Living as New Creations in and through Christ (2 Corinthians 5:11-17)

Please turn to 2 Corinthians 5:11-17 in your Bibles. That can be found on page 1147 of the pew Bible.

In these verses, the apostle Paul transitions from the resurrection hope that Christ gives us in our suffering…. to now focusing in on the heart transformation that we are given in him.

The connection between verses 1-10 and 11-17 is the Gospel. It’s the death and resurrection of Christ. This good news is both the hope for eternity in suffering and it’s the transforming power for godly living.

As I read, listen for two things. Listen for a description of Jesus’ ministry. And listen for a comparison between the old life and the new life in Christ.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 5:11-17

Prayer

There are about 18,000 species of butterflies – 18,000 different species. That translates into billions and billions of butterflies around the world today – it’s hard to even estimate how many. And this is the time of year when they just start coming out.

Kids, maybe you’ve tried to catch one with a butterfly net. Maybe you’ve seen a beautiful Monarch… or one of the different kinds of Swallowtails. As you know, they truly are exquisite –different colors like blues and yellows and cool patterns and shimmery reflections.

But the thing is, they didn’t start that way. No, all butterflies began life as a caterpillar. And some of them are not that appealing. Like the Monarch – it begins life as a worm like caterpillar with pale and dirty looking bands on it. Other caterpillars look like green slugs. One kind of caterpillar apparently looks like bird droppings. Others have spikes or bumpy skin.

But then something amazing happens to each one of them. They go through a metamorphosis… a transformation. Literally inside their cocoons, their bodies melt away into a soupy kind of ooze which is then metamorphosed into a beautiful butterfly.

When they emerge, they are… new creations, in a way. The old has passed away, behold the new has come. You probably saw that one coming.

But the parallel is true. The metamorphosis that a caterpillar goes through in becoming a butterfly is like the metamorphosis that someone goes through in becoming a Christian.

The transformation is an internal transformation. Our insides, our hearts, are changed… they’re melted and we become and are becoming reflections of God in Christ.

Now, the word “transformation” is not used in this passage, but the ideas are all here. In fact, in the Greek, the word transformation is the word “metamorphose”. Like in Romans chapter 12 verse 2. “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” Be metamorphosed.

Here in 2 Corinthians 5 11-17, Paul, in part, describes the difference between someone who still has their old nature and someone who has been transformed into a new creation in Christ. And as I mentioned earlier, at the center of this transformation is what Jesus has accomplished for you in his death and resurrection.

On the sermon notes page, you can see those two lists (the old and the new). We’re going to work through those in just a minute.

But first, let’s begin by looking at two things… Let’s begin by (1) considering what it means to be a new creation, and (2) why Paul was writing this section of the letter.

It will be helpful to know those things before looking at the old and new contrast.

Let’s look at the very first verse and the very last verse in our text. Beginning in verse 11. Right in the middle, it says “But what we ARE is known to God.” The word “are” is important. The apostle Paul is referring to their state of being – their identity. God knows if we are still in our old nature or if we are a new creation

Now, keep that in mind and jump down to verse 17. It says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

An important word here is the word “is.” “If anyone IS in Christ, he IS a new creation.” Do you see the connection between 11 and 17? Each of us has a state of being in relation to Christ. We are either “in Christ” or “not in Christ.” And God obviously knows that.

To be a new creation in Christ is to believe in and live for Jesus because of what he has done. Verse 15 captures that. It says, “and he [that is, Jesus] died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

So, to be a new creation in Christ is to… have your old self die with him (your sin, your shame), and to be given a new nature in him, raised with him. A new life. You become a new creation by faith in Christ, who, as it says “for [your] sake died and was raised.”

I wanted to start there because it is that very heart change which is at the center of these verses. The apostle Paul works out what that means for himself and for the Corinthians.

So, keep that Gospel emphasis in mind as we consider what being a new creation in Christ looks like.

The second important thing to know is the context.

Remember, the apostle Paul was dealing with nay-sayers in Corinth. There was a group undermining his ministry. We’ve come across several things so far about what they were saying and doing. They were saying that because Paul suffered so much he could therefore not be an apostle. Remember that? They also critiqued Paul’s change of plans. The irony is that he changed his plans for their sakw. And then, these detractors were, as Paul put it, peddling God’s word and also tampering with it. That’s not good.

And now in these verses, we learn something else about this group. They cared about outward appearances and not about the heart.

Look at verse 12. Let me take a moment to unpack this verse.

Paul begins by saying, “We are not commending ourselves to you again” Now, earlier in the letter Paul had established his own authenticity as a true minister of the Gospel. He included Timothy and Titus as well. Paul is not doing that again here. He’s not “commending ourselves to you again.” Rather, Paul wants them to see the true Gospel transformation in his and his fellow worker’s hearts. He uses the word “boast.” He doesn’t want them to boast about what’s on the outside, but the inside. It’s not about outward appearances, like what the false teachers were saying, but rather what is truly in one’s heart.

