A New Creation

Friends, we must never forget where we came from, but by the same token, and for some of us this is an even more important word, we must never lose sight of the glory of the new creation in Christ. To be a Christian is to be united with Christ. We are a new creation, and as Sinclair Ferguson reminded us earlier this week, we are part of a new creation too, a new world. So learning about what it means to be in Christ and reflecting upon those implications changes how we live and think about life. This is the Friday edition of Renewing Your Mind.

I'm Nathan W. Bingham. Today brings us to the end of our week-long study with Sinclair Ferguson, and it's also the final day that you can request the complete 12-part series, Union with Christ, with your donation of any amount at renewingyourmind.org. If you have your Bible handy, open it to 2 Corinthians 5 as Dr. Ferguson digs deeper into what it means that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.

Here's Dr. Ferguson. I'm going to turn back again to that great passage in 2 Corinthians 5 that we were looking at before, only this time I want to take the whole section from verse 6 through to the end of verse 21. Remember, I said when we talked about this verse before in 2 Corinthians 5, 17, that what Paul is speaking about here is not just that something happens to me inside when I become a Christian.

What happens to me is that I'm brought into a world that is, in a sense, outside of me. If anyone is in Christ, it's true he is a new creature. She is a new creature, somebody born again into the kingdom of God. But what I think Paul is really emphasizing here is that when we become Christians, we're actually brought into a new world, into a new atmosphere. Think about it in terms of the passage that we studied last time, Romans 5, 12 to 21. When you trust in Christ and are brought into Christ, what does that mean?

It means you have been brought out of the old world to which you belong by nature, the world of the family of Adam, and you're now in a new world. We could think about that in terms of a picture that New Testament uses that the Christian becomes an adopted child of God. By nature, we belong to one family. We then are adopted by grace into another family. That doesn't mean that all our instincts change overnight. Actually, it may take a long time for our instincts to catch up with the new world to which we belong. But we no longer belong to that old family.

That old family has no longer any legal claims on us. We belong to the new family even although, and this is the struggle of the Christian life, we have brought into that new family many of the habits and distortions that belong to us because of the old family. And so, it's this that Paul is speaking about here. His centerpiece is, if I'm in Christ, I belong to a new creation. And he does hear what we see he often does. He helps us to see the brightness of the gospel against the dark back cloth of the situation from which we have come.

Sometimes we say you see the stars most clearly on the darkest night. And so, the background to this whole passage is actually the distortion of our lives through the fall, the original creation to which we belong. He had said at the beginning of chapter 4 that the God of this age blinded our minds to the gospel so that although the glory of Christ was there in the gospel, we simply couldn't see it.

There was a miasma, there was a blindness, but then by God's grace our eyes were opened. And he wants us for a moment to look back. He's saying, you know, if you are part of the new creation in Christ, never forget the old world from which you came. And although, as I say, this is not the main point of the passage, it's interesting to see what he says. He speaks, for example, by implication that we had a certain view of ourselves.

In verse 15, you'll notice, he says, we no longer now live to ourselves. The implication is that we once did. We were wrapped up in ourselves. And in being wrapped up in ourselves, we made ourselves the center of the universe.

We dethroned God, and inevitably our lives were destabilized. And then that had a knock-on effect on the way we viewed others. Notice how he goes on in verse 16 at the beginning to say, we no longer look at other people according to the flesh. Now, the implication is that's how we used to look at people, and it's true, isn't it? That's how you used to look at people before you became a Christian. That's how you assessed them. The cars they drove, the neighborhoods they lived in, that's how they assessed you. What school did you go to?

What kind of job do you have? Everything was this entirely horizontal judgment, what Paul calls according to the flesh, according to worldly standards. Now, why did you do that? Because that's the world to which you belonged. You couldn't see this other world. Remember the conversation that Jesus has with Nicodemus that's such a great illustration of this? Jesus, Nicodemus, unless you're born again, unless you enter this new world through the Holy Spirit, you'll never be able to see the kingdom of God. And you remember what Nicodemus' response is?

That can't be right because I can't see it. In other words, it's a living illustration of the very thing that Jesus says, and he doesn't even realize that's the truth about Him. And it's something similar that Paul is saying here. And then, of course, notice what he says at the end of verse 16. He says, we also used to regard Christ according to the flesh. At best, we would say He was a great teacher, but that would be at best. We simply saw Him in human terms. We simply saw some of His teaching, like we said, you know, I just love the Salmon and the Mount, and thereby gave indication that we'd never really read the Salmon and the Mount.

The Salmon and the Mount ends up with Jesus being the Judge of all the earth. But we have this patronizing view of Jesus. We are superior to Jesus. And you notice that, don't you? You mentioned Jesus to somebody who's not a Christian.

