Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB)
In Christ, You have Benefits
That moment that you opened up your heart to Jesus, everything became New. You received the New Birth, among other things. Halleluyah! What are these New things that have come to you?
- The New Birth: You are now born again. You currently have the New Life. Bible says your birth is new, you have been born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. Yes! (John 1:12-13) God has given birth to you, you now have the Life of God imparted to you. You have been spiritually born by God through Jesus Christ, with a new life and spirit (John 3:3-6).
- The New You: If you read the verse above again, you will see the word ‘behold’. That is the word that describes you now. Everyone that sees you now cannot but take a second look because they can see the change. The Presence of Christ in your life makes a great difference. And people will start talking about it because you are simply New! You have changed! Something to behold! All things have become new (Ephesians 5:8, Matthew 5:14-15).
- The New Family: You now have a New Family, the very family of God. God is now your Father. Jesus is now your joint heir. You are an adopted child of God. He paid the price for you to become His own by His own Life. He went to the Cross and paid the price with His Life to make that happen (Colossians 1:11-14, Ephesians 3;15, John 1:12).
- The New Spirit: You have now received a New Spirit – the Spirit of God is now resident in your own brand new spirit. He is there to help you live the New Life. God has given you His own Spirit to help you live the Christ kind of life, life above reproach, an exemplary life to others (Romans 8: 8-10, 14, 16).
- The New Company: Part of the New things that have come is your acceptance into the Body of Christ. You now belong to the company of God’s people (Acts 4:23). The local church is the closest expression of that. You must find a Bible-believing church where the Word of God is rightly taught to attend (1 Corinthians 10.17, Romans 12:4-5, Hebrews 10:25).
- The New Way of Life: Faith is now your New Way of Life. God expects you to emulate Jesus and walk as Jesus walked. That is your new way of life. Jesus is your New Model (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38, 1 John 2:3-6).
- The New Way of Thinking: God has also given you the mind of Christ. It is part of the gift you received. To appropriate that, you will need to spend time meditating on God’s Word (1 Corinthians 2:16, Philippians 2:5-8, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 4:8).
- The New Relationship: God has called you into a Father-son relationship and to sustain that, you need to have a daily fellowship with Him through His Word, prayers, and Praises (John 1:12, 1 John 1:7, Hebrews 4:14-16, Joshua 1:8).
- The New Leadership: You now have God as your New Lead and master. Imagine how privileged you are! He said in Psalm 32:8 that he would instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; He will counsel you with My eye upon you (NASB). The Living Bible puts it like this: I will instruct you (says the Lord) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress. (TLB)
- The New Anointing: Now you have access to the Anointing. Even though many don’t know this when they accept Jesus. The Anointing of the Holy Spirit has been given to you for service. It is called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. As you pray and worship God, you may find yourself speaking in a heavenly tongue. It is a God-given language for prayer and praising God. The Anointing of the Holy Spirit becomes very evident in your life as you faithfully serve in your local church and bring others to Christ Jesus (Acts 1:8, Acts 2:38-39, 1 John 2:20, 27, John 7:37-39, Matthew 3:11).
- The New Assignment: You have a New Assignment, and it is to bring others to Christ. Your new call and duty is to tell others about the salvation that is in Christ Jesus and share your own testimonies with them. You preach the Gospel to them and let the Holy Spirit complete in them also the work of salvation (2 Corinthians 5:18-21, 2 Timothy 4:2, 5, Matthew 5:14-16, Romans 12:4-6). Everything is now completely New!
It’s a Wondrous Life in Christ
Welcome to your Newly found freedom and life in Christ Jesus (Galatians 5:1, 13, Galatians 2:20). You have been set free from the old life that entangles and keeps people in bondage. You are now a part of the greatest family in heaven and earth – the Family of God.
