Brand New
In 1 Corinthians 14:17 we read:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When we are born again, we are in Christ, the Anointed One and His anointing. We are a new species of being that never existed before that point in time. All the old things are passed away. Everything has become new. I don’t think we have fully understood who we are. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, He makes us brand new in our spirits. All things are fresh and new. All the old has been washed away. Every sin that we have ever committed has been washed away. We are no longer sinners. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are right with God. We have His nature in us. We are no longer our own. We are translated into His Kingdom. The Father has delivered us out of the kingdom of darkness, the control of satan and the dominion of darkness. The Father Himself has delivered us from satan. We have been transferred into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, the Son of His Love. In Jesus Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins (Colossians 1:13,14 Amplified Bible). We are free. We have been set free. The blood of Jesus was shed to pay the price for our freedom. We are now new creations. Hallelujah! That is something to shout about!
Paul definitely had understanding of who he was in Christ. Of course, he is the one who wrote Corinthians and Philippians and Colossians. He knew who he was. And the one thing that marked Paul was that he had learned how to forget the past, what that other man had done. He was no longer that person. That person died when he was born again. We see in Philippians 3:13,14 that he truly had forgotten his past, evil as it was.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
In the King James translation of the Bible sometimes words will be italicized to indicate that they were inserted for the continuity of the sentences. In this case, we really need to take out those words to see the full meaning of what Paul was saying here: He has apprehended or captured this one thing---he forgets those things which are behind and reaches forth to what is before him in his present and his future.
Many times we talk about focusing and concentrating so that our memories are sharp and we don’t forget anything. Well, here is one case where forgetting is good. Forget what is behind you. Forget what has happened in the past. It is over. It is gone. You don’t need to hang on to it. You say, Kialeen, you don’t know what I have done. Well, what about Paul? We know what he did. He was responsible for murdering Christians. He was there when Stephen was stoned. He was there and was responsible for many Christians being persecuted and killed. But that was the old man. That old man died on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him and apprehended him and changed him forever. That is what Jesus does for each one of us. We were on the road to destruction and he apprehended us and changed us forever.
Or perhaps you are in the opposite category. So was I. You feel that you really have not done anything bad. Actually, sin is sin, whether it is murder or sowing discord among the brethren or lying or stealing or gossiping or gluttony. It is all sin. And Jesus shed his blood and became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you accepted what He had done for you. He washed away all the old junk and presented you as a brand new person, one which never existed before. Isn’t that wonderful! No matter what our past has been we become beautiful new people, all shining with the beauty of the Lord. So whether you feel like you were the worst of the worst or whether you feel like you had not done anything that bad, we are all in the same category: Sinners. And then--------we got born again. And now---------we are no longer sinners. We are righteous. We are right with God. The Father sees us as perfect in His eyes because He sees us through His Son and the blood of His Son Jesus. We must develop the same vision for ourselves and those around us. Father, give us Your eyes to see as you see.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
When we are born again, we are in Christ, the Anointed One and His anointing. We are a new species of being that never existed before that point in time. All the old things are passed away. Everything has become new. I don’t think we have fully understood who we are. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, He makes us brand new in our spirits. All things are fresh and new. All the old has been washed away. Every sin that we have ever committed has been washed away. We are no longer sinners. We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. We are right with God. We have His nature in us. We are no longer our own. We are translated into His Kingdom. The Father has delivered us out of the kingdom of darkness, the control of satan and the dominion of darkness. The Father Himself has delivered us from satan. We have been transferred into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, the Son of His Love. In Jesus Christ we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our sins (Colossians 1:13,14 Amplified Bible). We are free. We have been set free. The blood of Jesus was shed to pay the price for our freedom. We are now new creations. Hallelujah! That is something to shout about!
Paul definitely had understanding of who he was in Christ. Of course, he is the one who wrote Corinthians and Philippians and Colossians. He knew who he was. And the one thing that marked Paul was that he had learned how to forget the past, what that other man had done. He was no longer that person. That person died when he was born again. We see in Philippians 3:13,14 that he truly had forgotten his past, evil as it was.
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
In the King James translation of the Bible sometimes words will be italicized to indicate that they were inserted for the continuity of the sentences. In this case, we really need to take out those words to see the full meaning of what Paul was saying here: He has apprehended or captured this one thing---he forgets those things which are behind and reaches forth to what is before him in his present and his future.
Many times we talk about focusing and concentrating so that our memories are sharp and we don’t forget anything. Well, here is one case where forgetting is good. Forget what is behind you. Forget what has happened in the past. It is over. It is gone. You don’t need to hang on to it. You say, Kialeen, you don’t know what I have done. Well, what about Paul? We know what he did. He was responsible for murdering Christians. He was there when Stephen was stoned. He was there and was responsible for many Christians being persecuted and killed. But that was the old man. That old man died on the road to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him and apprehended him and changed him forever. That is what Jesus does for each one of us. We were on the road to destruction and he apprehended us and changed us forever.
Or perhaps you are in the opposite category. So was I. You feel that you really have not done anything bad. Actually, sin is sin, whether it is murder or sowing discord among the brethren or lying or stealing or gossiping or gluttony. It is all sin. And Jesus shed his blood and became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. When you accepted Jesus as your Savior, you accepted what He had done for you. He washed away all the old junk and presented you as a brand new person, one which never existed before. Isn’t that wonderful! No matter what our past has been we become beautiful new people, all shining with the beauty of the Lord. So whether you feel like you were the worst of the worst or whether you feel like you had not done anything that bad, we are all in the same category: Sinners. And then--------we got born again. And now---------we are no longer sinners. We are righteous. We are right with God. The Father sees us as perfect in His eyes because He sees us through His Son and the blood of His Son Jesus. We must develop the same vision for ourselves and those around us. Father, give us Your eyes to see as you see.
posted by Rev. Kialeen Potterton @ 6:44 AM
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