Christian, How Do You See Yourself And Others? As New In Christ?

“. . . if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:17)

My friend, if you have been a Christian for any length of time, you are likely familiar with this verse. In my experience, it is used to emphasize a position that through Jesus Christ, God has changed “your” life, and that His work to bring forward the newness of this life in “you” is ongoing. As a result, this truth should encourage you, and you should become more Christ-like over time. I have heard this verse applied as a reason for giving Christians some sense of hope that the condition of their lives will not stay as currently known—short on affection for God; characterized by unholy thoughts, attitudes and actions; hostage to mixed and tumultuous emotions; shallow faith; uncertainty; doubt; unfulfilled expectations—and it is used to direct Christians to believe that at some point they will eventually reach a level of Christian development or a form of discernable Christian maturity matching a notion of godly design and Christ-likeness. But, I ask you, step back from this customary interpretation (whether valid or not) and consider something different. Perhaps the apostle Paul is driving at something apart from the typical explanation, something where “you” or where “self” is not the primary object. To explore an alternate meaning, let us add the preceding verse.

“. . . from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Cor 5:16-17)

I find it interesting, first off, that when we join verse 16 to 17 the focus immediately comes off “us” or “self.” We are, in turn, actually told to see “others” and to see “Christ,” not ourselves; although, by extension, we could see ourselves, but we would only be permitted to see ourselves as “not according to the flesh.” What does this mean? It means that as Christians our life (its nature) and our relationships have fundamentally changed. It also means our method of knowing, interpreting and understanding life, has fundamentally changed. We now have a foundational and fixed contrast between “according to the flesh” and “in Christ.” We also see a second contrast which is between (a) Knowing according to the Flesh and (b) Knowing thus No Longer (which permits a new or a replacement Knowing, a (c) Knowing according to Christ, or a (d) Knowing according to the New Creation—the New Life).

The essence of the contrasts which we are here designating and discussing are the two categories of Being and of Knowing. We do this and make these divisions within a biblical framework. A person is either in Christ or not. One is either a new creation or not. We are addressing here the nature of one’s existence, one’s being. Similarly, either someone understands and interprets life according to the flesh or not. One knows and understands according to the new creation, according to new things or not. So, if one is in Christ, and is therefore a new creation, this person (we would expect) knows, understands and interprets not according to the flesh but according to Christ, according to the new creation. As Christians, it seems reasonable that someone should have an awareness of their being in Christ. It seems there should also be an understanding of their knowing about life according to Christ. Jesus Christ is both the ground of our existence and the basis for our understanding that existence or life; the life of our existence in Him, and the lives all others who also anchor their existence in Him. Our life is rooted in Christ. The understanding of our life is also rooted in Him.

If we carry the notions implied in verse 16 into verse 17, we may understand Paul as saying: “Now that I am (and, as all Christians are) truly living, and only living, in Christ, I should not regard any Christian I think of or encounter (including myself) through a lens that is primarily defined by or framed according to the characteristics of the flesh (a), just as I do not relate to or accurately understand Jesus Christ according to the flesh; that is, only from the perspective of his earthly existence. Jesus was resurrected. He is the firstborn from the dead. He redeemed. He is of Heaven. He is the God-Man. As Christians, we should relate to ourselves and any other Christian from our foundational identity in Christ Jesus and according to their identity in Christ Jesus; from the characteristics and principles of the new nature, and according to our mutual participation in that new nature (b-d). We should understand, first, that any true Christian is a new creation, and that any individual Christian, or any group of Christians, continually experiences old things passing away and things of the new creation emerging in their heart, mind, and relationships. (Do you, dear Christian, ever wonder if this could really be true and possible?) I should, as a Christian, realize that this new identity for me and others continues its presence and manifestation in every Christian’s life for the remainder of their life. (But, what if at times I am unable to discern this? Would it still be true?) Regardless of what age or stage of life we as Christians encounter, if we are Christians, we are in Christ, we are of the new creation, and we continue not knowing according to the flesh but knowing according to Christ.” Be advised, though, not all have this understanding.

Friend, much more could be said, but I leave further contemplation of seeing and relating to yourself and other Christians from “in Christ” and the “new creation,” and not “according to the flesh,” to your personal initiative. I must make a second point. It concerns Christian liberty in relationships.

“So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way . . . for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men. Therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.” (Ro 14:12-13, 17-19)

Do you sense the high road of heavenly relationships described by these verses? If these verses were a map of Christian relationship, where would you spot yourself? If we join the relational frame and understanding of 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 to the instruction of these passages, a larger relational picture for the Body of Christ develops. It is one of Christian liberty: the environment and the principle by which Christians relate to one another. It assumes that each Christian stands (knowingly) as an individual before God at all times, and that God alone is our judge. If true, you are not my judge, in the sense that you ultimately define and rule my life. I am not your judge. You are not, foundationally, accountable to me. There is Another. We both live before and unto God. He is our Creator and our Redeemer. This high and divine notion of “living in God’s presence continually” ought to be something we acknowledge and resign ourselves to at this moment and going forward. Instead of an atmosphere of dread, it is a position of comfort. But, not all have this understanding.

What you and I, my friend, are to be toward one another, as those in Christ and according to the new creation, are people who demonstrate godly wisdom accompanied by liberty and the fruitful manifestation of the Holy Spirit in our relationships. We are to live and express the new life in Christ, which we each should have evidence of and know ourselves, toward one another. You may notice that if I relate to you according to what I see you doing or not doing—eating and drinking, etc.—I am judging your life. This would be my lens for understanding you; but, if we are both in Christ, would I not, in fact, be misunderstanding you? If I relate to you according to what God by His Spirit is doing in me—righteousness, peace, Holy Spirit joy, liberty—I am excluding fleshly judgment and bringing His life to your life. By extension, you, as a Christian, would be doing the same toward me. Life into life; liberty and, I say, love. The new life and heavenly realities are the foundation for our lives here and also the basis for our understanding our lives now. This, I believe, is the kingdom way. Not judging according to the flesh. Both living and judging, or interpreting relationships, by the flesh, have been done away with by Jesus Christ. We no longer know, understand or experience, Him that way. Why would we ever persist in relating to those “in Christ” with us that way? Again, I say, not all have this understanding.

Imagine, if you will, what your closest Christian relationships would look like if sketched by the understanding above which stems from being “in Christ” and living according to the “new creation.” Christ: our Ground for life and our Basis for understanding our life. What could your Christian small group relationships look like and those of your church congregation? What would you see, envision, hear? What would people be doing, saying in private conversations before or after church? How would they look at each other? What would people’s goals, desires and passions be toward and what would they be doing with their time? How would you see others, and who would you be to others? What sort of relational dynamics would follow? Would you edify and be edified?

May God by His Spirit and word, by His people, instruct us and lead us.

Carl