“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
Who do you think you are? As a believer, do you know that you are a new creation in Christ? Do you know what that means for you?
We must understand our identity. It is important, which is why satan comes with the phrases, such as, “if you are the son of God” and “when you eat of the tree, you will be like God”. He wants to rob you of your identity. Adam brought a distorted and disfigured identity to man. His sin caused him to see himself changed and different from God. The consequence has carried on throughout his lineage.
Man, who is no longer able to behold their creator have no idea of what they look like or who they are. For this cause, we must abide in the cocoon of the Words of God. There, we discover our Father and as His children, we find that we look just like Him.
In the beginning, God made man to be like Him. Adam and God looked identical. Even angels could not tell them apart because spiritually they were the same. We know that Adam lost his God-given identity. But God had a genius plan to redeem us back to our original design and enable us to take on His identity. It is the union of God and man that creates a new breed of people.
Jesus was the spotless descent of God into man, He came to live as you so you could do life as Him. Your identity takes on the identity and nature of God, in every way. While it is legally and spiritually a truth, your soul must become aware of the new you. To do this, we look into the mirror of God’s Word, and we find ourselves in scripture. Whatever we see in Jesus, that is what we contain within ourselves. For He is our mirror to and in Him, we see an image or ourselves. At His resurrection, Jesus was the sinless ascent of man into God.
The Creation of Our Spirit
In Genesis, we read how God breathed Adam into a body. We realize that the physical body is simply a house designed to be an earthen vessel for us to live inside of. This is again illustrated in John 20:22. Here, Jesus breathed the life of God into humankind. This is a picture of the new creature in Christ. This is the result of being born again. At that moment, a brand-new person was born. This creature is like God, sinless. The new you, the real you which is a born-again spirit has never ever sinned. You have been created holy and righteous.
This is not the result of anything that you have done. It is the product God makes when man and God become a united entity. There is no longer any distinction or separation between God and those born of Him.
1 Corinthians 6:17 states, ” But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.”
This is a remarkable new birth. Friends, this is God and man becoming one. This is the radical result of being born of God (1 John 4:4). It is simple to understand this truth when we illustrate it with humans. As humans, we reproduce our image and likeness into that which we create. This is also true of dogs, fruits, and flowers. Everything creates its own image in its offspring. Now, as children who are born of God, He has created us with the seed of His Word and caused us to carry His life, and His image inside of the house of our physical body.
God is a spirit (John 4:24). Therefore, we are also spirits. Yes, we have a soul, and we live inside of our body but the real you is a spirit. Also, Hebrews 12:9 uses the phrase, “Father of spirits”. That means He reproduces a spirit being that looks the same as Him.
Let us go a step further.
Sons naturally begin to do all that they see Father doing. When humans create people, these children grow up and naturally do everything humanly possible. As a spirit, we grow up into Christ and begin to live supernaturally, naturally. That which we see and hear Father doing, we begin to do as well. It is not abnormal for a human to display all the functions and qualities of their parents. Neither is it strange when children of God begin to act and do as God. It is our new identity, and the result is that as we see Him, we see who we are in Him.
What Is the Meaning of a New Creation in Christ?
To be a new creation in Christ means to be a completely new creature. You have drastically changed. The Greek word metamorphoo describes the transformation of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. It cannot be both at the same time. This informs us that we cannot be a sinner saved. When we get born again, we become a saint. The old nature is left behind, even foreign to its new abilities.
It is not the result of striving either. For you cannot cause yourself to exist. Birth is the result of seed and is the greatest miracle I have ever encountered. Surrounding our soul in the cocoon of God’s Presence and His Word is what causes us to be transformed. It is designed to reveal to us our new identity.
You have also gone from death to life. John 14:19 states, “because I live, ye shall live also”. This implies that we were dead, but Jesus came to bring life back to us (John 10:10). This means that your spirit is alive. It can see and hear and is designed to encounter Father. You see, our spirit has come from heaven. This is its origin, so it is not strange to have heavenly encounters.
