A BRAND NEW YOU!! (Pt.2)

 

Text:  2 Corinthians 5:16: 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: Vs 17: Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.

I’d stated in Part 1, who better to tell the story than expert witness Apostle Paul? A true witness of God, one who was on the scene, suffered much persecution, one that experienced a supernatural transformation from his old self to a brand-new creation. 

From Paul’s life and scripture, you can clearly see a difference between the old man vs the new man.

 In part 1, I also stated how Paul talked about two conditions that are necessary (unavoidable; needful; not optional) for our entrance into the Kingdom of God, and living in Christ, both of which are consequences of Christ dying for us and both are a requirement: “regeneration” and the “new birth”! 

REGENERATION was spoken of in part one, 2 Corinthians 5:17: If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; now I’m continuing part 2, with the NEW BIRTH!

With “regeneration” and the “new birth”, there’s a “newness” being presented in each phase.  With “regeneration” there’s a contrasting of the “old man” and the “new man”.  With the “new birth” there’s a contrasting of “spiritual life” with “spiritual death.”

St. John 3:4-9 (Jesus speaks to Nicodemus of the new birth): vs 3: Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

But Nicodemus didn’t understand, and asked:  vs 4: “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?”

·       Vs 5: Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

This “birth” Jesus is speaking of is “spiritual”.  Born in Greek is genna’o, meaning to procreate (prop. of the father, but by extension of the mother); to regenerate: begat; bear; bring forth; be delivered; conceived.

1 Peter 1:23 states, “Seeing you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently:  being born again, not of corruptible (phthartos’) [decayed; perishable] seed, but of incorruptible (aph’thartos) [undecaying (in essence or continuance); immortal], by the word of God which lives and abides forever.”

Remember what God said in Genesis 1:11-12: And God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth”:  and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind:  and God saw that it was good.

So now, if we are “born again” of “incorruptible seed”, the Word of God, and we are, then that makes us also “incorruptible”.  Luke 8:11, “The seed is the Word of God!”  We too are the Word made flesh.  St. John 1:1: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  Vs 2: The same (hou’tos) [he (she or it), these; this man; they; this woman; who] was in the beginning with God (that’s “us” His sons, male & female):  Vs 14: And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. 

Yes, this is speaking of Jesus, but we are also included.  Jesus was sent in the flesh at the appointed time God had ordained, so that He could deliver the creation back to the Father.  We also came at the appointed time that He wanted us (His other sons) to be manifested in flesh form. 

·       St. John 1: 11-13: He came unto his own and his own received him not.  Vs 12: But as many as received him to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.  Vs 13: “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” 

One of the definitions of “born” in John 3:3-5, is “regenerate”.  Even Webster defines “regenerate” as renewed or restored; to cause to be spiritually reborn; to be completely reformed; to bring into existence again; form again; make new.

The first part of this word is “regene - rated”.  The “gene” is the unit in the chromosome by which hereditary characteristics are transmitted.

God sent us here in these flesh bodies that we are living in, and we were made subject to the carnality of it, so that we could conquer and overcome in these bodies through the “new birth” and be restored back to the place of dominion, authority and power we had with Him in the beginning! 

·       Colossians 3:9-10: Lie not one to another, seeing that you have put off the “old man” with his deeds; and have put on the “new man”, which is renewed (renovated; new; fresh) in knowledge (recognition; full discernment; acknowledgement) after the image (profile; representation; manifestation) of him that created him. 

You can see how “newness” of the “old man” works like a hand in glove in these two phases of regeneration and the new birth.

This “birthing process” Jesus spoke of in John 3:3 entails us “seeing the kingdom of God”, which has nothing to do with physical eyesight. 

·       Luke 17:20b: The kingdom of God comes not with observation:  vs 21: Neither shall they say, lo here, or lo there!  For the kingdom (basili’a) [royalty; rule; a realm]; (basileus’) [foundation of power] of God is within you! 

The Kingdom of God is not off somewhere up beyond the blue, but His Kingdom (foundation of power) is on the inside of you and me!!  1 John 4:4: Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Briefly, the “Kingdom of God” is a person, the Man Jesus Christ. He was the power of God walking around on two feet. 

Mark 11:1-11 (when He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, listen at what came out of the mouth of the people):

·       Vs 9: And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, “Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord”: 

·       Vs 10: “Blessed by the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord:  Hosanna in the highest.”

Hosanna in the Greek means, “oh save”!  It goes to the Hebrew Yasha’, meaning to be open, wide or free; be safe; save; savior; deliver; salvation; avenged; rescue; victory.

Jesus was and is God’s “Kingdom” and so are we (the sons of God/male & female) now God’s “kingdom” of kings and priests in the earth.

·       Revelation 1:6: And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever.  [Also Revelation 5:10; 19:16].

