Good News: New Creation in Christ (2 Cor 5:17-21)
The moment you trust Jesus, everything changes. According to 2 Corinthians 5:17, you are a completely new creation—your old condemned self is gone, and a new identity in Christ has come. But what does that really mean? How does God see you now? And how can this truth reshape the way you live? Let’s dive into this incredible reality of being made new in Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature.” If anyone believes in Jesus Christ and is in that position, that standing with Him, if anyone believes in Jesus Christ, he is a new creature. “The old things passed away.” When did they pass away? The moment you believed. “And behold, new things have come.”
This is a radical statement of how God sees you in Christ. This is why we have a crazy faith compelled by God’s love (2 Cor 5:14). God is speaking to our core identity here. This is how God sees us in Christ. This is your standing. It’s your identity. THIS is who you are. This is how God wants you to see yourselves.
Believers, we’re not in Adam anymore. We’re not in sin anymore. We’re not in guilt anymore. We’re not condemned anymore. We’re in Christ now.
What are the “old things” that passed away? He’s not referring to our sin nature. If you haven’t noticed, it’s still there. The old things that passed away are not our old temptations. Aha, you’ll never be tempted again. Nope. The old things that passed away are not your weaknesses, either, or your flesh. Nope, our ancient enemies are still around, right?
So, what passed away? Our condemnation passed away. That guilty, condemned old self. That old standing, that bad name, the guilty person on the “Wanted” poster before you met Jesus has been crucified, judged, found guilty, done away with.
What “passed away”? Our condemnation passed away. That guilty, condemned old self. That old standing, that bad name, that guilty person on the “Wanted” poster before you met Jesus has been crucified, judged, found guilty, done away with.
“Behold, new things have come.” He’s still talking about our identity. How righteous are you right now? You bear the righteousness of Christ. The way the Father looks at the Son is how He looks at you. Remember when the Father burst out and told everyone at Jesus’ baptism: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Well, Jesus says in John 17 that the same love that the Father has for him, the Father has for you.
How the Father looks at Jesus is how He looks at you. Remember when the Father burst out and told everyone at Jesus’ baptism: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Well, Jesus says the same love that the Father has for him, He has for you.
Understand this: If you are in Christ, even if your faith is weak and your life doesn’t reflect the best of your faith, you’ve received this new holy identity and standing before God. He sees you as a completely new person. Those old things… that guilt, the shame, that has all been judged, that has been passed away, and now new things have come.
If you are in Christ, even if your faith is weak and your life doesn’t reflect the best of your faith, you’ve received this new holy identity and standing before God. He sees you as a completely new person. Those old things… that guilt, the shame, that has all been judged, that has been passed away, and now new things have come.
This is a great passage. But your conscience is going to remind you, though. “Nah, look at you. Who are you kidding? You haven’t changed. Nothing’s changed. You still sin.” But God’s Word still stands!!! Whoever is in Christ is a new creature. The old things are judged. Put away forever. He never brings it up.
Any good news must not count on you. Any good news must be a message of what God has done for you. And that is the gospel. God has done everything. To the degree that you think, I still must, I still must, I still… No. God has done everything. It all depends on God’s transforming grace, not ours.
Look at this. Verse 18. “Now, all these things are from God…” All these things are from God. Nothing that Paul has written in these verses even hints at self-improvement or whatever. “Who reconciled us to himself through Christ.” GOD HAS ALREADY MADE PEACE WITH US. The Father has already acted to restore a broken relationship with Him. He’s already reconciled us to Himself through the cross of Jesus Christ. So there’s nothing more that any of us can do but receive His forgiveness and embrace and begin living in His grace.
God has already made peace with us. The Father has already acted to restore a broken relationship with Him. He’s already reconciled us to Himself through the cross of Jesus Christ. So there’s nothing more that any of us can do but receive His forgiveness and embrace and begin living in His grace.
When you get to live in this, then He’ll change you. God does it all.
But notice the end of verse 18 and 19. Church, “He gave us this word,” this truth, “this ministry of reconciliation: 19 namely, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them.” Well, if He didn’t count our sins against us then who did He judge for our trespasses against? Jesus Christ.
