One of the most well-known and well-used phrase in the Bible is II Corinthians 5:17, where Paul told the Corinthian church that 'if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new' ( to be honest, however, the words 'he is' are not in the original Greek, and thus the verse actually reads 'if anyone is in Christ, ( he is ) a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new' ). A friend of mine has recently pointed out that Paul said 'if anyone is in Christ', indicating that 'if' a person is not 'in' Christ; he is not 'a new creation', 'old things' have not passed away, all things have not 'become new'. Sound about right? I thought so too; up until a few days ago, I was fairly comfortable with the idea that we are new creation ( renewed ) because we are in Christ, having become one with Him, but as another friend has recently reminded me, we miss a lot when we try to apply the Bible directly to us, rather than allowing the context to dictate the intended meaning. Sure; I think we can say, with impunity, that we are a ( made ) 'new creation', but is that the idea that Paul meant to convey when he told the Corinthian church that those who were in Christ were a new creation. I believe that the key to understanding Paul's first-century context is the phrase, or phrases, 'old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new'.
'In that He says, “A new covenant ”, He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away'. ( Hebrews 8:13 )
We must remember, when reading passages like II Corinthians 5:17, the covenant context of the whole of Scripture. When Paul wrote those words to the church, there are several things to keep in mind; first, that he was writing to a particular audience, at a particular time. The particular audience that Paul was writing to was the first-century church at Corinth, and the particular time, as we've seen, was not only the first-century church at Corinth, but concerning those 'upon whom the ends of the ages have come' ( I Corinthians 10:11 ), which 'generation' ( Matthew 23:36, 24:34 ) would see the 'end of all things' ( I Peter 4:7 ).
In this present 'day and age', we as Christians, can easily apply Paul's words to ourselves, and proclaim, as he did, that we are 'a new creation'; it is when we come to the next phrase that we run into problems! 'Old things have passed away'? 'All things have become new'? 'How can you say that?', one wonders, when we still have our ( old ) human nature to deal with, when we have fleshly ( natural, carnal ) desires to ignore? Well, obviously; we can see that, in that sense, 'Old things' have not passed away, 'All things' have not become new. We are faced with several hard ( I would say 'easy' ) choices; either Paul's writings were not inspired ( he was mistaken ), we are not 'in Christ', or Paul was not speaking of biological 'change' ( I Corinthians 15:52 ), not even, in a sense, of the spiritual 'change' that we undergo when the Holy Spirit comes upon us in the 'new birth' ( John 3:1-21 ). So which is it?
I have come to believe that Paul was speaking, not of our conversion, even of theirs, but of the transition, already begun with them, from the Old Covenant age to the New Covenant era, to the age which, like God's Kingdom, 'shall stand forever' ( Daniel 2:44 ( Luke 20:27-36 ). 'Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new' now makes sense; as the writer to the Hebrews told his brethren, the Old Covenant regime was 'growing old', and was 'ready to vanish away', and the New, already begun at the Advent of Jesus Christ, and inaugurated on the cross, was upon them, 'in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God' ( II Thessalonians 1:8 ), in which 'the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat' ( II Peter 3:12 ).
Can we truthfully say today, that we are a ( made ) 'new creation'?
I believe that this phrase may need some adjustment, as applying to us who were never 'under' the law ( Old Covenant ), but that the principle still applies. In Christ we have been 'changed', our conscience has been cleansed, we have been forgiven; we, like those first-century followers of Christ have been 'perfected forever' and are 'being sanctified' ( Hebrews 10:14 )!
May God bless this short study to your understanding, as we all strive to live up to the work that God has done in us, in making us 'a new creation'!
By God's grace,
Charles Shank
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