The “new birth” causes us to “see” (know) the kingdom.  SEE in the Greek is ei’do, meaning to know by perception; consider; have knowledge; understand; to discern clearly.  This discernment is not with the natural eyes but with the “eye of the mind” or the “spiritual eye”. 

·       Matthew 6:22 states, “The light of the body is the eye:  if therefore, thine eye (spiritual vision) be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” 

The first word “light” in this verse is photeinos’, meaning lustrous (shining; brilliant; glorious); transparent (easily seen or understood; to detect; obvious) or well illuminated (give light to; make clear; explain; to inform).  Then it goes to the word “phos”, meaning luminousness; fire.  This is light as reaching the mind; making known one’s thoughts.  But the natural (sensitive; mortal; irrational) man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:  neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:14). 

We can now understand how the definition of “see” and “light” denotes “knowledge”.  Therefore the “new birth” is inclusive of us letting the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5), so that we can come to know our Heavenly Father and be totally led by His Spirit in all we do.

Hosea 4:6: My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge.  Knowledge is “light” and part of the “new birth” process. It’s the truth of God’s Word that is going to free His people (John 8:32) from the bondages of the enemy.  So the same “light” that God Himself is (1 John 1:5), we must and are become that same “light” because of the new birth! You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).

When Matthew 6:22 is fulfilled in us and our “eye” (spiritual vision) becomes single (folded together; united as one) with Christ’s mind, then the latter part of that verse will be manifested in us:  “thine whole body shall be full of light”! 

This word “light” is from the root word leukos’, meaning (“light), “white”!  Why is the “light” “white”?  That’s because it is the righteousness of God manifested in and through us His people!

·       Revelation 19:7: Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him:  for the marriage of the Lamb is come (present tense), and his wife hath (already) made herself ready:  Vs 8: And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white (radiant; bright; light):  for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

Our being “born again” has made us the “righteousness of God” through Christ! 

·       2 Corinthians 5:21: For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him!!

Back to John 3:3-5 (Jesus talking to Nicodemus in relation to the “new birth”):

·       Vs 5: Jesus answered, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Being born of the water:

This “water” is not baptism in H2O.  I’m not knocking water baptism because it’s a type of “burying the old man” and “resurrecting the new man”!  But this “water” Jesus is speaking of is “the Word” itself.

In Ephesians 5:25-33 (speaks of duties of husbands – but it’s a great mystery concerning Christ and the Church):

·       Vs 25: Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; vs 26: That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, vs 27: That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

We are sanctified and cleansed through the “washing of water by the Word” (Ephesians 5:26), but it’s the “blood” that redeems us (Hebrews 9:22): Without shedding of blood, is no remission.

Being born of the Spirit:

The Spirit of God is God’s pneu’ma or His very breath that we must inhale or “breathe in”!! 

·       John 4:24: God is Spirit:  and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Spirit is the Greek root word pneu’ma, meaning a current of air; wind; breath. And in Hebrew it’s ru’wach, wind, breath. 

This “wind” or “breath” is not just a mere current of air or the oxygen that we breathe in this earth realm, but it’s the very “breath” of God Himself that has His blood in it that gives us “life”.  Leviticus 17:11: The life of the flesh is in the blood!

This is the “same breath” that was “breathed” into the man Adam in Genesis 2:7 that made him a living soul!  It was the same “breath” that was “breathed” in the valley of dry bones that gave them life (Ezekiel 37:1-14)!  This is the same breath that Jesus breathed into the disciples in (John 20:21-22) When he had said, “As the Father hath sent me, even so send I you, he breathed on them and said unto them, “Receive ye the Holy Ghost”!  This is the “same breath” that was “breathed” into those that were in the upper room (Acts 2).  This is the “same breath” that is still being breathed into God’s people as He sends out His messengers with the Gospel of the Kingdom as it is being preached and taught by His Spirit, and it will continue forever!!

And remember what John said in Matthew 3:11: I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance:  but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear:  he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire!

Fire does one of two things, it purifies or consumes!  If we receive God’s Word and not just be hearers but doers, His Word will burn out of us everything that’s not like God and make us like Him.  But if we fight against His Word, that same Word that would purify and cleanse us will consume us! Hebrews 12:29: Our God is a consuming fire.  So let us love God and walk in obedience to His Word so that it will purify us and bring us into the “new birth”!

So to become “a brand new man” we must progress through “regeneration”, being transformed from the “old man” into the “new man”, and “be born again”, being translated from “spiritual death” into “spiritual life”! 

Jesus has delivered us from “sin and death” so that we can walk in newness of life!

·       Romans 8:2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death:

·       vs 6: To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Colossians 3:9-10 says, Seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed (refreshed; revived; restored; replenished) in knowledge after the image of him that created him:  vs 12-14: Put on therefore as the elect of God holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any:  even as Christ forgave you, so also do you.  And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 

This is what it takes to be “a brand new man”!!

Evangelist Brenda Hansley