Let me read the whole of verse 12 again, and I think you’ll hear that context. “We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.”

The whole reason that Paul wrote these verses was to tell the Corinthians to look for that true Gospel transformation in someone. Look for a changed heart and mind worked out in someone’s life. That is how you discern a true believer in Christ. That is how you differentiate between a faithful teacher and a false teacher. The old has passed away, the new has come.

Ok, I wanted to begin with those two things. (1) that someone who is a new creation in Christ has been transformed by Christ. And (2) Paul was writing to the Corinthians so that they could evaluate whether someone has undergone that transformation.

With that said, let’s spend the rest of our time seeing how that works out in someone’s life – including your life and my life.

That brings us back to the two points in the outline.

1. The old has passed away

2. The new has come

Now, really, the old and new comparison goes back and forth in these verses. But I thought it would be helpful to first consider what the old nature looks like. And then we can compare that with the new nature in Christ.

1. The old has passed away (5:17)

So first, the old.

It is incredibly difficult today to not boast about outward appearances. We are constantly bombarded with the message of appearance. Who you know, how you dress, the things you have, what car you drive. Those are all status symbols today. Social media influencers make billions influencing you to buy certain things and to achieve a certain look. You see, our culture is very consumeristic and individualistic. Marketing algorithms target you based on your age and interest.

And everything out there is so visual and sensual… and your phone makes the problem worse. It’s overwhelming.

Now, I’m not saying that the Roman and Greek culture back in the first century didn’t have that temptation. It just wasn’t as intense.

And one of identifying sins of the old self is boasting in outward appearances. That word boast in the Greek is to brag or rejoice in. So, in this case, it’s making something that is external part of your identity.

In the case of Paul’s detractors, that could have been eloquence or wealth or cultural status or even health. Their outward boasting indicated that they had not been transformed into new creations in Christ.

So that’s one thing, a focus on external things.

A second identifying sin is there in verse 15. Those who are new creations in Christ “no longer live for themselves.” You see, our old nature is especially a selfish nature. At the heart of the old self is self.

In fact, the heart of all sin is the sin of self-idolatry. It’s doing things for your own glory and reputation… and often that happens at the expense of others.

Let’s go back to those who were undermining the apostles. Their agenda was a self-centered agenda. Once we get to chapters 10 and 11, we will get a clear picture of their self-promotion and how they were using the Corinthians for their own gain.

And that certainly happens today. You know this… there are so-called pastors out there today who use their people for their own gain. They are still “living for themselves.”

Every single one of us lives for something. And most often, those who still have an old nature, live for themselves.

Ok, the third thing mentioned here is in verse 16. Paul writes, “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.” That word flesh is used in several different ways throughout the New Testament. Sometimes it’s about our sin nature, sometimes it is about our weakness in the body, and sometimes like here, it is about a worldly perspective rather than a godly one. One translation says, “we should regard no one according to a worldly point of view.” That’s helpful.

Our old nature judges based on the world’s philosophy – you know, the latest cultural value system about what’s good and bad or right or wrong.

Paul even makes that point in verse 16 that he used to regard Christ according to the flesh. Before Paul was transformed into a new creation in Christ, he viewed Jesus as weak. Jesus was just a man to Paul and to the other Pharisees. To them, Jesus’ words were blasphemous. And Jesus’ actions definitely didn’t align with their worldly understanding of power and status.

You see, our old self judges according to the flesh and not according to God’s perspective.

All three of these identifying sin patterns are indicative of the old self. A focus on outward appearance, a self-centered nature, and judging others through the eyes of the world.

You see, many in Corinth needed a transformation. They needed a metamorphosis from their old nature to become a new creation in Christ.

2. The new has come (5:17)

Some of you attended our Pray for Tucker event last month. Our speaker was Lowell Ivey. Lowell is the director of Metanoia Prison ministry. If you didn’t meet Lowell, you definitely met Jeremy Prather – Jeremy has joined us on a couple of occasions. He’s also with Metanoia. Jeremy works for Lowell.

And just like Jeremy, Lowell spent years in prison.

You see, Lowell had been convicted of multiple counts of armed robbery. Before that, he had been a drug dealer while in the military, which led him down that path.

The prison he was sent to was intensely segregated… it was self-segregated on racial lines. Prison gangs were based on race, and these gangs would riot. Prisoners were stabbed because of the color of their skin. So Lowell joined a white supremacist gang and found himself deeply hating his non-white fellow inmates.

At one point, he somehow acquired a knife and soon thereafter attacked a black inmate. He tried to kill him. Thankfully a guard intervened. However, Lowell was sent to solitary confinement. He spent 10 years in solitary confinement. It’s hard to even imagine that.

