The Bible tells me I am a New Creation; how can that be?
by Olga Hermans
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor. 5:17).
The Message Bible says it this way: “Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!”
We all know so many people that try to live godly lives without a clue on how to BE the new creature God says they are. Many times they go as far as being saved and glad they go to heaven and that is as far as they go. They don’t want to learn more than “being saved” so they live out lives of struggle and defeat, waiting to go to heaven.
Of course people want to be good people; change a few things here and there ad change their old nature themselves. They do all their things in their own strength. When they fall, they pick themselves up and so forth. They fall, pick themselves up, fall, pick themselves up, and then fall and stay down. They act in the same way as they always did before their salvation and try to walk right and do the right things and make themselves right without any help.
At the time of salvation our spirit was renewed immediately but our mind still thinks the same old way. We were spiritually resurrected the day we made the Lord Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. That day we passed from death to life. Think about it. When you made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, the Spirit of God hovered over you. The glory of the Lord came into your being. And that glory consumed the old, sinful man that you were.
So, what is it all about this new creation? How do we go about it and what do we do about it? God says you are a new creature, so you are a new creature. Being a new creature in Christ is just that—you are brand spanking new and have a fresh, clean slate. You may be sitting there thinking, “Well, if I’m so”new and free, why can’t I quit smoking? Why can’t I lose this weight? Why am I always sick?” Because you’ve let Satan convince you that you’re still under his power. You’ve let him talk you into living as if you’re still spiritually dead!
But the truth is that you have a new life, new choices, a new future, new options—a new YOU. That old man died. And in his place a new creature was born. Who you were and what you did before you took Jesus as your Savior is now called the “old man.”
Just because I tell you that you are a new creature doesn’t mean you will act like one. First of all, the new creature in you comes out by renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2). Today is a new day for you and You can begin considering yourself alive! Begin thinking of yourself as one who already has the life of God instead of an earthly being who’s waiting for the resurrection. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to the power of Jesus. You’ll find yourself living a whole new life today!
In our natural life, we learn and grow into maturity. It is the same with our new spirit life. Learn and grow into maturity.
Colossians 3:9-10 says you’ve put off the old man with his deeds and put on the new one with his renewed mind. A renewed mind is simply that you’ve changed your thoughts from your old way of thinking to God’s thoughts.
This in turn will change your old way of acting into the way He wants you to act. New thoughts change old actions. Read these affirmations EVERY DAY!
Ephesians 4:22 says, “put off concerning the former conversation the old man”—so what you say is vitally important. Don’t run around telling everyone what your old man used to do. It has been my experience that people who constantly talk about their past never get past their past.
“Christianity is a journey, not a destination.” You don’t “get there” and find you know it all. Always learn and grow until Jesus comes back. Ephesians 4 and 5 show areas YOU have to take responsibility for. YOU put on the “new man” by reading your Bible, YOU put away lying, YOU quit stealing, and YOU speak faith-filled Words.
Realize as you choose to do these things, when you renew your mind to the Word of God, you will find help. You won’t be doing it on your own. If you blow it, remember that God’s mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:23). Repent, renew your mind daily (2 Cor. 4:16) and go forward.
The more you renew your mind to God’s way of thinking (His Word), the less you will act like that old man. You have His Word on it!
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