

of this passage

in verse 21.

He says,

for those who are

in Christ

we become

the righteousness

of God.

So you may say,

well we see

the work of the Father

and we see

the work of the Son

but I'm not really sure

where the Spirit

fits into this passage.

Well we already

talked about

how Paul can

kind of equate

similar phrases

or vocabulary here.

We talked about him

equating death

and flesh

and law

and sin

and uses them

interchangeably.

And he does

the same thing

with the words

life and Spirit.

Go back to

verse 15 again.

He said,

he's died for all

that those who live

might no longer

live for themselves.

And so when he's

referring to those

who live

he's referring to

those who have

the Spirit.

We know this

if we go back

to our passages

in Romans again.

Romans 6

we said,

we're buried

with Christ

in baptism

raised to walk

in newness

of life.

Think about

our passage

chapter 8 again.

It says,

we died to that

which held us captive

so that we

may serve

in a new way

of the Spirit.

And so this

transition from

death to life

again.

Walking in

newness of life

serving in a

new way of the

Spirit.

Two ways of

saying the same

thing.

That the Spirit

is a vital

part of our

regeneration.

And so it's not

Paul that's

making this

connection between

the Spirit

and life.

This is not

his creation

or his imagination

here.

This is what we

talked about

what we read

earlier from

the book

of Ezekiel.

We read

that Ezekiel

prophesied,

I will give

you a new

heart and

a new spirit

I will put

in you.

And I will

remove the

heart of stone

from your

flesh and I

will give you

a heart of

flesh.

And I will

put my spirit

within you and

cause you to

walk in my

statutes and

be careful to

obey my

rules.

The very next

chapter,

chapter 37,

he says,

I will put my

spirit within

you and you

shall live.

And so

Ezekiel's new

heart that he

talks about,

this is precisely

God's spirit

working within

us.

Just like

Ezekiel,

Paul recognizes

that the chief

significance of

the Holy Spirit

is his ability

to produce

life.

For Paul,

life is the

defining feature

of the Spirit.

One commentator,

he puts it

this way,

he says,

life is the

comprehensive

expression for

all that the

Spirit works in

humanity.

And so our

transformation into

this new

creation, it's

accomplished solely

by the loving

and sovereign

work of the

Father and the

Son and the

Holy Spirit.

And so the

question for us

is do we

recognize just

how drastic

of a transformation

this is?

Just how drastic

of a work it

is of the

Godhead in

our lives?

Because I think

sometimes that

just doesn't

sink in.

We think of

our own

salvation,

maybe we've

changed or

improved.

That's not

what God

has done

for us

here.

Maybe some

of you are

old enough

to remember

a TV show,

I think this

was during

my years

of uni,

it was called

Pimp My Ride,

and I looked

in the UK,

it did exist

in the UK

for a few

seasons,

and in my

mind this

was like,

oh this was

a TV show

from like

three years

ago.

No,

this was a

TV show,

it went off

in 2009,

so it kind

of makes

me feel

old.

But if

you're familiar

with the show,

even if you're

not,

the premise

of the show

is they find

these young

kids that

have this

beat up

car and

they transform

it.

They put in

this new

paint job

and this new

interior and

lights and

big screen

TVs and

gaming systems,

but the thing

is they never

touch anything

under the

bonnet.

They don't

touch the

engine or

the transmission,

it's simply

cosmetic work

that they do.

And so

you're left

thinking they've

done all this

to the car,

but they're

going to

drive it

off the

lot,

this car

with 200,000

miles on it,

and it's

likely going

to break

down the

very next

week.

And so

the work

of God

in us

is not

merely a

change like

this,

not merely

a superficial

external

change.

It's not a

mere improvement

or rehabilitation.

No,

we are a

new creation.

We were

dead and

we've been

made alive.

And so

this transformation

only comes

when we

receive God's

grace through

faith.

And so

this is our

greatest priority

in our life,

that we may be

found in Christ,

that we may be

united to Him,

that we may

become a new

creation.

And so

for each of us

here, the

question is,

do you believe

this?

Do you believe

that Jesus

Christ, the

Son of God,

died on the

cross for your

sins to provide

salvation and

new creation

for you?

Because that

brings us

then to our

last point.

What is the

effects of

our new

creation?

Perhaps

you've heard

someone share

their testimony

before and

they've talked

about how

they walked

in sin

before and

the sin

that they

were involved

in, the

things that

they did.

And they

said when

they came

to Christ,

their priorities

changed,

their behavior

changed, and

it was like

they became

a different

person.

When we hear

this, we

think, that

kind of sounds

cliche, right?

You've heard

that kind

of story

a hundred

times, but

this is the

absolute truth.

What happens

in new

creation?

When we

come to

Christ and

he renews

us, we

should not

be the

same.

If we

are in

Christ, we

should look

totally distinct

from the

man or woman

we looked

like before,

totally

distinct from

the world

around us.

And so in

this final

thought then,

as we

consider this

transformation,

the effect that

it has in

our lives,

our passage,

I think,

points out

about three

ways that

we're affected

by new

creation.

