3/7/21 - The Great Salvation / NEW CREATION

If any man be in Christ, if any man be in Christ, then he has become a new creation. All things are passed away; behold, everything has become new in him. God thinks not upon the things that brought you to this place before you came here. He only sees you holy now, thoughtless and blameless as you're standing there. Lift your hearts and praise him. Praise, praise the name of Jesus. Praise, amen.

Good morning. Shall we look to the Lord in prayer? Oh God, now Father, we thank thee once again for this great salvation that you have given to us in Christ. Hallelujah. We bless and honor thee for such grace extended to us. Help us now as we look into thy word once again. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.

So we're coming to an end to looking at the great salvation. Not that we have uh fully covered everything, uh God only knows uh all the greatness that is involved in this great salvation, but we've picked out some aspects of following uh the guidelines of a book by F.B. Hole uh called The Great Salvation. And so uh just to go back through and and remember uh what these aspects are, and we have this uh as an outline also that we've sent out.

So first off, we're guilty, and God responded to our need with forgiveness. Next, we were condemned; God responded to our need with justification. Next, we were enemies of God; God responded to that sinful need by reconciliation. We were servants to sin, so God responded to our need with... We were lost and perishing, and God responded to that need with salvation, the word "saved." We were corrupt in our nature, and so God responded to that need of our souls with new birth. We were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins; God responded to that need with quickening or making us alive in Christ. Finally, we were defiled by sin, and God responded to that need with sanctification.

Hallelujah! I mean, what a great salvation. All of these aspects of salvation were accomplished in Christ in those three hours when he went into the darkness, took the wrath of God for us, and won a salvation that is so great and so wonderful that we're just privileged to look into it in any measure. Hallelujah.

New Creation

Well, the last aspect of this great salvation is new creation. New creation. Now, new creation is not directed at saving us from the consequences of our sin like the other aspects of salvation, but it is instead for the fulfillment of God's good pleasure. How wonderful. You know, God has a will, he has a desire, uh he wants to be pleased, and we want him to be pleased, and in the new creation, he is. Hallelujah.

So new creation is the beginning of a new order of things which began with Christ in his resurrection and his ascension to the glory as a new man and a new creation. And Christ is that man. And because Christ is the head of the new creation, then as Second Corinthians 5:18 tells us, that all things in the new creation are according to God and according to his will. In other words, perfection. So just as because of sin, death has come in and ends the old creation, there is, because of the perfect sacrifice of Christ and his resurrection and who his ascension, there's a new beginning, a new creation in him. Hallelujah.

And this was God's eternal plan. In Ephesians chapter one, verse nine and ten: "Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one or head up in one all things in Christ, which are in heaven, which are on earth; even in him." How wonderful is this. So the new creation is a part of that uh God's eternal plan that he has purposed in himself for his own good pleasure.

In Ephesians 4, chapter 2 and verse 4-7: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us made us alive together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Now listen, verse 7: "That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." This new creation, made up of sinful men like myself and yourself who have received Christ, God's grace is magnified, will be magnified for all eternity according to his good pleasure, according to the desire of his will, by the fact that you and I are in the heavens. Hallelujah. It'll all be, always be a testimony to the grace of God. So God's wisdom, his power, his grace, love, and his glory will eternally be displayed in the new creation order. Hallelujah. With Christ his head, and you and I in that new creation with him.

Philippians 2:9 and verse 11, through 11: "Wherefore God hath highly exalted him," because of him yielding himself unto death, even the death of the cross, "Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow," not just all knees, but every single knee shall bow, "of things in heaven, things on earth, and things under the earth; And every tongue," not just all tongues, but every single tongue, "shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." This is a part of that new creation.

It's called new creation because it is new. First Corinthians 2:9: "But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." You see, it's out of this world. It's something entirely new, a new order of things, something that the natural man could never even imagine, never enter into his heart or his mind, have no concept of it. Hallelujah. This is what is before us: heaven, the new creation.

