January 4, 2023 NEW CREATIONS
Romans 6:4 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
Galatians 2:20-21 “I have been crucified with Christ: it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
We may get so use to our routines in life that we forget that we are new creations. Being made new creations is revolutionary-it’s out of the norm! We have not been refurbished, but made new creations; we are no longer who we use to be, and life is not what it use to be. I do not fully understand the implications of this, but if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, (dying to ourselves) we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection. And, just as Christ was raised from the dead, we too might walk in newness of life. Paul said in Galatians 2 that it was no longer he who lived-but it was Christ living in him. The amazing thing is that we can walk in newness of life; we no longer have to live in the ‘ho-hum’ of life or have to live without direction and energy for life. Rather than being exhausted or overwhelmed in life, we can experience the life of God in us renewing us and giving us hope in all circumstances. It may sound over-simplistic, but as we are experiencing this newness of life, the grass will be greener and the skies will be bluer because we have the very life of God in us. We can be thankful that the old things-who we use to be and all of our failures-have passed away-and the new has come. This does not imply that we are exempt from trials in life; but it does mean that we experience victory over whatever trials we face. Being new creations and walking in newness of life calls for faith; by faith we believe the truth that God has declared and we walk in it-we apply it. We cannot live ‘our life’ and at the same time experience His life. The crucial point of all of this is that of dying to ourselves and being raised to a new life in Christ. The Spirit of God has been given to us to lead us and to reveal the truths of the word of God to us; our part is to be sensitive to the Spirit of God and to follow as He leads. Living as new creations does not happen automatically; we must by faith in what God has declared, ‘put on’ the new person we are.
Ephesians 4:22 “You were taught, with regards to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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