Text: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (v. 17).
How can a person become a new creation?
How do old things pass away?
What things become new?
The answers to these questions lie in the process of “reconciliation.”
Have you ever been upset with someone to the point that the words exchanged brought a negative relationship between the two of you? In other words, you did not want to associate with that person, you did not want to be a part of that person’s life and you lost respect for that person.
There are young people who have difficulty with their parents during their teenage years. They don’t understand why their parents wants things done a certain way, why they are not permitted to run with a certain crowd, why they have to be in at a certain hour, why they can’t dress like some of their friends, etc.
Sometimes this leads to a broken relationship between the parents and the young person. It may even get to the point they run away from home.
This same sort of situation could occur between husband and wife. In this day when both partners are working and have contact with other people throughout the workday, feelings and emotions may get out of hand. Perhaps the husband or the wife might be having a bad day and they confide in a co-worker who has time to listen and who sympathizes with the person and a different type of relationship is formed.
Maybe the couple exchanged words before going to work and when they get to work they need someone to talk to. When these people relate their problems to other people, the problems are usually much bigger as they tell their version of the story. This is just human nature to make the story bigger and more dramatic. This listener begins to feel sorry for the story teller and a relationship forms.
When the couple are at home, one or the other begins to think about how wonderful this listener was and compares them to their spouse and decides the spouse doesn’t measure up to the listener and a division in the relationship begins to take place. When this happens and continues for any period of time the marriage might be headed for trouble.
The line of communication between the parties of the family must remain open. Young people and their parents or husband and wife must come to some kind of understanding so that the relationships are re-established. In other words, the dispute or misunderstanding must be resolved. The differences must be reconciled or the process of reconciliation must take place.
Our Scripture reading refers to a relationship between man and God. When God created man, God said “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…. “So God created man in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27).
Adam and Eve had a wonderful relationship with God. God provided all the necessities of life for them and he placed them in a beautiful garden. What else could they desire? They were created in God’s image. Since God did not want puppets that he could manipulate, he gave them a mind to make decisions. One decision they made was to disobey God.
When disobedience occurred, God did not disown them. He loved them as much as he did before they disobeyed him. Although God loved Adam and Eve, life would never be the same for them. He said to the woman, “I will increase your pain and your labor when you give birth to children” Gen 3:16.
God said to the man, “The ground is cursed because of you. Through hard work you will eat food that comes from it every day of your life. The ground will grow thorns and thistles for you and you will eat wild plants. By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat until you return to the ground, because you were taken from it. You are dust, and you will return to dust.” (Gen 3:17-19).
Can you see that there was a different relationship between man and God? The relationship had changed. This was not a hate relationship. This was a relationship broken by disobedience. God’s love for his creation was still there. God knew he did not create something that was no good of or of no value.
Think back for a moment when you were a child and you disobeyed your parents. They did not appreciate when you were disobedient, but on the other hand, they never hated you, despised you, or disowned you. They had just as much love for you after your act of disobedience as they did before the act occurred. I don’t believe there is any one parent in here that ever lost love for the child they helped bring into the world. Parents just don’t normally give up on their children.
God has never given up on his children. There are some humans who have given up on God and they have destroyed the temple God created for them. They have chosen to spend eternity without him. They have chosen to take the wide road instead of the straight and narrow road. They have listened to the voice of the devil instead of inviting the Holy Spirit to take up residence in their hearts and listen to the voice of Almighty God. They have chosen their destiny.
Since God created man, he knew what was in man’s heart. He knew the bad choices man would make before he even made them. Therefore, God already had a plan on the drawing board of life, a plan that would give man a second chance to re-establish a personal relationship with him.
Before man committed the first sin, man and God had a relationship like two peas in a pod. When the sin was committed, one of the peas in the pod began to shrivel up and pull away from the good pea.
Adam and Eve’s eyes were opened after they sinned and like the shriveled pea which became smaller and distant from the good pea, Adam and Eve became distant from Almighty God. God did not move away from them, but instead by their sin, they moved away from God. God did not disown them or hate them.
God knew that every seed of Adam and Eve would have the same nature and that nature was a sinful nature. He could have wiped out Adam and Eve and that would have ended mankind, but instead, God showed his love and compassion by instituting his plan of redemption. This plan would change the relationship between God and man and would be dependent upon man’s acceptance of the Cross of Jesus Christ bridging the gap between sinful man and Almighty God.
