A New Creation

2 Corinthians 5:11-21

Key Verse 5:17

^“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 

In a book entitled "Kindness" Rabbi Zelig Pliskin touches on the way to see people: "I see people as selfish, defensive, and incompetent. And I've seen this proven again and again. If people were better, I would be able to treat them better. I see people as distant and unfriendly. This causes me to close up. And they probably see me the same way, even though inwardly I see myself as a friendly person. I see people as open, warm, and kind. Whenever they aren't this way, it is because at this moment they're not really themselves. I've seen so many people open up and reveal that they are warm and kind that I know this is the reality of the human condition."

In the passage the Apostle Paul goes one step further: he exhorts us to see all peoples on earth from God's point of view, rather than a human (or worldly) point of view. What is it to see people from God’s point of view? First, it is to see people in the fear of the Lord; second, it is to see people as objects for Christ’s love; and third, it is to see people with God’s vision – the vision for a new creation, the vision for reconciliation with God, and the vision for the righteousness of God.

First, it is to see people with the fear of the Lord. 

Verse 11 begins, “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men.” Here Paul says that he knows what it is to fear the Lord. When he says that he knows what it is to fear the Lord he is referring to what he just said in verse 10. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

Of course not all people believe in the Day of Judgment that is to come. But the Apostle Paul believes in it. Notice what he says: “We must all appear.” What does “must” mean? It means you must appear whether you like it or not. What does “all” mean? All means all. No exceptions.  

This passage indicates that the Apostle Paul lived his life with the final Day of Judgment in mind. He also exhorted people to live with the final Day of Judgment in mind. In a way, the Apostle Paul is like a good student who does his homework faithfully during school days, so that when the day of the final exam comes he would do well and get good grades, and in this way graduate with honors. 

Second, it is to see people as objects for Christ’s love.

Practically, then, how can we best prepare ourselves for the coming Day of Judgment? Let us read verses 11-16 again. “Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.  We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.” This passage says that we can prepare ourselves for the Day of Judgment by believing in the gospel of Jesus, by persuading men to believe in the gospel, and by encouraging people to live for Christ, not for themselves.

Why should we believe in the gospel? Why should we persuade men to repent and believe in the gospel? It is because faith in the gospel is the only way for man to be found “NOT GUILTY” on the Day of Judgment. When I think about myself, I am one of the worst sinners. How can a sinful man like me be found “NOT guilty” in front of such a perfect, all knowing Judge, Jesus Christ? It is only through faith in the gospel of Jesus, the good news that I can be found not guilty. It is the same with you. It is the same with all peoples in all generations. 

Having been found not guilty through the gospel faith, how must one live the remainder of his life? Paul says that we must no longer live for ourselves but for Jesus Christ. This sounds very burdensome to many. But the Apostle Paul did not think so. Of course, because of the gospel he had to suffer a lot. But he calls all the burdens, sufferings, troubles, and hardships as “light and momentary” troubles. And he is willing to go for them. Why? According to 2 Corinthians 4:17, they are achieving for us eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Notice two the words: achieve and outweigh. One of the meanings of the word “achieve” is to “earn.” The word “outweigh” indicates that the return is far greater in value than the investment. The adjective “far” indicates that the output is incomparably greater than the input we are making. We can readily verify this truth by comparing the word “momentary” with the word “eternal.” “Momentary” means temporary or a brief moment. “Eternal” means eternal. It is to compare a few seconds of sufferings with the infinite amount of enjoyment of pleasure found in the eternal presence of God. 

One may say, “Oh, I don’t believe it. The Apostle Paul is just bluffing; he is the master of exaggeration.” But we know that the Apostle Paul is not lying. He is being sincere. And many people believe that he is a man of integrity. So we can believe Paul. 

But there is another reason why we must believe in what Paul says: that is, Jesus Christ himself. His person and his integrity make us to believe in His words spoken through Paul. In a way Christians are like a man making an investment in Jesus’ company where Jesus is the CEO.  How will this company be doing? Here is the Apostle Paul’s stock analysis of Jesus’ company: 

“We are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 

Here the word “died” is repeated four times and “raised” one time. In fact, history proves that it is only Jesus who was raised “again.” All died, and are going to die; but Jesus is alive. It is only Jesus’ company that is going to be up and running. All companies sooner or later will go down into a pit. They will all come to nothing, but not so with Jesus’ company. He and those who invest their lives in him alone will prosper and continue to prosper. 

