Many people are quick to respond that they are also born again
Christians. How does the Bible depict the real born again Christians?34I.1 What is the
status of those who are "in Christ Jesus"?
In 2 Corinthians 5:17, it id explained:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
( NKJV)
Those
who are in Christ are the New Creatures.
- To them, old things are passed
away,
- To them, all things become new.
The New Creatures are the
members of what
Christ called "My Church" (Mt.16:18) or the True Church of
Christ.
34I.2 How can we
identify the members of Christ's Church who are the "New Creatures"?
In Romans 8:9,
they are properly identified:
But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does
not belong to him. ( RSV)
Those "New Creatures in Christ" are those
who are not in the flesh. The Spirit of God
and Christ dwells in them.
People may claim to be new creatures or born again
Christians, but the Bible declares with finality: "if
any man does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him", —
he is not a Christian, neither "a new creature in Christ nor a born again
Christian".
34I.3 What
must a person do before he can really put on the status of a "New
Creature"— a real born again Christian?
He must
first seek union with Christ by becoming a member of His body — the True
Church of Christ. Why?
In Ephesians 5:29-30, this is
written:
For no man ever
hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does
the church, because we are members of his body (, RSV)
Because Christ takes care - nourishes
and cherishes His Body and members of His Body. By becoming a
member of Christ's Church and living in accordance with the commands of
God and Christ, Christ will take care of him.
It is for him that Christ died and
suffered on the cross so that he might become a new creature worthy to
serve the living God.
How does a
member of Christ's body keep on being a "New Creature"?
In Romans 8:10-11, this is also
written:
10. And if
Christ is in you,
the body is dead because of sin, but the
Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead
dwells in you,
He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
(Romans 8:10-11, NKJV)
As member of Christ's body, Christ
is in him. The Spirit of God dwells in him and will also give life
to his mortal body.
How will the Spirit of God
help the "New Creature"?
In Romans 8:12-14, Apostle Paul
explains:
12. So, dear
brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do
what your sinful nature urges you to do.
13. For if you keep on following it, you will perish. But if
through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its
evil deeds, you will live.
14. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of
God. (NLT)
A member of Christ's body can turn
himself from dead (from sin) to life, by the help power of the
Holy Spirit who dwells in him.
- It is by the help of the Holy
Spirit that he can put to death the works of the flesh.
- It is by the power of the
Holy Spirit that he can muster the strength to turn away from
the evil deeds that his sinful nature urges him to do.
______________
Those who are in Christ are the "New Creatures".
They are the members of what
Christ called "My Church" (Mt.16:18) or the True Church of
Christ. To them, old things are passed
away, and all things become new. Those who are "New Creatures in Christ" are those
who are not in the flesh, rather, they have the Spirit of Christ and of God
dwells in them. As member of Christ's body, Christ
is in him. The Spirit of God dwells in him.
A member of Christ's
body can turn himself from dead (from sin) to life, by the help power of the
Holy Spirit who dwells in him. A person who is in Christ Jesus is the
"New Creature - a real Born Again Christian" by living a new way of life, by
turning away from the evil deeds and from refraining from the works of the
flesh. By letting himself humbly led by the Holy
Spirit to a righteous way of life, he becomes a children of God. Thus, he
can be rightfully called a "A New Creature In Christ" or "A Real Born Again
Christian".
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End
Of Lesson ■
Thank You For Your Time!
We hope that the lesson "How Are People Created Anew, Reborn or Born
Again" was made clear and
meaningful to you
by the verses of the Holy Bible.