The Truth comes to Corinth Part 2 Volume 19

Paul declares all “in Christ” New Creations

2 Corinthians 5:16-17 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 are passed away; behold, all things are become new. KJV

Paul declares to these Corinthian believers and to us the most glorious truth Christ death and resurrection from the dead has done for everyone who has truly believed and does truly believe “from the heart” (Romans 10:9-10) and that is we are made “new creations” by this supernatural birth from above. When Paul writes “from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 5:16), what he means is that what a person has achieved in this life before Christ such as education, wealth, prominence, influence, and any other thing that humanity measures a man by is absolutely worthless and meaningless because now that man is made new in his “inner man” and given a completely new perspective and outlook on this current world with all of its stuff. God the Father sees all of mankind as sinners before Him (even every Jew) as Paul declares in this manner as he wrote to the believers in Rome, “What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin; as it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.’” (Romans 3:9-12). This theological truth is the premise by which Paul writes this to these Corinthian believers and to us, so that we would understand how the Father sees all humanity, therefore, He now sees every person “in Christ” as His “new creation” having their dead spirits made alive by Christ Jesus our Lord.

Before Christ death on the Cross, and burial, and subsequent resurrection from the dead, God the Father saw humanity as Jew or Gentile and since Christ death on the Cross, and burial, and resurrection from the dead, God the Father now sees humanity as saved (new creations) or lost (dead in trespasses and sins). There is no third category of human beings with Him. Listen to this excerpt from my Book entitled “Silent Assassins of the Soul”, “God designed the first man Adam to be a completely spiritual being (who lives in a physical body) connected to Him for all eternity. When Adam sinned against God by disobeying God’s instruction, God removed Himself from Adam, and thus Adam’s nature instantly became corrupted. His corrupt nature was passed down to all of us who have come after him” (Romans 5:12). Every man and woman who has ever lived after Adam are all born corrupt in their “inner man/woman” and consequently every one of us must be “born again” as our Lord Jesus Christ told a very religious Jew named Nicodemus when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The heart or inner man of all humanity was so corrupted by Adam’s sin that it was no longer capable of doing anything that would or could please God the Father as Paul wrote in this manner when he said, “So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8).

This is why Paul declares that we no longer regard anyone as being “in the flesh” any longer because this old nature “in man” has not been improved by God the Father, but instead a “new nature” has been implanted in each one of us “in Christ” as Paul goes on to declare with this next verse in Romans chapter 8 when he says, “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His” (Romans 8:9). It is the “indwelling Holy Spirit” that makes us “new creations” and it is He who gives us power to put to death the deeds or sins of our “old nature” that remains “in us” (Romans 8:13-14). Paul wrote also these words to the Galatian believers declaring this disregard for man “in the flesh” when he said, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28).

The idea Paul conveys behind saying, “old things pass away and behold all things are become new” can be understood in a clearer light when we examine the  Greek verb parerchomai. This Greek verb parerchomai translated for the English phrase “are passed away” means to pass by or to ward off or to fend off; it has the idea of moving forward.  Paul uses parerchomai in the second aorist tense signifying or expressing a past action without indicating its completion or continuation, meaning although the old things in our sinful hearts have been changed by virtue of us becoming “new creations” “in Christ”, there is still a war that must be fought daily by us in the power of the Holy Spirit energizing our spirits against sin in our hearts and lives as Paul declared to the Galatian believers this way when he said, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For 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 5:16-17). The Greek verb ginomai for the English phrase “are become” means to become or to come into existence or the idea of something being made fresh. There are but two races of human beings living on the earth right now and they are those who have been made fresh by way of new birth becoming “new creatures” and those who have not been made fresh and are still “old creatures” and the difference in the new and old is the disposition that is in the “inner man/woman” by virtue of having the Holy Spirit or not having Him dwelling in the heart or inner man/woman.

“Therefore if anyone be in Christ - A true believer in Him. There is a new creation - Only the power that makes a world can make a Christian. And when he is so created, the old things are passed away - Of their own accord, even as snow in spring. Behold - The present, visible, undeniable change! All things are become new - He has new life, new senses, new faculties, new affections, new appetites, new ideas and conceptions. His whole tenor of action and conversation is new, and he lives, as it were, in a new world. God, men, the whole creation, heaven, earth, and all therein, appear in a new light, and stand related to him in a new manner, since he was created anew in Christ Jesus.” John Wesley

“The Apostle had arrived at the deliberate conclusion and judgment that the “all” who realized what Christ had done for them (and he among them) must live with as much devotion toward Him as others toward themselves. A new world had been opened by Christ’s Resurrection. All things had become new. Let us live in daily touch with that world of faith and glory, refusing to be judged by the old standards.” F. B. Meyer

“To be ‘in Christ’ means far more than an intellectual belief in Him, it means to be made entirely new internally by His constant presence dwelling in the heart of His redeemed sons and daughters, and this is the sole and only reason why a true Christian does not and cannot love sin any longer, despite the reality that he or she still sins.” Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…