2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 5:11-17,
“If Any Man Is In Christ He Is A New Creation”
By
1.
INTRO
1.1.
In our last study, we looked at the assurance that we as Christians
have that when Christ returns for the church or we pass on from this life, that
we will be resurrected from the dead in a glorified body and spend eternity
with the Lord
1.1.1. We saw that it is such an
important thing for each of us as Christians to have the confident assurance in
our lives that when we die or the Lord returns that we will go directly to be
with Him, and that without this confidence, we as Christians will always hold
back from living life in the full vigor that God intended for us as well as
fulfilling our calling from the Lord.
1.2.
In our study today, we are going to look again at Paul defending
himself against this group of ‘super-apostles’ who had come to the church in
Jerusalem, and being Judaisers, who were leading the people to believe that
they had to practice the law of Moses as a Jew, and further even as a Pharisee,
in addition to having faith in Christ, if they wanted to have salvation. In this section we will see that Paul begins
to indirectly infer major differences between himself and these
‘super-apostles’ regarding the way they view Christ as well as their heart
motives for ministry. Paul shows his evidence
of being made a new creation in Christ by a radical transformation of
his nature, a radical love for lost souls, and a radical willingness
to lay his life down for others:
1.2.1. Paul points out to them that
he and those with him had given their lives for the preaching of the gospel so
that the lost could come to salvation, inferring that the ‘super-apostles’ were
not preaching the gospel nor giving up their lives for the souls of men
1.2.2. Paul tells the Corinthians
that he and those with him were controlled by the love of Christ in all that
they did
1.2.3. Paul tells the Corinthians
that Jesus gave His life for us so that we in turn might yield our lives back
up to Him
1.2.4. Paul speaks to them about
the fact that he was serving a living and risen Lord whereas the
‘super-apostles’ were serving a Jesus that was merely according to the flesh
1.2.5. Paul tells the Corinthians
that if a person comes to know Christ that God makes them an entire new creation,
and thus they recognize no man according to the flesh
2.
VS 5:11 - “11 Therefore
knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God;
and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.” - Paul writes to the Corinthians that because
they have a healthy respect for and know the ‘fear’ (or respect) of the Lord,
that they ‘persuade men’ through the gospel and are made manifest to God
2.1.
Paul had in the previous verses mentioned that each of us as Christians
would give an account of ourselves to the Lord for all of the things that we
have done since coming to salvation.
This would be done when we stand before the ‘Bema Seat’ of Christ which
is the judgment of rewards for believers.
Nevertheless, here Paul means by the ‘fear of the Lord’ not a “being
terrified” of God but rather a deep reverence he had for the Lord. Knowing that reverence, Paul writes that ‘we
persuade men.’
2.2.
I believe that Paul was a man who had such a deep personal relationship
with Christ that if most of us were around him that we would feel as if we
don’t even know Christ in comparison.
I’m sure that Paul’s persecutions were used in his life to bring that
kind of a closeness in his relationship with Christ. I had a friend once who told me that he once
went and heard a man speak who had been tortured for Christ for several years
in another country. He told me that you
sense this mans presence in the room before you saw or heard him, the presence
of the Lord was so evident. It occurred
to me this morning as I was reading my Oswald Chambers devotional that much of
the time we Christians think about God instead of pray, and we wonder what His
will is rather than seek Him to show us it.
If find myself often going through the motions of my quiet times and not
really opening up my heart for the Lord to speak to me or listening attentively
to His voice. But, the Lord wants us to
wait upon Him and to attune ourselves to hear His voice and to be attentive to
Him, and really do this all throughout our day.
I believe that this characterized the apostle Paul’s relationship with
Christ.
2.3.
All through this letter of 2 Corinthians we see that Paul is either
directly or indirectly defending himself to the Corinthians. Much of his defending of himself is also directed
towards defending himself verses the group of ‘super-apostles’ who had come to
the church in Corinth and were leading them into belief in another gospel, and
as we will see later in this chapter, another Jesus. Paul is in this verse defending himself by
pointing to the fact that he and those with him were giving up their lives and
security in order to preach the gospel, to ‘persuade men.’ The preaching of the gospel separated them
from these ‘super-apostles.’ The
‘super-apostles’ were not zealous for the preaching of the gospel of salvation
by grace through faith in Christ, rather they were concerned that believers
keep the law of Moses in addition to their faith in Christ.
