2 Corinthians 5:17 ~ 20190203 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

02/03_2 Corinthians 5:17; In Christ - New Creation! ; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20190203_2cor5_17.mp3



2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 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. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.


Connection:

Paul is continuing to draw conclusions from the truth he set out in verses 14-15; We are constrained by the love of Christ for us, because he took my name, he died in my place; I am no longer to live life for myself but for him!

He draws application from this truth in how he views other people; in verse 16 he says 'so then' we no longer view anyone according to fleshly or worldly evaluations. That's a negative application. It's what we stop doing; how Christ's death for us and our death with Christ puts to death the way we once viewed others.

In verse 17 he draws a positive application; the 'so then' or 'therefore' repeats and parallels the 'so then' of verse 16. Here he looks at how we view others in light of the love of Christ for us, in light of our death with Christ and our resurrection to a new kind of life that is lived for him.

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


New Creation!

'So then, if anyone in Christ, new creation!'

Most translations supply some words, because it reads very awkwardly in English if translated literally. There is no verb in the original, so almost every translation supplies some form of the verb 'to be'; 'if anyone is in Christ'. And most supply 'he is' to complete the thought; 'he is a new creation.' But an awkwardly literal translation reads: 'So then, if anyone in Christ, new creation!'

This is not to say that 'he is a new creation' is a bad translation. The indefinite pronoun 'anyone' in the first part of the verse is masculine singular, so we could assume that 'he' should be the object of the sentence. The verse definitely includes the truth that if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. It is not less than that, but it is more; it points us to something bigger.

A few translations [Darby, EXB, Mounce, NCV, NRSV, NTE] read 'there is a new creation'; the NIV reads 'the new creation has come.' another translation [ERV] reads 'it is a whole new world.'

This verse introduces the biblical hope of new creation. Let me read to you a picture of this new creation hope from Isaiah 65.

Isaiah 65:16 ...because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes. 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. 19 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. 20 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed. 21 They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. 22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. 23 They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity, for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD, and their descendants with them. 24 Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. 25 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.

Do you see how big, how extensive this vision of new creation is? All sad things come untrue, all futility is ended, work is redeemed, God is near, even the animal kingdom is remade. Isaiah 66 continues:

Isaiah 66:1 Thus says the LORD: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool; what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2 All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

Isaiah 66:22“For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.

We see this new creation language picked up in Revelation 21.

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” ...

Do you hear how comprehensive this is? Behold, I am making all things new!

This helps us understand Paul's language in Romans 8

Romans 8:18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved....

When Adam rebelled in the garden, even the ground was cursed (Gen.3:17) producing thorns and thistles, work became toil, sweat even to eat. Death entered God's good world, corruption, futility, bondage. This creation is broken, fallen; it was meant to be more; it groans.

The guys at the Bible Project put together a 6 minute video called Heaven & Earth that helps us understand this idea of new creation.

>>[https://thebibleproject.com/explore/heaven-earth/]<<

In Christ

The new creation has broken into this one! God is making all things new; 'So then, if anyone in Christ, new creation!'

What does it mean to be 'in Christ'? This is such a rich subject. If you want to worship, to take time to meditate on what God has done, just do a search for 'in Christ, in him, in the Lord' in the New Testament, and exult over all the riches that are yours in Christ! Here is just a teaser of what is ours in Christ.

We are in Christ; we are found in him, we share in him, we abide in him, in him we live; God's grace is given to us in Christ; salvation is him him, we are loved, chosen, called, redeemed, forgiven, reconciled, justified, counted righteous in him. There is no condemnation in him, we are approved, adopted, sanctified, sealed with his Spirit, glorified, all in him. We are resurrected in him, alive to God, a new creation, we have eternal life in him.

We are blessed in him, we are free in him, we are established, enriched, encouraged, refreshed, rooted, guarded, built up, mature in him. We have an inheritance in him, our every need is supplied in him, we are filled, we are seated in the heavenlies, we have been brought near in him, we have become a dwelling place for God in him, in him is the kingdom. We have been united together in him. All God's promises come to us in him.

We are taught in him, we walk in him, we can live pleasing to God in him, we receive ministry in him, we can be proud of our work in him, we have fellow-laborers in him, we love others in him, in him we are light, we speak, we exhort, we encourage in him. We hope in him, we trust in him, we rejoice in him. All our confidence is in him; we boast only in him.

These are just some of the riches that we have in Christ Jesus.


Who Is In Christ?

'So then, if anyone in Christ, new creation!' But how is it that anyone comes to be in Christ? If you do a search on 'in him,' a significant portion of the verses you find will talk about believing in him, hoping in him, faith in him. The gospel of John is punctuated with the language of believing in him.

John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

John 20:31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Acts 10:43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Romans 4:5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Paul counts all his confidence in the flesh, all his righteousness as loss, as rubbish 'because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.' His only aim now is to:

Philippians 3:9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—

If anyone is in Christ. Are you in him through faith? Will you be found in him?

God the Creator

'So then, if anyone in Christ, new creation!' Creation indicates that there is a Creator. This connection was made plain back in chapter 4. People are blind to the good news in Christ. They can't see the light of the good news of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

God who spoke all creation into existence in the beginning, is the one speaking, creating light and life and everything in the new creation. All this is from God. He is the Creator who is bringing about new creation.

In 4:4 we are told that what we are blind to is the light of the good news of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. There is another creation connection – the image of God. We were created to reflect the image and glory of God. But we wanted to be like God. We wanted glory for ourselves. We refused to display his image; we tried to be the center. The good news is that Jesus displayed God's image perfectly. And now in him, we can be created anew to show his image.

'So then, if anyone in Christ, new creation!'

Conclusion:

How does this shape how you view others? Do you view people according to the flesh, according to appearance?

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; 15 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. 16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

The old is gone. Behold! Look! New creation has come into being. When you see a brother or sister, a believer in Jesus, someone who is in Christ through faith, this should go through your mind: New Creation! Turn and look at someone near you, see them from God's perspective; as loved, chosen, called, redeemed, forgiven, reconciled, justified, counted righteous in Christ. Adopted, sanctified, sealed with his Holy Spirit, glorified, in him. Look at your brother or sister in Christ, think it, and say it “Look! New Creation!”

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org