Day By Day Grace Readings April 1

Day By Day Grace Readings April 1, April 2nd April 3rd April 4th April 5th April 6th April 7th April 8th April 9th April 10th April 11th April 12th April 13th April 14th April 15th April 16th April 17th April 18th April 19th April 20th April 21st April 22nd April 23rd April 24th April 25th April 26th April 27th April 28th April 29th April 30th

New Creatures in Christ

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)

Everyone who is "in Christ," through faith in His name, is a "new creation." We are new people. We are no longer who we were before we put our trust in the Lord Jesus. We are not the old person reformed or improved; we are a "new creation." Yes, we have the same body, but that is a mere tent in which we dwell. "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Corinthians 5:1). Some day in glory, we will trade this temporal, earthly tent for an eternal, heavenly one. Meanwhile, though we live in the same old tent we had in Adam, we are new tenants, a "new creation." We may have the same old physical brain, but we are learning to think an entirely new way. "We have the mind of Christ… be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2 and 1 Corinthians 2:16). Christ lives in us, and His Spirit also dwells in us. His Spirit takes the word of God and unfolds the thinking of our Lord for us. As we embrace God's way of thinking more and more, we are transformed to walk in the newness that is ours "in Christ."

In all the ways that matter before God, "old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." The old guilt is replaced by new forgiveness. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus… in whom we have… the forgiveness of sins" (Romans 8:1 and Colossians 1:14).

The old foolishness is replaced by new wisdom. "For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God… But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God" (1 Corinthians 3:19 and 1 Corinthians 1:30). The old unrighteousness is replaced with new righteousness. "All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags… For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (Isaiah 64:6 and 2 Corinthians 5:21). The old hope of changing (self-help) is replaced by new hope of changing (sanctification, God changing us). "Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength… You are in Christ Jesus, who became for us… sanctification" (Jeremiah 17:5 and 1 Corinthians 1:30). This is grace upon grace.

O Lord, my hope, I thank You for making me a new person in Christ. Please strengthen my heart to spend time in Your word that I might hear more of these grand truths. Lord, I yearn to walk in more of this rich newness of life, in Jesus' name, Amen.