2.4.
It was the preaching of the gospel by Paul that had brought the church
in
2.5.
Here is perhaps a point in which we ought to ask ourselves why it was
that the Corinthians did not have the discernment in order to realize that
these ‘super-apostles’ were preaching another gospel, that they were false
apostles? There was no reason that they
should have doubted Paul and his ministry.
What flaw in their faith and character had brought this about? Why didn’t they see that if righteousness
could come via the law of Moses that the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross was
unnecessary?
2.5.1. In the book of 1 Corinthians
we see that Paul pointed out to the Corinthians many areas of their lives that
were not pleasing to the Lord, however their real underlying problems were
those of the heart. They were ‘me’
centered and walking in the flesh and not the Spirit, for the most part. This was seen so clearly in the fact that
they were divided up in the various factions which were saying that they were
of: Paul, Peter, Barnabas, or
Jesus. I think that the Corinthians were
lured in by the ‘super-apostles’ through their pride. Their pride was tickled by these false
apostles who taught them that they could be pleasing to God based upon their
works, by rule and law keeping. Paul had
corrected the Corinthians, whereas the ‘super-apostles’ appealed to their pride
and being thus flattered they received these false apostles and their teaching.
2.6.
Paul tells the Corinthians here also that he and those with him were in
their preaching of the gospel ‘made manifest to God.’ They were called and commissioned directly by
God, and the winning of souls through their preaching of the gospel was an
evidence of God working and of their being known and approved of God.
2.6.1. Remember, the
‘super-apostles’ were not out risking their lives to preach about Christ. They were possibly not even sharing faith in
Christ with the lost.
2.6.2. But the Corinthians owed
their eternal salvation to Paul’s preaching, so how could they now doubt his
apostleship?
3.
VS 5:12-13 - “12 We
are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be
proud of us, that you may have an answer for those who take pride in
appearance, and not in heart. 13 For if
we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that he is not
again commending himself to the Corinthians but rather giving them a reason to
be proud of him
3.1.
Paul’s intention in this verse is yet again to compare himself and
those with him with the false ‘super-apostles.
3.2.
Paul is saying in this verse that he is not reminding the Corinthians
that he and those with him were always laying down their lives for the
preaching of the gospel so that they could ‘commend’ themselves to them. In fact, Paul should not have needed any
commendation of himself to the Corinthians, after all each one of them owed at
least to some degree their eternal salvation to Paul because had he not
preached to them they would be still be lost in their sins. Rather, he is pointing out to them that they
ought to look at him as an example of what a true apostle and disciple of
Christ should be doing, sharing his testimony of salvation and faith in Christ
with others.
3.3.
Paul tells the Corinthians that he has reminded them of his heart for
souls and the willingness that he had to lay down his life for the preaching of
the gospel and the saving of souls thereby so that the Corinthians might be
able to have an answer to the ‘super-apostles’ for Paul’s motives and decisions
he makes. The ‘super-apostles’ were
taking ‘pride in appearance’ Paul says, that is their Christian life was one of
external observance of law and rule keeping, however Paul is inferring that his
laying down of his life so that others could be saved through the preaching of
the gospel was a ministry of God through the Holy Spirit, and thus of the
heart.
3.3.1. Paul lived for others and
everything about his life was a reflection of that.
3.3.2. The ‘super-apostles’
demanded a salary, promoted themselves and their spirituality, and everything
in their lives centered around themselves in reality.
3.3.3. We have seen already that
the legalist, that is the person who is primarily a rule and law-keeper rather
than walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, is concerned only about the
external observances in his life. The
inner motivations of the heart for the things that he does are not that much of
a concern to him, if at all. However,
motivation is a key to true godliness and walking in the power of the Holy
Spirit.
3.3.4. May I ask you to ask the Lord
to reveal to you if you have the heart for the salvation and souls of men that
God would have you to have? Could you
say that you could be commended based upon the passion that you have shown in
seeing that souls be won to Christ?
3.4.
Paul said that if he and those with him were ‘beside’ themselves that
it was for God, or in other words, because of their love for God. Paul’s ministry was something that he did
before God, and it was most important to him that he be pleasing to God. Thus, all that Paul did he did in such a way
so that the Lord would be leading him in it and be pleased with him in it.
3.4.1. Remember, Paul’s ‘fear of
the Lord’ which he described in verse 11 was not a “being terrified” but rather
a deep reverence he had for the Lord.
