Turning this evening to 2nd Corinthians and the chapter 5. 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 we'll read from the verse number 10. We're glad to see you here in the house of God this evening. Thank you for making the effort and may the Lord bless you even for doing that. 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and it's the verse number 10 where we read these words, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest unto God, and trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God, or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then were all dead, and that he died for all, that they which should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh, yea though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God, for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Amen we conclude at the end of the chapter, the chapter number 5 of 2 Corinthians, the chapter number 5 as I said. Who am I is the question that we've been attempting to answer at our Wednesday night Bible study over the last number of months. As I said before, It really doesn't matter who we think we are, or even what others think or say we are. What really matters is what God says and what God knows we are. And this evening we're coming to think about the Christian as being a new creature. A new creature. These are the terms that the Apostle Paul is inspired to write here in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17. To speak about those who had come to faith, in Jesus Christ. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. All things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Whenever you think about the people who came to initially read the words of the Apostle Paul, the Christians in the Corinthian church, I believe these individuals, whenever they read these words, they would have said a wholehearted amen. to what Paul had just written to them as a people with regard to their former lifestyle. Because their former lifestyle, the lifestyles that they lived prior to being saved by the grace of God was a completely different lifestyle that they were now presently living as those who were in Christ Jesus. If you turn back to his first letter, you kind of get an idea of who was on the membership role of the Corinthian church. 1 Corinthians chapter 6, these are familiar words. And this reminds us of the people who now belong to this church in Corinth. Verse number 9, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Here we have a group of people, former fornicators and idolaters, ex-adulterers and sodomites, people who were once thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers and extortioners, now transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and members of the local church in Corinth. Paul speaks about their sins in the past tense, and such were some of you, but ye are, present tense, washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. The gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ had delivered these individuals from their former sinful lifestyles and had made them new creatures in Christ Jesus. By the way, that's what the gospel does. That's what the gospel does. It takes sinners and it makes them new creatures in Christ Jesus. And that is what the church is to be involved in. The church's mission is to preach the gospel that leads to the conversion of sinners. That's why the church of Jesus Christ exists in this world. Yes, it is for the encouragement of God's people. Of course it is. but it is also to evangelize the lost. We are not a charitable organization. We are not a moral organization in the world. We're not a government lobby group or body. We're not trying to make people better by some kind of behavioral shift in their lives or by some kind of self-reformation program, but rather we exist in this world to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ so that sinners can be converted and their lives transformed by the power of God. Paul referred to these believers in Corinthian as being new creatures in Christ Jesus. These people, recalling how they had once lived, and now as they were presently living, they would have affirmed the truthfulness of the apostles' word. They would have said, yes, Paul, you're right. We are new creatures. If we think of our former life, the lives that we lived, the sins that we engaged in, We are now new creatures in Christ Jesus. There is a truthfulness to the statement that you have written, Paul. John Newton once said, I am not what I ought to be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I hope to be in another world. But still I am not what I once used to be. And by the grace of God, I am. what I am." And what was true of John Newton and what was true of these Corinthian Christians is true of every believer. We are not what we used to be. We are now new creatures in Christ Jesus. Now as we look at this description given to the Christian by the Apostle Paul under inspiration, one should notice just a number of very simple things this evening. I want you to notice first of all the reason why we are new creatures, the reason why we are a new creature. Now, here's a question. Had these people become a new creature through some kind of self-reformatory process? In other words, through something that they had done themselves? Well, the answer to that question is, of course, no. But there at the opening words of our text, the verse 17, for it points us to the reason as why these people became new creatures, they became a new creature. