What does it mean that if any man is in Christ he is a new man?
Being in Christ means union with Him, pictured like marriage oneness. The old self cannot be fixed or cleaned up, because Adam's sin left the spirit dead. It takes God's outside power to energize that dead spirit, and when He does, He makes the person a new creation.
Les teaches that being in Christ is a union like marriage: as husband and wife become one, so the believer and Christ are one; therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new man. The old cannot simply be fixed up. When Adam sinned, his soul became a sin nature, his spirit died, and he lost fellowship with his Creator. That dead spirit is like a dead battery in a car. Cleaning the old battery may make it shine, but it still has no power; only an outside jump or charge gives power. Spiritually, we have been dead because of Adam's sin, and it takes an outside source of power—the power of God—to energize our spirit. When He energizes the spirit, He makes us a new person, or a new creation.
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.
What does it mean that old things have passed away and all things have become new?
When old things pass away in Christ, it means the old lifestyle, old habits, and old appetites are gone and all things become new.
What does it mean to be in Christ according to 2 Corinthians 5:17?
If any person of the whole human race is in Christ, he is a new creature or new creation.