They will always regard themselves as having the last word. They have the right to judge Him. They view Him, Paul says here, from a purely worldly point of view.

Now, why is this so serious? Well, Paul had already told us earlier on in the passage. He says, this is so serious because we will all one day stand before the judgment seat of God, and we will have nothing to compensate for our sins, nothing to compensate for our sins. You ever sing that great hymn, Rock of Ages, cleft for me?

Remember that very moving line in it, not the labors of my hands can fulfill your law's demands. Then this line, could my tears forever flow? All for sin could not atone. If you wept for your sins for all eternity, that could not atone for them. Why could it not atone for them?

Because it couldn't remove them. All your tears throughout eternity would be no compensation for the fact that you were living in rebellion against God. And so, what he wants us to understand is the distortion of the original creation and therefore the distortion of our own lives. And it's against that background that this restoration, this new creation in Christ is such a glorious reality. Friends, we must never forget where we came from. If we forget where we came from, we begin to take the grace of God very lightly.

There is still enough of the old family atmosphere in us to end up congratulating ourselves because we were worthy of the grace of God, and of course, God would choose people like us. So, we must never lose sight of the black cloth of the distortion of our lives through the fall. But by the same token, and for some of us, this is an even more important word, we must never lose sight of the glory of the new creation in Christ.

Only some of us fall off one side, some of us fall off the other. Pastors often have to spend a great deal of time dragging people out of the overwhelming sense they have of their failure, the overwhelming sense they have of the damage that has been done to them because of their past life. I need to say to them again and again, but now you are in Christ. And by the same token, some of us take it for granted, and we need to be told, remember the pit from which you were dug in order that you may catch a fresh sense of the privileges that are yours in your restoration in Jesus Christ.

And the word he uses here is this. What does it mean to be united to Christ? It means that in Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to God. In Jesus Christ, we are reconciled to God. Now, it's interesting, the word for reconciliation means basically change, or even better, an exchange. Reconciliation to God means that our old relationship to Him has been exchanged for a new relationship to Him, and that new relationship is ours only because we are in Christ. The exchange that takes place in our lives from old creation to new creation only takes place because of the exchange that took place first of all in our Lord Jesus Christ.

And you remember how He puts it. Actually, it's one of the most basic themes in the whole of the Bible. The way of salvation in the Bible is always the way of exchange.

There needs to be an exchange. Think about the Old Testament sacrifices, that's what they were. I deserve to die, but this animal exchanges places with me. Probably the most vivid illustration of that is the two animals that were sacrificed, you remember, to make atonement for the sins of the people. One of them was slain and its blood offered. The other had the sins of the people, confessed over it, and then was taken out into the wilderness and let go to wander in the wilderness. What a picture of the two dimensions of what Jesus has done for us. On the one hand, being the sacrifice. On the other, in that sacrifice, going into the no man's land between heaven and earth and bearing our sins out into that wilderness area where He came under the wrath of God. Jesus made that exchange for us. He was wounded for our transgressions.

He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement that brings us peace was upon Him. With His stripes, we are made whole. We, like sheep, have gone astray, turned everyone to His own way, and the Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. And Paul is saying, dearly beloved Corinthians, if you are in Christ, that exchange has been made for you. That exchange has been made for you. And you see, when that exchange is made for us and we are united to Jesus Christ, we become part of this new creation in Christ, and that leads to something else.

So, first of all, Paul is painting the back cloth, our distorted condition because of the fall. He's setting before us the heart of the gospel in our restoration to this new creation in Christ. And then he goes on to speak about the transformation in our lives that results. So, what will happen to me if I come to the Lord Jesus in faith, if I believe into Christ and I'm united to Him?

Well, here is something very wonderful he says. Just as there has taken place a reconciliation in Jesus Christ by the way He has made this exchange, when you come to faith in Jesus Christ and are united to the Lord Jesus Christ, there is a corresponding exchange that takes place in your life. You enter into this new world of pardon and forgiveness, and in that new world, your whole life begins to become quite different.

And you'll notice how this is exactly a reverse of what was caused by the fall. Notice, first of all, he says, and this is the most obvious thing, isn't it? We exchange our old view of Christ for a new view of Christ. He says, we used to regard even Christ according to the flesh, but we regard Him thus no longer.

We don't think of Him in the same way. Now, remember what Paul says to the Philippians, now we make it our aim to live for His glory. And he says the same thing here, now we make it our goal to please Christ, to honor Christ.

That's one of the simplicities, isn't it? What are you living for? You're a young person, what are you living for? You're an older person, what are you living for? You are a retired person, what are you living for?

You're 90, what are you living for? Now, this is the glory of the Christian life. I'm united to the Lord Jesus, and my life is really basically very simple. And what simplifies it is I simply want to please the Lord Jesus. And you know, that clears out a lot of the rubbish of our lives, doesn't it? It really does.