Plus, Jesus, the CEO, is known as the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. He is all knowing, all wise, and all powerful. And it has already been proven that he alone is truly sacrificial; his only interest is to secure the interest of people who put trust in him. One day I talked to a pastor who has two sons. One of his sons works at Goldman Sachs. The pastor said, “My son received $70,000 as a cash bonus last year.” I said, “Wow! Congratulations. That is a lot of money.” The pastor then said, “No. My son feels bad about it.” I said, “Why?” The pastor explained, “According to my son, the CEO of the company takes 97% of the net profit for himself, and distributes the remaining 3% among employees.” I do not know how true the statement is. But we know for sure that Jesus is different. After all he died for all that those who believe in his finished work would no longer suffer from the eternal condemnation which they rightly deserve. And this Jesus says, “If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth that he will certainly NOT lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42).

Third, it is to see people with God’s vision.

In verses 17-21 the Apostle Paul shares God’s vision for all who believe in Jesus. God’s vision consists of three components: The vision for a new Creation; the vision for reconciliation to God; and the vision for the righteousness of God. So let us think about each of them.

(1) A New Creation

Look at verse 17. ^“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” We have already talked about the eternal glory that is waiting for those who live for Jesus Christ. But in this passage the glorious life to come begins here and now. It has already begun for those who are “in Christ.” 

If you are in Christ, you are already a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. This sounds too good to be true. But when we think about what it is to be in Christ, we can easily understand this truth. 

What then is it to be in Christ? The Apostle Peter’s first message proclaimed on the first day when the Holy Spirit fell on Jesus’ disciples answers the question: Let us open the Bible and read Acts 2:36-38: “‘Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” This passage indicates that to be in Christ means three things: 

To believe and accept Jesus as the Lord; 

To repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins; and 

To receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

The expression “both Lord and Christ” means Jesus is not just the Christ but the Lord. Before Jesus is the Christ he is first the Lord. To accept Jesus as the Lord requires respecting and obeying Jesus as the one who is above any one superior to you: your parents, your teacher, your boss, or even a president of nation or an emperor like the Roman Emperor Nero.  

Repentance and baptism should not stop at mere rituals. It is more than lip service saying, “I repent,” or mere rituals such as getting sprinkled on your head a few drops of water or immersing one’s body in a swimming pool. According to the early Christians it means to fully commit one’s life to Jesus, even to the point of suffering martyrdom for Christ’s sake. 

The same goes with receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, for receiving the Holy Spirit is just the beginning; and one receives the Holy Spirit only to walk in step with him, and work in and through him. Then one literally lives as a new creation. The Apostle Peter did it. The Apostle Paul did it. And you can do it. And I can do it. If you go to the Home Depot they say, “You can do it; we can help.” The same is true in Jesus. “You can do it and Jesus can help.” 

(2) Reconciliation  

Look at verses 18-19a. ^“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.” The Corinthians called Jesus Lord and Savior. They once repented. The Apostle Paul baptized some of them. They received the Holy Spirit. Were they reconciled to God? Obviously they were not. God was still at war with them. Otherwise the Apostle Paul would not have needed to say to them, “Be reconciled to God.” 

The word “reconciliation” means to restore friendship between two persons, namely, a believer and God. This indicates that in order for reconciliation to occur the cause for hostility must be removed, that is, sin. Otherwise hostility between the two persons continues. 

The Apostle Paul preached the gospel to the Corinthians for one and a half years. Apparently the Apostle Paul served them until they could receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. But still Paul recognized that they were yet to be reconciled to God, for some of them, if not all of them, were still in sin. So in 1 Corinthians he rebuked them for all kinds of sin problems. Then in 2 Corinthians he rebukes more saying, “Therefore come out of them [those who do what is wicked]. Be separate. Touch no unclean thing…” “Dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and soul, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Corinthians 6:17; 7:1).

Notice the expression “perfecting holiness.” This vision sounds too good to be true, but with God all things are possible. So the Apostle Paul challenges them to be reconciled to God. 

(3) The righteousness of God 

Lastly let us look at verse 21. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” This passage shows us the final purpose for Christ’s sacrifice, that is, we might become the righteousness of God. What does it mean to become the righteousness of God? First of all it is different from “righteousness of men”. Man’s righteousness is like a filthy garment, but God’s righteousness is like a brand new tuxedo or a beautiful wedding gown worn by a bride walking into a wedding hall. 

In Biblical term this righteousness of God has to do with the dwelling we are going to receive when we take off our physical body. It denotes the essential character of our being in which we can spend eternity in the eternal presence of God. For further insight on this point, I would encourage everyone to read Psalm 1:1-6.   

Conclusion: 

We learned that without Jesus we are doomed, for all of us would be found guilty on the Day of Judgment. But in order to save us from the eternal condemnation God sent Jesus to die for our sins. Then Jesus rose again and thereby opened the way for us to come to the Father. In view of this transaction we are called to share the gospel with many, and serve people with God’s vision in mind, that is, the vision to live as a new creation, the vision to be fully reconciled to God, and the vision to put on the heavenly costume called the righteousness of God.  

One word: A new creation

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