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.
Les teaches that the repeated 'therefore' in this passage flows from a crucial shift: believers are no longer hanging on Christ's earthly ministry, but are hanging everything on His death, burial, and resurrection. Only then does verse 17 give its conditional 'therefore.' Even though all the sins of the world have been paid for, salvation remains conditional: if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation. Les notes that the Greek word behind 'creation' and 'creature' is the same, but 'creation' fits English better because the believer is not merely made a new creature but is a whole new creation of God. That is what makes a believer a believer, and unless one has experienced it, one is not a believer. There must be that new creative work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. Les then connects this to 1 Corinthians 12:13, where by one Spirit—capitalized, the Holy Spirit—every believer, not just the best or most spiritual or those who have had a particular experience, is baptized into one body.
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
What does 'in Christ' mean in 2 Corinthians 5:17?
The phrase 'in Christ' is positional language and refers to the same person who has been baptized into the body of Christ and is hidden in God.