New Creation - Chambers, Oswald
Wherefore if any man is in christ, he is a new creature [there is a new creation, rv mg]. 2 corinthians 5:17 all gods direct acts are creative. Forsyth
The creation performed by god is what the apostle paul calls ita new creation; it is not the bringing out of something already there, but the creating of something which was never there before, an entirely new creation, as unlike anything born in a man by nature as jesus christ is unlike anything produced by the human race throughout its history.
1. Invasion
My little children, of whom i am again in travail until christ be formed in you . . . (galatians 4:19 rv) we all become christians by a miracle, not by a ver- dict and not by an inference, but by a decision and an obedience.
Forsyth
It is impossible for a man to become a christian by natural reasoning effort, which is simply the work- ing of his own mind; a man becomes a christian by there being wrought in him a new creation, and that new creation is the forming of the son of god in him. The old things are passed away; behold, they are become new (rv ): god does not discard the old, he creates that in the old which makes the old and the new one. By old things paul means much more than the old man, he means everything that was our life as natural men before we were re-created in spirit by christ; it involves a radical alteration until the whole life is christ-centred and you cant be roused to any other interest. Only one thing brings a man there, and that is the deliberate faith in god which will enable him to perform the new creation by means of the redemption of jesus.
The holy ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most high shall overshadow thee: wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, the son of god (luke 1:35 rv ). What hap- pened to mary, the mother of our lord, historically in the conception of the son of god has its counterpart in what takes place in every born-again soul. Mary represents the natural individual life which must be sacrificed in order that it may be transfigured into an expression of the real life of the son of god. The indi- vidual life is the husk of the personal life, and because of the forming of the son of god in me, the sword must go through it. (yea and a sword shall pierce through thine own soul, [luke 2:35 rv ]). It is the natural virtues that battle, not sin as we think of sin, but pride, egotism, my temperament, my affinities; all that has to have the sword run clean through it merci- lessly by god, and if i stick to my natural inheritance the sword must go through me. The new creation is based on the new man in christ (see ephesians 4:24), not on the natural gifts of the first adam. The natural life is not obliterated, when i come to god in the abandon of faith he creates supernaturally on the basis of his own nature, and the spirit of god makes me see to it that my natural life is lived in accordance with the new life formed in me. Our lord can never be spoken of in terms of the natural virtues, they dont apply to him, and they dont apply to the new man in christ; all that is taken knowledge of in those pos- sessed by christ is that they have been with jesus, the dominating personality that tells is that of the son of god, it is his life that is being manifested.
2. Incorporation
. . . Christ in you, the hope of glory. (colossians 1:27) .
. . As god was in Christ historically, so he is in me now by the miracle of new birth. As god was manifest in Christ, so he is manifest in Christ in me, which is the hope of glory, being the ultimate outer external manifestation of that inner hidden miracle.
Forsyth
Christ in me means ultimately me altogether in Christ. That is, Christ in me means that i am willing to let Christ grow in me. The obverse side of Christ in me is me in Christ; it is an incorporation. That ye may be strengthened with power through his spirit in the inward man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith . . . (Ephesians 3:1617 rv )how much of me is there? The only thing of me is the inward man, all the rest is Christ. If my inward man is possessed and strengthened by the spirit it means not only am i in union with Christ, but i am identical with Christ. Our lord was not one with his father by a union: the father and the son were identical. I and my father are one, said Jesus. The apostle Paul mentions this identical oneness when he says, i live; and yet no longer i, but Christ liveth in me (RV ). What sounds mystical and impractical to anyone not born again is a glorious reality to the saint.
Our lord always speaks in terms of personality, never of individuality, and his conception of personality is his own oneness with the father. The characteristic of my natural individual life is the opposite, it
Is all independence and pride, not only independent naturally, but independent of god. Christ never triumphs in my moral triumphs because they exalt that which is my inheritance by nature that, god can only bless through sacrifice and death. The corrupting of the natural virtues is painful because it is a blow at the deepest inheritance of the natural man. The evidence of the new creation in me is that i submit to god more and more easily, surrender to him more and more readily. For it is god which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure (philippians 2:13). God does the supernatural re-creating and the setting free of the will, i have to do the doing. It is not that i get a new point of view you can get a new point of view through study, but it is the same you; when Jesus Christ gets possession of me it is another me; you may search for the old me, but you cannot find it. It is not that i consecrate my natural individual life to god, i immolate it, offer it up to god. The real burnt offering god requires is a living sacrifice, the giving back to god the best he has given me that it might be his and mine for ever.
All this is involved in becoming a christian by a miracle. If only i could understand it all, it would make me a christian you can only be made a christian by a miracle, and you can stop at any point you like. I don’t intend to go through this and you dont need to; but it will be a terrific awakening when you see Jesus and realise that you prevented his getting glory in your life.
And ye are christs; and christ is gods. (1 corinthi- ans 3:23)
Christ is gods in this connection is the return back to the original with that which the original never had. The original had the intention; the return back of Christ to god is the expression of the intention, and the expression of the intention is sinless humanity. That miraculous purpose is enacted in every individual saints life who is obedient to god because what is true of the universal is true of the particular.
Forsyth
When a man follows up by obedience the performing of the new creation in him, he enters into identification with Christ. Identification is not experienceable; it is infinitely more fundamental than experience. We enter into identification by the door of obedience, but the oneness is a revelation. Every spirit which confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of god confess, that is, say with every corpuscle of your blood that Christ is come in your flesh and is being manifested. And every spirit which confesseth not Jesus is not of god: and this is that spirit of antichrist . . . (1 john 4:23 RV). We all have that in us which will connect us with the spirit of antichrist if we do not go through identification with jesus in his death so that the life we now live proves that old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. The miracle of becoming a christian through the redemption is that the spirit of god bears us into his kingdom, and then these things begin to be unveiled to us for our instruction; the danger is lest we refuse to press on unto full growth (RV mg).
The new creation is not something you can hold in your hand and say, what a wonderful thing god has done for me; the one indelible sign of the new creation is my peace. It is never safe to trust in manifestations and experiences; where the miracle of the new creation touches the shores of our individual lives it is always on the line of my peace i give unto you. That is the meaning of, and all things are of god, who hath reconciled us to him- self by Jesus Christ.