Pastor’s Notes 2 Corinthians 5:17

2 Corinthians 5:17

Paul speaks of the practical application of the substitutionary death of Christ: “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” (2 Cor 5:15) Therefore, we ought not live unto ourselves, but unto Him who died for us.

The doctrine of the substitutionary death of Christ should make us aware of our need to serve Him. To continue to live for self in light of what Christ has done for us reveals us to be ungrateful. Given such facts, and considering there must be a change in attitude and life, we should come to the conclusion as Paul did: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Cor 5:17).  

Paul had previously lived for himself, he now lived for Christ and as he had lived in the flesh, he now lived in the Spirit. He had formerly viewed things from a carnal, humanistic point of view, but he now saw them in light of the cross. The Apostle Paul was a new creature. He had been born again. The old habits, attitudes, values, and ways of thinking were in the process of fading away and his new life in Christ was becoming prominent.

Likewise for us, just as the new green growth of spring pushes up beside the dead brown plant of last season, new life in Christ is a transformation from the inside out. All things become new.