But it was during that time that God changed him. Lowell was scanning the radio channels one night and came across a Christian station. The Gospel was clearly presented… and the Holy Spirit brought a deep conviction of his racism and his need for repentance.

Lowell fell on his knees and pleaded with the Lord to change his heart. At that moment he became a new creation in Christ. And he describes the sudden change within. God took away the sin of racism in his heart. No longer did he regard others according to the flesh. The old has passed, the new has come.

In fact, he said that the only group in prison who did not segregate by race were the Christians.

To be sure, Lowell explained he still had other sin struggles in his life. Over time, God continued to conform him more and more to the image of Christ. But that particular sin was no more.

Our new nature in Christ should look vastly different from our old nature. Now, we may not go through as radical a change as Lowell experienced but nonetheless when God changes our heart, he turns us into a new creation.

Let me highlight three characteristics of our new nature.

The first is back up in verse 11. Fear. Not fear of man, rather fear of the Lord.

In verse 10, which we considered last week, we were reminded that we must all sit before the judgment seat of Christ. Well, the truth of God’s judgment should drive us to a godly fear of him.

That idea is reinforced in what we already considered in verse 11. “What we are is known by God.” Because God knows our heart, we should have a reverent fear of him. That does not mean cowering in front of him, but it does mean recognizing his justice and seeking to worship him in all areas of our lives.

Let me put it this way: our new nature should include a reverent and deep recognition of God in his sovereignty and holiness. And that recognition should continue to transform our lives.

So that’s the first aspect of being a new creation in Christ – a reverent and awe filled fear of the Lord.

The second and third aspects are a contrast to the old nature. The false teachers in Corinth boasted about their own outward appearances… and “not,” as it says in verse 12, “about the heart.”

We often shy away from talking about ourselves. And that’s generally a good thing.

Someone who is always talking about themselves and what they have done and who they know is off-putting. It may be an indication that they still have the old nature.

However, we should testify to what God is doing in us and in others. I’m not saying all the time. But when we give glory to God for his transforming work in us, we are directing others to the new creation that God has made.

You see, that kind of “boasting” is not in ourselves or in outward appearance but it is boasting in God for his Gospel transforming work.

And at times we should be passionate about it.

I think that is what verse 13 is about. It’s a strange verse. It says, “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.”

Being “beside ourselves” means passionately expressing something. You know, animated. John Piper, the well known pastor, comes to mind. He gets very animated because he’s so passionate about God’s work and his word. One time Piper was waving his hands… and his Apple Watch started calling 911. It thought he had fallen… he was just being very dramatic.

Now, we don’t know what the apostle Paul was like when he was preaching or teaching. But Festus, one of the Roman governors said to Paul that he “was out of his mind.” Paul had been zealously appealing to Festus that he believe.

But we also know that the apostle Paul was very thoughtful and measured at times. He was very rational and composed in much of his writing. So, when he says, “if we are in our right mind, it is for you,” it’s likely referring to his thoughtful and calm arguments for Christ.

Anyway, what I’m saying is that to be a new creation in Christ, is first of all, to look to God – to fear him. Second, it’s to testify and boast about the things of the heart – at times fervently, at other times, in a measured way.

And then third, it is living for Christ. Similarly, this is a contrast to the old nature. When we become new creations in Christ, we turn our attention away from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.

This takes us to verse 14. “For the love of Christ controls us.”

God’s love for us in Christ compels us. It motivates us. It directs us. It encourages us. God’s love for us in Christ transforms us. And then immediately we’re given the reason. And the reason is the death and resurrection of Jesus.

By the way, let me make a clarifying comment about verse 15. The word “all” means that the atonement of Christ is for all peoples – all tribes, all tongues, all nations. As the apostle Paul has said elsewhere… Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female. Christ died and was raised for all those categories.

And this takes us back to where we started. The death and resurrection of Jesus is the basis for being a new creation in Christ. When you are transformed, you will no longer live for yourself, but you will be compelled to live for Christ. As verse 15 says, “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”

I remember a few years ago talking to a camper who had gone to Camp Westminster for the first time. Some of you have been there. And she said to me, “the counsellors just kept talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection.” Well, that warmed my heart. Yes, there are other important matters of faith and practice, but at the heart of it all is the cross and resurrection. It’s what makes us new creations in Christ.

Now, you may be asking a very important question “How does that actually work? How does Jesus’ death and resurrection actually make me a new creation in Christ.” Well, that is answered in next week’s verses.

Conclusion

In summary, to be a new creation in Christ is to be transformed. It is to be changed, metamorphosed. Like from a prickly, bumpy, slimy caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly.

May God change us from self-centered, outward-focused, and hard-hearted creatures of the world to God-fearing, Christ-centered, heart-focused new creations in Christ.