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 PEARL
Can You Be Remade?
A sculpture artist was chipping away at a
chunk of stone.
A man asked him, "What are you doing?"
The artist replied, "I am sculpting an
elephant."
The man asked, "How do you know what to
chip away?"
The sculptor smiled and said, "I chip
away anything that doesn't look like an
elephant."
This is what God wants to do with our
lives. We were made in His image, but sin distorted
everything about us - our bodies, our hearts, and our
minds. Sin is not to be regarded merely as a human
weakness. God calls sin an abomination. When we submit
to Him and place our lives in His care, He will
chip away at whatever keeps us apart from Him so
that we can wholly be part of Him.
You see, God doesn't just rescue us from
the bondage of sin. He doesn't just redeem us.
When He saves us, the Holy Spirit begins a
transformation in us. He forgives the curse of sin against
us and remakes us to live for Him.
What is the Lord trying to reveal as He
chips away at you? [Peace for Each Day by Billy
Graham]
COMMENTARY
From Alienation to Reconciliation
Separation, rejection, and alienation are
unpleasant experiences that we usually try to avoid at
all costs. But we live in a fallen world, so we
cannot totally escape them.
Isolation from other people is bad
enough, but what's worse is that many individuals
live apart from the heavenly Father. How tragic
and futile life must be when it is spent
completely detached from its Creator. God planted
within each of us a desire to be in relationship
with Him, so until we find our connection to Him,
we will always feel that something is missing.
And yet as crucial as that relationship
is to our well-being, something stands in its
way: Whether by our thoughts or actions, we have
all violated the Lord's commands (Rom. 3:23),
and our pure, holy God cannot be in the presence
of sin. Romans 6:23 states that the penalty for
sin is death, which is an eternal separation
from the Lord. Therefore, we will always have a
void.
What a bleak outlook for mankind! But our
loving Father solved the dilemma by sending His Son
to pay our penalty. Fully God and fully man,
Jesus lived the perfect life, took all our
iniquity upon Himself, and died a gruesome death on
the cross. No longer are we condemned for our
wrongs, because Christ took our place. And three
days later, He victoriously rose to life.
Salvation is available to anyone who
believes and receives this remarkable gift. John 3:16
describes how reconciliation puts an end to our
alienation: "For God so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."
[In Touch Daily Devotional by Charles Stanley at
www.intouch.org]
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
CLOSING THOUGHT
The Devils Word
What do you think is lifes most
dangerous word? Is it diet? Exercise?
No. Lifes most dangerous word is
tomorrow. It sounds so innocent. But tomorrow is the
road that leads to a town called Never. Tomorrow
is the barred and bolted door that shuts people
out of Heaven.
Tomorrow is the Devils word, and he
has ripped-off so many people with his
strategy.
Yet the Bible says, Today is the day
of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT).
King Nebuchadnezzar had a full year to
get his act together, a full year to repent. But
he blew it off. Then one day he looked out from
his balcony and said, Look at this great city
of Babylon! By my own mighty power, I have
built this beautiful city as my royal residence to
display my majestic splendor (Daniel 4:30 NLT).
The Bible says that while these words
were still in his mouth, a voice called down from
heaven, O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is
for you! You are no longer ruler of this
kingdom (Daniel 4:31 NLT).
Then he lost his mind and went out into a
field and ate grass like an animal. But God was
gracious to Nebuchadnezzar, and he returned to his
senses. Then he believed in the Lord and told his
entire kingdom about it.
Nebuchadnezzar was like a tree that had
been chopped down. But then he came back to life,
like little shoots of branches growing out of a
tree stump.
So maybe youre wondering, Is it too
late for me?
No, it isnt. Maybe you feel cut down
in life, and you think theres no hope. Jesus
Christ can change your story no matter what
youve done. Dont put it off another day.
Dont live another day without Jesus
Christ. [Greg Laurie from Harvest Ministries;
https://www.harvestdaily.com]
ONE LINER
New Creation; Not Perfect Creation. 3ABN
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
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
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