3.4.2. Paul’s being ‘beside’
himself shows the deep dedication that he had to the Lord and how that his life
was always characterized by prayer and prayerfulness as he sought to follow
Christ’s leading in everything that he did and as he sought to see the Lord
remove all the strongholds of the enemy over men’s souls.
3.5.
Paul tells the Corinthians that if he and those with him were ‘of sound
mind’ that this was for the sake of the Corinthians. In saying this, Paul is pointing out to them
how his life was characterized by “self-control” as well as all of the other
fruits of the Spirit. In all of his
teaching and his counsel Paul was very careful to follow the Lord’s leading for
he did not want to have the blood of anyone on his hands.
3.5.1. By the way, I have seen and
known people who claimed to be walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, and yet
their lives did not exhibit some of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, such as
‘self-control.’ However, how can we be
filled with the Holy Spirit, which means to be controlled and empowered by the
Holy Spirit, and then not have the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our life?
4.
VS 5:14-15 - “14 For
the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all,
therefore all died;15 and He died for all, that they who live should no longer
live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that the love of
Christ controlled him
4.1.
Love is never the motive of the legalist for ministry. The legalist is always trying to “tow the
line” with the Lord and outdo others, while he is making himself look
good. However, the person who realizes
that he has been brought to salvation only because of the grace and mercy of
God not because of any good in himself but rather in spite of the wickedness in
his heart and the sins he has committed, this man will see people in their need
and be motivated by the love of Christ to reach them with salvation. This man will see himself as just a beggar in
the bread line who is so thankful for a breadline that he just wants to tell
others about it.
4.1.1. The ‘super-apostles’ were
not controlled by the love of Christ.
This fact alone should have been enough to open the eyes of the
Corinthians to the heart motives of both Paul and the ‘super-apostles,’ and
cause them to expel the ‘super-apostles.’
4.1.2. Don’t you believe that our
lives will be different from the people of this sinful world in rebellion
against God as well as many Christians also, if we are truly controlled by the
love of Christ in the things that we do?
How Christ loves people?
4.1.2.1.How Christ desires to reach
them and to see them come to know the Lord and grow in their relationship with
Christ…
4.1.2.2.How Christ never let the
love of the world and the things of this world hinder Him from laying down His
life in order that others could be saved…
4.1.2.3.Sometimes love caused Christ
to have compassion and to be gentle, and other times it caused Him to be bold
and confront and rebuke. But, in all
cases He was doing the things that He only because He had the person’s best and
the glory of God in mind…
4.2.
In 2 Peter 3:15-16, Peter wrote about how that the apostle Paul
wrote some things in his letters that were hard to understand, and in these
verses as well as the next few verses we will see some examples of this type of
“difficult writing” by Paul, “15 and regard the patience of our Lord to
be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom
given him, wrote to you,16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them of
these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught
and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own
destruction.”
4.3.
Paul next introduces us to a doctrinal statement concerning Christ that
has produced some debate throughout the centuries as men have tried to
understand what Paul was really saying:
4.3.1. Paul first of all says that
he had ‘concluded’ that ‘one died for all.’
4.3.1.1.The Greek word ‘concluded’
that is used here is translated here by other translations as ‘we judged,’ ‘are
convinced,’ or ‘we believe.’ These
various renderings of this word then point out that Paul is saying that he and
those with him had come to the opinion or conclusion that Christ died upon the
cross for all.
4.3.1.2.The ‘one’ that Paul is
referring to is Christ, for the gospels and the rest of the New Testament
testify clearly that His death was for the sins of the entire human race.
4.3.1.3.Paul tells us that Christ’s
death was for ‘all,’ but does the ‘all’ only include those who would come to
faith in Christ?
4.3.1.3.1.In 1 John 2:2, the
apostle John answers this question by refuting the notion of a limited
atonement by Christ which is just for those who would be saved as he writes
that Christ died for the entire world, “2 and He Himself is the
propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the
whole world.”
4.3.1.4.There is a comparison here
that we could make concerning the sin of Adam which brought death to all
mankind, and the death of Christ that produce the result that all mankind could
have life. Adam, as the first Adam, and Christ,
as the second Adam, both acted as mankind’s federal head.
4.3.2. Paul then writes that as a
result of Christ dying for all of mankind that, ‘therefore all died.’ However, the big theological question here is
in what sense has all of the world died?
