The Apostle Paul and New Creation
The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture
Semi-continuous: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; Psalm 20; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17; Mark 4:26-34
Complementary: Ezekiel 17:22-24; Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17; Mark 4:26-34
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Prayer
Mighty God, to you belong the mysteries of the universe. You transform shepherds into kings, the smallest seeds into magnificent trees, and hardened hearts into loving ones. Bless us with your life-giving Spirit, re-create us in your image, and shape us to your purposes, through Jesus Christ. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)
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Reflection
So we are always confident, even though we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord— for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we do have confidence, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to him. For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive due recompense for actions done in the body, whether good or evil.
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people, but we ourselves are well known to God, and I hope that we are also well known to your consciences. We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you an opportunity to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast in outward appearance and not in the heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for the one who for their sake died and was raised.
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we no longer know him in that way. So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! (2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17).
The Apostle Paul’s understanding of the new creation is a central theme in his theology, particularly articulated in his letters to the Corinthians and Galatians. Here are some key aspects of Paul’s concept of the new creation:
1. Transformation through Christ
Paul teaches that believers become a new creation through their faith in Jesus Christ. This transformation signifies a radical change in one’s identity and life, leaving behind the old ways and embracing a new life in Christ. This is prominently expressed in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2. Reconciliation with God
The new creation involves reconciliation with God through Christ. This reconciliation is not just a personal renewal but a cosmic one, where all of creation is being redeemed and restored. Paul emphasizes this in 2 Corinthians 5:18-19:
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
3. Unity in Christ
In the new creation, distinctions that previously divided people are overcome in Christ. Paul discusses this in Galatians 3:28:
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
4. Living by the Spirit
The new creation is marked by living according to the Spirit rather than the flesh. This life in the Spirit produces new ethical behavior and fruits of the Spirit, as Paul describes in Galatians 5:22-23:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
5. Eschatological Hope
Paul views the new creation with an eschatological perspective, anticipating the ultimate fulfillment of God’s redemptive work. This hope is not only for individual believers but for the entire creation. In Romans 8:19-21, Paul writes:
For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
Summary
Paul’s understanding of the new creation encompasses a profound transformation of identity and life through Christ, reconciliation with God, unity among believers, a life led by the Spirit, and an eschatological hope for the ultimate redemption and renewal of all creation. This new creation is both a present reality for believers and a future hope that will be fully realized in God's ultimate plan.
PRAYER: Creating God, your reign of love makes all things new. Plant seeds of confidence and gladness in our hearts, so that, trusting your word, we may live no longer for ourselves but for him who died and was raised for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Revised Common Lectionary)
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