A new creature in Christ

Notes from a sermon heard on Sunday 8 January 2012

2 Corinthians 5 verse 17

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

This text reminds us what we become when we put our faith and trust in God – He makes us a new creature.  He does not simply dust us down but helps us along the way.  He makes us a new creature, the old things we used to enjoy are removed from us.  The things we meet are the things that God brings along our pathway.  Take 3 words from this text:

“if” speaks of a great possibility

“in” speaks of a glorious position

“new” speaks of a gracious provision.

The great possibility.  The apostle Paul is writing “therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature.”  Possibility is that each and every one of us might be saved.  “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”(Acts 2 verse 21)  The tragedy is that if we are not saved then we are on the way to a Christless and lost eternity.  The Lord said “him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” (John 6 verse 37)  Doesn’t matter who he is, no one is excluded here because the apostle Paul is making a great assumption.  What are the qualifications for any man to get saved, to be a new creature in Christ?  Ephesians 1 verse 13 “after that ye heard the word of truth … ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.”  Firstly must hear the word.  That is the most important message you can hear in your life.  “Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10 verse 17)  The one who left heaven’s glory, he took upon himself the form of a servant and accepted death even death on a cross.  “If it be possible let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26 verse 39) he said.  It was only according to the fathers will.  That is why Christ died on the cross.  He came into the world to seek and to save that which was lost.  No other way but to die on the cross of Calvary.  Paul said first of all with your heart then you believe there comes an exercise after you hear the gospel.  That is to believe what you have heard, to believe and put your trust in Christ.  Heard, trust and then you were sealed with the Holy Ghost.  What do you hear when you hear the gospel – your need of salvation, dependence, trusting, believing, coming.  That is what you hear.  Jesus says “repent and believe the gospel.”  There has to be a turning away from sin.  That is what it means to repent, have a sense of assurance in your heart.  In John 5 we see a man lying at the pool of Bethsaida for 30 years.  He had been there waiting for the waters to stir.  The first person who went into the waters after the stirring would be healed.  Every time it happened he couldn’t get in.  The Lord spoke to him and healed him.  He met him again in the temple.  “Sin no more lest a worse thing come unto thee” Jesus told him.  Remember the woman taken in the act of adultery.  The law said she should be stoned.  Jesus asked “let him that is without sin cast the first stone.”  They all edged away because they knew they had all sinned.  He turned to the woman and said “go and sin no more.”  In John 4 the woman at the well brought her water pot out to where Jesus was sitting.  She was living in a wrong relationship.  That day she met Christ and left her water pot behind.  She was making a clean break.  It is important to hear the word of God.  A message of repentance, a message of the cross, of coming in childlike faith and trusting in Christ.  Have you ever done that?

Notice a glorious position.  “If any man be in Christ” no one can take up this position of his own accord.  It was only taken up by means of baptism not water baptism but the Holy Spirit.  1 Corinthians 12 verse 13 “for by one spirit are we all baptised into one body” we have to be baptised into the body – why – “because by nature we were sinners.”  By nature I am a sinner.  The moment I was converted I was a sinner because I was born in sin, shapen in iniquity.  Heaven’s door was closed in my face because born in that condition.  God has opened the door for us.  We can be reconciled back to God through his glorious gospel.  Perhaps you are now in Christ.  Remember Paul was speaking to believers.  There was a time before you were saved when you were without Christ.  Imagine that for a moment.  You could be here and without Christ.  You could have your church, your ministry, all the credits that go with it, the Bible, a prayer book and all the books that go with church but haven’t Christ.  If not saved “ye were without Christ …” but now Christ brings them right up to date. “ye who were sometimes afar off were made near by the blood of Christ”.  They had trusted in the Lord.  God brought them into a glorious position.  They were now enjoying being “in Christ”.  It means to be free from the penalty of sin.  The Bible says “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6 verse 23)  The word death means eternal separation from God.  If there never was a time when you came to Calvary, confessed your sin before God, taken the Lord as Saviour, knew your sins forgiven then if you were to die in that situation you would be cut off from God for all eternity.  Imagine if that were to happen to you tonight.  You would go out into hell and you would be there for countless ages of eternity.  I know there are many who would disagree and preach there is no such a thing as punishment of hell, that you would be simply turned away from it.  This is not what Jesus teaches.  We could have this glorious position.  What a wonderful position to be in.  The penalty is gone.  In the Old Testament scriptures there were 6 cities of refuge.  These cities were for those who would commit a crime unintentionally.  One particular man in question was Abner.  He slew a man, the brother of Joab.  He went to one of these cities of refuse but he wanted to go back to see David.  Abner spoke to David then returned to the city of refuge.  Joab found out he had been with David and followed him.  As he entered the city he spoke to Abner, put his arm around his shoulder, took his sword and killed him.  Abner fell dead in the shadow of the city gate.  David lamented over his death “died Abner as a fool dieth.”  He could have stepped across the threshold into safety of that city but didn’t do it.  He stopped to talk to the enemy.  You are sitting in the shadow of the cross.  One step would take you into safety of heaven and home.  Satan will tell you otherwise, don’t you listen to him.  He wants to damn your soul.  Come to Christ, make the Lord your Saviour.

There is a gracious provision.  Look at the gracious provision “if any man be in Christ he is a new creature.”  You say you couldn’t keep it.  The Lord makes you a new creature, old things have passed away.  Remember the apostle Paul’s testimony.  He would say he was a religious character but he committed some erroneous crimes.  Galatians 1 verse 22 “and was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ but they had heard only that he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the fiath which once he destroyed.” God made him a new creature.  1 Corinthians 6 verse 9 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. … And such were some of you but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”  Are you interested in seeing your soul saved and ready for heaven and home?  Will you not come?  James 4 “he giveth more grace”.  If you were to come to Christ he will save your soul, fill your heart with grace to go on tomorrow.