What does it mean to be made a new creation after conversion? This devotion looks at the process that accomplishes that.
Nuggets
- In order to become children of God, we have to believe in Jesus – be in Christ.
- Once we are in Christ, we are made a new creation.
- Regeneration is where the old is eliminated, and the new takes its place.
The concept of being a new creation can be confusing to some. I know it is to me. Let’s see if we can figure out what Paul was telling us.
What Does “in Christ” Mean?
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ …” (II Cor. 5: 17 CSB)
We’ve talked about being in Christ before. When he used the term in Ephesians, Paul wanted his readers to contrast their current life in Christ to the time before conversion or without Christ.
Being a creature of God isn’t enough to make us children of God. Nor is being made in His image. Being made children of God occurs through regeneration and adoption. In order to become children of God, we have to believe in Jesus – be in Christ.
We have to make the decision every day to be in Christ. To me, being in Christ is synonymous with abiding in Christ. I guess, though, it just depends on from whose perspective we are looking at it. In Christ has the slant that He is within us. Abiding in Christ has more of a connotation that we are in Him.
Either way, the focus should be in Christ. We are only saved because Jesus provided salvation from our sins. Salvation is deliverance from evil and the consequences of sins to replace them with eternal life and good. Sin is when we disobey God and break one of His laws and commandments.
Listen to what Parry said. He wrote, “We are lost in ourselves, but are to find ourselves in Him, surrounded by His merits as with a wall of defence (sic), sheltered by them as by an all-embracing canopy.”
We can’t earn salvation. We can’t do all the do’s and not do the don’ts. Even if we could, we would still be spiritually dead. Spiritual death is the separation from God that occurred as a consequence of Adam and Eve’s original sin.
The foundation of our salvation is faith. Faith is the belief that the doctrines stated in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them. We become in Christ in order to be saved (Robson).
The wonderful part is anyone can have faith in Jesus. Anyone can ABCD – it just has to be genuine. We aren’t “too bad” that He can’t save us.
It is all about being unified with Christ. That happens the moment we choose to have faith. Robson wrote that it was “not one in essence, in nature, or person; but one with Christ in law — in the eye of the Divine Lawgiver.”
That makes sense. Remember, sin is when we disobey God and break one of His laws and commandments. Salvation has to encompass bringing us into being obedient.
New Us
“… he is a new creation …” (II Cor. 5: 17 CSB)
Once we are in Christ, we are made a new creation. Robson wrote, “The change is not antecedent to, but consequent on, the state of being in Christ.”
I know that is a hard concept for some to handle. Yes, we are still in our earthly bodies. We still have our sinful nature.
But as new creations, we receive a new disposition. Our disposition is our temperamental makeup. We develop new habits and goals.
We receive a new character upon conversion. Then we also build our character to be more like God’s when we navigate the sanctification road.
This change has to be a complete change — body, mind, and soul. We have new views and new affections. We have to have new boundaries.
Clarke made an excellent point. He wrote, “It is one thing to be with Christ, and another thing to be in Him.” If we are going to be in Christ, we have to be like Christ — we have to imitate Him.
We can be with Jesus without imitating Him — being in Christ. Remember what Jesus said? “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Mt. 7: 21 CSB).
Our heart has to be that of Jesus’. Our mind has to be His mind.
Clarke wrote that, “To be in Christ we must love Him. But love means much more than blind affectionate instincts, or clinging attachments, or sudden emotions. Love looks up to receive a higher influence, to be inspired by a purer life. Love must elevate us, or it is not really love.”
Becoming a new creation comes naturally when we are genuine about ABCDing. We’ve said that salvation is a three-part process.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
We are changed from spiritually dead to spiritually alive upon conversion.
We work out our salvation on the sanctification road.
One day, sin will be eliminated when we reach our heavenly home (Did Election Fail?).
Conversion is a flip of a switch. We were spiritually dead; now we are spiritually alive. We were without Christ; now we are in Christ. This is regeneration. Regeneration is the change in us that God brings about when we go from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive.
Sanctification is a process. Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul beginning with regeneration and ending with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness. Perfection means we have become holy, sanctified, and righteous.
Think about it. It has to be a growth process. God has to start with us where we are and work to get our character where we need to be. This is not starting from scratch. It isn’t a instantaneous overhaul. If He did that, free will would go out the window.
Besides, what did Jesus tell Nicodemus? God’s kingdom has a specific entrance requirement. That requirement is that we be born again.
How does man become a new creation? Watson said it was through the Holy Spirit and the Word.
We talked before about the role of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit works individually with us — specifically with whatever issues we are dealing with at the time. The Holy Spirit is going to interpret Scriptures so that we can understand what God is telling us as well as teach us things that aren’t in the Bible.
It is imperative that we read the Scriptures. When we diligently read the Scriptures, we leave less of an opening for sin to take hold. We have to approach reading the Scriptures with faith. We can’t expect instant understanding when we read Scriptures. Instead, change has to come from our heart as God reveals His mysteries to us.
The Old Is Gone
“… the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” (II Cor. 5: 17 CSB)
The old is our old physical, sinful self. The new is all about conversion and regeneration.
Beecher reminded us that our conversion is a process, also. That is why Spurgeon says many cannot generally pinpoint the exact day. We might identify the day we go forward in a service.
Spurgeon went on to outline the process.
- “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of him” (I Jn. 5: 1 CSB).
- “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2: 1 CSB).
- “It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation” (Gal. 6: 15 NLT).
- “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1: 13 ESV).
- “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life” (Jn. 5: 24 CSB).
- “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Pet. 1: 3 CSB).
We have also talked about being crucified with Christ. “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin” (Rome 6: 6-7 CSB).
Regeneration is a change. That is where the old is eliminated, and the new takes its place.
Making the Connections
Most non-believers see new creation and think believers won’t sin anymore. We see new creation and think that is all there is.
We ignore the the-past-has-no-hold-on-me part. We ignore that we aren’t who we used to be.
We used to be separated from God. Now we aren’t. The relationship has been restored.
How Do We Apply This?
Faith is the foundation. However, since it is a process, we need to grow our faith. We do that by seeking God.
Searching for and Seeking God
Hearing His Word (Rom. 10: 17).
Reading His Word (Rev. 1: 3).
Praying to Him (Heb. 4: 16).
Studying His Word (Ac. 17: 11).
Meditating on His Word (Ps. 1: 1-2).
Memorizing His Word (Ps. 119: 11).
To read Has God Provided Everything We Need?, click the button below.
As we read God’s Word, we need to make sure we are following His laws and commandments. Those are given to change our character so we are imitating Him. We need to do it.
Yes, we become a new creation. It is going to take the rest of our lives for us to become perfect.
Father God. We give our lives over to You. Make us a new creation, and continue perfecting us until we are like You. Amen.
What do you think?
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