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, He is a new creature. The reason why a Christian becomes a new creature is because They have been united to Jesus Christ. We're really back full circle to where we began this series with regard to our Christian identity. Those who are united to Jesus Christ. They were a new creature because they had been united to Christ. Paul speaks of them as being those who are in Christ. Through the new birth they had been joined, they had been united to Jesus Christ. It has been said that there are three stages of the human soul in connection with Christ. The first is without Christ. That is the state of nature. The next is in Christ. That is the state of grace. And the third is with Christ, and that is the state of glory. Without Christ, the state of nature, in Christ the state of grace, and with Christ the state of glory. We are in the middle state, those who know the Savior. We are those who are in Christ. We are in the state of grace. Thank God we're not without Christ anymore. We're not in the state of nature, but rather we're in the state of grace. We are in Christ and thank God we will someday enter the state of glory. We will be with Christ. And so whenever we're saved by the grace of God, we are united to Jesus Christ and it is because and it is through that union that we are made a new creature. You see, being a new creature is the inevitable result of being joined to Jesus Christ. This newness of being, this newness of being a new creature, a new creation, springs from our being in Christ. When we believe in Christ for salvation, we are given a new heart, and we're given a new nature. Now, we don't change outwardly in a physical way, but there is an inward spiritual change that radically takes place within the inner man. Our wills are now inclined to that which is righteous. Whereas before they were inclined to that which was sinful, our hearts are now hearts of flesh, before they were hearts of stone. Where once my heart was cold and dead to the things of God, it now throbs and it pulsates with spiritual life, and our natures are changed. The new nature is one whose nature has been changed. A new spiritual divine nature has been imparted and implanted into the believer by God, so that they become a new creature, created anew in Christ Jesus, on to good works. And so the reason why you and I are new creatures is because we are in Christ, And so being a new creature organically and automatically flows from our being united to Jesus Christ by faith. You see, the Christian doesn't have to sit down in the morning and self-program themselves to do this or that spiritual activity. The things that we do as Christians, as believers, comes automatically because we are governed by a new nature that has new desires. And so we go to church, and we read the Word of God, and we pray, and we witness to others for Christ and about Christ when those opportunities arise, and we give in to God's work, and we live holy lives, and we abstain to do that. The life of God implanted into us begins to outwork itself in our lives. And so the spiritual things, those spiritual things that once held no attraction for us, they now become the things in our lives that we now gravitate towards for and that we now long for as a new creature in Christ Jesus. We have a new nature with new desires and new longings. Therefore, at times, In our lives, we find that these things just naturally come to us. We just want. Now, I'm not saying that it's always easy to pray, but at least we know that we should pray. I'm not saying it's always easy to read the Word of God. Of course, there's difficult passages to read, but we know that there's a desire there for that, and of course, there's a desire to live a holy life. Where does this come from? This does not come from us by nature. No, these things arise because we are now a new creature, and because now the life of God has been implanted in us. We have become partakers of the divine nature. The life of God now dwells and pulsates within the child of God and his heart. And this is why we are a new creature. We are not a new creature because we conform our lives to the standards of a church. We are a new creature because Christ has come to live within us. Christ in you, the hope of glory. And with Christ in us, it is only but natural that we will gravitate, we will go towards that which is right and honest and righteous, and we will have lives that are Christlike in their behavior. And so our union with Christ is the reason why we are a new creature. are new creatures in Christ. Now let's move on and think secondly about another matter, the results of being a new creature. Well, those results are drawn to our attention at the end of the verse number 17. We're told that for the new creature, all things are passed away, and behold, all things become new. Notice the double effect that takes place in the life of a person who has made a new creature in Christ Jesus. In the first instance, all things are passed away, not even the unsaved. think a person who professes to be a Christian should now do what they once did, go where they once went, say what they once said before they trusted in Jesus Christ. No, rather the unsaved expect a person who has trusted in Christ to forgo the old way of living and to live a brand new life And that's what takes place when a person is genuinely saved by the grace of God. For the one who has become a new creature, old things naturally and progressively pass away, vanish, disappear. Albert Barnes, he made this comment regarding the passing away of old things. He said, their former prejudices, opinions, habits, attachments pass away. their supreme love of self passes away, their love of sins passes away, the love of the world passes away, their supreme attachment to their earthly friends rather than God passes away, their love of sin, their sensuality, pride, vanity, levity, ambition passes away. There is a deep and radical change on all these subjects, a change which commences at the new birth, which is carried on by progressive sanctification and which is consummated at death and in heaven." When a man, a woman becomes a new creature in Christ, the old state passes away. What is our old state? It is a state whereby we are under condemnation. That state of condemnation passes away. They are now under a state of those who have been justified. We were once under the law, but now we're under grace. We were once a child of wrath, but now we're a child of God and an object of God's love. The old state passes away, and the old disposition of the heart and the will, it passes away. That old heart that was once carnal and sinful has now become spiritual. He that once had the disposition of a fearful slave now has the disposition of a fevered son. And the old character passes away. Once we were an enemy of God, now we're a friend of God. We put off the old man with all of its sinful and fleshly deeds, and we put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge