CE 1 YEAR: 19 Your New Creation

Week 19

Your New Creation

The new you

Many Christians do not understand what happened to them when they were born again by God’s Spirit (John 3:3, 5). The Bible says you became “a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). What does this mean? First, it is helpful to understand your old self.

Before being born again, you had one nature that controlled all of your desires. Your nature was the sinful nature and nothing good lives in this (Rom 7:18). The sinful nature always hates God and rebels against His commands (Rom 8:7). Because the sinful nature was your only nature, you were a slave to sin (Rom 6:6). Every desire you had was selfish and sinful. Your nature was to be foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures (Tit 3:3).

Before you were made a “new creation” every part of you was controlled by sin. Your “spirit” was the spirit of the Devil who was working in you (Eph 2:2). Your mind was completely programmed by your sinful nature to crave sin (Eph 2:3). Your soul, which is uniquely expressed in your personality, was dominated by its sinful attributes. And your body served sin (Rom 6:6). Instead of loving God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30), you loved sin with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

But then God came to live inside of you through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (John 14:20; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 6:19; 2 Cor 13:5; 1 John 4:15). He invaded and indwelled your spirit, replacing the Devil’s spirit in you. Now you have a new nature. A new self already created to be like God, living inside of you (Eph 4:24). You have a “new heart” and a “new spirit” that loves God and desires to obey Him (Ezek 36:26-27). Your new creation is so radical that the Bible repeatedly says the old you died (Rom 6:6-7; Col 2:20; 3:3; 2 Tim 2:11). Or as Paul said, “I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

Only born-again Christians have God living in them. This makes you a different species of human being than other people in the world. You are a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). What does this change for you?

You are not a slave to sin

As described above, before God’s Spirit indwelled you, the sinful nature was your only nature. Your only choice and ability were to sin. Therefore, you were a slave to sin (Rom 6:6-7, 14, 17-18). But God’s Spirit in you gives you a new nature and power. Your new nature hates sin and loves God. And God’s Spirit gives you a power over sin that you did not have before. When God’s Spirit controls you, your sinful nature cannot (Gal 5:16).

If God lives in you then why do you still sin? Because you still have your old mind which is programmed to sin. God gave you a new heart and spirit that loves God and hates sin. But you still have your old mind that has parts still deceived into sinning.

This is why there is now a battle inside of you. The desires of God’s Spirit are fighting against the desires of your sinful nature (Gal 5:17). Your sinful nature is the deceived parts of your mind. You no longer automatically obey your sinful nature like a slave. Now you fight your sinful nature because God’s Spirit gives you new desires and power.

Therefore, the Bible reveals a progression in God’s plan to overcome sin in your life. Now He has made us a “new creation” who are indwelled with His Spirit. We can fight sin. We are no longer automatic slaves to sin like all other humans. But sin is still in us and we have to fight it daily.

But when Jesus returns, He will destroy sin completely. First, He will create a New World without the Devil and without sin (Rev 20:10; 21:1-5). Secondly, He will resurrect us with new minds that have no memories, knowledge, or programming for sin (Isa 65:17; 1 John 3:2; Rev 21:27). The fight against sin will be over!

But that time has not yet come. One of the most important purposes in your life is to be transformed by the renewing of your mind so you have more power over sin in your life.

You are no longer a sinner

Sin can still be a powerful force in a Christian’s life. Therefore, we can be deceived into thinking it is part of our identity. Sin can make us believe that we are still the old sinners we used to be before we were made a “new creation.” This deceives us into thinking that sin is our essence and makes us dirty and unacceptable to God. Then we believe our identity is a sinner. And believing our true identity and nature is sin, actually gives sin more power. We will be who we believe we are. If we believe we are a sinner, then we will sin more.

This is why you need to answer a very important question. Why does the NT never call God’s people a sinner? Why does it always call us saints instead of sinners? Because our true self is not a sinner. Our true self is the new self already created to be like Jesus (Eph 4:24). Our true self hates sin and loves God.

The Apostle Paul taught this radical truth in Romans chapters 6-7. In the previous chapters (3-5) he explained our complete forgiveness of sin. He ends chapter 5 by saying that God’s grace and forgiveness will always reign over sin in our life (v. 21). Therefore, our complete forgiveness prompts the question: “Should we continue to sin so God’s grace will increase?” (Rom 6:1). In other words, if we are so completely forgiven for our sins, then why wouldn’t we sin more?

