Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)

The New Creation

There is no greater joy for a man than to know that he has been recreated in the image of God for His glory. In the beginning of time, God desired to create man in His own image. When Christ came to earth, His goal was to show man how to create the image of God in his heart. Under the Law of Moses, the blood of bulls and goats was offered to redeem man. The blood of Jesus is the more perfect sacrifice that through His blood sin is washed away, and man becomes a new creation, created in the image of God. A change takes place through the waters of baptism, but there is a need for a change to take place in the mind of the newly born child of God.

Obedience to the gospel is the process of putting away the old things. God, through His grace, removes all the sins of the previous life as far as the east is from the west. Through the love of God, man is redeemed to walk in the light of Christ. While sins are washed away in baptism, the Lord recreates man into His image to recreate him in a walk of faith. If anyone is in Christ Jesus, he must continually grow to put away the old life of sin. Renewing the heart with the word of God recreates a heart in Christ. Growing in Christ is a daily exercise in making each day a new creation in Christ. Attitudes become new. Action comes from a new spirit. Everything about life is measured by the newness of the heart to shine Christ in a dark world.

Christians are new people. They do not live as they did before. God has done His part, but every heart must begin the metamorphosis of walking in the Spirit, being led by the Spirit, and thinking about spiritual things each day. A new creation demands a new creation. Jesus died to bring men to a new way, a new truth, and a new life. Change is the joy of learning how to walk in the light. There is a danger that once obedience is completed, no more action is taken to strengthen the soul. Becoming a new creation demands that the heart become new, that the mind dwell on the newness of the spiritual hope in Christ, and that actions change in the life of the child of God.

Jesus told the mountain crowd that His disciples would become lights in the world. That light comes from those who have recreated themselves from the darkness of the world to shine the light of their love for God to a dark and perverse generation. When a Christian looks like the world, talks like the world, and lives like the world, there is no new creation. Nothing has changed in their lives. The only thing that happened was that they obeyed the gospel and then continued living in the old ways, with the old ways of thinking. Those who are in Christ have transformed themselves into the image of God as new creations. They have reinvented themselves in the image of God, becoming better sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and citizens of the world. The world takes notice of a new creation.

Change is hard. It takes time and effort. Sometimes it is painful. The metamorphosis of a butterfly involves many painful changes as a caterpillar becomes a beautiful creature of God. It recreates itself according to the divine pattern. In Christ, changes can be hard and painful. Relationships may change. Attitudes must be corrected. Life changes require time and effort. The goal is to be recreated in the image of Christ. When people look at a butterfly, they do not see the caterpillar because a new creation has occurred. So, a change must take place in the heart of the Christian so that the world will never see the old life. What they see is only the new life, the new creation. Find joy in the new creation. Change the heart. Recreate the mind in Christ. Show the world the beauty of God’s grace.