Reconciliation can occur between persons who are at odds with each other. That person might be the teenager who had a misunderstanding with his parents. That person might be the husband or wife who feels they have lost the tender loving relationship they once had with one another. That person could be the employee who has lost respect and trust in his/or employer. That person could be a church member who now sees his or her pastor in a different light because of words or actions brought about by the pastor. The relationship between the member and the pastor has changed and the member has chosen to move away from the church.
Whatever the issue or whatever brought about a separation between persons to the point of enmity or hatred can be fixed by the process of reconciliation. If the parties are willing to settle the dispute or resolve the issue at hand by forgiving and forgetting, the friendship can be re-established.
God loved his creation so much that he was willing to give his Son to die on the Cross so man could be redeemed and re-form the relationship that once existed between man and God.
Scripture says, “For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son…” (Romans 5:10).
Note the Scripture indicates man was God’s enemy. Man was the one who created the problem and not God. It was man who became disobedient. It was man who hid from God and not God from man.
“In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking around in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees in the garden” (Gen 3:8).
Man knew the relationship changed because he never had to hide before. His eyes were opened and the first thing Adam and Eve noted was that they were naked. Man’s sinfulness caused the separation in their relationship with God. It was man who had to be reconciled to God and not God to man.
Since the beginning of time, since the original sin, every person born is born with a sinful nature. God has given every person the opportunity to change from that sinful nature to a right relationship with him. Man cannot change by his own power, but he can change by the action of God.
When man is ready and willing to make the change through the redemptive process; that process of deliverance brought about through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, he will be reconciled to God.
Scripture states, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace…” (Ephesians 1:7).
Scripture also states, “…you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (I Peter 1:18,19).
Every man, woman, boy, or girl can become a new creation?
When we talk about becoming a new creation, we are talking about changes that take place on the inside of us. Physically, we are not going to look any different than we now look. Our skin isn’t going to change color and we aren’t going to look more glamorous or handsome on the outside. The one outward physical change should be a smile on our face which will be a sign to other people that a change has taken place in your heart. They will note that you are different than you were before. A change on the inside will automatically bring about a change on the outside.
A person can become a new creation when that person realizes there is something missing in their life. This might come about when they seen another person who always seems happy, smiling, willing to go the second mile for a brother or sister, caring, considerate, understanding and loving.
This loving person seems to have all that life has to offer and is willing to share it with whoever is willing to accept it. This loving person enjoys his family, enjoys his work, participates in school activities with his children, attends church, takes an active part in church activities and likes to share the Word of God with those who will listen.
The person on the outside, the person who has not yet become a new creation may have issues in his or her life. To start out with, this person does not have Christ in the center of their life. The person might have issues taking place in their life; issues such as an addiction or alcohol, addiction to drugs or an addiction to gambling.
This individual has emptiness in his or her heart and they can’t seem to cope with life.
Their addictions might be causing a breakdown within their family. They may get to the point of losing their job, thus, causing hardship with their spouse and their children. They might even get to the point of taking their own life because they feel as though they have no one to turn to, no one who will listen to them or no one who can do anything for them. They are at rock-bottom. They are as low as they can get.
By the grace of God they turn on the TV or the radio or call a friend and realize that someone is ready and willing to listen. Someone can lead them to a Man who can take care of their problem. That someone, that new creation has the answer to their problems. The answer Man is none other than the God himself.
The TV pastor, the radio pastor, or the friend says to the lost person: “You need Jesus in your life. Jesus can make you a new person. Jesus wants you to cast your burden upon him. Jesus is who can make a difference in your life. Jesus is your answer won’t you accept what he has to offer you?”
The lost person looks up, because they are at their lowest point, and through the tears sees the outstretched arms of Jesus saying, “Come unto Me”.
The person is led in a prayer like this: “Lord, Jesus, I am sorry for all that I have done wrong. I am sorry for all the bad things I have done. I believe you came to this earth save a sinner like me. I believe in your birth, your death, and in your resurrection. I believe you have a place for me in your kingdom. I am asking you to come into my heart this very moment and make me a new creation. I love you and praise you and thank you.” Amen.
At that very moment the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that person’s heart and they are no longer the person they used to be. They no longer want to do the things they did before. They are a child of the King.
Reconciliation has taken place and a redeemed nature has been created. Fellowship between man and God has now been restored. This person is now a new creation.
This new creation is supercharged and ready to set the world on fire for Jesus. Attending a Bible believing church is a top priority. Gathering with other believers for fellowship, song, and praise is what life is all about. God is first in the life of this new creation.
Paul said to the Ephesians, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ…” (Ephesians 5:17-20).
The Son shines through every new creation so that others might receive redemption, reconciliation and salvation.
Amen.
