New Creature
We have to understand that when we come to Jesus Christ, we are made into a new
creature; let us look at the word of God, in (Ephesians 2:1,12-13) says “and you
have He quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins. That at that
time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the
world. But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made near by the
blood of Christ”.
In (II Corinthians 5:17-21) it says, “therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all
things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to
us the ministry of reconciliation. To say, that God was in Christ; reconciling the world
to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word
of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us we pray you in Christ’s stead, be you reconciled to God. For He
has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him”.
In Galatians 6:15-16, it says “for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any thing,
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule,
peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God”. And in Ephesians 2:10,
it says “for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God
has before ordained that we should walk in them”. In James 1:18 it says “of His own
will fathered He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His
creatures”.
We are no longer to look at ourselves or on other believers as in the flesh (II
Corinthians 5:15-16) which says “and that He died for all, that they which live should
not hereafter live to themselves, but to Him which dies for them, and rose again.
Wherefore hereafter know we no man after the flesh, yea, though we have known
Christ after the flesh, yet now hereafter know we Him no more”.
We have to look at ourselves as God sees us; and the only way to effectively do this,
is to renew our mind to the word of God; Paul pleads with the Romans in (Romans 12:
1-2), which says “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be you transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and
perfect, will of God”.
Our former self was when we did the things that pleased our flesh. And our old self is
shown in (Ephesians 2:2-3), which says “wherefore in time past you walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air; the spirit
that now works in the children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh
and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others”. And the
works of the flesh are listed in Galatians 5:19-21, it says “now the works of the flesh
are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, as such like of the which I tell you before,
as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God”.
But we have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness by God (Colossians 1:
13-14), “Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us
into the kingdom of His dear Son. In whom we have redemption through His blood,
even the forgiveness of sins”.
That old way of living has to be changed, and the good news is that when we submit
ourselves to God, He makes the changes from the inside out (Proverbs 3:5-7) “trust
in the Lord Yahweh with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In
all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your
own eyes, fear (reverence) the Lord Yahweh, and depart from evil”.
We are told in Ephesians 4:22-24 “that you put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. And be
renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that you put on the new man, which after God
is created in righteousness and true holiness”.
In verses 25-32 it says “wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his
neighbor; for we are members one of another. Be you angry, and sin not; let not the
sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole
steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the things which is
good, that he may have to give to him that needs. Let no corrupt communication
proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may
minister grace to the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you
are sealed to the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be you kind one
to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another; even as God for Christ’s sake has
forgiven you. This shows that we do have a part to do.
Our part is to do as Paul says in Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ,
nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me”.
And Paul tells us how in (Philippians 3:13-14) “brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended, but this one thing, I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth to those things which are before. I press toward the mark, for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”.
Our new man is shown by the fruit we produce and Galatians 5:22-25 says “but the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit”. The key is being led by the Spirit of God.
Just reading through the Bible, and we will see who you are now. James tells us to
look into the perfect law of liberty (the Bible) and see who we are supposed to be
reflecting, and make the necessary changes, before we leave the house. And as we
began to meditate on who God says that we are, we will become. Remember that
Proverbs 23:7 says “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he”.
Take some time to look up what God says about you, and start professing what He
says about us. We are the righteousness of God in Christ. We have been justified.
We have been sanctified. We are over comers. We are more than conquerors. We
are the head and not the tail. We are above and not beneath. Take some time to
meditate on these and on others which you find, and you will see this will come to
pass in your life. Remember that God calls those things that be not as though they
are. God said and God saw.
Ephesians 5:1-2 which says “be you therefore followers of God, as dear children.
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given Himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor”. Remember that Jesus
said when we walk in
love with God and with our neighbors, we fulfill all the laws and the prophets (Matthew
22:37-40).
Jesus came and completed the work that the heavenly Father sent Him to do. He
reconciled us back to the Father, just as Adam was before the fall of mankind. We
have been made a new creature in Christ Jesus.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: March 5, 2010
We have to understand that when we come to Jesus Christ, we are made into a new
creature; let us look at the word of God, in (Ephesians 2:1,12-13) says “and you
have He quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins. That at that
time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and
strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the
world. But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made near by the
blood of Christ”.
