Jesus Christ the New Creation

Some believers get confused over the idea that Jesus Christ was a new creation
because of the fact He never had a beginning, and is eternal. Since Jesus wasn't a
created being and has always been, how can He be considered the new creation?

The answer is that God redefined what creation really was. The original creation was spoken and shaped and formed by God into existence. While it was a reflection of Jesus Christ, it wasn't exact.

The difference between the old and new creation is the new creation is birthed from heaven, as evidenced time and again by the words of Jesus when He said He wasn't of this world but came from above.

So when Jesus told Nicodemus he had to be born from above if he wanted to see the
kingdom of God, it was a reference to a birth, not an improvement on the old creation or something added to it. It's also why Jesus told His disciples they were not of this world.

All of this is to say that a person truly born of God has the very life of Jesus Christ dwelling in them by the Holy Spirit. This life is the only way the kingdom of God can be seen and tasted.

As a matter of fact, that life begins to express itself in and through the person bearing that life, and it changes that person within and without.

Consequently, when Jesus Christ testified before Pontius Pilate that His kingdom wasn't of this world, it wasn't a reference of indifference to the visible world, but a reference to the source of the kingdom, which was God and heaven itself.

He didn't have his angels and followers fight because He had no interest in taking over a dead and condemned world, He could have done that at any time. What He was doing was introducing an entirely new creation, a totally new life form that was alien to everything in the world they knew.

That new creation was His very life, and while separate from mankind, does dwell within the spirits of those that believe Christ is the son of God. He who has the Son has this life within them.

What begins to happen with this new creation is it dwells in the innermost being of people, and transforms them into the very image of Jesus Christ. It happens through the work of the Cross and resurrection life being released as a result.

In the end, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as people commit their lives fully to Him and cooperate in His ultimate purpose, which is to have a people conformed to His very likeness.

This birthing and growing process of the new creation brings about the kingdom of God on earth in the same measure God's people obey and cooperate with Him.

The building of this kingdom is accomplished through the love of and obedience to God being shared among His people as they grow into a temple fit for the King.

Jesus Living in a People

What would followers of Christ look like that were committed to Him and one another fully on a daily basis? First there would have to be the vertical relationship of each believer with Jesus Christ, and from their that individual experience would flow over to one another to reveal who Jesus Christ is to one another and the world.

This is why throughout the New Testament the phrase one to another is used so much. It was simply a part of who the people of Jesus Christ were. It was impossible not to share life together because of the very real experience they had with Christ Himself, which is impossible to hold in. That is part of what it means when the scriptures say out of our innermost beings will flow rivers of living water. Water flows, and no matter what is in its way it finds a way around it to reach its destination.

So when Jesus Christ is birthed within individuals, and those individuals die to themselves, then His life predominates and reaches out to others with that same life within them. In other words, fellowship based upon Christ begins to emerge, which is what the people of God were created for.

In this article I'm not going to get into all the endless possibilities that can come forth from that experience, just that it is a major part of what the followers of Jesus Christ are all meant to experience. We need to first see that before anything else as far as being part of something larger than our individuality.

To truly give one's life to Christ is an act of dying to self. And if we die to ourselves, it'll truly bring forth many more brothers and sisters to be "one to another."

Having said that, Jesus isn't just bringing a people together to form a social club or only enjoy hanging out together with no purpose. After all, there is an eternal purpose, and the final aspect of that purpose of God is that we are conformed to the image of His son, Jesus Christ. It is nothing less than that, and it is what the Holy Spirit within us lives and works for and towards relentlessly.

The major means of achieving that end, besides the Spirit within those who are truly born from above, is for the overflow of that Spirit to interact with those people who are committed to one another in Christ on a daily basis.

That means we'll respond to a living situation within people who are living out a life for Christ. So if someone is in need, the people of God who have the means will helps supply that for them; if there are people that are down, those who are encouragers will reach out and comfort and lift them up; for those struggling with sin, someone in the body will challenge them, and maybe rebuke them in order to get them back on the right path. Again, I don't want to attempt to cover the potentially thousands of interactions that could happen in a day or two with those who share the life of Christ together, as it would take volumes of books and thousands of articles just to unveil small portions of those things if they could even be found out and known.

