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‘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.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold all things have become new’

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

When the Lord Jesus was on earth physically, in the flesh, most people never knew He who really was. They saw him as a great teacher, a prophet, a miracle worker, a man of God but very few were able to tap into the revelation of who He really was. They related with Him as a Man. They touched him, talked with Him, shared meals with Him and He was as just human as they were.

But then the Lord Jesus went on to die, was buried and after three days, He rose from the dead. When He arose, He was no longer the Man the people had known Him to be when He was in the flesh. He had transitioned into a New Man, with a new life. He was immortal. He was a glorified Man. Everything about Him had changed. John the Beloved, who had been so comfortable leaning on Jesus’ bosom as they ate the Last Supper (John 13:23), fell down like a dead man when He met the glorified Jesus (Revelation 1:17). John could no longer relate with Him as was the case when He was in the flesh. The resurrection transitioned Jesus into a new realm, incorruptible and untouchable by sin, death or the devil.
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[b]As He is, so are we


John 4:17 declares that as Jesus is, so are we right now in this world; we who believe in Him as Lord and Savior. We know that He is a resurrected Man now, the first born from the dead, a New Creation. That is who we are as well. When we are born again, we are engrafted into Christ and we become as He is in spirit. That means we aren’t just ordinary human beings any more. By the new birth, we are lifted into the realms of Christ; the realms of the supernatural; the realms of the resurrection of life, where we are to live in newness of life, enjoying and dispensing the quality of life that Christ has.

In the natural, we look like everyone else. We eat, drink, sleep, work and do everything like the rest of mankind. But that isn’t who we really are. In our born again, recreated spirits, we are totally different from what we appear on the outside, because we are partakers of divine life (1 Peter 1:2-3).

1 John 3:1-2 puts it this way: ‘Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are the sons of God …’

When the Lord Christ was on earth, the world didn’t know Him because He was as physical as everyone else. And in the same way, the world does not know the born again person. But the truth is, we are not just like everyone else: we are children of God. And this is reality, not just some philosophical, hypothetical or theological statement. We are indeed children of God in our spirits, as much as Jesus is the Son of God. We are raised with Him and are seated with Him at the right hand of God, the highest seat of authority in the universe. This is the essence of our redemption in Christ. Now, the world doesn’t know us that way, but we who possess this life of the new creation should.

Christianity is not a religion. It isn’t a matter of holding on to creeds and dogmas; observing rules, regulations and rituals. Christianity is a supernatural life that begins in the spirit and is supposed to be worked out into the realities of our everyday lives. Paul wrote in Galatians 6:15, ‘For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation’. Christianity is not doing good works per se. Anybody can do good works but until we are new creatures in Christ, we are not in relationship with God, and our good works carry no weight with God because they are the works of spiritually dead people.

The old has passed away

The person who has put faith in Christ is a new species (1 Peter 2:9). The old nature, the sin-nature that had dominated them passed away the moment they were born again and a new nature, the nature of Christ, took its place. The old things that characterized the old man died and were buried with Christ. The old things were the corruption in the world, sin and its penalty. That means the new creation is no longer subject to guilt and condemnation, hell, sickness, oppression and domination by the devil, fear, lack, spiritual weakness, etc, which are all consequences of sin. All these passed away when the new creation came into being. These things do not belong to the divine nature that the new creation has partaken of. They are illegal in the life of the recreated person.

New creation necessary for life now

The new creation is designed and ordained to reign in life right now. If the new creation wasn’t necessary for life right now, God would make you a new creation as you pass on to the next life. But He makes you a new creation right here so that henceforth, you are able to live in newness of life.

This newness of life doesn’t just refer to godly behavior, to holy living. Newness of life refers to the divine life of God; life above the corruption that is in the world. That life is made up of authority, power, victory, wisdom, progress, health, protection, etc. Newness of life isn’t just changed behavior, which apparently is of little use if we are going to remain just as weak, powerless, defeated, sick, tormented as the non-believer next door. True holiness is walking in all that Christ purchased for us through His redemption, not merely being a good person, which one can be without even believing in Christ.

To be godly is to be like God. It is to be powerful, full of authority, strong, free, prosperous, bold, a succorer of men, not merely to avoid sinful behavior. That is the portion and domain of the new creation. The pre-occupation of the new creation should not be to change behavior but to manifest the divine life. That divine life will take care of unwanted carnality. A man who walks in the spirit automatically walks in good behavior. A man who walks in divine life has no time to commit adultery, kill, hate, etc. He is too busy dispensing the life of God to hurting humanity.

The devil has taught believers that it is okay, even godly, to be sick, poor, weak, ignorant, timid, powerless before demons, disease and death; that what matters is for us to keep the 10 commandments, etc. What a lie! The world longs to see the divine life demonstrated in and through God’s people. That’s what attracts them to our God. Good behavior in itself is just religion. Anybody can behave good but only the new creation has the right to exercise the authority and power of God against the diabolical forces that oppress humanity.
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[b]Live like who you are


Paul says to us, ‘Behold, all things have become new, and all things are of God’ – 2 Corinthians 5:18. Many believers in Christ accept weakness and mediocrity because they have not beheld who they are in Christ. They sing songs about being just ordinary men and women. And so the devil takes advantage of them and illegally dominates them. They think, act, talk and plan just like ordinary men.

It is time to get into the Word and begin beholding who we really are in Christ. The new creation is no ordinary man or woman. It can’t be. How can someone with the life and nature of God, with the delegated authority of Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, be ordinary?

We are the new species of God, supermen and superwomen created by God Himself, infused with divine power and authority to manifest the glory of our God. We are representatives of Christ, His ambassadors here on earth, and He commanded us to do the works that He did that the Father may be glorified. We are to dispense the divine life of God to hurting humanity by proclaiming the Gospel, healing the sick, binding the wounds of the broken-hearted, raising the dead and sharing the love and grace of our King. That is our portion. That is our calling. That is who we are. We must not allow religion to keep us weak, timid and discouraged when we carry the Holy Spirt within us. We are the light of the world. We are the world’s hope. We have to live like who we are. And it is all begins by getting to know who we really are as new creations in Christ and beginning to act like who we are.

Somebody reading this is going to arise, take their position and live this new creation life. Be the one!