Amazing truth. God was in Christ, dying on the cross to reconcile those who went astray. Reconciliation in any relationship requires one thing: forgiveness. And God performed our forgiveness on the cross. Whoever trusts Jesus for this, is fully reconciled with God forevermore. That’s the good news. And He has committed to us this message, the Gospel that brings peace and grants eternal life.
Reconciliation in any relationship requires one thing: forgiveness. And God performed our forgiveness on the cross. Whoever trusts Jesus for this, is fully reconciled with God forevermore.
Here’s the word of reconciliation: God loves you and sent His Son, and He died for you so that you can be in a relationship with God who loves you forever and ever and ever. He paid for your sins. He is not your enemy.
Here’s the word of reconciliation: God loves you and sent His Son, and He died for you so that you can be in a relationship with God who loves you forever and ever and ever. He paid for your sins. He is not your enemy.
People think God is their enemy. God is not their enemy. God has reconciled Himself to the world in Christ. He’s done everything. And church, He’s given us this ministry of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ.
Similar to how God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, now God is with us. He’s making an appeal through us when we speak. So, on behalf of Christ, for Christ’s sake, we beg you, be reconciled to God (5:20).”
That’s our message, our appeal. Be reconciled to God. When we tell somebody to be reconciled with God, we’re not telling them, so straighten your act up, stop doing this, start doing that. That’s not to be reconciled with God. Well then, how are they reconciled with God? It’s already been said: by trusting Jesus that He has reconciled the Father to you through his dead body and accepting God’s terms of reconciliation: Christ crucified for you.
When we tell somebody to be reconciled with God, we’re not telling them to straighten their act up, stop doing this, or start doing that. That’s not to be reconciled with God. A person is fully reconciled by trusting Jesus that He has reconciled the Father through his dead body and accepting God’s terms of reconciliation: Christ crucified for you.
We’re not telling people anything except for, “Hey, God is at peace with you right now. I know you’ve been told the opposite and you feel He’s against you. But you need to know that God is at peace with you right now. Jesus paid for those sins. He wants to deliver you. He wants to love you. He wants to have you with Him for eternity.” What’s wrong with that, right? “So, be reconciled with God. Trust Jesus Christ. Come home.”
Finally, verse 21. This is just too cool. This is the gospel. God the Father, when His Son was hanging on the cross, “God the Father made Him who knew no sin,” the righteous, holy, eternal One “to be sin.” God the Father didn’t just hang our sins on Him. He “made Him to be sin.” On that day, Jesus was the biggest sinner in the world. Then God the Father judged every one of our sins and failures, the things that embarrass us, humiliate us, and keep us up at night. He put them on Jesus so that we who believe might be the very righteousness of God in Christ. Martin Luther called this the happy exchange. My sin for your righteousness? Deal.
God the Father didn’t just hang our sins on Him. He “made Christ to be sin.” On that day, Jesus was the biggest sinner in the world. Then God the Father judged every one of our sins and failures, the things that embarrass us, humiliate us, and keep us up at night. He put them on Jesus so that we who believe might be the very righteousness of God in Christ.
Paul tells us God did this for us so “that we might become the righteousness of God.” (21) Not that we get to wear it like a borrowed sweatshirt. We become, before God, the righteousness of Christ. Nothing can take that away from us. The Christian life isn’t about striving to be better, exhausting yourself to measure up. It’s about finding joy in God’s love. It’s about resting in the unshakable truth of who you already are in Christ, what He has done for you.
The Christian life isn’t about striving to be better, exhausting yourself to measure up. It’s about finding joy in God’s love. It’s about resting in the unshakable truth of who you already are in Christ, what He has done for you.
Have you found that joy in God’s love in Christ? If you look to that cross and believe, you’ve got eternal life. If you know that Jesus died and rose again for your sake, you’ve got eternal life. Your sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ because he paid for every last one. And I don’t need to go on, but believe that. Not only believe, but be an ambassador. Share the good news with others. If they don’t like it, dang, but present that good news.