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2 Corinthians 5:17

by Don Costello  
1/05/2009 / Bible Studies


2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

a. Amplified Bible: "Therefore if any man is engrafted in Christ, the Messiah, he is a new creature altogether, a new creation; the old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come."

1. "Therefore if any man be in Christ,"

a. In Scripture, the term "in Christ" is to be a member of the Body of Christ, in the same sense that my arm or leg is a member of my own body.

1). 1 Corinthians 12:12-15 "For as the body is one, and hath many members and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been made to drink into one Spirit.
For the body is not one member, but many.
If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?"

2). Ephesians 5:29, 30 "For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones."

b. The term is sort of identification card a bill of rights, revealing to us who we really are, what God Almighty says we are, now that we have been born again. Unless we are confessing what the word says about us, what he says about us and what we say about ourselves are totally different.

2. "he is a new creature"

a. creature [2937 * ktisis] [Vines: Primarily, the act of creating or the creative act in process...Like the English word 'creation', it also signifies the product of the creative actThe reference is to the creative act of God, whereby a man is introduced into the blessing of salvation, in contrast to circumcision done by hands.] [D.C. This is the new birth, the born again experience. It is the only way to enter the New Covenant.]

b. Jesus spoke of being born again.

1). John 3:1-8 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:
The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

a). born [1080 * gennao] [Zodhiates: generation, kind, offspring.]

b). again [509 * anothen] [Zodhiates: Of place: from above, from a higher place[In John 3:7, 7] this could also be translated "to be born from above." Both meanings are correct since this is a birth from God and it is a new birth.]

c. Paul referred to the born again experience in Titus 3:5.

1). Titus 3:5 "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

a). regeneration [3824 * paliggenesia; palin-again; genesis-generation] [Zodhiates: Regeneration, restoration, renovation, rebirth.]

d. Our spirit man literally has been recreated.

3. "old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

a. Amplified Bible: "the old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away"

b. NASB: "the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."

1). There are a couple of Old Covenant passages that are used to describe what God has done with our sins.

a). Micah 7:18, 19 "Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."

b). Psalm 103:10-12 "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."

2). As good as that was under the Old Covenant, we under the New Covenant have better promises. Our sins are not only gone, but God has literally forgotten them.

a). Hebrews 10:15-17 "Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
And their sin and iniquities will I remember no more."

3). We have a better Covenant.

a). Hebrews 7:22 "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament."

4). The New Covenant has better promises.

b). 2 Peter 1:3, 4 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."

My name is Don Costello. Ever since I received Christ in November of 1976 I have had a passion to study and know God's word.My wife Melissa and I have 5 children.

My e-mail address is [email protected]

I have a blog located at:
www.theophilus-loverofgodsword.blogspot.com/

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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User Comments

Great article
2009-01-08

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