Because “we died to sin” and can no longer live being controlled by it (Rom 6:2). Our old self was crucified and replaced with a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). A “new creation” indwelled with God’s Spirit and having new desires to love God and hate sin. Therefore, we will no longer be automatic slaves to sin, but will always fight and hate sin (6:6-7).

This radical change in our desires needs to be recognized by Christians and Pastors. Our perspective sometimes seems to be that Christians want to sin. Therefore, we think we need to change their desires. So, we say all kinds of things to motivate them with a fear of sin. We might remind them of God’s discipline or the destructive effects of sin. We might even teach unbiblical things such as sin will separate us from God’s love. In general, we can have a very judgmental and dark view of Christians who struggle with sin. And make the false conclusion that their problem is a lack of desire.

But how did Paul describe his own struggle with sin? He said sin is doing what he does not want to do (Rom 7:14-23). Christians do not sin because they want to. They sin because of deception, not true desires. If they were completely free from the deception of sin, they would never sin again.

Christians have the ability to sin. But they no longer want to sin. It is their new love for God and hatred for sin that motivates them not to sin. They do not need the fear of condemnation for sin that the legalists want to use to motivate Christians to be holy. This should help us have compassion on ourselves and other Christian who struggle with sin.

Christians are not sinners, they are saints. Still not convinced of this? Paul says something even more radical twice in Romans 7 to make sure you get this. The Apostle said: THE REAL ME NO LONGER SINS. He said it is the disease of sin in me that sins (vs. 17, 20). The Apostle said the real me, my “inner person” (esō anthrōpon), my “new self” (Eph 4:24), delights in obeying God and hates sin (v. 22). When your sinful mind tricks you into sinning, it is going against your true desires (v. 25). An Apostle is saying (twice), “The real me does not sin anymore.” And every born-again Christian who is a “new creation” can and should say the same thing.

You might reject what Paul is saying because it seems that he is denying personal responsibility for his sin. However, surely the Apostle would be willing to do that. But Paul wants to tell you that there is something even more important than accepting your responsibility for sin. And that more important thing is recognizing your sinless identity even when you do sin. Your sin does not define who you really are.

Sin is like a disease programmed in your mind by the World. But you are not your disease. A person with cancer is not cancer. Their disease may physically limit them in ways they hate. But their true desire and real self is to be free from cancer. So it is with your sin. It is a disease that limits you spiritually in ways you hate. But your true desire and real self wants to be free from sin. You are no longer a sinner, but a saint who lives in a sinful world and body.

You do not always live up to who you really are. You are a saint, but you still sin. But when you sin, you are not acting like your true self. Your deepest, truest desires are now exactly the same as Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus said all Christians (those who will see God) are “pure in heart” (Matt 5:8). Do you believe that Christian? You have a pure heart. The problem is that you do not have a pure mind. But the sinful programming of your sinful nature is not the real you. Jesus in you is now the real you.

This is what Paul meant when he said: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Paul said: “To me, to live is Christ” (Phil 1:21). When Christ controls you, you are being the real you. That “new self” that is already created to be like God (Eph 4:24) is who you really are. When you do not act like Christ you are not acting like your real self. Your real self now, is your eternal self who will live without sin forever on the New Earth. But you will have a new mind and body, freeing you to do what you really want to do, which is never to sin again.

Understanding your real identity and relationship with sin can change your life. Again, if you see yourself as a sinner, it will make sin more powerful in your life. But you are not a sinner. You are a “new creation” who is a saint who loves God and hates sin.

Secondly, understanding that it is no longer the real you that sins, will help you to admit your sin. When we understand that sin is not our identity, but a disease we all have and hate, we are freer to admit, face, and even resolve the lies that make us sin.

Finally, knowing that your true desires are not to sin, protects you from unnecessary guilt when you do sin. God knows it is not the real you who sins. He knows the real you does not want to sin. And when you know that, it will give you power over sin.

Practical Application: Think about the sinful desires you had before you were a Christian. How has God changes those desires? Thank God for changing your desires and giving you a power over them that you did not have before.

In your small group meeting this week, share praises and prayer requests and then discuss these questions:

1) How does the Bible describe you before you were a Christian?

2) What is different about you now that you are a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17)?

3) Why are we no longer slaves who automatically obey sin?

4) What did Paul mean when he said (twice) that he no longer sins (Rom 7:17, 20)?

5) How should this change our perspective on Christians struggling with sin?

6) Who is the real you? How does knowing this help you with sin?

7) What was especially meaningful to you in this chapter? Why?