We are truly citizens of heaven, but we have been sent into a body to dwell in earth with a mission of making earth look like heaven. This is talked about by Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21. To be an ambassador, we must be aware of the environment and culture of our original country. We are sent (just as Jesus was) with the full support, ability, and resources of our heavenly kingdom.
What Is the Difference Between the Old Creation and the New Creation?
There is a huge difference between the old creation and the new creation. It all starts with lineage. We are aware that everyone is born a sinner. It is not because of anything we do or fail to do. It is the result of Adam’s offspring continually producing flesh and blood who are separated from the life of God. The spirit of the old man must be crucified with Christ and then we are resurrected with the nature and life of God. At this new birth, we emerge as a brand-new species of being that stem from the lineage of the last Adam.
One man produced death and all who follow are born into that condition. The last Adam produced a new spirit containing the life of God. This is laid out in detail in Romans 5:12-6:14. Also, in the gospel of John, Jesus repeatedly says that He has come from heaven. This is true for all believers. We are not of this world. We are heavenly born and sent to dwell on earth with a mission.
Also, we find in Philippians that we, like Jesus, are in the form of God but have been fashioned as a man. In Greek, the words for form and fashioned are morphe and schema. A schema is when something looks remarkably like another thing. An example is when a child calls a dolphin a shark. Much of their external appearances look very much alike. And the word morphe simply means changed. We could paraphrase this to say although I have the appearance of a mere human, I have morphed into a godman. We have undergone a radical change in our spirit. We may look like a mere man externally, but inside we are carriers of God’s glory.
Just as Jesus was transfigured and revealed the light of the life of God that dwelt inside of His body, so have we become as Jesus. In John 17 Jesus’ prayer for us is that we would be one. This means it is no longer God and me; the new creature has become one entity resulting from the union of God and man. Jesus continues in verse 22 saying and the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one.
This same glory which Jesus unveiled is alive inside of our spirit. If we could strip off our body and see each other spirit to spirit, we would all recognize that we bare the image and likeness of God. There are no differences.
What Does the Bible Say About Being a New Creation?
The Bible has a lot to say about being a new creation. As we’ve already covered in 2 Corinthians 5:17, a new creation is a brand new creature. The old has passed away, and the new has come.
Another point to note is, as Jesus is, so are you (1 John 4:17). This means that when you read about Jesus, you are seeing a mirror image of your identity. Jesus was the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1:18). Remember, we were all dead. One man came who was born by the life of God and His seed keeps reproducing children in the same image. Just as Jesus found Himself and His identity recorded in the pages of the prophets, so we find ourself within the pages of the Words of God.
Let’s look at Colossians 1:15, which says, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature”.
We all agree Jesus is the express image of an invisible God. But so are you. Notice, He was the first. This implies more will follow. Since Jesus is an image of God, so are we. Even Jesus had to renew His mind and one day conclude these truths to be His reality. He grew in wisdom. In John 8 we find Jesus was being taught by His Father. He was learning what was possible for a man or woman filled up and united with God. He heard and saw what went on in the Kingdom of God and then He produced it in this reality.
We too, as we see and hear from our Father and our heavenly origin, begin to duplicate that which we are created to do. Jesus reveal that we can have the same relationship and union with our Father as He had. Jesus made a startling statement in John 10:15 that we need to come into agreement with. He says, “As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father”… How? Because when someone is living inside of your house, you know them. There is proof that they reside in your house. It is the same with Holy Spirit. We can know the One who resides in our house of flesh.
How Do I Become a New Creation?
To become a new creation in Christ, say this prayer and believe with your heart:
“Father, I confess I was born a sinner. I repent of my sins, my actions, and my nature. Now, I desire a Savior. It is my desire to be born again and experience the life I was created for. I repent of my old man and behold the new creature created in Christ. Be Lord over my life. I surrender all to you from this day forward. I confess that I am born from above and my life will never be the same.”
Do you better understand what it means to be a new creation? Have any questions? Comment below!