Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17). Only let us live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16).
These two verses summarize everything the New Testament has to say about life after salvation. Once we’re saved, God sees us as a new creation. Note the use of the past perfect tense in these verses; the old has gone, the new has come, we have already attained it. We don’t make ourselves into a new creation, we have been made into a new creation. It’s not a process we undertake through hard work and self-sacrifice. It’s not even something that happens over time through careful submission to the prodding of the Holy Spirit. It has already happened. Hebrews 10:12-14 clearly states that the Lord’s once-for-all-time sacrifice has made us perfect forever. (Has made, not is making, or will make.)
Ephesians 1:13-14 says this took place at the moment we believed, and the seal of the Holy Spirit was given to us at that time to guarantee our inheritance. 2 Cor.1:21-22 adds that from then on it is God who makes us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.
This is an expansion of 1 Cor. 6:19-20, where Paul said we are not our own but have been bought at a price. It means our destiny is no longer under our own control but has been taken over by God Himself. If we try to wander off, He will hunt us down and bring us back, just like a shepherd brings back the sheep who wander off. Sheep don’t decide their own destiny. The owner determines that, and it’s the shepherd’s responsibility to make sure it happens. Read again what Jesus said about this.
I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day (John 6:38-39).
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ (Luke 15:3-6).
gracethrufaith.com
These two verses summarize everything the New Testament has to say about life after salvation. Once we’re saved, God sees us as a new creation. Note the use of the past perfect tense in these verses; the old has gone, the new has come, we have already attained it. We don’t make ourselves into a new creation, we have been made into a new creation. It’s not a process we undertake through hard work and self-sacrifice. It’s not even something that happens over time through careful submission to the prodding of the Holy Spirit. It has already happened. Hebrews 10:12-14 clearly states that the Lord’s once-for-all-time sacrifice has made us perfect forever. (Has made, not is making, or will make.)
Ephesians 1:13-14 says this took place at the moment we believed, and the seal of the Holy Spirit was given to us at that time to guarantee our inheritance. 2 Cor.1:21-22 adds that from then on it is God who makes us stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.
This is an expansion of 1 Cor. 6:19-20, where Paul said we are not our own but have been bought at a price. It means our destiny is no longer under our own control but has been taken over by God Himself. If we try to wander off, He will hunt us down and bring us back, just like a shepherd brings back the sheep who wander off. Sheep don’t decide their own destiny. The owner determines that, and it’s the shepherd’s responsibility to make sure it happens. Read again what Jesus said about this.
I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day (John 6:38-39).
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ (Luke 15:3-6).
OK, I'm Saved. Now What? – Grace thru faith
A Bible Study by Jack Kelley Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor. 5:17). Only let us live up to what we have already attained (Phil 3:16).
gracethrufaith.com
