One of the most important scriptures dealing with salvation and our new life as believers is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17, where Paul writes, "Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things have passed away, behold all things are become new."

Notice that Paul does not say that we have been mended, or patched up, or made to look a little better than before. This scripture does not indicate that a new set of habits have replaced the old ones. He does not say that we have taken on a code of ethics or moral principles to live by, or spelled out in a doctrinal statement or theological position. All these may, or may not, come into reality somewhere in our life, but Paul is talking about something else. He is telling us about an entire new life--a whole new existence in Christ, a new nature which we never had before. All things have become new. The old nature ruled over by our father Satan, (John 8:44) has been taken away, and a new nature implanted within us by our new heavenly Father. We are not only in Christ, but He is in us (John 6:56). The two of us are one. We are in spiritual union together.

Paul says, "The old has gone, the new has come." A new race of beings has been created, which never existed before, and is now a reality in our lives.

The word "new" is a wonderful word. The Bible is full of "new" things. Jeremiah speaks of God's great mercies and compassions, which are new every morning (Lam 3:22-23).

Jesus talked about a new commandment, the commandment of love (John 1:34). David several times in the book of Psalms talked about a new song (Psalms 33:44, 40:3). John saw a new Heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1). In Colossians 3:10, Paul speaks of a new man. The writer of Hebrews speaks of a new and living way into the holy of holies (Heb.l0:20). John again speaks of the new given to believers, and finally with one triumphant shout John in Revelation 21:5 says, "Behold I make all things new."

God does not change nor mend the old. He does not put new wine into old wineskins, nor sew new cloth into the old, but the great God of creations says, "I will do a whole new thing. I will bring into existence a new creation race of spiritual beings which never existed before--a new race in which all mankind, who enter into it by the new birth, will be the same before the Father. There will be neither Jew nor a Greek. There will not be found in Christ a bond nor a free person. There will be no male or female in this new race, for their only identity will be that of a new creature in Christ. They will be seen only in Him, through Him, and covered and cleansed by His precious blood. All earthly distinctions will disappear in this new creation race of beings. Rich or poor will not be a consideration in entering or remaining in it. There will be no seniority therein, no man made superstars. No one is exalted above another and great personalities or human abilities will not be recognized as prerequisites in this new creation, for no flesh shall glory in His presence. All will come in at the same door, which is Christ, and will be washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. All will be accepted, approved, forgiven, justified, sanctified, and glorified, because they are seen only in Jesus.

If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, the old (Adam's sin nature) has passed away, the new (divine nature) has come. We are no longer of this world (John 17:16). We are new. All things are new in this spiritual world and realm which we now live in. We are now united to Christ in a spiritual relationship where we are in Him and He is in us. We have entered into a spiritual union that never existed before. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor 6:17). We now have the life of Christ pulsating in our new born spirit. “He that hath the Son hath life. In Him was life and that life was the light of men” (John 1:4). This is the record that God hath given unto us eternal life, and that life is in His son. He that hath the Son hath life, He that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:11). In our new relationship with Christ, the issue becomes not right or wrong, sin or good, but life-- living in union with Him. This, dear ones, is what Christianity is all about. It is all about Jesus and His life. Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly," (John 10:10).

Just what is the new creation? What does it mean? How does it work? First, we must remember that years of insipid, man-made religion has dulled our spiritual sensibilities and makes it difficult for us to hear what the Spirit is trying to say, because we have listened to man for so long that our hearing is dulled. The new creation, friend, is not joining a religious organization or denomination. It is not shaking a minister's hand, nor filling out a membership card. Jesus said, "You must be born again," (John 3:3). He proclaimed that the entrance into the Kingdom of God is through a rebirth. Head knowledge will not suffice. A change of habits, however noble will never replace being born from above by the Spirit of God. Something radical and beyond the reach of human ability must happen in the depths of our being, where only the great God of the universe can penetrate. I am convinced, after many years of ministry as a pastor, evangelist, and missionary, that the reason for much of the spiritual confusion and frustration that abounds in these days is because there are many in our churches who have never truly been born again. There may have been some kind of temporal, soulish, or counterfeit experience, even accompanied by a mental assent to the truths of the Gospel, but no inner transformation by the Spirit of God. 

