Friday 13 December 2013

New Blog Post: “Grafted Into Christ”



2 Corinthians 5:17-19 ESV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

5:17 NLT Christians are brand-new people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives them new life, and they are not the same anymore. We are not reformed, rehabilitated, or re-educated – we are re-created (new creations), living in vital union with Christ (Colossians 2:6-7). At conversion we do not merely turn over a new leaf; we begin a new life under a new Master.
While this newness is true individually, Paul is saying much more. Not only are believers changed from within, but a whole new order of creative energy began with Christ. There is a new covenant, a new perspective, a new body, a new church. All of creation being renewed. So take notice. This is not a superficial change that will be quickly superseded by another novelty. This is an entirely new order of all creation under Christ’s authority. It requires a new way of looking at all people and all of creation. Does your life reflect this new perspective?

It takes time for us to get to the place we are today. Knowing we are a new creation in Jesus Christ helps us to understand the past has no more hold upon us because we now belong to Him. Being a “Born Again Christian” makes us a brand-new person on the inside, and the Holy Spirit gives us new life as a result we are not the same anymore. No, we are not reformed, rehabilitated, or re-educated, but we have re-created (new creations), living in vital union with Jesus Christ. At our conversions we did not merely turn over a new leaf, but we began to live new lives under a new Master, our Master is now the Lord Jesus Christ.

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