What The Scriptures Say About A New Creation
There is much that the Scriptures say about the New Creation. However, the New Creation is a concept found in the New Testament, related to the New Life and New Man but with references also to the Old Testament book of Genesis Old Creation. We were created by God Almighty to serve and worship Him as we can read from Ephesians 2:10, For we are his workmanship, in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. God is a Creator. In His might, He created the Heavens and the Earth and everything in them out of nothing . He said, Let there be light, and there was light . We understand that it is in this same way that God creates spiritual life and light in the hearts of men, making their hearts receptive to His Voice .
What about born again Christians who continue to sin?
Christian Quotes About Being A New Creation
Your regrets, mistakes, and personal failures need not follow you into the present. You are a new creation.
If you are what youve always been, you are not a Christian. A Christian is a new creation. Vance Havner
Learning to live as a Christian is learning to live as a renewed human being, anticipating the eventual new creation in and with a world which is still longing and groaning for that final redemption.
Theme Four: A Transformed Community
As I noted in the introduction to this Lectio, Paul alludes to, incorporates, and/or directly cites creation themes significantly more than any other New Testament author. This especially becomes apparent with Pauls description of the image of God and the old/new Adam. In two key texts Paul applies image of God particularly to Christ. In 2 Corinthians 3:34 the seemingly clear allusion to Genesis 1:2628 identifies Christ, not humanity, as the one who is the image of God. This is taken farther in a second text, Colossians 1:1520, where Christ is said to be the image of the invisible God who was not just present at creation but is active in it, the firstborn in it, and the head of his body, the church. Paul draws upon Genesis 1:2628, yet applies it exclusively and particularly to Jesus Christ although all humanity is created according to the image, Paul declares that Christ is the image. Thus Jesus Christ embodies a distinctively new creative act of God an act that reveals the limitations of the old while bringing fulfillment in the new. Namely, all humans are created according to Gods image, yet because of our nature as mortal creatures we have significant imperfection and limitations. Christ, however, is the image of God in a way that humanity was never created to be.
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What Does It Mean To Be A New Creation In Christ
When we repent of our sin, acknowledge Jesus as Lord, and believe in Jesus for salvation, the Bible says we are born again of the Spirit . Our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin loses its power in our lives, and we are no longer enslaved to sin . We are restored to spiritual health as Gods Holy Spirit lives within us, enabling a close relationship with God.
In this New Covenant, God puts His laws upon our hearts and writes them on our minds . We reject the sins God rejects and love spiritual things, and we crave the things of God. Everything is new and joyful.
1. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation the old things passed away behold, new things have come.
2. Isaiah 43:18 Do not call to mind the former things pay no attention to the things of old.
3. Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
4. John 3:3 Jesus replied, Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
5. Ezekiel 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Other New Testament References
The first words of Matthew may also be an allusion to the idea of a new creation, with a double entendre in Matthew’s word genesis between the meanings of “origin”, “Genesis” and “genealogy”:
- Genesis 1:0 : The Book of Creation
- Matthew 1:1 Koine Greek: The Book of Creation of Jesus Christ
There are also allusions of new creation in the Gospel of John including:
- John starts with the words “In the beginning was the word,” mirroring the beginning of Genesis
- Jesus’ final words in John are “it is finished” John 19:30, mirroring the words of “completed” in Genesis 2:1
- Emphasising twice that the resurrection events occurred on “the first day of the week” John 20:1,19
- The resurrection of Jesus being the implied eighth sign after seven signs in the Gospel of John, indicating a week of creation and then a new creation beginning with the resurrection.
- The resurrection of Jesus takes place from within a garden tomb and, upon encountering the risen Jesus, initially thinks him to be “the gardener” . This emphasis on the garden and Jesus being the gardener, may be an allusion to Eden, the garden God planted to which the first humans were sent to be gardeners.
- Jesus breathes on the disciples, saying “receive the Holy Spirit” John 20:22, mirroring God breathing into Adam in Genesis 2:7.
References in the other Gospels include:
- The story of the two disciples and Luke stating that “their eyes were opened,” 24:31, mirroring Genesis 3:7.
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New Creation In Christ Sermon
Bible Verses about New Beginnings Scriptures for Starting Fresh
What does the Bible say about new beginnings? New beginnings can be from a range of contexts entering a new year, starting a new job, moving to a new city, or beginning a new relationship. A new beginning could also be entering a new phase of life with an updated outlook or belief, like becoming a Christian!
The Bible offers advice and encouragement for beginning a new chapter by providing strength and support in the Word of God. Discover the best Bible verses about new beginnings in this collection of scripture quotes! Embrace a fresh start in Jesus Christ with the words of 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away behold, the new has come.
Bible Verses About The New Creation
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.
For just as the new heavens and the new earthWhich I make will endure before Me, declares the Lord,So your offspring and your name will endure.
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him,The spirit of wisdom and understanding,The spirit of counsel and strength,The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.And He will delight in the fear of the Lord,And He will not judge by what His eyes see,Nor make a decision by what His ears hear But with righteousness He will judge the poor,And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins,And faithfulness the belt about His waist.And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together And a little boy will lead them.Also the cow and the bear will graze,Their young will lie down together,And the lion will eat straw like the ox.The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,And the weaned child will put his hand on the vipers den.They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LordAs the waters cover the sea.
