What it Means to Become a New Creation in Christ

The Scriptures indicate that believers are new creations in Jesus Christ (2 Cor 5:17), so what does that mean and what does that look like in the believer’s life?

Creation and Re-creation

The Scriptures indicate that believers are new creations in Jesus Christ, so what does that mean and what does that look like in the believer’s life? I like to think of creation like this: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen 1:1), but in Jesus Christ, God has recreated man (2 Cor 5:17). That’s why the Apostle Paul wrote that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). So what is the “therefore” there for in this verse? It’s there because of what came before, chiefly the verse that says “we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer” (2 Cor 5:16), so as a new creation, we will have new desires and new purposes in life. Our new nature will not be about just pleasing ourselves but about pleasing God. That’s new for sure. The older desires may still come and go, but our hearts won’t be in it as before. We will be grieved over sin and repent of it when we do sin. That’s certainly a new nature, isn’t it?

Ambassadors of Christ

When God saved us, He could have taken us immediately to heaven, but He didn’t. Wonder why? It’s because we who have believed are to go and make disciples of others, going into our own part of the world with the gospel (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8). And more than that, we represent the King of the heavenly kingdom as ambassadors for Him. We can make Him look really good by godly behavior, or we can bring shame to the cause of Christ by the way we live. Typically, ambassadors live in obedience in the land they are living because they reflect the nation they represent. In our case, it’s God’s Kingdom we represent. That’s why the Apostle Paul says “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20). People will reason, “Well, if the ambassador to that nation lives like that, I don’t want to live there.” If, on the other hand, we live good and godly lives, people will be attracted to the King of our kingdom.

Hungering and Thirsting

Jesus once pronounced a blessing on those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, saying, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt 5:6). Do you have a hunger to know more about Jesus and the Bible? Do you have a great thirst to live like Christ lived? If so, you are a new creation and the old is passing away. Notice, it is “passing away,” meaning it doesn’t suddenly disappear (2 Cor 5:17). The psalmist had a new nature given by God where he had a great hunger and thirst for righteousness…or for God and to know Him better, saying “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God” (Psalm 42:2). The new creation now craves God and His righteousness and does not crave fleshly things as much. He passionately prayed to God, “you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). Is that in you? Do you crave the Word of God and desire to know God better? Are you excited when you learn new truth in Scripture? If so, you’re a new creation in Christ Jesus.

Walking in the Spirit

What does it mean to walk in the Spirit? It means yielding to the Holy Spirit’s voice or prompting to do this or avoid doing something else. It’s like a governor on an engine. It tends to limit what can be done. This is because “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Rom 8:5). We discovered the fact that “those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit” (Rom 8:13). We never used to think spiritually but only carnally or like the flesh, as it was all about us, but suddenly, when God’s Spirit quickens us to new life (Eph 2:1-5), we have a new nature. We begin to think of pleasing God and not ourselves anymore. We think less of ourselves and more about the needs of others, however, the old nature doesn’t die off easily, but it does begin to lose its foothold in our hearts.

Conclusion

New creations in Jesus Christ have a new life…a life given by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God changes our hearts from within and our heart’s desires change so that “we make it our aim to please him” (2 Cor 5:9b). If you have still not trusted in Christ, then you are still dead in your sins and have no hope outside of Christ and on judgment day. You are still the old creation and that old creation is destined for an eternal fire. Your good works will be utterly useless on Judgment Day (Eph 2:8-9). I plead with you to today…right now, repent and put your trust in Jesus Christ. If you don’t, someday you will face God’s judgment after death (Heb 9:27) or at Christ’s appearance (Rev 20:12-15), whichever comes first.

Here is some related reading for you: What is a New Creation in Christ?

Resource – Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version^® (ESV^®), Crossway Bibles. (2007). ESV: Study Bible: English standard version. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Tagged as: Conversion, New Creation, New Creation in Christ, New Creations