The point is that Jesus Christ living in us pushes and draws us to one another in a way that an endless amount of human action towards and with one another happens in response to living situations we encounter individually and together daily.

It is those interactions that work to build us up into the full knowledge of Christ and solidifies our lives into becoming a temple for the Lord to fill; a home He is welcome in.

This is why the warped and pathetic idea that a building, and edifice, is a "church" is such a false and anemic idea. It hinders the work of God rather than helps it, and gets in the way of that which Christ really has called us to be and do.

Anything that gets in the way of daily life together in Christ needs to be removed so Christ can have His way with us. The first step is to die to ourselves, and from there any practical element that could be hindering the purpose of Jesus Christ can be dealt with.

If we only deal with the outward, we really never get to the core of what it is that caused Christianity to become what it is today, which is nothing like we see in the Holy Scriptures.

So to meet and homes or live close together will mean nothing if there is not a deep work of the cross in our lives and a response to the life of Christ in one another.

That means if we aren't changing into the image of Christ, we are only moving the chairs on the deck of the Titanic while is sinks into the ocean.

Many people have taken steps to leave the institutional and bureaucratic "church," only to have nothing in their lives change in regard to Jesus Christ. It's impossible to be close with one another and not have an influence in one another's lives if we're committed to the end result of the eternal purpose of God to be conformed to the image of Christ.

As a matter of fact we'll quietly grown within when we see each other missing the mark of Jesus Christ, and we'll pray and seek God for the hearts of one another to open to that to happen, while also taking the steps to share with one another those things that need to be changed.

We can't make it in Christ alone; we need one another. How can we grow into the very likeness of the man Jesus Christ if we aren't receiving the various aspects of Him as found in His body? The answer is - we can't. All of us sharing life together are what makes that a possibility. Anything short of that will hinder and frustrate the purpose of God of having a people that express His very person hood (not His deity which is separate from us).

Jesus Christ is seeking a people willing to walk this walk and not just intellectually agree with it. Doing it is doing it. Talking about or agreeing with it isn't doing it.

God's Alternative Humanity

When the true followers of Jesus Christ grasp the importance and reality that we are not a people of this world, as Jesus testified to concerning Himself and His disciples, it will not only be personally earth-shattering to us, but it will truly change the world as we know it.

It needs to be understood that unregenerate humanity on this planet are not children of God, they are the children of the enemy of God, and thus the imprint of the personality and evil of Satan is upon and within them.

This is true of the entirety of the human race, and unless and until a person is born again from above, that will always remain the same.

Even when we're born again of the Spirit of God, that imprint doesn't immediately leave, but rather has to be cleansed out of us by the working of the cross of Jesus Christ in order that what happened to us in principle is worked out within us in reality.

In other words, we may be saved, but true salvation will start to grow and bear the image of Jesus Christ in the life of a person, and that radical transformation starts to reveal another world that exists outside of this one which is the only one most people are aware of.

That means that Jesus Christ represents an entirely different humanity, a different species that has absolutely nothing to do with the humanity that has inhabited planet earth from the time that Adam and Eve sinned and brought into the world a foreign life form that was the enemy of God almighty and Jesus Christ. Consequently, Satan was invited to impress and imprint his personality and life upon and within man, which produced something that was never in the heart and mind of God when He created man. In the Holy Scriptures this is called the flesh, which is a humanity that has been judged and cast aside by God unless they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.

The point is that those that are born from above, a phrase that is a more accurate and complete rendering of the phrase "born again," which is mostly used by believers to describe regeneration, are in fact a new humanity; a humanity envisioned by Jesus Christ when He created, a humanity that is called to bear the very image of Christ and present it to the visible creation, as well as the invisible creation.

This new humanity is nothing other than the man Jesus Christ. He comes and indwell those that place their trust or faith in Him, and that results in the Spirit of God coming down from heaven and taking up residence in the Spirit of man. From that innermost place He then begins the work of transforming that man into the image of Jesus Christ. Fellowship between people whom have went though the same process and experience is what is the new, corporate humanity.

Not only is this new or alternative humanity called to bear the image of Jesus Christ, but also to share in His authority which He as given us to take dominion over the earth, as well as spiritual wickedness in high places.