It's not rocket science. Jesus is not in the business of saying to you, let me try and make your decisions in life as complicated as they can possibly be. He's really in the business of saying, we can clear up 99% of the decisions you ever make by your answer to this question in this situation. What according to God's Word is most going to tend to the pleasure of my Lord Jesus Christ? And of course, the more you know the Scriptures, the more you learn what pleases Him. The more you read the Gospels, the more you develop instincts back to what we've said about the use of the marriage illustration in the New Testament.

That's how it works, isn't it? There was a time in my life in the United States when I wasn't also the minister of a local congregation when I would beg, borrow, or steal pulpits just for the privilege of preaching. Often I would be staying in the home of people in the congregation, and I would arrive on a Friday night and leave at the end of the conference or whatever it was. I just privately used to say to myself, I want to know when I leave this house why these two people got married in the first place. And it didn't take very long. It didn't take very long to see what it was that had attracted them to one another and why it was that they had become so like one another, and they didn't need to sit down and discuss how they were going to react. They had learned by living together. They had learned through the maturing of their union. They thought the same way ninety-nine percent of the time quite instinctively because they knew each other.

They were in union with each other. They were in communion with each other. The wife didn't need to say, if you really wanted to please me, you would do this.

Well, the husband knew her well enough to do what he knew would please her. And that's not something that falls out of the air or comes to us by some mystical experience. That's what we learn when our lives more and more absorb the Scriptures, which is the mind of God, the gospels that tell us not only who Jesus was, but who Jesus is. That great statement in Hebrews 13, He's the same yesterday, today, and forever, is not saying Jesus is eternal. That's true, but that's not what that verse is saying. What that verse is saying to us is He is exactly the same today as He was in the gospels. And so, when I see Him in the gospels, when I live with Him in the gospels, those instincts begin to develop in me. And I no longer think in this worldly way because I'm united to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I want to please Him because I'm reconciled to Him. And the inevitable result of that, of course, is that I exchange the old view of others for a new view of others. I used to view them according to the flesh, but I don't view them any longer that way.

Paul has hinted at this earlier on. He says, everybody I meet, I see a shadow of divine judgment behind them. I don't look at them as though they were simply passing through this world. But because I'm united to the Lord Jesus, I begin to see them through Jesus' eyes, that one day they're going to stand before Him and they're going to be judged. A man who was the first minister of the church to which I belong in Scotland wrote in his journal one day, as I was walking through the fields, that thought came to me with almost overwhelming power that everyone to whom I speak must shortly stand before the judgment seat of Christ and be sent either to heaven or to hell. People don't see themselves that way.

They're blinded to the reality. But when you're united to Christ, you begin to see them through these new eyes. And Paul says, we're prepared even to go to the point where people think we're silly for the sake of Jesus Christ. Remember how he puts it?

He says, you know, people will say, you are out of your mind. He was told that in the Acts of the Apostles. Paul, you are raving mad.

And people have more sophisticated ways of saying it to us, don't they? To demean us, to treat us as though we were strange, to marginalize our Christian faith, and usually sophisticated ways, but sometimes overtly hostile ways, using language that hurts. And Paul says, we're prepared for this. We're prepared to be seen even as having lost the plot in this world, if by any means our lives will tell for the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, being united to Christ is costly. But he says, the love of Christ, the love of Christ we know in union with Him constrains us to this. And best of all, of course, we not only have, as he says, a new view of Christ and a new view of others, but best of all, we are so united to the Lord Jesus Christ that we know we'll never be separated from Him, and that in His presence we'll live forever.

And this is a big thing, isn't it? Worldly men and women view the future as being small and insubstantial, and the present big and substantial. But those who are united to Christ see that it's the future that's big and substantial, and therefore they're able to live with all the trials and tribulations of the present time because need I say it once more, they are united to the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a great comfort that is as you and I experience various trials in the Christian life. You're listening to the Friday edition of Renewing Your Mind. There have been many times this week that I've wanted to go back and re-listen to something that Dr. Ferguson said. If you'd like to be able to re-listen to those messages, in fact have access to all 12 messages in the series, and return to them time and time again, today is the final day that you can request Union with Christ for your donation of any amount.

In addition to lifetime streaming access, you'll receive the digital study guide as well. So give your gift while time remains at renewingyourmind.org, or by calling us at 800 435 4343. Although we don't often discuss it, if the Lord tarries, death is a reality that will touch each one of us. Next week Guy Waters will be with us to help us think biblically about death, answering questions like, what does it mean to grieve, but not as those who have no hope? Or how do we respond to the death of someone who isn't a Christian? So join us next week, beginning Monday, here on Renewing Your Mind. you