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Bible Verses For Hope In New Beginnings
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ~ Jeremiah 29:11
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. ~ Romans 15:13
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. ~ Romans 12:12
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. ~ Hebrews 11:1
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings like eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint. ~ Isaiah 40:31
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. ~ Romans 8:24-25
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead ~ 1 Peter 1:3
Theme Three: Freedom From Legalism
The second and only other time that Paul uses the phrase new creation is at the end of Galatians a book all about living free in Christ. See Galatians 6:15: For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything but a new creation is everything! Throughout this letter, Paul has passionately argued that the elements of this present evil age , inclusive of both circumcision and uncircumcision , have been declared inoperative in light of Christ. His specific concern is with those who would require circumcision of Greek converts to Christ. For Paul, this act is unnecessary because employing legalism from the old law tragically tarnishes the purity of Gods free grace in Christ. For Paul, we are not free in Christ by following rules, laws and restrictions.
In Galatians we have a profound description of what living free in the Spirit actually looks like. Paul reminds the first readers and us that the power of the Spirit enables believers to live according to a new set of criteria . Paul concludes this letter by affirming those who will follow this rule .
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Bible Verses On Nature And Care For Creation
Bible and Nature
The following is a listing of bible verses on creation, our relationship with the earth, and our Creator. There are fifty-two verses listed here from the New Revised Standard Version. You may want to use them as personal devotion. They may be used weekly within your congregations bulletin. They are listed in order.
Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:3-5 Then God said, Let there be light and there was light. And God saw that the light was good and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
Genesis 1:6-8 And God said, Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
For Genesis 1:1-25 see also commentary onThe First Sunday of the Season of Creation Year B, Planet Earth Sunday
Genesis 1:27 So God created humankind in Gods image, in the image of God he created them male and female he created them.
The Scope Of New Creation
Looking more closely at 2 Corinthians, we see a clue to addressing an initial question: Does Paul limit the scope of new creation to individual persons? In other words, is Pauls use of the phrase new creation primarily about how in Christ each and every Christian is made new, or is there something more going on here? One clue is in the original Greek. A common and oft-quoted translation of 2 Corinthians 5:1617 reads: So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: everything old has passed away see, everything has become new! This translation unfortunately gives the impression that Paul is primarily thinking about individual believers made new in Christ. Yet in the original Greek there is no subject or verb in the second clause. A translation that more accurately reflects what Paul wrote is, rather: So if anyone is in Christ, new creation! Everything old has passed away see, everything has become new.
Thus, we need to be cautious against reading this bold announcement too narrowly in individualistic terms. Similar language was used by the prophets to announce a new age, and Paul likely reads new creation in light of the vision of the prophet Isaiah centuries before. In a sense, a person who comes to faith in Christ is now experientially and fully participating in Isaiahs grand vision for a renewal of cosmic proportions. Consider the following in light of 2 Corinthians 5:
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What Does It Mean To Be A New Creation In Christ 2 Corinthians : 17 Meaning
BY TIFFANY NICOLE
The Bible has so many wonderful things to say about who we are as believers in Jesus Christ. One of my personal favorites is from 2 Corinthians 5:17, that we are a new creation in Christ.
These are beautiful and life-giving words, but if I were to be honest with you, when I really took a moment to think about it, a haunting thought kept reoccurring
I had no clue what this verse actually meant.
This lead me on a journey to understanding my true identity in Christ, and what it actually means to be a new creation in Christ.
The more I searched, the more I found, and my eyes became open to the true meaning of 2 Corinthians 5:17. That because of your faith in Jesus, you are a new creation in Christ.
So with that said, Im excited to share with you what Ive discovered, lets dive in!
God Designed Your Brain To Be Neuroplastic
Now the process of renewing our minds is really fascinating to me because it has actually been scientifically proven that our brains are neuroplastic, which simply means our brains have the ability to change continuously throughout the course of our life.
The absolute BEST book on this is Switch on Your Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf. Shes a neuroscientist with over 30 years researching the mind-brain connection AND shes a Christian. In short, renewing your mind is not only a Biblical concept, but is also scientifically proven! Wow.
For example, did you know that it takes an average of 21 days to break a bad habit and create a new healthy habit?
It takes this long because the neuroplasticity of our brain takes time.
So, when we put on our new self by reading the teachings of Jesus and applying them into our life, we are actually renewing our minds to be more like Jesus.
These new behaviors and habits allow us to better reflect the image of Christ, thus, transforming us into a new creation.
Its honestly super amazing!
Heres a quick recap:
- Putting on our new self = implementing Jesus teachings
- Thinking about Jesus & His teachings = renewing our minds
- Renewing our minds = creating new behaviors & habits
- These new behaviors & habits = allowing us to better reflect the image of Christ
- Better reflecting the image of Christ = maturing as new creations in Christ
Recap on the meaning of 2 Corinthians 5:17, to be a new creation in Christ:
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New Creation In Christ Bible Verses
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away behold, the new has come. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:17
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ~ Romans 12:2
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. ~ 1 John 5:18
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. ~ 1 John 3:9
Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God ~ 1 Peter 1:23
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ~ Ephesians 2:8-9
And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. ~ Colossians 3:10