The New Creation

Two Kinds of Stuff

Paper & Card
- does not last
- easily damaged
- not strong
- can burn
Metal
- lasts indefinitely
- resists damage
- very strong and functional
- cannot burn

There was a problem that some people at the Corinthian church were laughing at the idea of a resurrection
1 Corinthians 15 starts by addressing this problem
Ends up with one of the clearest presentations of the “New Creation” in the Bible

So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being“; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
However, the spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and then the spiritual.
The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven.
Like the one made of dust, so too are those made of dust, and like the one from heaven, so too those who are of heaven.
And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, let us also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

NET Bible, plus revisions by AMF

Adam was made of dust
- atoms and molecules of this universe
- Our bodies are the same basic stuff as the world around us
- When we die, we return to dust
Jesus was raised in the Spirit
How can we be made of the Holy Spirit?
- Well of course we don’t become God
- As we will see in a moment, the Scriptures clearly teach it
- So what does it mean?
If I was to visit London, England and collect a bag of rocks from the city
- When I returned if I made the rocks into a little sculpture
- I couldn’t say “this sculpture is the city of London”
- I could only say “its made of the same stuff as London
Similarly our New Creation identities are made of the stuff of the Spirit

John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Rom 1:4 who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 8:11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

but as we said before, there is no connection between the two
- if we are made of one, what do we have to do with the other?
- how do we get from one to the other?

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again [from above] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

his baptism!
- Ah, now we are getting somewhere!
So after his baptism, was he made of this (paper) or this (metal)?
- both
Which was visible to the eyes?
- Old
(put metal inside cardboard)
- if you were to set fire to this, or bury it in the ground for a few months, what would be left
- So when Jesus died, it was only the Old Creation that died
So what moment in history did the New Creation start? (we could equally well say “did the Kingdom start”)
- baptism
Now Jesus was born from Mary and the Spirit, but that was his first birth. He was 100% like us except he had no sin.
- When the Spirit came down on him, he became the first of a new kind of humanity.
  He had the Spirit before, but now it was in a new way, and he immediately began preaching the Kingdom and doing signs and wonders.
So if this was the moment, was there any similarity to the Old Creation moment?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Mar 1:10 And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
Luk 3:22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight.”

Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth,
for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.

So the answer of how we get from here to here is by being joined to Jesus who made the transition
- we died with him and are being raised with him
- we are united to him
Being United with Jesus is the answer to almost every question!
- If you have ever taught children in Sunday School... “Jesus!”
So what practical difference does it make?

For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God.
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Listen, I will tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
in a moment, in the blinking of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.
Now when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass,
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
So then, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved! Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

NET Bible, plus revisions by AMF

What does it mean “your labour is not in vain”
- what kind of labour would be in vain? (building things out of paper)
I have had a lot of success writing computer programs this week
- but you know the sad thing—they are paper and card
- That doesn’t mean it is worthless building them—If you do it to God’s glory, everything has eternal value
- But we should still distiguish
Every bit of the love of Jesus you show for another person is made of the stuff of eternity
v.57 Thank you God that you have given us the victory!
- Thank you for the amazing new thing you are doing inside us!

Updated on 2015-10-21 by Andrew Fountain - loveintruth.com/teaching