New Creature in Christ

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17

When a big company wants to start a new store in a town, sometimes they will find a piece of property with an older building on it already, and buy it. Once they have finalized the purchase, they will knock down and get rid of that old building to rebuild it with a new one. 

Or a caterpillar, who starts out crawling around, eating and eating, until it gets to the point where it builds a cocoon, and changes into a butterfly with wings. No longer does it crawl on the ground with the other caterpillars, it now has the ability to fly in the sky. It got rid of its old body, and turned into something new.

When someone is living in their sins as a carnal human being, they are that old building or that caterpillar. When someone makes the decision to begin a new life for Jesus, Christ purchases us with His blood and takes away with our sins. We leave behind the old person we used to be, and be our new life for Jesus.

“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:24

Before someone becomes a Christian, they might hang out in the world and do sinful things. But when they become a Christian, they become convicted in their hearts that those things are wrong, and do not hang out with those kinds of people anymore and don’t get caught up with those doing sinful actions. Maybe as an unbeliever, someone used to steal from others but now they give to the poor. 

They have become a new person in Christ. The people they used to hang out with might think they’re weird, and call them names like “Bible thumper” or “Jesus freak” because they don’t do the things that they used to do as an unbeliever.

“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 

That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 

For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 

Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:” 1 Peter 4:1-4

Look at what the apostle Paul did before he became a Christian. As Saul, he went around persecuting Christians and trying to destroy churches, but God changed him. He changed the Pharisee named Saul into an apostle named Paul and Paul used his new life to preach to others and start churches. It didn’t take very long before the Pharisee’s wanted to kill Paul; that’s how much he changed.

When we become a new person in Christ, we put off the old. Instead of walking in the darkess of sin, we walk in the light of Christ. We put off the old man and become new.

In Christ,

Andrew