These people have been cheated and blinded by religious tradition. They may have even acquiesced to what the churches have told them to do, but they have come up short, and are among those who daily sit in the valley of the shadow of death. A form of godliness, but their inner lifestyle denies the power thereof--sincere, but not saved. They have done what organizational religion has told them to do, but there has been no inner change, nor revelation of the living Christ. They go through the motions of the redeemed, but have not been redeemed themselves. Perhaps they sing the songs of Zion, but have never experienced Zion themselves. They can repeat all the latest religious clichés, but the spirit behind the words is not there. They attend services, functions, may be on committees, and even may be "elected" to be a board member, or do other duties within the denominational structure, but they are devoid of that life which cometh down from above. This person is continually striving, and frustrated, because he or she is doing everything they have been told to do by ecclesiastical religion, but are tragically still empty, confused, without true spiritual life, which can only be found in Jesus. They will eventually give it all up, and bitterly say, "there is nothing to it," or they will become a professional religious actor, and self-righteously live out the rest of their days pretending. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power thereof (2 Tim 3:5). I have met many of them through the years of my ministry. They are unable to see God and His reality because of the failures of religion, which looms as a mountain in their face. They are like a person who has been told and believes that they are a member of a royal and wealthy family, but sooner or later reality must set in that in spite of all their best efforts and striving, the fantasy must end, or they will end up in total delusion. Why? simply because they were never born into that family. Royal blood is not in their veins. They were never born into royalty.

Jesus said basically the same thing. Striving will not put you into the kingdom. Going to religious functions and even good services will not in itself make you a part of the royal spiritual family. Signing the membership rolls and doing church duties faithfully will not assure one's place in the kingdom. 

Jesus said, "You must be born again." You must have a new Father (John 8:44a). There must be the impartation of divine life and a new nature, which comes only by repentance. The old nature of sin must be taken out and put to the cross. When this happens, we do not have to try to be like a Christian, we are one. We do not try to be like Jesus, because His life and nature is in us. We may not be fully matured, or highly knowledgeable, and it will take us awhile to learn the spirit of our new family and father; but the fact is if we have been born from above, we are a new creature, a whole new creation. We have a new Father. We are now a part of a new creation race of beings that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 5:17. He gives us a new spirit, a new heart, because His divine nature is in us (2 Pet 1:4). We do not have to pretend nor act like we are in the family. We do not have to usurp the family name, and try to emulate its habits. The fact is we are sons of God and in our new position in Christ, because of our new birth.

Paul tells us what the new creation is. It is being IN CHRIST. He says, "If any man be IN CHRIST, (this is what has happened to him), he is a new creature,” or a new creation, or literally, he is a part of a new race of beings that never existed before. Let us look at this for a moment.

The new creation race of beings is not a religion. It is not an organization. It is not a denomination or an institution. It is a spiritual family or body. The previous verse, v. 16, says, "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh." In other words, all previous earthly distinctions cease in Christ. In Philippians 3, Paul lists an impressive array of human distinctives and then says, "but what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord." We leave all human baggage at the door when we come into Christ. None of it matters anymore. Who cares if we are a Hebrew of the Hebrews, or on the other extreme, if we used to be a bank robber and did drugs for many years. Now we are determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Our identity and objective now is Christ. We are seen by our Father not for what we are or were, for He only sees Jesus. He is all that matters. We are in Him now, born into the family, into the kingdom, into the church, which is His body. Why should we have the right any longer to boast of ourselves or our former "heroics," if there ever was such a thing, or talk about our great human achievements. None of that helped get us into Jesus. None of that matters now. He did it all, and paid the entire price for our redemption. There was nothing we could do. He passed by and saw us polluted in our own blood, when there was none to help, and said unto us, "LIVE." He along stood us upon our feet, and caused the bones and the sinews to come together, and breathed into us the breath of life. Why should we claim anything aside from his precious blood, and hold onto anything as being of value other than that blood stained cross. Yes, he alone is our identity, our life, our all. We have been born into the family, into the kingdom, into the church which is His body, into the new creation race of beings which never existed before Christ.

These believers in Christ have no life of their own that is worth living. They never did. Sometimes we might have a hard time discerning that by listening to certain "testimonies" of how much we gave up for Jesus, and how difficult things are for us now. These have never caught a glimpse of what they are, and who He is. As the song says, "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin has left a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow"--our nothing for His everything, our rags, for His riches, our depravity for His divine nature, our emptiness for His fullness, our poverty for His majestic divine Glory. The song writer was right: "I sure got the best of the trade." Yes, truly He is our only righteousness and identity. .