It's tempting to get into the possibilities this offers us who dwell on the earth, but it's more important to take these concepts and realities and dwell upon them for awhile. Breath in the reality that if you're a true child of God in Christ, you are no longer of this world, and your life will reflect that in all that you are and do.

All of that is vital and crucial, but there are even more fantastic possibilities that emerge from this amazing truth.

Think of some questions. What happens on this earth if a people embrace the perfect humanity and authority of Jesus Christ and start living it out on this earth? What will begin to appear on this earth as a result? What will it cost those willing to walk this path corporately? Individually? Where will this path lead to? What effect will it have on those outside the faith?

We could go on and on. The purpose of the questions is to stir up your thoughts as to how Jesus Christ can take root in our hearts and lives in such a way that it is inevitable that His love begins to spread out in the midst of ourselves as we fellowship daily together, as well as increasingly overcome the works of the devil in the lives of the community around us.

It is impossible for who Jesus Christ is to remain hidden and anemic on this earth, no matter what some Christians are taught or believe. Christ cannot but be who He is. It doesn't matter whether He's in heaven or on the earth, who He is is the same in both environments. That's why when Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus replied by saying if he had seen Him he has in fact seen the Father. There was no difference between the invisible Father and the expression of Jesus Christ as a man on the earth. That has not changed after His resurrection and ascension, as the Holy Spirit lives to shape and form Him in the new humanity that has embraced and is taking on His nature and authority.

Whether it is Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father in heaven, or Jesus Christ taking up residence in a people on the earth for a place to dwell and be welcome, He never changes, and it's impossible to separate what He is doing in heaven from what He is doing on earth in a people, as He is always the same and never changes.

That means He must remain true to all that He is, and for us that implies unlimited possibilities when taking into consideration His life and authority being lived in and expressed out from a people who have gladly received Him as their own.

None of this is possible without the deep working of the cross in our individual and corporate lives, as only when we are broken by Him is His life able to be lived within and change us into His image, while in the same measure is then able to be displayed to the world in its beauty and authority. That is His humanity living in us.

That is not a humanity of this world, even though we may outwardly look like those in this world.
Jesus Christ came as a man, although He of course never sinned or had anything of Satan in Him, as He testified to near the end of His life on this earth as a man. You couldn't see the invisible life of the Father, but that life indwelt Jesus to the point where He could do nothing without His Father.

So while He looked the same as the rest of us, He was a totally different humanity completely other than that which dwelt and continues to dwell on the earth. So are those who are truly born from above, who are called to be the same as He is in His humanity (not in His being God).

I'll finish off this article with one thought. All of this will mean for those that are willing to believe and embrace this, that there will be a conflict, because these two humanities are enemies of one another, and the very fact that Jesus Christ is dwelling within us makes us a heavenly people; a people not living their lives from the source people of this world do.

There can be no mingling or mixture of the two separate races of man, as they are not only diametrically opposed, but live their lives from two entities that are opposites and enemies of one another. There can be no quarter given by the people of God as a result, and no acceptance of the life lived by those not born again from above.

Most importantly, we are to satisfy the heart of Jesus Christ by becoming the people He created us to be, while at the same time showing the world there is another life to live from, and another totally different way to live.

The time is almost here when this message will resonate with a growing number of believers, as we begin to understand this world operates from principles that are opposite to who Jesus is, and as we change and adapt, showing forth the man Jesus Christ corporately, it will not only bring us into a blessed fellowship and way of life that is full and satisfying, but also will satisfy the heart of Jesus Christ who created us for this very purpose.

The Church and Christianity without Christ

There is an almost unbelievable and incredible growing compromise within "Christianity" of allowing unbelievers to be accepted in the Churches as if they're Christians in order to fill up pews with people for the purpose of collecting offerings to feed the religious machine.

Sound cynical? Not at all. It's simply a fact. Even the hideous and offensive practice of homosexuality is accepted by many well-known "preachers." Whatever happened to people visiting the people of God and falling on their faces, acknowledging God was in them?

Now the churches and pastors are bowing and scraping before the foul practitioners of sin in order to curry favor with them, while appearing to be showing the love of Jesus towards them.

But how does showing the love of Jesus via compromise, which makes people feel good and comfortable in their sin, actually become the love of Jesus.

