What happens when someone is in Christ according to 2 Corinthians 5:17?
When someone is in Christ, the verse says he is a new creation: old things are passed away, and behold, all things become new. The evidence of salvation is a total change in lifestyle, as old things change and new things replace them.
Les explains that if we are in Christ, He is a new creation; old things are passed away, and behold, all things become new. He emphasizes that the evidence of salvation is a total change in lifestyle. To illustrate, he tells of an insurance company executive and his wife who drove about 150 miles every Saturday evening for a home Bible study at his parents' home. After they came to know the Lord, many things changed. They used to keep the refrigerator full of beer and a well-stocked wet bar. His wife Patty said it just does not fit, so they poured it all down the stool and flushed it away. As time progressed, their previous drinking friends disappeared, and they had a whole new circle of friends. Les says that is exactly how it works.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
What happens to a person who is in Christ according to Ephesians 2:17?
According to Ephesians 2:17, when a person is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away, and behold, all things become new. This total change in lifestyle is the evidence of salvation, as old ways and associations are replaced by new ones.
Why does Paul move from Christ's earthly life to His death, burial, and resurrection before giving the 'therefore' of 2 Corinthians 5:17?
The move to Christ's death, burial, and resurrection occurs because believers no longer hang on His earthly ministry but hang everything on His death, burial, and resurrection. That sets up the conditional 'therefore' of 2 Corinthians 5:17: though all sins are paid for, salvation is conditional—if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
More Questions
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.
What does it mean that old things are passed away and all things become new in 2 Corinthians 5:17?
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, 'old things are passed away' refers to the old lifestyle, old habits, and old appetites being gone, and 'all things become new' means a complete renewal.