Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! (2 Corinthian 5:17).
The Old Has Gone
This Bible verse is talking about the transformation that occurs when a person becomes a believer in Jesus Christ. The verse states that when someone is “in Christ” they become a “new creation”, and that the ‘old has gone’. This means that the old man of sin has passed away.
The verse is emphasizing the idea that when a person becomes a Christian, there is a supernatural transformation of the inner man, whereby the old man is removed. This transformation is made possible through the work of the Holy Spirit. The old man with his sinful ways is done away with and the new man has replaced. This new life is one of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Overall, this verse is a powerful reminder of the transformative power of Jesus Christ in the lives of believers. It is a statement of hope and encouragement for those who are struggling with sin and seeking a new way of living.
But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:( Eph 2:4-6 KJV).
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory (Col 3:1-4)
The New Has Come
We were all born into Adam, into an old, fallen, corrupt human race. God has chosen not to renovate the old humanity. Instead, He has chosen to do one thing with it. Put an end to it. He has decided to crucify the old man. We got into Adam by birth. The only way to get out of him is by death. And the only way to get into Christ is by birth, the New Birth.
Note what the Apostle Paul’s says: “Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him” (Rom. 6:6 NKJV), and “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
The Old man cannot be improved He must be put to death. In His resurrection, Jesus became the Head of a New Creation of humanity that transcends the old distinctions of race and gender (Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:10–11; 2 Cor. 5:17).
Here’s the summary of the state of humanity, stated in its simplest form: All of us, the entire human race have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Since the wages of sin is death, all died spiritually. And the physical body dies as a result of this spiritual death. Ephesians 2:1 says, “And you who were dead in trespasses and sins”—that’s us be- fore we were born again— “hath He quickened.” To quicken is to “make alive”. When Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy and talked about some people being dead while they live (1 Tim. 5:6), he did not mean they had ceased to exist. Everyone of us before we came to Christ and were born-again, were spiritually dead. Our spirits did not cease to exist, but we were separated from Life, cutoff from the life of God. So it is with every unregenerated sinner, he or she is spiritually dead. Their spirits still exist and will exist eternally because that part of man, whether saved or unsaved was made in the image of God and will exist eternally. But the sinner’s spirit is not connected to or in relationship with God who is Life. A sinner’s spirit is separated from the life of God his creator.
God told Adam, concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
“Thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17).
He was not referring to physical death, though physical death came as a consequence of spiritual death, and Adam did not die physically that day. But the moment he tasted of it, he did die spiritually. Adam did not cease to exist spiritually either. But he immediately lost his relationship with God, and was separated from Him. He suddenly found himself with a fallen nature. He who had been walking and talking with God since birth, started hiding from Him. When God came down in the cool of the day to commune with Adam, he was nowhere to be found.
“Adam, Where are you?” God called out. Adam answered,
“I heard your voice and was afraid, and I hid myself”
Sin separates man from God.
In addition, spiritual death also means that fallen man has become a child of the devil and have Satan’s nature. While talking to the Pharisees, the Lord Jesus said:
“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44).
On the other hand, when one is born again, he becomes a child of God and takes on the nature of the Father God. He has eternal life.
What Is Eternal Life?
“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”; “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.“
“And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.”
“And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life”
“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (Joh 17:3, 1Ti 1:15, Rom 6:23, 1Jn 2:25,1Jn 5:11, 1Jn 5:20).
Since the entire human race have sinned, all have received the wages of sin–which is death. We were all dead and cannot deliver ourselves from the power of sin and death. Man is powerless, helpless, and doomed. So to give us life or bring us salvation, someone must, of necessity, die in our place. And that someone, must be among the living and be without sin. A sinner cannot do it because he himself would need to pay for his own sins first, which we already confirmed that no one can do. A dead-man cannot help anyone, not even himself. So a righteous man, who is alive must come forward to pay the price for us. Our situation was hopeless. It was at this right time that
God demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us”
The New Living Translation renders this passage this way:
“When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
God seeing our helplessness and because of His love for us, sent Jesus Christ His Son who came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died in our place. By this, He paid, in full, the price of eternal life for anyone who would believe and accept Him as their substitute and redeemer.
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved? That’s the million-dollar question. We read in the sixteenth Chapter of Acts of the Philippian Jailer earnestly asking this question of Paul and Silas. After an earthquake shook the prison and the prison doors were forced open by the tremors, the prisoners shackles were broken and they were all free. The Jailer was going to kill himself thinking the prisoners were gone, but Paul intervened, letting him know all of them were still present. Falling down and trembling before Paul and Silas, he asked this million-dollar question. This is a question every human must ask, get a clear answer to, and act upon.
What must I do to be saved? Paul and Silas said: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
When you put your faith in Christ Jesus, God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit performs the work of regeneration in you. Everything that’s needed for your salvation, in its entirety, is provided by God. There’s no requirement from your side. All you need do is accept or receive that which has been packaged for you by God. And the ONE key word in the salvation message is “Believe” (e.g., John 1:12; 3:15, 16), which is not only the one thing God requires but also the ONLY thing that man can do (John 3:18).
