The New Creation Has Come
January 2, 2023
Bible Scripture Verse
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
Listen for God’s Voice
Lord please open my mind to help me understand Your Word today. Open my eyes to see the wonderful truth in Your instructions. Give me understanding so that I can know you better. Give me spiritual wisdom and insight so that I might grow in my knowledge in You.
Explore History
Paul was writing to the people in Corinth and he wanted them to understand that he isn’t crazy for continuing to preach the Gospel. They know how much suffering he has been through, and they just don’t understand why he continues when it causes him so much pain. But he is explaining to them that Christ’s love for him is what continues to encourage him to tell everyone he can that they can be reconciled to God through their faith in Jesus Christ.
Study and Savor
Paul wants them to know that because of Christ’s death, it has changed the way he thinks of people. He doesn’t just look at them as a simple human being. He views those who are in Christ as something new, a new creation. When he’s saying “in Christ”, he means those who have faith in Him and have had their sins forgiven by Him. That made them new creatures. They are now something that they have never been before.
Summarize and Share
Paul is also talking about how Christ changed the laws. The old ways are gone, and Christ had made a new covenant that makes it possible for men and women to be made new once and for all, with no possibilities of returning to the old.
When we reflect on the ways in which we have grown and matured, we can see how slowly, ever so slowly, God has been chipping away at the places in our lives that needed restoring.
Bible Cross Reference
Isaiah 43:19 – See, I am doing a new thing. Now it springs up; do you not perceive it I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Ezekiel 36:26 – And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Psalm 51:20 – Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in me.