Why I believe we are a new creation.
Many Scriptures say we are in Christ. At first glance I didn't have a clue what that meant. It was some vague concept that I used to ask God about. I used to research for hours on Google what "in Christ" actually meant. I came across very few insights as I researched this concept.
I used to wake up in the morning and I would pray to Holy Spirit to teach me and guide me, and He would talk to me about this new creation reality. Now at first to be honest I was very confused. Because I looked through Scripture and I found the words "new creation" only 2x. But Holy Spirit told me I would understand in time. It wasn't for a few years that I started to actually "get it".
So around this time, I really struggled with legalism. I would drive 43 miles per hour because I knew I would add 2 miles when I went down hill. And I didn't want to speed over 45 mph. So I set it at cruise around 43 mph. My friends absolutely hated driving behind me or in front of me because I would drive so slow. Why? Because I was consumed by focusing on my sin. I saw God as a great mighty Judge who was waiting to strike me with a lightning bolt as soon as I stepped out of line.
It was around this time that Holy Spirit started talking to me about love. And as I would read Scripture He would show me how my lens was incorrect. I would read Scripture and afterwards I didn't feel happy, joyful, or even refreshed. I actually felt really bad. I used to tell myself that's because the "Sword of the Spirit" was cutting my heart. But to be honest, I started to not want to read the Book of Books anymore.
So I prayed to God, why do I feel like this??? And Holy Spirit told me it's because I saw Scripture through a lens of problems I needed to overcome instead of promises I got to receive. So this was a little hard for me to swallow. But over time He showed me this Scripture here:
Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that
he rewards those who seek him.
Basically, He taught me that faith is actually receiving. Believing He is good and He rewards those who seek Him.
Then He showed me this Scripture:
Matt 7:11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven
give good things to those who ask him!
Suddenly things started getting a little clearer to me, I had a horrible lens of God! I didn't see Him as loving at all. In fact, because of a lot of crappy things that happened in my life, I didn't really understand much about family, love, etc. I had some ideas, but no real clear ideas. So He had to start from scratch with me.
I spent probably a year or so, just meditating on a few Scriptures about love.
You probably know them. The royal command to love Him and love others as ourselves. God is love. If we don't love our brothers how can we say we love Him who is invisible?
But probably the big Scripture that really hit home for me was this one:
Eph 3:
14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
I have meditated on this one Scripture for a long, long time. Namely because of the last line. Even though the entire passage was reality altering for me.
In the last line we see: His unexplainable love (beyond knowledge) actually fills us with the fullness of Him.
Once this clicked, I was sold, I would eat, sleep, and breathe love. It made sense to me, God is love, loving one another as we love Him, and the more I know love the more I would know Him.
And that's what took me into the fruit of the Spirit.
Gal 5:
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
The fruit of the Spirit became my little check list. I would basically say to myself, self you need to be loving, joyful, peaceful, kind, good, etc. And it was my check list of things I had to DO. And as I would do that, I felt like I was growing. Which in a way I was, but then Holy Spirit showed me how twisted my mind was in this area.
He said to me, you don't HAVE TO do them, you GET TO do them.
And that's when I realized somewhere in my head, loving people, being nice to people, was an effort instead of privilege, thats when I realized my checklist was actually being like the older brother. The son who worked in the field out of obligation instead of joyful obedience.
And then as this sunk in more and more, and I began sharing this with other people. The Holy Spirit took it to a whole nother level. You don't just do them, you get to do them, but even more importantly you are them.
And that's when I started to understand how important what it meant to be a new creation. And the entire Scripture opened up to me. I started to see that when Paul spoke about being in Christ and doing things through Christ, he was actually talking about his new man.
Then I started to understand why Jesus said He was the Vine and we are His branches. And apart from Him we can do nothing. And how we rested in Him. And as we did that, He actually transforms us from the inside out. And the fruit we bear gives Him glory instead of our "checklists".
As I shared these revelations with people, I saw sin fall away, I saw relationships with God increase, younger college age kids started to enjoy evangelism, as I prayed for God to tell me how He saw people in Christ and I shared them, hope started to be birthed and people started having encounters with Him. And as they discovered His love for them, they started to become filled with His love for others.
I could tell you so many stories about the power of the gospel.
But I just wanted to share why I believe in the new creation reality that Christ gave us. I know it sounds mystical, I thought so, but I think thats why we've been told to be like little children, that the natural mind will be against the things of the spirit, and people would call us foolish for believing them.
I'm willing to be His fool though, He's just that good.
C.
