What Does The Bible Say About New Creation?

When God created man, He said it was very good. Everything was beautiful and pure. Then Adam and Eve sinned for the first time and later found themselves banished from the garden. Everything turned ugly and messy from then on. It created a rift between mankind and God, making man’s life miserable without God’s manifest presence. Even now, man feels that impossible distance (Isaiah 59:1-2, 12-13). Our inherited sin turned us against God and each other, and we’ve been piling up layer upon layer of mistakes that we could never fix no matter what we did. It’s like a stain that doesn’t come off no matter how much you wash it. If you’ve ever had that impossible stain in your life and you just want to start over, there’s good news. 

God had the ultimate solution; He sacrificed His own Son to fix our mess and remove that stain once and for all. Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins and rose from the grave to bring new life. As God created the universe out of chaos and void, He also brought about new life out of our chaos and void through Jesus. As God spoke light over the darkness before the world began, Jesus came down as the light of the world (John 8:12) to bring new hope to a fallen world. What’s amazing is that we are not just saved from eternal death, but we have also been given the opportunity to start over fresh as a new creation.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

(2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV)

That is what we call regeneration. When we believe in Jesus and accept what He did for us, the promise is that we become new creatures. We get the chance to have a new beginning, like newborn babies (John 3:1-5).

In Christ, we have new eyes. Just like the man born blind (John 9:1), we were born spiritually blind into this sinful world. We always walk in darkness, not knowing what’s really good for us, and we keep on stumbling upon values that cause eternal harm (John 3:19-20). But Jesus healed that blind man, and for the first time in his life, he was able to see through the new eyes that Jesus gave him (John 9). Just as when the blind man said, “I was blind but now I see,” as a new creation we begin to see new things—spiritual things that we’ve never seen before. And as we keep on reading and meditating on the Word of God, we begin to see as Jesus sees. Now we have a new focus. We’re not looking to the world anymore (2 Corinthians 4:18) but we are fixing our eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.).

In Christ, regeneration means we now have a new spiritual heart (Ezekiel 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:). We used to be stone-hearted when it came to the will of God (Romans 3:11). We just wanted to follow our hearts (desires), and in the end, we always ended up empty and heartbroken. As a new creature, God does not just repair our old and broken hearts but He replaces them with new ones that beat for Him and not the world. Though this heart is not yet perfectly obedient to God, it’s a heart that strives for and thrives with a new priority—to love God with everything (Mark 12:30). A heart submitted to God may fail at times, but it will always repent and beat for Him again.

In Christ, our minds also get renewed (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23). The mind is one of the hardest things to control. The head directs everything we say and do; if the mind is full of sin, then everything that we do is also full of sin. But a mind submitted to God (2 Corinthians 10:5) will have new wisdom to overcome sin. As Philippians 4:8 says:

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

(Philippians 4:8 KJV)

If we allow our minds to be transformed by God, we will be able to test and approve His good, pleasing, and perfect will for us (Romans 12:2).

Being a new creation, we also get to have new and lasting relationships (1 John 1:7). In a world where relationships are easily disposable, God calls all new creatures to be together in fellowship. Unlike the relationships we find in the world, which really stand on very shallow and volatile foundations based on feelings and selfish ideals, our spiritual family is called to be united despite overwhelming differences (1 Corinthians 1:10, Colossians 3:13, Galatians 6:2). The Christian life is not simply hard, it’s impossible. We need God and our spiritual family to thrive because this walk of faith is too challenging to be walked alone (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). In the church community, we find encouragement, correction, strength, and comfort (Hebrews 10:24-25). They say that “blood is thicker than water,” but in a spiritual family, even in a godly marriage, we have a bond that’s thicker and more real than human blood. We are held together by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 4:15-16).

As a new creation, we now look to a better and more hopeful future that’s eternal, not temporal. Everything in the world is very temporary and meaningless (Ecclesiastes 1:14). God takes us away from that and puts us in a life that looks beyond earthly life and into eternal heavenly life (John 3:16). We are looking at a future where there will be no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain (Revelations 21:4); a future where even our bodies will have their glorified form (1 Corinthians 15:42–53) and unhindered and unlimited worship of God (Revelations 4:8-11). Such a wonderful world that will be for God’s new creations!

In Christ, new creation means we have a new status. We’re no longer condemned sinners but children of God (John 1:12). We live in a performance-based world where you have to do something or be someone to be accepted. Jesus changed all that. We don’t have to do anything or be someone just to be accepted. We just have to come to Him as we are and receive forgiveness, salvation, and renewal (Acts 3:19). The moment we receive Christ, we become God’s children and co-heirs in Christ (Romans 8:14-17)

Finally, as a new creation, we also have a new mission—making Jesus famous. The Gospel is too important to be kept for ourselves and too big to be contained in our own story. We are called to preach and disciple the Gospel to the world. God’s plan is so big that it’s not just a local thing—it’s global. It would be selfish for us to not share such great news, which could change the whole world. We are called to go beyond ourselves.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [19] Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

(Matthew 28:18-20 KJV)

Indeed, new things happen as we pursue a life of being a new creation. So, we leave the old and defeated life behind and move forward to a new and victorious life in Christ.