Forgiveness, Remission, and Justification
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:1,2).
When we put our faith in Christ as Savior, we receive forgiveness, remission for our sins and justification.
Remission is often translated forgiveness in the Bible, but it includes freedom from sin, and the guilt created by sin as well. Forgiveness is the act of pardon for a transgressor. The guilt is still there. The sin is essentially covered and overlooked as was the case under the Law where the blood of bulls and ram only covered the sins of the covenant people of God but could not really bring them remission of sin. Remission is forgiveness plus God’s solution to the problem of guilt.
The Holy God had established before that “Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin”, life must be given up to bring about remission, since the life of the living creature is in its blood, shedding of blood is synonymous with dying. The soul that sinneth it must pay for it, and the payment is death. But divine justice can be satisfied by an equivalent substitute. The blood of sinless animals were shed under the Old Testament. This could not satisfy the demand of the just Judge to bring remission for the people of God. It did bring them forgiveness and covered their sins for a year, but after that they had to repeat this again and again.
Only the Blood of Jesus can totally wash sins away. That’s why He shed His Blood for us. This is God’s provision in the New Covenant in His Blood where provided remission for humanity, once and for all. Of this He said “their sins and trespasses, I will remember no more.
“For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mat 26:28).
His Blood washed and took our sins away. This was not possible in the sacrifices under the Law of Moses. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Heb 10:4).
Therefore He came and offered one sacrifice for sins forever, and by this one offering He hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb 10:12,14).
So remission has to do with forgiveness plus the washing away of sins and its associated guilt from the past. When a man who is dead in sin comes to God, the sin problem is taken care of first. God does not overlook sin, and Justice demands that every debt must be paid. So God first forgives the sinner because Christ already paid its wages, then the sinner is washed in the Blood of the “Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world”. This is remission. These must be completed before the sinner is raised from the dead. The sin problem must be taken care off first. Notice that this is the work of God and His alone.
Nothing But the Blood of Jesus
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;(Rom 3:25).
It is not based on the sinner’s effort in seeking salvation. No penance on his side will bring remission, it’s only by the Blood of the Lamb.
“What can wash away my sin Nothing but the Blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again Nothing but the Blood of Jesus
O’ precious is that flow
That made me white as snow No other font I know
Nothing but the Blood of Jesus”
Once the sin problem is taken care of. The sinner who is dead in trespasses and sins is raised together with Christ. He or she receives justification, and is regenerated to becomes a new creation in Christ Je- sus. Justification takes care of his relationship and continual fellowship with God after the new birth has taken place. Remission takes care of forgiveness and guilt of the past life, while justification is for the life ahead of the new creation man. It has to do with our standing before God. It gives the child of God the ability and confidence to enter the presence of God as His child would do. Justification is God’s solution to the problem of guilt in the believer. Justification gives the child of God, righteousness consciousness and removes sinner’s complex before the holy God. To be justified means that Christ has deposited His righteousness into the believer’s account and all God sees of him is righteousness at all time. Christ has become his righteousness, and the believer’s record is perfect like that of Christ because God see him in Christ Jesus. And there’s therefore no condemnation to him.
Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin (Rom 6:6).
Old Adam, the flesh, the carnal mind will never pass through the gates of Eden. The New Creation Man is he who is created to dwell there in the Presence of God eternally with no fear for he is fully Justified. There can be no objection to his entrance, for he has been declared righteous. “Therefore by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified (declared righteous) in His sight” (Rom. 3:20). Man can never have a right standing before God on the basis of works or by the blood of bulls as was demonstrated by Israel under the Law. No one is justified by the law for the law condemns, and condemnation is antithesis of justification. Neither could the Law clear their guilty conscience to stand before God, for “by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
“We are justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law” (Gal. 2:16), for “there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
“Justification,” here for the New Creation is the act of a judge, in which he pronounces the person arraigned free from guilt after true and proper examination and thus fully entitled to be treated as righteous according to the law. This is justification—because the New creation man is newly born of God and is as pure and righteous as God his father. The old is gone and the new man is come. And the new man is exactly in the image of Him that created him.
Since “to condemn” does not mean “to declare evil” them that are innocent, “to justify” should not mean “to declare good” those that are guilty. Since both condemnation and justification are a contrasting judicial pair, they should be consistent in meaning. At new birth, it’s the spirit of man alone that’s recreated. That’s the inner-man which the Scriptures describe as the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
That’s the man that Jesus made righteous by the work on the cross, and it’s the one saved at this time. The salvation of the soul and the redemption and transformation of the physical body to become like Jesus will come later. When we see Him we shall be like Him.
To be justified means to be acquitted. This means to be declared by a court of law not guilty after thorough investigation. Justification means that you’re really innocent. Thus, justification is not concerning forgiveness or pardon for the errors and sins of the old nature, but to the standing and the state the New Creation. Justification has to be for the ’New Creation’ for Adam the old-man is totally guilty, and that’s is why Jesus Christ, the last Adam, came.
Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.Rom 4:25
After He finished paying for our offences, God raised Him up from the dead; And we were raised up together with Him. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;(Eph 2:1,5,6).