The Necessity of New Creation

So the necessity of new creation is found in this: the old order of things, where man was supposed to obtain divine blessing through obedience, was closed at the cross when men crucified the Savior. And a new order of things has been established through the one faithful and obedient man, Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. So because of sin ending God's rest and enjoyment in his first creation, God went about through Christ to establish a new creation. That's why the Lord Jesus said in John 5 and verse 17, "Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." You see, God could no longer rest in his creation when sin came in, so he began to establish a new order of things, a new creation. And Christ was working, and the work that he did was completed at the cross of Calvary. He laid the foundation for new creation. Hallelujah.

The former things will be passed away. Isn't that wonderful to know? Things will not continue as they are. II Peter 3:10 and 13: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night," not for believers, but for unbelievers, because believers are expecting and hoping and waiting for the Lord to come. It's a thief in the night, as a thief in the night to unbelievers who are not expecting his coming. "In the which the heavens shall pass away," now this is the day of the Lord, "the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements therein shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also and all the works that are therein," all man's works, "shall be burned up. Nevertheless," verse 13, "we, according to his promise, look for a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." That is that new creation, a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwells righteousness. Praise the Lord.

In Revelation 21, verse 3: "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God." Verse 4: "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Now remember, you can wipe away someone's tears today, but tears will come again. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, no more tears. "And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: where the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." Praise God. This is where we're going. Don't look, don't look back, don't look around, look up. Look to the word of God. This is where we're going, a new creation.

When we hear the words, "Behold, I will make all things new," there will be no more tears, no death, no grief, no crying, no distress. There's plenty of these things in the world today, amen. But we by faith and with anticipation can look to that heavenly scene where those former things are passed away and the new things of God's eternal day are before us. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. This is what faith lays hold of. That scene of new creation will rest on the work of the redemption that Christ made at the cross of Calvary, wrought by the Son of God when he was upon the cross, upon the tree. We sinners who were far from God in our sins could never have had part in the new creation. It's eternal blessing for those that have been forgiven, justified, redeemed, and reconciled, and so forth. Had not Jesus died, we could have no part in that new creation.

But he cried from the cross, "It is finished." And he actually cried that. We find that in the Gospel of Matthew 27:50, that he cried. In John 19:20, 19:30, I'm sorry, "When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and he gave up the ghost." You see, new creation is based and founded upon the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God can say, "It is... all things will be made new. I will make all things new," and he will say, "It is done," because Christ said, "It is finished." In other words, the basis for new creation is what Christ did at the cross of Calvary. Praise God for that.

We see today that men of this world are seeking to make all things new, but it's only a vain dream. Men can break hearts and fill the earth with death, sorrow, and crying, and distress, but they cannot end the sorrows of this world, nor can they make all things new. All men can do is add to the sorrows that are currently in the world, multiplying sorrows. How sad indeed. How we need the Lord Jesus Christ.

In Romans 8:22: "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth and pained together until now." Until now, the whole creation groans and travails in pain, pain together, it says, until now. So whenever sin came into the world, uh the the this creation uh that God created and rested in, he could no longer rest in it, and and the creation itself feels it. It feels this this distance from God. And so it says in verse 20 uh three, "And not only they," not only the creation, "but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body." You see, that's what is going on if you're a believer, within your heart and soul as you look around the world today. It's a groaning. It's a groaning. You're away from home. You want to be home. You're in a place of sin. The Lord Jesus groaned when he was here. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And so we sense within our souls that this world is at a distance to God. But praise God, through Christ, we've been brought near, brought nigh to him. Hallelujah.

Christ, the Head of the New Creation

Now in this new creation, Christ, of course, is the head of the new creation. Revelation 3:14: "And unto the angel of the church of Laodicea write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness," only been one faithful and true witness, "the beginning of the creation of God." That's the beginning of the new creation. If there's any beginning, it must flow from the person of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, the Word who became flesh. He is the beginning of the creation of God in his death, burial, and his resurrection and ascension. He has opened the way for God's new creation.