of him who has created us. And the old affiliations pass away. We come out of the world. We become distinct from the world. We become separate from the world, and instead we become connected with the church, with all of its privileges and all of its duties. This is what we ought to be. Old things ought to pass away. And the second effect is then that all things become new, for something must replace the old. If nothing replaces the old, then then something comes to fill that vacuum, and oftentimes what comes to fill that vacuum are greater sins in our lives, and so all things pass away, and then all things are becoming new. I remember hearing the testimony of my old youth leader many years ago, Brother Mr. Paul McLean. He spoke about the words, or he spoke about the night that he got saved. He spoke about the walk from that little mission hall around Black Hill near Tubbermore. He spoke about the walk that he made home that night, the night he got saved. He says in his testimony that it was as if God gave him new eyes. And he recounts how he felt in the words of the hymn writer who really summed up how he was feeling on that particular night because on that night it seemed to be that heaven above was softer blue and that earth around was sweeter green. It appeared that something lived in every hue that his Christless eyes had never seen until that moment of time. All things had become new. He was a brand new man. You see, the things we once hated as a non-Christian, we now come to love, and the things that we once loved, we now come to hate. Again, another commentator, he says, the purposes of life, the feelings of heart, the principles of action all become new. The understanding is consecrated to new objects. The body is employed in new service. The heart forms new attachments. It's as if we become a brand new person, but we still live in the same body. And all things become new. And I say, first of all, there's a new rule of life to be followed for the Christian. A rule that is so perfect, a rule that is so comprehensive, a rule that is so plain that we don't need an additional one. That rule is obviously the Word of God, for the Word of God is the Christians' only rule of faith and practice. The new creature now becomes ruled and guided by the Word of God. And there's a new relationship forged between God and His child. God is now their Father. Jesus Christ is their elder brother. God the Holy Spirit is now their teacher and their guide and their comforter. And there's a new relation to all things. He is God the Father's child, He is God the Son's servant, and He is God the Holy Spirit's temple. For the Christian who is a new creature, one Bible commentator says, he's in a new world. And to him, the Bible is a new book. Prayer is a new exercise, and fellowship with the saints, a new employment. He hears a new language, he understands new subjects, he pursues new objects, and he lives a new life. This is the effect of being a new creature. All things pass away. All things. All things become new. O child of God, don't be allowing the old life back in again. The old gods. Don't allow them back in again. You're a new creature. This is who you are. creature in Christ Jesus. But considering the final place, the ramifications that flow from being a new creature. Being a new creature in Christ Jesus has ramifications for us when it comes, first of all, to God and to our standing before God and our relationship to God. If I am a new creature in Christ, then I stand before God not in myself, but in Christ, in Christ. He no longer sees me, but only who I am through Christ. This is how he sees me. This is the ramification of being a new creature. I have now a new standing before God. I am now seen as one who is in Christ Jesus. This is my standing. And being in Christ, this is my right, and therefore it is my privilege to come to God in prayer and to seek Him in prayer. Horatius Bonner, I'm sure you know his name. He spoke of the Christian's new standing before God in this way. He says, in Christ and through Christ, I have acquired a new standing before the Father. I am accepted in the beloved. My old standing, that is, that of distance and disfavor and condemnation, is wholly removed. I am brought into one of nearness and acceptance and pardon. I am made to occupy a new footing as if my old one had never been." The guilt, the fear, the dread, the shame that we once experienced is gone, and now As one reconciled to God, our lives are filled with joy and peace and holy confidence. And as to my relationship with God, well, that has changed too. Whereas before I was an enemy of God, I am now His son, His daughter, I am now a child of God. And that He has gone on my part, displeasure on His, He calls me His son. I call Him Father. and wherefore before I was a stranger, I am now a fellow citizen with the saints and a member of the household of faith." My relationship with God has changed. That's the ramification of being in Christ. Being a new creature in Christ Jesus has also ramifications when it comes not only to God but to myself. The change that comes about whenever we our trust in Christ for salvation is radical and is transformational in its nature. Altered is the whole bent of our wills, so that before we sought the things of this world, now Because a new nature has come to take possession of us, we now seek those things that are above. Sin has become hateful. Holiness has become supremely attractive for the child of God. The flesh has lost its power. The Spirit has now dominion over us. I remember whenever I first trusted in Christ, there were many things that I did, many things that I loved. I was, I'm sure I've told you this before, I was a soapaholic. I watched soaps all through the evening. I probably began, I think at that stage, probably home and away. I was then followed by neighbors. That was then followed by Brookside, that was then followed by Carnation Street, that was then followed by East Enders. I just watched them from probably about five o'clock to eight o'clock at night. Whenever I became a Christian, I stopped watching the soaps because where there's soap, there's dirt. And there's a lot of dirt when there's soap. And that's an old saying. When there's soap, there's dirt. And there's plenty