In the Old Testament, God dealt with a natural or an earthly people, the Israelites. Because of disobedience, idolatry, and failing to submit themselves to the righteousness of God, they failed to fulfill His divine purpose for them. He has started a new race of spiritual beings. This new race of beings in Christ will not fail in the Father's purpose for them, and that, not because of their own abilities or goodness, but because of the glorious captain of their salvation, JESUS CHRIST. They were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4) and He will fulfill the Father's desires in them, for them and through them.

This race of beings--the Church, the Body of Christ, the spiritual kingdom are different. They are not earthly, they are spiritual (2 Cor 5:16, 17, 1 Pet 2:5, 9) God promised Abraham both an earthly and a spiritual seed. He said, "Abraham your off-spring will be as the sand which is upon the sea shore," (Gen 22: 17).--sand representing earthly, natural seed, I.E., the Jewish people. However, He also said, "Abraham, look toward the HEAVEN, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, so shall thy seed be." (Gen 15:2). This was Abraham's spiritual seed; stars, heavenly, innumerable, spiritual. Not that which was earthly, but a whole new race. These spiritual beings are the "in-Christ" people. They were put into Him by reason of their new birth. Yes, you must be born again to be in Him. To be in Him is to be in His body which is the church. The church, the body of Christ, is not an organization. It is not a denomination or an institution. It is His body, His people (1 Cor 12:12). There are no Jews in Christ. There are no Greeks in Him. There are no Americans or British. There are no Baptists, no Charismatics, Methodists, Catholics, or any other man made distinctions. There are only Jesus people--Christians, believers, the people of the way--no slaves or free people, no rich or poor. We are all one IN CHRIST. One body, one faith, one Lord; one people, one nation; oh, praise the Lord! Our only distinction or identity is Him. Our only life is Christ. No wonder Paul said, "For me to live is Christ (Phil 1:21) "…yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God. (Gal 2:20). There is no other life for the believer (John 17:3). Jesus is their life (Col 3:4a). They have no other identity. They are simply believers. They do not greet each other with such phrases as, "What church do you belong to?" because they know there is only one church, the church which is His body. It is the only one of which the Bible speaks. They have no strength of their own, He is their strength. They have no wisdom of their own, for He is made unto them wisdom. .. They have no righteousness of their own, for He is their righteousness. They have nothing of their own, for as the song says, "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling." The father does not see them. He sees Jesus.

These people are different. There was never anything like them before, and never shall be again. They were not even a people before, because Peter writes, "Which in time past were not a people, but now are the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." Their entire existence they owe to Him. The first ones of this new creation race turned Jerusalem upside down, and then took this glorious liberating truth to Judea, Samaria, and then the uttermost parts of the earth (Acts 1 :8b). In the book of Acts they were called the people of the way (Acts 9:2,16:2,19:23, 24:14). And that they were indeed, for Jesus said, "I am THE WAY, the truth, and the life." They were His people, the people of the way. There is no other way, no other truth, no other life. In Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete IN HIM (1 Col 2:9, 10). Yes, that's the new race of beings who never existed before. They are the in Christ people. Over 200 times in the New Testament, more than any other truth it is declared that we are in union with Him. Not just us in Him as glorious as that is, but also, that He is in us. Christ in you the hope of glory (Col 1:27).

We are never separated from Him, dear friend, but He is as near as our breath (Romans 8:35¬39). We are in indissolvable union. One writer put it so beautifully: “Nearer, nearer God to thee, nearer I cannot be; For in the person of God's son, I'm just as near as He." When the father looks at us, He sees Jesus. When He looks at Jesus He sees us--Jesus in you, and you in Him (John 14:20), glorious oneness and union which is made possible continually as we put all our trust and confidence in Him and His glorious victory at Calvary.

So that is who you are, a new spiritual being that never existed before, but now one who lives and moves and finds your being in Jesus.

As we see this glorious truth, why would we not gladly throw off every weight and every sin which doth so easily beset. Let us lay aside anything and everything that would keep us from fully realizing and enjoying this union between us and the Lord. Let us continue to look unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.