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In the New Testament A New Creation Wherefore if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things Phillip Mosley In
the transition from the Jewish age to the Gospel age we find a change in the
operation of the invisible power of God termed the “Holy Spirit.” Peter
tells us the prophets of old spoke as they were moved by the holy spirit (2
Peter We
may consider it a blessing to live in the time when God is calling those who
will make up his family (Acts The
Promise to Abraham
It
is through this family that God will fulfill this promise made long ago to
faithful Abraham: “By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD,
because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only
son, indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed
as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is on the seashore; and
your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. And in your seed all the
nations of the earth shall be blessed [literally “shall bless
themselves”], because you have obeyed my voice” (Genesis Paul
speaks of this promise and gives us a clue as to how the promise relates to
those living in the Gospel age: “If you belong to Christ, then you are
Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians According
to the Bible there will come a time when Satan will be bound and will not be
able to deceive mankind. During Christ’s thousand-year reign those whom
God has called from among men during this age will have the privilege of
sharing in this blessing work with Christ: “Blessed and holy is the one
who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no
power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him
for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:6). These
of the first resurrection are the ones who make up the family God desires to
share in his kingdom work throughout eternity. These are the spiritual seed
of Abraham. Two
Resurrections
The
Revelation text speaks of these as having a part in the first
resurrection. If there is a first resurrection, there must also be at least
a second resurrection. Jesus spoke of two resurrections: “Do not marvel at
this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear
his voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good [deeds] to a
resurrection of life, those who committed the evil [deeds] to a resurrection
of judgment” (John 5:28,29). Those of the first resurrection are
described by Jesus as those who did the good deeds. But notice that he
speaks of another resurrection, a “resurrection of judgment.”
God’s judgment day lasts one thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). With Satan
bound, mankind will have an opportunity to learn the truth. God desires all
men to be saved and come to an accurate knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy
2:4). Our
eyes of understanding have been opened now to a remarkable truth that has
been mostly hidden since the dark ages. The Bible actually teaches that
there are two salvations: a spiritual and an earthly phase. Paul writes:
“The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly,
so also are those who are heavenly” (1 Corinthians 15:47,48). God’s
original plan has not been frustrated. God said to Adam and Eve in the
garden, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and
rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every
living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). God,
through one of his prophets of old, said: “So shall my word be which goes
forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, without accomplishing
what I desire, and without succeeding [in the matter] for which I sent it”
(Isaiah 55:11). When
properly understood, we can see how truly wonderful it will be when everyone
will be blessed in God’s due time. What a privilege it will be for those
who make up the heavenly spiritual seed of Abraham to share with Christ in
administering those blessings to the world of mankind as they come back to
life in an earthly resurrection. Born
Again
How
does one become a part of the spiritual seed? Nicodemus, one of the nobler
of the Pharisees, had an inquisitive mind. He came to Jesus at night and
acknowledged that he must be a teacher sent from God because no one could do
such miracles unless God was with him. It was then that Jesus said:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God” (John 3:3). Nicodemus
could not understand these words, this illustration Jesus used to explain
what must take place for an individual to experience a change of nature from
earthly to spiritual. Nicodemus was not alone. Many noble people throughout
the Gospel age have also misunderstood these words of Jesus. Some
of the confusion stems from the fact that the Greek word gennao,
translated born in this verse, could with the equal propriety be rendered
begotten. Gennao is used 39 times in the first sixteen verses of
Matthew and in every instance is properly translated begat. If
the translators of the King James Bible had used begotten instead of born,
the idea that Jesus was explaining to Nicodemus would be more accurately
understood. Just as an embryo is begotten in the womb and grows until birth,
so with an individual who will become a spiritual son of God. Paul says,
“If any man is in Christ, [he is] a new creature; the old things passed
away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is this new
creature that is begotten by the word of truth and by the power of the holy
spirit. Because
there are two salvations, those begotten to this new spiritual life are
counted as spiritual sons of God. Their hopes, aims, and ambitions are
centered in the spiritual phase of God’s kingdom. The actual births of
these new creatures occur after the death of their earthly bodies. Just as
Jesus was raised from the dead a spirit being, so will it be for those
begotten of the holy spirit. The apostle John writes: “See how great a
love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of
God; and [such] we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because
it did not know him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not
appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when he appears, we
shall be like him, because we shall see him just as he is” (1 John
3:1,2). Sin
Remains a Possibility
Some
mistakenly think that once an individual has been “born again,” it is
impossible to sin. This comes from a misunderstanding of these words:
“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in
him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God” (1 John 3:9). Although
the new creature does not sin, it remains in the fleshly body until the
actual birth of this new creature as a spirit being, it remains in a fleshly
body. The flesh is contrary to the things of the spirit: “The flesh sets
its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these
are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you
please” (Galatians 5:17). It
is by the grace of God and the imputation of the merit of Jesus that any are
counted as righteous in the sight of God. Except for Jesus no human being is
without sin: “As it is written, There is none righteous, not even one”
(Romans 3:10). When
we understand what it means to be spirit begotten, we can more easily
harmonize the Scriptures. The same apostle who wrote, “Whosoever is born
of God doth not commit sin,” also wrote, “My little children, I
am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone
sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and
he himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also
for [those of] the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2). The
spirit begotten ones of the Gospel age battle the things of the flesh to
become, as much as possible, a copy of their Lord and Savior Jesus. It is
constant struggle that requires the whole armor of God (Ephesians A
New Creation
These
spirit begotten ones are actually a new creation. Just as a majority of the
people did not know Jesus was the Son of God, most do not recognize that
there are new creatures in Christ today, individuals to whom God has given a
special mission. Paul describes that mission as a ministry of
reconciliation: “Now all [these] things are from God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ, and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely,
that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their
trespasses against them, and he has committed to us the word of
reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18,19). These
are the spiritual seed of Abraham who will have a share with Christ in
blessing all the families of the earth. God promised this long ago to
Abraham and it is impossible for him to lie (Titus 1:2). God plans to bless
the world of mankind through The Christ, Head and Body. In the meantime we
know that, “The whole creation groans and suffers the pains of
childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves,
having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within
ourselves, waiting eagerly for [our] adoption as sons, the redemption of our
body” (Romans 8:22,23). *
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture citations are from the New American
Standard version.
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