What does it mean to be a new creation in Christ?
To be a new creation in Christ means that because of His work of the cross, old things have passed away and all things become new. When old Adam dies, God imparts a new divine nature that cannot sin, although the old flesh remains capable of tripping us up.
Les teaches that the new creation is the result of Christ’s finished work on the cross: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and all things have become new. He explains that when old Adam dies, God again imparts a new divine nature, and that new nature cannot sin because it is divine and placed there by an act of God. At the same time, the old flesh and old Adam remain and can still trip us up, though the new man cannot sin. Les also connects this to reconciliation in verse 18: all things are of God, who has reconciled. He compares reconciliation to broken families or homes being brought back into full fellowship, and says it is a lot like redemption. God wants to reconcile the whole human race, and He has already reconciled.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
More Questions
Why does a person in Christ become a new creation?
Anyone in Christ is a new creation; old things pass away and all things become new because of the salvation experience and what God has done for us.
Why is 'new creation' better than 'new creature' in 2 Corinthians 5:17?
The word 'creation' in 'new creation' is a better translation than 'creature' because our salvation is a work of creation—a work of the power of God.