of dirt with regard to the soap. I used to be a great, well, not a great. I used to listen to quite a lot of country music. Maybe you find that hard to believe, but I used to listen to a lot of country music. Whenever I became a Christian, all my music went into the bin, because I was a new creature. Didn't want to listen to those things anymore. about drinking whiskey and going to bars and things like that and living an immoral lifestyle. I was a brand new person. It's not that I was forced to do it. It just came automatic. It just came naturally. Now, it didn't come immediately, but it did come. My taste changed. I became a brand new person, a brand new individual. Bonner has something to say about this, He says the vision has been purged so that now I see everything as with a new eye, the evil. with an eye that loathes it, the good with an eye that loves it. I approach everything with new feelings, new tastes, new sympathies. I behold everything in a new light and from a new position and point of view. Myself, this world, the world to come, God and Christ, the everlasting joys. All these things to me are now what they had never been before. My whole inner man has changed respecting them. There has been a new creation. so there is a ramification with regard to myself. I am a new creature, and I come to see it. It's very evident that I am a brand new individual with new desires and new longings. Being a new creature in Christ Jesus has ramifications when it comes to God, with myself, and then finally to others. Now as a new creature in As a new creature, the Christian now lives differently than before. And that becomes very, very noticeable to those in their family circle, in their workplace, and in their school. Their language changes, their passions change, their interest changes, their music taste changes, the places that they go to, the activities that they engage in, they change. What they put into their body changes, their relationships even change. Take for example the change in relationships. We'll just take that as one example. Oh what a change there is that takes place when a person becomes a new creature. When it comes to those who were our enemies, there is a change in that relationship. Whereas before we despised them and we sought their demise, We sought even revenge against them. What do we now do? We now pray for our enemies. We love our enemies. We show kindness to our enemies because that's what the scripture tells us to do. And when it comes to our relationships in the home, there's a change in the relationship there, and that for the better. A newly converted husband ought to be a better husband than he was before he trusted in Jesus Christ, and the same is true for a newly saved wife. And as for the relationship between siblings, well, the grudges, they're no longer held, wrongs are forgiven, broken relationships are mended. When it comes to our relationship in the work environment, those relationships, they are different too. Whereas before we tried to get away with doing the least possible amount of work before our employer caught us on, We are now so conscientious that we represent the Lord in our workplace that our productivity is high and our timekeeping is meticulous. There's a change in the relationship in the workplace when a person becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus. They become sometimes maybe the worst employer to becoming now the best employee. because they are now a new creature in Christ Jesus. And when it comes to our relationship with those within the church, we now make friends with God's children rather than keeping a distance from them. We want to fellowship with the saints. We desire their company. We want to converse with them. We love being around those of like precious faith. We want to join them when they come to the house of God. And so there are ramifications, both in a vertical and in a horizontal direction. I was trying to think which was vertical and which was horizontal. With regard to our relationships as new creatures in Christ Jesus, vertically with God, there's a ramification there, a new standing with God, a new relationship with God, and then horizontally with ourselves. We're new people. And with others around us, we're new creatures in Christ Jesus. Every Christian, without exception, is a new creature in Christ Jesus. Oh, may we come to exhibit the reality of that in our lives. I'm not the man, the woman that I used to be. And it's all because of God's amazing grace. And it's all because I am in Christ. And now the life of Christ is being manifested through my living as I live in this world. Oh, may God help us to understand that we are new creatures. May we not lapse into the old way of living. May we not erect the old gods that we once worshiped. May we not begin to listen again to the music we once listened to, watch the things that we once watched, but let us feed the new man. Let's feed ourselves on Christ and his word. And may we come to exhibit to others that Christ has radically changed our lives. that we are now new creatures in Christ Jesus. May God challenge my heart. May God challenge your heart tonight as we've sat under the preached Word of God. Let's bow our heads in prayer together. Our loving Father, we thank Thee for who we are in Christ Jesus. We are now new creatures. Lord, we're not waiting to be made new creatures, we are. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. And we know, Lord, that there's work to be done. We know, Lord, that there's sins that need to be shed. Lord, there's things that we need to have done with. Lord, there's that battle, Lord, that we have, that lapsing, going back, returning, to the former way of living. Oh, we pray, may the life of God may be lived out and through us, we pray. And help us, Lord, to live as we ought to live, as those who are in Christ Jesus. Bless, Lord, my brethren and sisters, as we live in this world and in this community. May we reflect, dear God, this position that we now have and this state into which we have now entered as being new creatures in Christ. Help us, Lord, we pray, and may, O God, every day be a day of victory for us over the world, the flesh, and the devil. Answer prayer, we offer our petitions through Christ's holy name. Amen.