The New Nature

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Paul writes his letter to the church at Corinth with great zeal and persuasion. The city is flooded with false religions; the economy is a major influence in the city. Degradation is rampant in the city. In the church, although Paul has only preached the one true Gospel, many false teachers have led many in the church astray. With troubles on the outside, and troubles on the inside, Paul compels the church to stand true in the one and only Gospel that he has preached. Trying to create the separation of the old way of life and the new life in Jesus Christ, Paul states, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  The phrase “new creation” signifies a radical change in a person’s spiritual state. When someone accepts Christ, their past sins, guilt, and shame are replaced with a new identity and purpose. Paul emphasizes that the “old has gone,” indicating that the previous moral and spiritual condition has been left behind. Now we are a new creation in Christ.

No matter what is going on around us, no matter the old nature that tries to rise up, we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. The way we used to act in the sin nature, it has no part of the new nature. The new signifies the fresh start and the new life that believers can experience through the Holy Spirit. No matter what the outside influences are, stay true to Jesus.

Prayer:

Lord, when the old man and the old life tries to creep in, help us to push past the old nature and press on in the new nature that we have with You. In Your name, Lord Jesus, Amen!