All Things New

What exactly can Christ change in your life? With the saints of two millennia, some of you have tasted the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. But for others, you’re skeptical and suspicious that He can do anything significant in your life.

Throughout my life, I thought of Jesus as a nice religious man the supposedly died for me. As I grew older and found myself continually broken by my sin and confronted by the Gospel. During this time, I resisted Christ and thought of Him as someone for the weak, the poor, and the unsuccessful. I wanted nothing to do with Him.

Like Paul, I regard Him this way no longer. Over the years, Christ pursued me relentlessly. He humbled me, wore me down, and with great and gentle kindness, allowed me to see Him for who He is. And when I did, He changed everything in my life.

In this passage, Paul reminds the Corinthian believers of the work of Jesus Christ in their lives. In vs. 16, Paul says, “Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.” In other words, Paul used to see Christ wrongly (as a false teacher that God cursed). This is what he means by saying he had “known Christ according to the flesh.” But after meeting Him on the road to Damascus, Paul no longer saw Christ that way. He saw Him for who He was, the God who changes everything.

In this rich passage, Paul shows us the various ways that Christ changes us. Notice with me that…

Christ changes our character.

In vs. 17, we see that for the person who has been born again, all things have become new. Paul says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Here we are given a wonderful promise and fact. For those who trust in Jesus, a radical change takes place. The change is so radical that Paul says that the old has died, and something new has come. But what does this mean? It does not mean that we are promised to live happily ever after. It does not mean that we never sin again. But what it does mean is that a change of heart and mind comes that is so strong that our entire life is changed in a Godward direction to now possess a Christlike character. Consider Galatians 5: 22-23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” In Christ:

• Hate is replaced by love.
• Despair is replaced by joy.
• Restlessness is replaced by peace.
• Anxiousness is replaced by longsuffering.
• Rudeness is replaced by kindness.
• Malice is replaced by goodness.
• Infidelity is replaced by faithfulness.
• Hostility is replaced by gentleness.
• Weakness is replaced by self-control.

And, in addition to all this, as we will see in a few moments, Christ imparts His own righteousness to us!

Luke 19:8-9. “Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold." And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;”

Today let’s ask ourselves if we have ever had such a change take place in our lives. We should also consider whether or not we are continuing to allow God to work in our lives to change us more.

Christ changes our purpose and mission.

In vs. 15 and 18-20, we see that when a person comes to Christ, he is given a new reason for living. Up to this time, he has lived for himself, doing whatever he pleased. But now, he lives for Christ. In vs. 15, that Bible says, “He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” And then in vs. 18-20, the Bible says, “[God] has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

So, from this passage, we see that God gives us two ways of thinking about our lives:

• We are reconcilers. Once again, Paul says,“[God] has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” Reconciliation implies alienation. To be alienated means to have hostility and division with someone, such that communion and fellowship are impossible. Consider the way we were before Christ:
  • Isaiah 59:2. “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.”
  • Ephesians 2:1-4. “And you . . . were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”
  • But now, we have been reconciled by God to God, and are called to share in the work of reconciling others by laboring in the Gospel.
• We are ambassadors. Paul then employs an important metaphor to express the nature of our work. He says, “we are ambassadors for Christ.”
  • The concept of an ambassador shows us that we are more than just Gospel communicators. We are also Gospel livers. Ambassadors live in foreign lands and represent the interest and the message of their King.
  • They share God’s news constantly, but they do so with wisdom, grace, humility, and boldness.
  • Thus, when we come to Christ, our motives, goals, and purpose all change. When we come to Him, we go from living for ourselves to living for Christ.

Philippians 1:21. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Philippians 3:7-10. “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”

Thus, when we come to Christ, our motives goals, and purpose all change. When we come to Him, we go from living for ourselves, to living for Christ.

Christ changes our standing before the Father.

In vs. 21, we see the change that is greatest of all. Here we see that when we come to Christ, our position before God is changed forever. The bible says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Here we are told that Jesus Christ takes our sin, and His righteousness is imputed to us who trust Him. That is, in the moment we trust Christ, our sins are washed away, and we are granted His righteousness. This is more than just God politely overlooking blemishes in us. This is God taking our sin from us and giving us His own righteous character. The result of this is that now when God sees us, He sees us through the blood of Christ, and we are perfect to Him. What a difference

Imagine a criminal who is declared innocent. When a criminal stands before a judge, he fears for his life and well being because he knows that he deserves to be found guilty. But then imagine the feeling of liberation and freedom that he would feel if, because of the sacrifice of someone else, he is declared innocent. He would go from being guilty to being forgiven.

Ephesians 2:1-5. “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”

Thus we see, that when a person comes to Christ, all the sin is washed away, and the righteousness of Christ is granted to us, and we stand clean before a holy God. This allows us to come into His presence.

Conclusion:

• Do you experience Christ’s renewing power in your life?
• What compels you day to day? Is it a desire for pleasure, money, power, fame, health, or something else? Or is it to live for Christ. Does the love of Christ compel you, and do you understand your role as an ambassador?
• Have you experienced the salvation of Jesus Christ?