New Creation Reality In Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
Jesus died on the cross for humanity so we could become a new creation through faith. I like how the Passion translation says it, “Now, if anyone is enfolded into Christ, he has become an entirely new person. All that is related to the old order has vanished. Behold, everything is fresh and new.” The old things would include our old identity, our life of sin, the power of Satan, the religious works of trying to please God, our old relationship with the world, and our old mind-sets. We are not reformed or simply refurbished, we are made completely new by our union with Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Until Jesus ascended to heaven with His blood and touched the Mercy Seat, it was impossible for us to become a new people. Like we read in the Gospels the account of Jesus resurrection, when Mary Magdalene when to visit the tomb where Jesus laid and found it empty, Jesus stood next to her and said, “Don’t cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.’”(John 20:17 MSG) Study Hebrews chapters 9 and 10 to understand this transaction Jesus did in Heaven. Then, after that, the resurrected Jesus stayed 40 days on earth with His disciples, He then ascended to Heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to earth to be with us. This same Holy Spirit works in people’s hearts as they hear the Gospel preached and any person at any time any where can call on the Name of Jesus and be saved as they repent from their sins and give themselves to the Lord. In an instant they can be born anew, which means they become a brand new person in Christ with a new nature and heart. This is the greatest miracle a person can ever receive. The best thing is that it’s all by grace, which means it’s absolutely free. As Ephesians 2:8-9 TPT tells us, “For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him . Nothing you did could ever earn this salvation, for it was a gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.”
And now as a new creation in Christ we need to build this new life. It’s not about the outward man but the hidden man of the heart, the real us, has to grow to the full measure of the stature of Christ.
1- Born again through the incorruptible seed into God’s family.
1 Peter 1:13-25 NKJV
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24 because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.
The family of God consists of God the Father, Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit and all the born again believers who are brothers and sisters in Christ. No matter the nationality or skin colour, we must all love one another with sincere love. (Verses 14 and 22)
We don’t become holy by trying to be holy through external things, such as religious duty or religious clothing. Imagine bathing a pig and putting clothes on it and perfume, the moment we open the door that pig will run outside, throw itself on the dirt and try to shake off the clothes, this is because the pig’s nature is to do that. We are born with a sinful nature and the only way we can ever be made holy is by receiving the new nature Christ offers us. When we receive this new nature of God by faith, we automatically become holy because God Himself is holy. (Verse 16)
We have become sons and daughters of God because we have been purified by the Blood of Jesus and by the Word of God (Jesus) that now lives in us. (Verses 19 and 23)
Through that eternal and living Word of God we have been born again. And this “seed” that the Lord planted within us can never be destroyed but will live and grow inside of us forever. (Verse 23)
In 1 Peter 1:3-5 the Bible says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
An inheritance has been given to us because we have been made sons and daughters of God. We serve a wonderful Heavenly Father.
2- Receiving the spirit of sonship (identity).
Romans 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Galatians 4:4-7 AMP
“But when [in God’s plan] the proper time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the [regulations of the] Law, so that He might redeem and liberate those who were under the Law, that we [who believe] might be adopted as sons [as God’s children with all rights as fully grown members of a family]. And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!” Therefore you are no longer a slave (bond-servant), but a son; and if a son, then also an heir through [the gracious act of] God [through Christ].
The greatest problem for men and women today is their identity. They are trying to discover it through things they do or things others have done to them, or finding out ancestry and culture and many other things, to many to mention all. Yet they don’t realise that our true identity can only be unfolded by the One who created us, God the Father. Like Acts 17:28 TPT tells us, “It is through Him that we live and function and have our identity; just as your own poets have said, ‘Our lineage comes from Him.’”
Your physical DNA is what makes you uniquely you and it stands for deoxyribonucleic acid, which is a molecule that contains the instructions an organism needs to develop, live and reproduce. These instructions are found inside every cell and are passed down from parents to their offspring. When we become born again and receive the new nature from Christ, we receive the spiritual DNA from the Father. Like Father like son, like Father like daughter.
“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”” (Galatians 4:6) Amp
The parable of the prodigal son, it’s a wonderful example of the heart of the Heavenly Father towards us his children.
3- The fatherhood of God.
Fatherhood is very important, and unfortunately this is lacking so much today, it was lacking in the the time of Paul and so much more today, see 1 Corinthians 4:15, Nkjv “For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel.”
There is still many Christians who walk around carrying an orphan spirit, make sure you are part of a local expression of the Body of Christ, a Congregation where you can be fathered. Fathers (and mothers) impart fathers’ blessings. When God spoke to Isaac, He said to Him, “I’m the God of your Father, Abraham.” And then later on when He spoke to Jacob He said, “I’m the God of your father Isaac and Abraham.” And of course later on the Lord spoke to Moses and said: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.” (Exodus 3:6)
In Christ, God Himself becomes our Father but He also has an earthly expression of fatherhood, as we just read in 1 Corinthians 4:15, many instructors but not many fathers. You can be a teacher, pastor, evangelist, etc. But must have the heart of a father, the problem is you cannot father until you have been fathered.
Some will quote Matthew 23:9 that says, “And you are not to be addressed as ‘father,’ for you have one Father, who is in heaven.” But you have to read the verse in context, Jesus was addressing the pride of the religious scholars and the Pharisees who have superficial spirituality and not genuine humility, they loved titles and special treatment. Jesus was emphasising the priority of God over those titles of men and over all teachers, fathers, and leaders. He was not teaching us to be disrespectful to teachers, fathers, and leaders, but that God must be in first place over all others.
In James 5:14-18 NKJV we find this concept of sonship (family in Christ) outworked in the local Church, and this is what it says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
This people belong to a local congregation where they can call the leaders for prayer. You are not to live your Christian life on your own, you must be part of the fold.
In relation to this subject of sonship, we were all crippled and damaged before we came to Christ, we may not had the best relationship with our parents, and even if we did, they were not perfect, so we need healing in this area. No matter what we experienced, God is now our Father in Christ.
There is a story in the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 9 of a young crippled man called Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, King Saul’s son. He was an orphan, but King David called him by name, gave back to him the land that belong to his father and invited Him to eat at the KIng’s table all the days of His life and was treated as one of the King’s sons. Today, because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross we can all be part of God’s banqueting table and become His child, no matter if you feel abandoned or damaged so badly in this area, Jesus Christ wants to introduce you to the Father’s love.
Would you accept His invitation? Would you give your life to Him? Would you want to be God’s child? If you do, pray with me now:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus that have open the way for me to come to you.
I repent of all my sins and give my life to you. I want to make the Lord Jesus my Lord and Saviour. Please, come into my life and save me. I receive you now.
In Jesus Name, fill me with your Holy Spirit to overflow
Amen
If you are a Christian but need to know God as a Father, pray with me:
Dear Heavenly Father:
I have made the Lord Jesus my Lord and Saviour and because of it you have become my Father. I am sorry I haven’t received the full revelation of Sonship. But now, I see through the Scriptures the truth. I am your son/ daughter, fill me with your Spirit so I can cry out Abba Father! My dear Father!
Thank you for all you have done for me and will continue to do. I’m not an orphan any longer, and you will never leave me nor forsake me. I can trust you as my Father. Thank you for your love,
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Pastors Steve and Karina Maile