5. I am a new creation In our spiritual adoption, we gain an inheritance, and we gain a relationship with God as our Father. But another truth we must see is that, in pardoning and adopting us, God also changes us into a different person, a new creation. As a result of being in Christ we are given a new heart, a new spirit, a new identity, and a new relationship. He has radically changed our hearts: turning hearts of constant rebellion and disobedience to hearts fully capable of loving obedience. This is what God promised he would do, 600 years before the death of Christ. (Ezek.36:26 27) In this passage God promised two things: To radically change our hearts and to actually put his Holy Spirit within us, to prompt us and to enable us to obey God. The utmost fulfilment of this promise awaits the new heaven and new earth when sin will be absolutely banished, but it has it s beginnings in each of us the moment we trust in Christ as our Saviour. That s why Paul could so confidently say: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away: behold, the new has come. ( 2 Cor.5:17) It is only through our union with Christ that we can become a new creation. By the statement, the old has passed away. Paul is referring to our old identity in Adam. He says that this identity is completely gone: it is no longer our identity, no longer true of us. See Rom.6:1 14 A new identity and a new relationship The occasion for Romans 6 is Paul s statement in Romans 5:20, Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.
He then anticipates a question, Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? (6:1) His forceful reply is, By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? (6:2) Here, Paul is not rebuking a cavalier attitude towards sin suggested by his question. Rather he is saying that a Christian continuing in sin is impossible. Why impossible? Because we died to sin through our union with Christ in his death (verses 6 8). We died to sin in that our old self was crucified with him (6:6), our old self being the person we were in Adam. In Adam, we were under both the guilt of sin and the dominion of sin. Under the dominion of sin, it was impossible for us to obey God. Under guilt of sin it was impossible for us to please God. (See Rom.8:7 8) But through our union with Christ in his death, we died to both sin s guilt and it s dominion over us. We are now able to both obey and please God. Our old identity in Adam is gone, together with its bondage to the reign of sin. Yes, we may continue sinning but we cannot possibly continue in sin, because we are no longer in Adam. Paul is not issuing a moral rebuke. He is making an iron clad theological statement. When Paul says in 2 Cor.5:17 that the old has passed away, he is saying that our identity in Adam is gone forever. It s dead. The new has come refers to our identity in Christ. We have a brand new relationship with God through Christ. This identity is more than just a label. It defines who we really are. It means that God has taken away our stony hearts and given us hearts that are spiritually alive and responsive to him. This categorical change, this transition from being in Adam to being in Christ is solely
God s work. The very moment we trusted in Christ, the person we were in Adam, died. (we have been crucified with him) You are now in Christ, and through that union with him the basic disposition of your heart has been changed. Regeneration what it means to be born again John 3:1 21 Nicodemus has an opinion about Jesus Jesus has an opinion about Nicodemus (& us) You must be born again (from above) to understand and enter into the things of God Nicodemus (man) is spiritually dead (Analogy: creation of Adam; the raising of Lazarus) He must be born of the spirit which is likened to the movement of the wind (3:8) (God s sovereignty) He must be born of water and the Spirit (3:5) Flesh Flesh, Spirit Spirit (3:6) Regeneration means to be made alive, given life This life is in the Son. 1 John 5:11 (I am the life) John 5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. Regeneration, then, overcomes man s natural sinful unresponsiveness to God (rebellion, rejection, idolatry, disobedience, self obsession, self determination)...
.and brings him from darkness into light, from death into life, from unbelief to faith, where Christ is embraced, treasured and obeyed. (John 3:15 18) N.B. Repentance and faith are the fruits (evidence) of regeneration, not the cause of it. Born again Born of the Spirit (John 3:8) Born of water and the Spirit (Ezek.36:25 27) Born of God (John 1:12,13) Born of Imperishable seed (1 Peter 1:13) through the living and abiding word of God The Spirit acts through the word of God, particularly through the gospel of Christ. (see verse 25) seed = sperm (DNA reproduces after its kind) Born into a living hope (1 Peter 1:3) through the resurrection of Christ from the dead...he saved us... by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit... (Titus 3:5) Privilege and responsibility We are now alive unto God through his Spirit who dwells within us. We do not have to sin. We can say NO! to temptations from our flesh, the world, or the devil. Our right and proper response is to believe these truths about ourselves, rejoice in them, and live in the reality of then. I am a new creation, with a new heart, a new spirit, and a new identity before God. Having been delivered from the dominion of sin and united with Christ, I am always able to resist temptation.
When I do sin, I am always welcome at the cross, for all my sins have been forgiven in Jesus. Why it s important to know who we are in Christ Our praise of Christ is deepened because of it Overcoming indwelling sin and temptation depends upon it Christ likeness is the fruit of it Our service for God is fuelled by it The fight of faith is empowered by it Our testimony to the surpassing worth of Christ demands it Our compassion for others is a demonstration of it The gospel of grace is explained and adorned by it Pastoral ministry is shaped by it The Church is defined by it Summary the story so far Our new identity in Christ: 1. I am a new creature (human reality in God s image and sin). Dependable on Him, and accountable to Him (Gen.1:27) 2. I am in Christ (an eternal union with God s Son) Representative and Living union (Eph.1:3; Rom.8:1) 3. I am justified (righteous by faith in Christ) (Rom.3:22,23) Total forgiveness & total righteousness. Legal Standing 4. I am an adopted son of God (full member of God s family) A son & heir of God. Relationship Status (Rom.8:15)
5. I am a new creation (regeneration by the Holy Spirit) A new nature, and a new power (Ezek.36:26,27; 2 Cor.5:17; John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:23 25; 1 John 3:9)