We're affected

in our

attitude toward

ourselves,

we're affected

in our

attitude toward

others,

and then

affected in

our attitude

toward Christ.

And so look

at verse 15

again.

It says,

And he died

for all,

that those

who live

might no

longer live

for themselves,

but for him

who for their

sake died and

was raised.

And so as a

new creation,

it says we no

longer live for

ourselves,

we live for

Christ.

And so what

does that

mean?

We no longer

seek to

fulfill our

earthly,

fleshly desires,

to seek our

own comforts,

our own

wants,

we live for

Christ.

His desires

become our

desires.

His mission

is now our

mission.

Paul goes so

far to say in

Galatians 2,

that it is not

I who live,

but it is Christ

who lives in

me.

My life is

Christ's life.

And so is

this true of

us?

Do we hate

our sin?

Do we desire

to become more

and more like

Jesus, to see

his image

restored in

us?

And so this

should be a gut

check.

If we claim to

be in Christ,

but we do not

see any mark of

difference from

ourselves or

anyone outside

of Christ,

we must examine

ourselves.

have we truly

experienced the

renewing power of

Christ in our

lives?

Thinking secondly

of our attitude

toward others,

verse 16,

so now,

so from now on

we regard no

one from a

worldly point of

view.

Like we said,

we regard no

one according to

the flesh.

One of the

problems that

Paul was

addressing here

in the church

in Corinth is

that believers

were pitting

Christ's servants

against one

another.

They were

choosing these

rivals and

thinking,

oh,

this is my

hero.

You know,

for I am

Paul,

I am of

Paul,

or someone

says,

I am of

Apollos.

Paul says,

are you not

behaving like

mere men?

He feels that

some in the

church are

turning a

critical eye

to him.

Paul says,

I'm not

concerned about

being judged

by you and

your worldly

standards.

He says,

stop boasting

in men,

boast in the

Lord.

God,

I am of

God.

And that's

why he

calls us

in verse

20 to be

ambassadors of

Christ,

that our

message may

be one of

reconciliation.

Our goal as

believers is not

to build up our

own little tribe

of who we

think the best

pastor is or

what's the best

denomination.

Our primary

goal is bringing

people to

Jesus,

wanting others

to experience

this transformation

of new life

that we have

experienced in

Christ.

And so

finally,

the new

creation will

affect our

attitude toward

Christ.

Verse 16

again.

So from now

on we regard

no one from a

worldly point of

view,

though we once

regarded Christ

in this way,

we do so no

longer.

Just as Paul

viewed Christ

before he was a

believer,

he viewed Christ

as a heretic

that was worthy

of death.

Well,

some in the

church are still

kind of trying to

figure out who

this Jesus

character is.

Was he just a

good teacher?

Was he a

healer and

miracle worker?

Was he just a

moralist of some

sort?

Paul says,

no, no, no.

We do not look at

Christ from a

worldly perspective

according to the

flesh.

We must see Christ

as the divine

son of God.

Because if we

don't have faith

in Christ's true

identity, then we

cannot rely on him

for new creation.

Philippians 3,

Paul says,

I want to know

Christ.

Yes, to know

the power of

his resurrection,

the participation

in his suffering,

becoming like him

in death,

and so somehow

attaining to the

resurrection from

the dead.

And so when we

think about this

new creation,

when Paul's talking

about this

resurrection,

we've been

thinking about it

as new creation

when it talks

about our own

salvation.

That's a proper

way to view it,

but there's

something else we

need to think

about when we

consider new

creation.

We need to

think about it

from a future

sense as well.

Because when we

come to Christ,

we experience new

creation now,

right, the

indwelling of the

Holy Spirit who

gives us life,

but the thing is

we're still in our

earthly bodies,

right, we still

have to deal with

sin in our lives.

And so we still

should have this

desire, we should

be looking forward

to this day of

Christ's return,

where there's

new creation,

this new creation

will be fully

consummated,

where a new

heaven and new

earth will be

ushered in.

This is what

John talks about

in Revelation 21,

this coming of

this new heaven

and new earth

where we will be

delivered from

the presence of

sin, where death

will be no more,

where Christ will

declare from his

throne, I am

making all things

new.

Because it's at

that point that we

will experience an

even better

Eden, where we

will once again

perfectly bear the

image of God

and we may live

in perfect communion

with our Savior.

Where just as we

died with Christ

and we were raised

with Christ, we are

now glorified with

our Christ.

This is the ultimate

effect of new

creation.

This is what we

should long for.

And so if we are

in Christ, if we

have experienced

this new creation,

may this be our

focus and our

goal, to see

Christ come again,

to see his image

in us restored.

And for those

here that may not

be in Christ,

recognize that this

is what is offered

to us.

Life in Christ

now, the renewing

presence of his

spirit now, the

freeing from sin

and its bondage

now, but also

the coming

completion of

this new creation

where we will

one day live with

our Savior as

his children

forever.

Let's pray.