Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– 2nd Corinthians 5:17
A New Creation
Someday, God is going to create a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1), but He’s already created something new, and that’s us, as the Apostle Paul said, we are “a new creation” and “The old has passed away” and “the new has come” (2nd Cor 5:17). My old man died years ago because God created in me new desires to obey Him and avoid sin. The old man shows up on occasion, so even though I still sin at times, I don’t enjoy it as I used to. I hate it. That’s because I’ve got a new mind created by God Himself.
The Old’s Dead
Just as we are now new creations in Christ Jesus because of His work at Calvary, the old man’s dead…but for some reason, he comes back to life on occasion. In other words, my old nature surfaces from time to time, and again and again, I’ve got to bury him, but thankfully, God is “not counting [my] trespasses against” me (2nd Cor 5:19). God knows we will still sin (1st John 1:8, 10), but He also knows that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1st John 1:9).
A New Ambassador
An ambassador represents the nation or country that they come from, and when we have become new creations in Christ, we become His ambassadors. Paul writes that now “we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2nd Cor 5:20). I pray you’ll be the best ambassador you can be in representing the kingdom of God, and let God use you to make an appeal to others that they need to be saved.
Conclusion
As new creations in Christ, our old man or woman has died, and the old has passed away, although he or she does show up from time to time, but now we’re declared to be God’s ambassadors in proclaiming the same message that Jesus did when beginning His earthly ministry and that’s repentance and faith (or belief) (Mark 1:15).
