New creation is the biblical term for
the radical transformation that God brings
both to individual believers
and, ultimately, to the entire created order.
In Christ,
the old has passed away
and the new has come.
This truth applies
first to the believer’s spiritual rebirth
and finally to the renewal of the heavens and the earth.
The Apostle Paul declares:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
This means:
Other passages emphasize the same reality: the believer has put on the new self (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10) and is being renewed after the image of the Creator.
Scripture also points forward to a future, cosmic new creation:
In this final new creation, God will dwell with His people, death and sorrow will be no more, and all things will be made new (Revelation 21:3-5).
The personal new creation of the believer is the beginning and guarantee of the final cosmic renewal. The same God who makes individuals new in Christ will one day make all things new. The Spirit’s present work of transformation is a foretaste of the full redemption of creation itself (Romans 8:18-23).
New creation is one of the most hope-filled truths in Scripture. For the individual, it means that in Christ the past no longer defines the present or the future. For the world, it means that the brokenness, decay, and death of the present age will not have the last word. God is making all things new, and those who are in Christ already participate in that new reality even as they wait for its full consummation.
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