4.3.2.1.I believe that the sense
that Paul intended has to do with our identification with Christ in His death
and resurrection. In the scriptures,
such as Romans chapter 6, we see that when Christ died that all of us as
believers died with him to sin and the old sinful nature, which is symbolized
by our going under the water at baptism.
Likewise, when Christ was raised from the dead on the third day, all
believers in Christ have been raised up to walk in newness of life, which is
symbolized by coming up out of the water at baptism. However, the sticky part here occurs because
Paul appears to be speaking about the entire world not just believers when he
writes that ‘all died.’ I think though
that this is answered by the fact that it is only for believers that this transaction
is completed of actually coming to die to self.
It is available and has been procured for all men and women, however
only those who come to faith in Christ get to experience its saving reality in
their lives.
4.3.3. Paul writes that Christ died
for men so that they would in turn live for Him.
4.3.3.1.Christ purchased our lives
upon the cross of
4.3.3.1.1.In 1 Cor. 6:19-20,
Paul wrote about our being purchased by Christ and what that means in our lives
as believers, “19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your
own? 20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your
body.”
4.3.3.1.2.Christ gave His all for us,
suffering our death we deserved to die for our sinning, our penalty of sin we
deserved to suffer, our separation from God caused by our sins, etc., therefore
we as Christians owe our all to Him.
4.3.3.1.3.In our country this past
year, after the “9/11 Attack On America” by the Islamic terrorists which
resulted in the nearly 3,000 deaths, we have seen our nation suddenly began to
show genuine appreciation to the fire fighters and policemen who lay down their
lives daily for our protection and safety.
We have had tribute after tribute to fire fighters and policemen, and I
think that these are far overdue.
However, when we consider what the holy eternal only and unique Son of
God did in coming to be born among us, live a holy life, and then be willing to
lay His life down for us upon the cross of Calvary, we owe much more to Him
than we owe to the firemen and policemen in our world. We owe our very lives and for eternity we
will be blessed because of all that He has done for us. How could we not now obey His voice and be
willing to live for Him and serve Him with our lives?
5.
VS 5:16 - “16 Therefore
from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have
known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.” - Paul tells the Corinthians that he and those
with him ‘recognize no man according to the flesh’ even though they had ‘known Christ
according to the flesh’ they do not now recognize Him either according to the
flesh
5.1.
This verse is another one that is problematic and whose meaning has
been debated much over the centuries since it was originally penned. The question is, “Why does Paul not recognize
any man according to the flesh?”
5.2.
Paul writes that he and those with him had known Christ at one time
according to the flesh. It has been
pointed out that it is very possible that the apostle Paul, when he was younger
and still known as Saul a zealous Pharisee, had personally known Christ in the
flesh. It is highly likely that their
paths crossed. Thus, Paul could speak
here of literally having known Christ in the flesh.
5.3.
In the next verse, Paul will point out that when anyone comes to know
Christ through receiving “saving faith” in Him that he will become a new
creation and that all things will now become new. Paul has just pointed out that this reality
can be obtained by any person since Christ procured every man’s death and
resurrection to new life through His work on the cross for mankind. It is for these reasons then I believe that
Paul can now say that he does not recognize any man according to the
flesh. Paul knew that if a person has
come to know Christ that he is no longer enslaved by sin and the sin nature but
rather he has been elevated to the place of being an overwhelming conqueror
through Christ. Likewise, if any man was
merely willing to receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ into his heart and
trust upon His finished work upon the cross as full payment for his sins that
he would likewise become a new creature in Christ.
5.4.
Christian cults always teach a salvation that is by works, but they
also always believe something heretical concerning the nature of God
Himself. This was true of the
‘super-apostles’ in
5.4.1. This is very similar to what
many of the churches in
5.4.1.1.I see this often during the
Christmas season. Many people apprehend
a ‘baby Jesus’ in the manger, and the virgin birth of Jesus, but very few
apprehend a risen and exalted Lord over all.
Jesus grew up from being a baby and He taught us, died upon the cross for us, and rose from the
grave. But, many only apprehend Jesus as
a baby. Thus, they too believe in a
different Jesus, an earthly one.
