New Creation in Christ: The Old Has Passed Away (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In Christ — Paul’s favorite address

Union language again. New creation is not a self-improvement rebrand. It is participation in the world God is remaking through the crucified and risen Lord.

And this newness becomes mission: God… “gave us the ministry of reconciliation” (5:18). We are ambassadors (5:20). The gospel is not only what happened to us; it is what God now speaks through us: “Be reconciled to God.”

At the center stands the great exchange: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (5:21). Pause there until worship rises.