In (II Corinthians 5:17-21) it says, “therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all
things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to
us the ministry of reconciliation. To say, that God was in Christ; reconciling the world
to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word
of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did
beseech you by us we pray you in Christ’s stead, be you reconciled to God. For He
has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in Him”.
In Galatians 6:15-16, it says “for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision avails any thing,
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule,
peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God”. And in Ephesians 2:10,
it says “for we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God
has before ordained that we should walk in them”. In James 1:18 it says “of His own
will fathered He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His
creatures”.
We are no longer to look at ourselves or on other believers as in the flesh (II
Corinthians 5:15-16) which says “and that He died for all, that they which live should
not hereafter live to themselves, but to Him which dies for them, and rose again.
Wherefore hereafter know we no man after the flesh, yea, though we have known
Christ after the flesh, yet now hereafter know we Him no more”.
We have to look at ourselves as God sees us; and the only way to effectively do this,
is to renew our mind to the word of God; Paul pleads with the Romans in (Romans 12:
1-2), which says “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be you transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and
perfect, will of God”.
Our former self was when we did the things that pleased our flesh. And our old self is
shown in (Ephesians 2:2-3), which says “wherefore in time past you walked according
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air; the spirit
that now works in the children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh
and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others”. And the
works of the flesh are listed in Galatians 5:19-21, it says “now the works of the flesh
are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, as such like of the which I tell you before,
as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God”.
But we have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness by God (Colossians 1:
13-14), “Who has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us
into the kingdom of His dear Son. In whom we have redemption through His blood,
even the forgiveness of sins”.
That old way of living has to be changed, and the good news is that when we submit
ourselves to God, He makes the changes from the inside out (Proverbs 3:5-7) “trust
in the Lord Yahweh with all your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In
all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Be not wise in your
own eyes, fear (reverence) the Lord Yahweh, and depart from evil”.
We are told in Ephesians 4:22-24 “that you put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. And be
renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that you put on the new man, which after God
is created in righteousness and true holiness”.
In verses 25-32 it says “wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his
neighbor; for we are members one of another. Be you angry, and sin not; let not the
sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole
steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the things which is
good, that he may have to give to him that needs. Let no corrupt communication
proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may
minister grace to the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you
are sealed to the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be you kind one
to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another; even as God for Christ’s sake has
forgiven you. This shows that we do have a part to do.
Our part is to do as Paul says in Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ,
nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the
flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me”.
And Paul tells us how in (Philippians 3:13-14) “brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended, but this one thing, I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and
reaching forth to those things which are before. I press toward the mark, for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus”.
Our new man is shown by the fruit we produce and Galatians 5:22-25 says “but the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance, against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s
have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also
walk in the Spirit”. The key is being led by the Spirit of God.
Just reading through the Bible, and we will see who you are now. James tells us to
look into the perfect law of liberty (the Bible) and see who we are supposed to be
reflecting, and make the necessary changes, before we leave the house. And as we
began to meditate on who God says that we are, we will become. Remember that
Proverbs 23:7 says “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he”.
Take some time to look up what God says about you, and start professing what He
says about us. We are the righteousness of God in Christ. We have been justified.
We have been sanctified. We are over comers. We are more than conquerors. We
are the head and not the tail. We are above and not beneath. Take some time to
meditate on these and on others which you find, and you will see this will come to
pass in your life. Remember that God calls those things that be not as though they
are. God said and God saw.
Ephesians 5:1-2 which says “be you therefore followers of God, as dear children.
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given Himself for us an
offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor”. Remember that Jesus
said when we walk in
love with God and with our neighbors, we fulfill all the laws and the prophets (Matthew
22:37-40).
Jesus came and completed the work that the heavenly Father sent Him to do. He
reconciled us back to the Father, just as Adam was before the fall of mankind. We
have been made a new creature in Christ Jesus.
Sermon by: Harriet Bond
Date: March 5, 2010
