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Old 10-28-2009, 08:58 AM
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Default New Creature

New Creature



kaine ktisis (καινη κτισις)
  • 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

    Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but a new creation.

    Matthew 9:17 Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins burst, and the wine spills out, and the wineskins will be ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."

    1 Corinthians 11:25 Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."

    Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation, God 'made them male and female.'

    Mark 13:19 For in those days will be tribulation, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of creation which God created until now, and never again shall be.

    Romans 8:20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but on account of Him who subjected it in hope;

    Col 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith, having been founded and firm and not drifting away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was proclaimed to all creation under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

    1 Peter 2:13 Therefore subject yourselves to every human institution on account of the Lord: whether to the king as to one having authority,

The lexical form of "kaine" is "kainos" (καινος), so that is how I will be referencing it.

The first two scriptures are kainos and ktisis used together. The next two are kainos alone, the last four are ktisis alone.

There are two words in Greek that can be translated "new": kainos and neos (νεος).

Neos primarily means "youth," and refers to something that is new by the standard of AGE (so neos would be the word used for a "new born").

Kainos, the word used here, references something that is new because it is fresh (a vegetable "fresh" out of the garden), unblemished (a new sheet of paper), unused (a brand new car) or unworn (a new shirt) . . . or even unheard of (a new idea).

ktisis means "a fabrication, a creation, a created thing, (when used of human creation) government."

It only means "creature" from the original derivative (a creature is a living, and thus, "created" thing). When used of something GOD has created, it references only LIVING things (not, for example, the dirt, or the light, or the water, etc.).

When used of human creations, the culturally accepted use was only to use this particular word in referencing "something created by men to govern people," that is, any kind of human government. Physical things that were created by people were "inventions," not "creations."

This means that when a person believes in Jesus, they become, in God's eyes, a fresh, unblemished, unmarred creation of God with no stain of sin remaining upon them. From God's perspective, their sinful, blemished life up to that point didn't even happen to them, it happened to someone else. They are a brand new creation that has never existed before, and has no blemishes.

The important thing to note here is that this is NOT saying that only those who FIRST come to Christ are like that (and they gradually become corrupted again), but that those who are IN Christ are like that all the time. All those in a state of being "in Christ" are also in a state of being unblemished in God's eyes. This is referencing a constant state of being clean and unblemished, NOT because of what we DO, but because of who we draw close to and have faith in.

In other words, this verse is another way of saying, "Righteousness comes from FAITH in Jesus, and is a gift of GRACE, not as a result of any actions on our part."

Galatians 6:15 is a startling statement. It lets us know that being in Christ has nothing to do with obeying the little commands and rules of the law. The law (that is, the rules and commands of the law) is MEANINGLESS. Keeping the law is just as meaningless as not keeping the law. The word construction literally says that whether you are or are not circumcized (that being a command in the law), literally MEANS and ACCOMPLISHES NOTHING.

Being in Christ is NOT about being a law keeper, it is about being an unblemished, spotless creation in God's eyes and thus receiving a new HEART.

Whether you do or don't keep the law has no bearing on whether you are a new creation in Christ. All that matters is are you drawing close to Jesus and placing your faith in Him.

He will then make you a new, unblemished creation, and will begin to change you from the inside out. The EFFECT will be that you will gradually sin less and less (as Christ's character becomes your character), but that is a SIDE EFFECT, not a CAUSE. You are no less or more "new" as you become a mature believer and sin less than you were when you were an immature believer and sinned more. So long as your faith is in Jesus, you ARE an unblemish, brand new creation.

This means that if we are believers, we do not lose our unblemished state (in other words, we do not lose our salvation) each time we commit a sin, as our unblemished state is a function of FAITH and GRACE, not WORKS. God is patient with us, and molds us from the inside out, gradually changing our character to conform to His own. As He does this, we actually lose our desire to commit some sins, and so, we sin less. But this process does not make us MORE saved. We are just as saved as a brand new baby Christian as we will be thirty years down the road when we have overcome many of the sins that beset us as new believers.

Bottom line: You GAIN your salvation by grace through faith (NOT as a result of works) and you KEEP your salvation by grace through faith (NOT as a result of works).

It should be noted, however, that breaking many of the laws of God has OTHER effects in your life (it does not change your standing before the Lord, but it can destroy the relationships in your life, and crumble your life around you). The VALUE of God's commands are NOT in making us righteous, they are in helping us live peaceful, loving, productive lives in which we are not hurting ourselves and those around us, and thus, we are not wasting much of our lives "cleaning up the messes" we create around us. We can spend our lives MINISTERING, shining God's love into the lives of others, rather than repairing fractured relationships, rebuilding damaged homes, paying legal penalties, and so on.

The moral law of God pretty much serves the same purpose in our lives that the rules and regulations we give our children serve in their lives. Our rules don't "make" the little people in our homes our children, nor do they ensure that those little people "remain" our children. Whether or not my son breaks a rule has nothing to do with whether or not he remains my son. But it can have a HUGE effect on the kind of life he leads as an adult. If we teach them well, and they learn to live the principles and rules we have given them, they can lead very stable, very productive lives (both from a ministry standpoint and from a social standpoint).

And so it is with us and God.

Grace and peace to you all,

Rhomphaia
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