First Corinthians 15:45 and verse 47: "And so it is written, The first man was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." So the first man, Adam, was made a living soul, but the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. So here's a contrast between Adam, who was created in innocency and fell, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who not only brings life, quickening life, but it's out of death, out of, just like we saw last week with quickening, because we're dead in trespasses and sins, the last Adam brings life. So here is the first Adam, he's the head of an old creation: sin, death, failure. But Christ is the head of the new creation, where righteousness and all is is perfect in God's sight.

And so in Romans chapter 5 and verse 14: "Nevertheless, nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come." See, God always had in mind Christ. He always had in mind, God knew what the weakness of this creature that he would make, and of course he created him with a will so that he didn't serve God because he was a robot, but he served God, if he would, because God is worthy to be served. But of course, Adam's sin and and transgression of falling away came in with him. But Christ is the figure of him that was to come, not in failure, but in perfection, in obedience to God, absolute perfect submission and obedience to him. So he is the last Adam. Christ is the head of the new creation and a new order of men. Hallelujah. And we should say that there can be no fall in the new creation because our head is unfailing. We have an unfailing head in Christ. Sometimes people wonder, what happens if if there's another fall? There will never be another fall. There cannot be another fall because Christ is the head of that new creation. Praise the Lord. Depends all on him.

Second Corinthians 5:15-17: "And he died for all, that they which live," listen, "should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more." Well, what does that mean? Well, death has come into this world. Death has ended our relationship with, Christ's relationship with this world and our relationship with it through him. So when he rose from the grave, you remember Mary was there, and this is what he said to her in verse, chapter 20 of John, verse 17: "Jesus saith unto her, Lay not a hold upon me; lay not hold upon me; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and unto my God, and your God." You see, Mary wanted to hold on to him and keep him as she had known him before. But no, he's the beginning of a new creation. He must go back to the glory so that he can open the way for many sons to come into glory in this new creation. Praise the Lord.

So that that's what it means that we don't know Christ after the flesh anymore. We don't know him. He's not in Galilee, he's not in Jerusalem. We don't know him in that way. We know him as the man in the glory, the beginning of this new creation. "Therefore," this is Second Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ," right, we're either in Christ or in Adam, two federal heads of humanity, one the old creation, one the new, "if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God," in this new creation, everything is of God. It will be that you take the greatest joys that you could ever have on earth, and that's just a little foretaste of what God has prepared for them that love him. "All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, given us the ministry of reconciliation."

So isn't it wonderful to think that all things are of God in this new creation? And men and women in Christ, you and I, are now a part of this new creation. We don't have to wait. We're now a part of it. We're in Christ. Hallelujah. This is so beautiful, so wonderful of God, so gracious. And we enter therefore by faith into this new sphere into which we have been brought, where Christ is all and where we ourselves are in him. This is this new creation. Christ is everything, and we enter into it by faith. We don't look at ourselves, we look to him, the man in the glory, the beginning of the creation of God.

Now we understand that we're still in this world and we still are in weakness. Uh Paul's experience is very interesting in this way in Second Corinthians 12, verses 2 through 5. Paul says, "I knew a man in Christ," he's giving his experience now, "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)." So he didn't know if it was a vision or actually happened, it didn't matter. But he says, "such a one," this man in Christ, "such a one was caught up to the third heaven." The third heaven is the presence of God, right? The atmosphere with the birds of the air is the first heaven, and then what we call outer space, the second heaven. The third heaven, the presence of God. He was caught up into the presence of God, who was a man in Christ. You see, when you come to Christ, you're fit for heaven in that very moment. So Paul saw this new creation, this new creation that's coming. And listen what he says, "How he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which is not lawful for a man to utter." In other words, there's no words to describe what Paul saw there in the glory. Hallelujah. It's a new creation. He says, "Of such a one will I glory." This is important. Who is Paul going to glory in? The man in Christ, the man that was is fit for heaven, the man that had this incredible heavenly experience. "Yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities." In other words, though he is in weakness, though he's a man still in this world, he's ready for heaven. He's a part of uh he's in Christ and he is a part of the new creation, and and heaven is his home, and he knows that. We need to know that too, if we're in Christ. If any man or any woman be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Now certainly we know that by faith, as we said, but all things are passed away. And we glory, we boast in who God has made us to be. Stop, stop hanging your head down and and moaning about your failure. There's no failure in Christ, and in Christ is is where you are. You are a new creation. Now we know that we do fail, and there's no excuse for that. But what do we do? We don't linger in it. We confess our sins and we turn back to him and look up, because that's our proper perspective, not looking down, not looking around, but looking up.