5.4.1.2.The pastors in the liberal
denomination that I grew up in taught from the gospels and Jesus’ various
teachings, however they did not teach about a risen and exalted Lord. I never once heard a gospel challenge or
invitation and never once was made aware of the fact that Jesus was the risen
and exalted Lord who wanted to work in and through my life through His
resurrection power.
5.4.1.3.Some churches teach that
Jesus rose from the dead and that He is a risen Lord, however they draw very
little if any from His resources. They
look to their own wisdom, will power, and strength to try to be good
Christians, and then they are always wondering why they are miserable failures
when it comes to following the Lord and doing His will in their life.
5.4.1.4.Do you serve a risen and
ruling Jesus in your life? Or, is the
Jesus you talk about, think about, and maybe even pray to, a Jesus according to
the flesh?
6.
VS 5:17 - “17 Therefore
if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away;
behold, new things have come.” - Paul tells
the Corinthians that when anyone becomes a Christian that they are made into a
new creature in Christ and everything is new in their life
6.1.
In this verse, we see that whenever a person comes to have saving faith
to Christ that there is a regeneration that occurs in that person’s life that
transforms him completely. In Titus
3:5, Paul wrote to pastor Titus about this regeneration that occurs in a
believers by the Holy Spirit, “5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds
which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing
of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”
6.2.
Spurgeon once preached about this miraculous work of God in the life of a believer
that causes him to become crucified to his old self and sin nature and made
alive to Christ, and how that comes about by God not by our own trying to
reshape, reform, or re-educate our old nature, “I shall in the second place lead you to consider the Essence Of This Novelty. “If any man be
in Christ, he is a new creature.” Read, and the reading will be
accurate, “He is a new creation.” This is a very sweeping statement. A man in Christ
is not the old man purified, nor the old man improved, nor the old man in a
better humor, nor the old man with additions and subtractions, nor the old man
dressed in gorgeous robes No, he is a new creature altogether. As for the old
man, what is to be done with him? Can he not be sobered, reformed, and made to
do us useful service? No, he is crucified with Christ, and bound to die by a
lingering but certain death. The capital sentence is passed upon him, for he
cannot be mended and therefore must be ended. “The carnal mind is enmity
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
You cannot change the old nature, it is immutably bad, and the sooner it is put
away as a filthy and unclean thing the better for us. The believer, so far as
he is in Christ, is a new creation: not the old stuff put into a new fashion,
and the old material worked up into an improved form, but absolutely a new
creation. To create is to make out of nothing, and that is precisely how the
newborn life came into us; it is not a development, or an outgrowth, but a
creation, a heavenly something called into being by a power from above. The new
man in us is made out of nothing that was in us before, for nature does not
assist grace but is opposed to it. Christ has not found light stored away in
our darkness, nor life amid the corruption of our spiritual death. The new
birth is from above, and the life produced thereby is a new creation, and not
the goodness of nature educated till it becomes grace.”
6.3.
The scriptures paint us a picture of the unbeliever’s life as being
enslaved to Satan, sin, and their sinful nature and lusts:
6.3.1. Satan:
6.3.1.1.Unbeliever’s minds are
blinded to the truth and thus they do not understand or believe the gospel
message Paul wrote in 2 Cor. 4:3-4, “3 And even if our gospel is
veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,4 in whose case the god of this
world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
6.3.1.2.Eph. 2:1-2, “1 And you were dead
in your trespasses and sins,2 in which you formerly walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the
spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”
6.3.1.3.Galatians 4:8-9, “8 However at that
time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are
no gods.9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God,
how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things,
to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?”
6.3.2. Sin:
6.3.2.1.Romans 6:6-7, “6 knowing this,
that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done
away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;7 for he who has died is
freed from sin.”
6.3.3. Sinful nature and lusts:
6.3.3.1.Romans 16:17-18, “17 Now I urge you,
brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary
to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.18 For such men are
slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth
and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.”
6.3.3.2.2 Peter 2:19, “19 promising them
freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is
overcome, by this he is enslaved.”
6.4.
A believer however has been made a totally new creature in Christ and
thus he has the power to have victory over Satan, sin, and his sinful nature
and lusts:
6.4.1. Satan:
6.4.1.1.
6.4.1.2.1 John 4:4, “4 You are from God,
little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you
than he who is in the world.”
6.4.2. Sin:
6.4.2.1.Romans 6:1-2, “1 What shall we say
then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase?2 May it never be!
