Easter And The New Me
He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:15-20 ESV
Sometimes car manufacturers will modify old model cars. They might put on a different shaped bumper, bonnet and headlight, or they may give it a new exhaust and a few extra gadgets. Sometimes there is just too many faults with the old model, the technology could be only taken so far, the model is just a dud, a ‘lemon’, and it needs to be totally redesigned from the inside out. So they bring out a revolutionary new model, with an engine that is engineered differently, a different kind of suspension, new brakes and new electronics. Even if the car has the same shape on the outside- it is actually a totally new type of car on the inside!
That first Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead, God made a totally new model of mankind available to whomever would make Jesus their Lord and saviour. There was nothing wrong with God’s original creation - it was ‘very good’(Genesis 1:31), but the heart of mankind was irreparably damaged when he sold his soul to sin. Romans 5:12 says that “death entered into the world through one man and so death spread to all men.” God created all livings so they would reproduce after their own nature (Gen 1:24). Consequently, sin nature of Adam has been passed down to every generation. The old model mankind has fundamentally fatal flaws.
Before Jesus died and rose again on our behalf, the best the old me could hope for is that our sins would be ‘covered’ and that righteousness would be credited to us. Old Covenant saints were awarded a temporary, provisional kind of righteousness, righteousness on credit. However, 2 Corinthians 5:17 says the New Me is fashioned after the risen Saviour as a totally different class of spiritual being. We may look like the old model, but the real us, our spirit, is fundamentally different in a number or significant ways.
The New Me has been made righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 1:19-22). Not just the kind of righteousness that comes from trusting God and trying to be good, but the ultimate righteousness, the righteousness of and from God!
The born again New Me comes with the enduring presence of the Holy Spirt abiding in us as a stock standard feature. Plus the New Me is specially enhanced to be retrofitted with the baptism in Holy Spirit- to boost our power levels to overflowing.
These New Me realities allow God’s abundant life and His revelation to flow from our new inner person to give us abundant life. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says, ‘that those who live might no longer live for (or from) themselves but for (or from) him who for their sake died and was raised’. The expression ‘live for themselves’ is inadequate. It can also mean to no longer live from their own natural self. Knox translated it, “we no longer living with our own life”.
Finally, the New Me is a ‘Son of God’ model, (John 1:12-23, Romans 8:14-17, Galatians 4:1-8, 1 John 3:1-3). This Son of God status gives us unparalleled access to God and His supernatural power.
All these truths are incredibly important and transformational. Each, in their own right, should be studied and meditated upon. The Bible teaches us to ‘put on the New Me’ (Galatian 4:24, Colossians 3:10); in other words to believe and live out the reality our new creation.
Make this confession. I am a new creation, I am a New Me! The New Me is made righteous; the New Me has the Holy Spirit living in me, the New Me is powered by God’s presence, the New Me has life springing up from the inside!