The Features of the New Man

So in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10, we find the features of the new man, that those features of the character of Christ, the life of Christ. Listen what it says, verse 10: "For we are his workmanship," Ephesians 2:10, "we are his workmanship," God's workmanship, "created in Christ Jesus," this is a new creation, "unto good works." So God has a purpose in this new creation while we're here below, to do good works, "which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." This is what we need. We don't want to be distracted from this. This is what we need. We need to center upon those works, new creation works that God has created us in Christ to accomplish. This is a pretty awesome.

In Ephesians 4:22, uh talking about the character that we're to have in Christ, he says, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;" That's the way God describes our old life: corrupt according to deceitful lusts. "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." In other words, there's a practical side to this new creation. We're to have the character of Christ.

Ephesians 5 goes on and exhorts the manifestation of the new man in family and in business circles as well. Every relationship established by God must be maintained while we're here below. These relationships are for the earth and will end when we leave the earth. But every man should love his wife, but a new creation man should love his wife as Christ loved the church, Ephesians 5:25. Every father should raise up his children the way they should go, but a new creation man or woman should raise his children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, Ephesians 6:4. Servants should always be obedient to their master, but a new creation man should serve his master with singleness of heart as unto Christ, Ephesians 6:5. You see, this new creation is to be found in our lives today because that is our life. Christ is our life. We're up, we're to live out this new creation. We're going to be an eternity in a new creation, and we're a new creation in Christ now. So we're to, we're to live this life out.

In chapter, in Galatians chapter 15, it says, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing," doesn't profit anything, circumcision, "nor uncircumcision." Well, what does profit? "A new creation." That's what it says. Where is there profit? In a new creation, not in these physical things, not in religious association. It's association with Christ, to be in Christ, to be a new creation. Verse 16: "And as many as walk according to this rule," what is the rule? The rule of new creation, "peace be upon him, and upon the Israel of God." The Israel of God, of course, refers to believing Messianic Jews today. So what does it mean that we are to live according to this rule? Galatians 2:20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." This is new creation life. I've died, but I live, but it's Christ that lives in me, and I am to live my life according to the faith of the very Son of God, faith in him. Hallelujah.

Colossians 3:1, another uh um way in which we are to follow according to the rule of new creation. Colossians 3:1: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." You see, this is new creation life. We we are to seek those things which are above, even today. We are so self-centered, so centered on the affairs of this world. We're a part of a new creation. We eternally will be in that new creation. And but it's not for us first, it's for the pleasure and enjoyment of God. That's why this new creation is not about God meeting a need that we have, it's about God satisfying his own heart and soul, having Christ the head of all things, Christ the center of all things in the new creation, because Christ is all, and God delighting in him and all those that are found in him in the new creation. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. Hallelujah.

Our God, God, Father, we thank and praise thee that we should be brought into such a dignified relationship, to be in Christ for the enjoyment and the satisfaction of your heart and soul. Not in us, but in him in us. Hallelujah. This is so wonderful. Oh God, I pray that you might encourage each one of us to follow in this new creation thought that you have brought us in Christ and made us a new creation, that we might live out lives that show that our home is truly in heaven and we're really looking forward to that moment when you shall wipe away every tear from every eye. There'll be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more death. How wonderful and how beautiful, things that no eye has seen and no ear has heard. We bless thee, we praise thee, and we thank thee, oh God and Father, in Jesus' name. Amen.