New Creations
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)
In thinking about Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and his resurrection, I can’t help but think about 2 Corinthians 5:17 and how it says when we accept Jesus’ gift of salvation, we become new creations. Having grown up in church but not really grasping certain truths, I still remember the day I heard a pastor speak about this scripture, particularly the new creation part and saying something about how “new creation” meant God created something that had never existed before. I remember thinking “Whoa, that’s not something I’ve heard before.” He went on to share that before the cross, we were simply God’s creation. But after the cross, we had the opportunity to become Sons and Daughters of the Most High God.
As I think about the implications of this, I realize how important “identity” is for born again Christians. If we don’t know who we are, how can we stand? For the first part of my life I was deceived by the enemy because of the lies about my identity I bought into. I didn’t know who I really was. And I struggled greatly. I even struggled after I stopped running from God because I still didn’t know who I was.
Just this past week God gave me a revelation of my identity. I had prayed with a friend a couple of weeks prior about how I wanted heart revelation of being the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus which happens to wrap up the end of 2 Corinthians 5 (see verse 21). I told my friend I was tired of knowing in my heart the truth of God’s word and wanted heart revelation of the truth…I wanted to be free from the unbelief in my heart. God is so good! I woke up one morning and began watching a sermon on TV by a pastor God brought across my path about 10 years ago. The pastor started talking about Moses and how even though he was 120 years old when he died, his eyes were NOT dim nor had his vigor decreased in force or intensity (see Deuteronomy 34:7). He then turned to Aaron and talked about how Aaron didn’t die until he took off the priestly garments. He talked about how Aaron should have received a death sentence when he made the golden calf but because of the priestly garments his life was spared. It wasn’t until Moses did as God commanded (see Numbers 20:22-29) and took Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mt. Hor, and removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar that Aaron died. As soon as I heard that the Lord filled my heart with revelation. This is what the Lord helped my heart to grasp. I too deserved a death sentence. But because I received the gift of Jesus I am now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! I am so grateful God knows how to speak to our hearts to reveal the truth.
This Easter season, may we continue to discover the truth about our real identities! May God richly bless you!
Photo by Francesco Gallarotti on Unsplash