How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”
6.4.2.2.1 Peter 2:24, “24 and He Himself
bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”
6.4.2.3.Rom. 8:2-4, “2 For the law of
the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of
death.3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God
did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for
sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,4 in order that the requirement of the Law
might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according
to the Spirit.”
6.4.3. Sin nature and lusts:
6.4.3.1.Eph. 4:22-24, “22 that, in
reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is
being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,23 and that you be
renewed in the spirit of your mind,24 and put on the new self, which in the
likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
6.5.
To illustrate the fact that we Christians become new creatures in
Christ, I like the analogy of the caterpillar.
We were once like caterpillars before coming to Christ. As caterpillars we crawled around on our
bellies and ate leaves and whatever else grows on this earth. However, when we came to have a relationship
with Christ as our Lord and Savior we were regenerated to new life and became a
new creature, just the way a caterpillar emerges from its cocoon to become a
beautiful butterfly. Butterflies have
wings and can fly above the earth, not being limited by earthbound things any
longer. Butterflies get sick if they eat
plants and the things of this world as they did when they were caterpillars,
for now being a new creature they have a new appetite and they now dine upon
the sweet nectar of the flowers that God has made.
6.5.1. If a person has truly become
a new creature and now has become metaphorically like a butterfly, he will
never do well trying to live like the rest of the people in this world in
rebellion against God. He might sin but
he will never be comfortable or content in sin.
He cannot be comfortable or content because he has become a new creature
in Christ.
6.5.2. In 1 John 3:9, the
apostle John wrote about the fact that if a person has truly become a new
creature in Christ through coming to have true saving faith in Christ, then he
cannot go on living his life continually in sin and the sinful life that he
lived before, “9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His
seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”
6.6.
I want to make an observation here.
There are those in the church today who have experienced various
addictions from which they believed have been delivered by Christ after coming
to salvation, and yet they claim that they are still the same person they were
before and that they will always be that same way. I have some Christian friends who claim that
though they have come to faith in Christ they are still an alcoholic because
once you’re an alcoholic you will always be an alcoholic, or once a heroin
addict you will always be a heroin addict, etc.
However, this cannot be true if you have truly been made a new creation
and Christ has truly made all things new in your life. A Christian immediately becomes an
overwhelming conqueror the moment he receives Christ, and he now has the power
available to him through his faith to have victory over anything that would try
to enslave him, whether Satan, sin, or the sinful nature and its lusts.
6.7.
The ‘super-apostles’ had begun in the Spirit, in the inception of their
Christian walk, however after getting caught up in trying to be righteous
before God based upon their own works they were now like those Paul describes
in Gal. 3:3 who were now perfecting their walk in the flesh, “3 Are
you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the
flesh?”
6.8.
Notice here that salvation occurs in a person’s life when he is placed
‘in Christ.’ Christ comes into him, and
he is placed into Christ, made dead to the old sin nature in all of its
corruption, and raised up to walk in newness of life.
6.9.
Is your life story as a Christian the story of how God turned you into
a new creation and made all things new in your life? Is it the story of being dead in sins and
trespasses living in this world and then suddenly being raised up to new life
in Christ? If not, perhaps you need to
question whether or not you truly are in the faith or not…
7.
CONCLUSION:
7.1.
Are you living as a new creation in Christ? Or are you still living in the old stuff of
this sinful world that is in rebellion against Christ?
7.1.1. If you aren’t sure, or you
know that you are living in rebellion against Christ right now, I would
encourage you to once again turn your life over to Jesus, relinquish your will
to His, and tell Him that you want to serve Him all of your life.
7.2.
Are you controlled by the love of Christ in your life? Does the way you live your life and the
things that you do reflect what the heart of Christ is for men?
7.3.
Are you laying your life down for the souls of others, pouring out your
life so that the lost might come to Christ?
7.3.1. If not, I would encourage
you again to lay your life down before the Lord and tell Him that you will be
willing to go wherever He leads you. Each day trust the Lord to use
you mightily and to open up doors for you to share your faith with those who
are lost.
7.4.
As you go your way today and do the things you do on a Sunday and
throughout this week, I’d like you to ask the Lord to show you just how
grateful you are to Him for all that He has done for you. He died for you, now are you truly living
your life for Him, doing His will, going where He would have you to go, saying
what He would have you to say, etc.? Or,
are you really still living for yourself and doing the things that you want to
do?