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2 Corinthians 5:17 - New Life in Christ.2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! INTRODUCTION 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 reeducated--we are re-created (new creations), living in vital union with Christ (Colossians 2:6, 7). At conversion we are not merely turning over a new leaf; we are beginning a new life under a new Master. [Life Application SB] COMMENTARY PEARLS Grace-Filled Strength For Today As a recipient of God's grace, you can live confidently knowing all your sin was wiped away when Christ paid your debt. You have a clean slate, but that doesn't give you a free pass to do whatever you want. You are called to the saving work God set in motion. God can convict you of your sin, but He doesn't force you to confront it. You have to say, "My sin has to go. Not ten or twenty years in the future. Today." God wants you to live free. Sin no longer has power over you. He has made you a new creation. He wants you to live without the chains that bind you, unfettered from beliefs that limit you. And you can! Lean toward Jesus in faith and action. It's not a mild action you're taking. It's grace-filled, strong, and even severe. If there's a voice in your head saying, Life will never change for the better, that voice isn't the voice of Jesus. That voice of shame and discouragement can - and will - be silenced! Jesus, I commit today to waging the good fight against my sin because I want to maximize Your glory and embrace true freedom. [Grace and Glory by Louie Giglio] Supernatural Change Butterflies aren't the only creatures that go through dramatic changes - metamorphizing from tiny eggs to colorful winged creatures. There's a sea creature that looks completely different as an adult than as a juvenile: the crown of thorns starfish. It's easy to see why this beautiful marine invertebrate got its name; it's completely covered with dangerous sharp spikes. When it first hatches, however, it looks like a translucent, floating blog. But over time, it grows arms, then spikes, and then it attaches itself to rocks and feeds on coral. The transformation of a sinner into a child of God is nothing short of miraculous. Today's Bible promise speaks of those in Christ as "a new creation: It's not an evolutionary process but a change so distinct that only God can be glorified for it. And this is no partial alteration: "Behold, all things have become new"! How can this promise of change happen? Paul explained that we must be "in Christ:" It was one of his favorite ways to describe a Christian, saying that when he became converted, he was baptized "into Christ Jesus" (Romans 6:3). When the life is centered in Christ, attached to Him as a branch to a vine (John 15:4), the creative energy that made our world will flow into us and bear heavenly fruit in our lives. It is not a natural process like the life cycle of a starfish; it is foreign to the human experience. Jesus was willing to wear a crown of thorns and sacrifice His life for you. That means you can be supernaturally changed into a new person with a new heart that reflects the beautiful character of your Savior. Heavenly Father, I submit my heart to You. I confess my sinfulness and choose to be in Christ from this time on. [The Most Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts] COMMENTARY Consider, says Jesus, how the lilies grow; how, springing from the cold, dark earth, or from the mud of the river bed, the plants unfold in loveliness and fragrance. Who would dream of the possibilities of beauty in the rough brown bulb of the lily? But when the life of God, hidden therein, unfolds at His call in the rain and the sunshine, men marvel at the vision of grace and loveliness. Even so will the life of God unfold in every human soul that will yield itself to the ministry of His grace, which, free as the rain and the sunshine, comes with its benediction to all. It Is The Word Of God That Creates The Flowers, And The Same Word Will Produce In You The Graces Of His Spirit. MB97 By what means, then, shall we determine whose side we are on? Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Of whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are Christ's, our thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. All we have and are is consecrated to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things. Those who become new creatures in Christ Jesus will bring forth the fruits of the Spirit, "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." Galatians 5:22, 23. They will no longer fashion themselves according to the former lusts, but by the faith of the Son of God they will follow in His steps, reflect His character, and purify themselves even as He is pure. The things they once hated they now love, and the things they once loved they hate. The proud and self-assertive become meek and lowly in heart. The vain and supercilious become serious and unobtrusive. The drunken become sober, and the profligate pure. The vain customs and fashions of the world are laid aside. Christians will seek not the "outward adorning," but "the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit." 1 Peter 3: 3, 4. SC57-9 He who has determined to enter the spiritual kingdom will find that all the powers and passions of unregenerate nature, backed by the forces of the kingdom of darkness, are arrayed against him. Each day he must renew his consecration, each day do battle with evil. Old habits, hereditary tendencies to wrong, will strive for the mastery, and against these he is to be ever on guard, striving in Christ's strength for victory. AA476-7 ILLUSTRATIONS While reorganizing my office, I found my name tag from the first writing conference I attended. I picked it up and remembered how I'd covered it with my notebook whenever I got near the editor who had been assigned to evaluate the manuscript I'd submitted. Up until the last day, an inner voice whispered to me: When he reads it, he'll wonder why you even came to a writers' conference. You don't belong here. If these people knew you had zero writing talent, they would kick you out. More than twenty years later, I still hear that nagging voice sometimes. I think most of us struggle with circumstances, places, or people that make us feel as though we don't measure up. Our insecurity can make us afraid to let others see who we truly are. Self-doubt can cause us to miss wonderful opportunities that God intends for us. That's why I need to focus on who Jesus says I am. Once I became a new creation in Christ, He gave me a new identity based on His sacrifice for me. Now I'm God's adopted child, accepted and unconditionally loved even when I fail miserably. Regardless of what other people think about me or how I feel about myself on any given day, Jesus has written a new set of name tags for me: Forgiven, Free, Beloved, Esteemed. There's never any need to cover those up. Dianne Neal Matthews Faith Step: Pray and ask Jesus who He says you are. Then make a name tag for yourself with those words. Pin it to your shirt and wear it as a reminder to see yourself as He sees you. [Mornings With Jesus 2024 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY 2 Corinthians 5:17 - New Life in Christ. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2024/20240611-0844.html https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230831-0901.html 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Conversion is... http://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20191106-1130.html 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Becoming Friends With God (Reconciliation). http://www.abible.com/devotions/2008/20080901-1303.html Ezekiel 18:30-32 - Get A New Heart And Spirit And Live https://www.abible.com/devotions/1997/19971116-0000.html Romans 6:4 - RESURRECTION POWER https://www.abible.com/devotions/2025/20250114-1325.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |