THE NEW SPIRITUAL MAN

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

A new spiritual man is emerging in America. He does not confuse faith with politics; he does not require exclusively sports-based metaphors to gain a spiritual yard or two; he is struggling hard to be authentically Christian and countercultural in the workplace; and he understands the language of servant leadership in the home. This man is less confrontational than those who seek to effect change via condemnation and acrimony because he is learning to remember that Christ teaches us to overcome evil with good. “Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Ephesians 5:1-2)

If he is married, the new spiritual man knows that his wife is his partner, not one more subject for his domain. If anyone asks about the dynamics of power in his family, today’s disciple has learned to share the truth about relationships that are grounded in the security and freedom of God’s invitation to fullness [in Christ].

We live as witnesses to God’s amazing and redemptive love. Relationships experienced in the context of God’s social economy stand as a living testimony to our salvation, and to our independence from the warped values and skewed priorities of this broken and unsatisfying world. 

-- Derek Maul in “Get Real: A Spiritual Journey for Men”

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A NEW CREATION

"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17 NRSV)

Forrest Gump said many wonderful things, but “My mama always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on” has particular resonance regarding new beginnings.

We’ve all see those before and after pictures: the “before” picture of the forlorn, 90-pound weakling; the “after” picture of Mr. Universe. It looks so easy in all those advertisements for millions of products and procedures. At best, it’s a temporary fix on a used model.

“New…” means a completely new creation. The beauty of our “after” picture is glorious and eternal. Think of God creating order from chaos. And what was His opinion of His work? It was good. Through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, God has done the same with us. Perhaps this is the most wondrous part of the Father’s nature: He can make all things new! 

-- From “Hello God… It’s Me: 365 Day Devotional Journal”

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AN EXCLAMATION POINT

“Anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”  (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)

In order to begin a new chapter, you must end an old chapter. The way to do it is with a simple punctuation mark. You can put a period on the page. It gets the job done. But if you want to be more dramatic, you can use an exclamation point. It’s more decisive, more definitive. Then you turn the page and begin a new sentence, which begins a new paragraph, which begins a new chapter.

What’s true in grammar is true in life.

If you want to break a habit, stop a conflict, or just leave the past in the past, you need a punctuation mark. A comma won’t cut it. Neither will a semicolon. You need an exclamation point in your life! 

-- Mark Batterson in “All In: You Are One Decision Away from a Totally Different Life”

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RECONCILED AND RECONCILING

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in His flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”  (Ephesians 2:13-16 NIV)

When no tensions are confronted and overcome, because insiders or outsiders of a certain class or group meet happily among themselves, then the one new thing, peace, and the one new man created by Christ, are missing; then no faith, no church, no Christ, is found or confessed. For if the attribute "Christian" can be given sense from Ephesians 2, then it means reconciled and reconciling, triumphant over walls and removing the debris, showing solidarity with the "enemy" and promoting not one's own peace of mind but "our peace."... When this peace is deprived of its social, national, or economic dimensions, when it is distorted or emasculated so much that only "peace of mind" enjoyed by saintly individuals is left -- then Jesus Christ is being flatly denied. To propose, in the name of Christianity, neutrality or unconcern on questions of international, racial, or economic peace -- this amounts to using Christ's name in vain. 

-- Markus Barth (1915-1994) in “The Broken Wall” [1959] 

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