It's a fake love, not one from Christ, which demands and orders that men everywhere should repent because the kingdom of God has arrived in the person of Jesus Christ.

This is why so many alleged conversions aren't conversions at all. Some leading evangelists have even admitted that many that come up in response to a summons to pray the "sinners prayer," are really at the stage of seeking rather than making a true decision for Christ.

When you really think of it, if the numbers proffered by churches and organizations were to be believed, the world would probably have been saved a couple of times over; at least those outside of Christ in America and other parts of the West.

There is no way that the true church of Jesus Christ should ever allow an unbeliever to be considered part of the people of God until there is true repentance and regeneration. Until there is, they must remain and be considered as visitors until that transformation occurs. Jesus said they must be born again, or born from above. That's a total change of life for those truly experiencing. In fact, it's a total change into a new humanity, as the scriptures teach us.

The idea that Christians and non-Christians can live life together in a pseudo fellowship is an abomination. There is absolutely no connection point between those in the world and those of us not of this world. It's impossible to bridge the gap unless someone crosses the line into the person of Jesus Christ and is born again.

Of course most of you that think Christianity and the church of Jesus Christ is something you attend probably can't even relate to what I'm talking about here.

You're thinking something like "what's wrong with someone visiting the church?" by which you mean the building or edifice you show up on Sunday to sit and listen to some member of the "clergy" talk to you.

But since the Church is in reality a sharing of everyday life with Christ together on a daily basis, the thought of someone other than those of the faith participating makes absolutely no sense at all to us living in that reality.

What's especially terrible about is in concerning young people that profess Christ in institutional Christianity, as they assume because people are accepted as part of the Church that they're Christians, and all sorts of problems arise because of this unbiblical blending of young believers and non-believers as if there was no difference.

It's a disaster, and yet many concerned and good men of God can't see what their practices have led to for the people of God.

Yet because they have their buildings, land and ministries to prop up, they allow unbelievers in as if they believers, not protecting the flock from wolves in sheep's clothing.

So what is a real Christian? It's only one thing, as mentioned earlier: a person truly born of the Spirit and whom has repented and accepted Jesus Christ by real faith as their Savior.

We need to throw away the idea that because someone repeated a prayer after someone that they are in fact saved. Repetition of words means absolutely nothing in regard to real salvation unless it's accompanied by faith. Period!

How do we know if someone is truly saved then? Within the context of the existing institutional church, it's almost impossible. You must see and interact with people on a daily basis to see the type of fruit in their lives. You can't do that in an attendance-based assembly. And you can't do it by the secondary means of cell groups or other attempts to make the church more relational and fellowship related.

Only walking, sharing and interacting with one another on a consistent basis allows for the recognizing and living out of the true Christian life. The scriptures are filled with this practice and reality, while buildings called "churches" don't exist in the Holy Scriptures, and neither do what are identified as pastors in our modern church practices.

Without getting too much into that in this post, the point is we must be sure people are truly born again from above, as anything less than that means they are still poised to an eternity without Christ, to be tormented forever and ever for rejecting Him.

For them that's the ultimate failure and disaster, as it is for the people of Jesus Christ, who aren't to have fellowship with those who aren't believers. As a matter of fact, it's impossible to have fellowship with non-Christians, as it is based upon the common connection we all have with Jesus Christ.

This isn't to say we shouldn't allow those who are truly seeking Christ into our meetings when we have them, but we must recognize them for what they are at this time: unbelievers.

The point is we must be sure they truly see Jesus Christ as the only way to getting their sins forgiven and getting right with God, as well as effectively and accurately letting them know that they must repent and believe, not just repeat a predetermined set of words that may or may not be mixed with faith.

Another thing to consider is our spirit will testify with another spirit that they are also sons of God. I know that's a little tricky because of our emotions and tendency to believe what people say, but we must get beyond the soul realm and allow the Spirit of God within us to confirm that we are interacting with a fellow citizen of Heaven.

Again, we have to be mature in this, not allowing the idea that we are judging someone deter us from seeking God about these matters.

The Scriptures tell us that those are spiritual will indeed judge all things, and that applies to those making a profession of faith.

In the end, the church of Jesus Christ is meant to only have believers in it, and from the point of view of Christ, that is all that is in it. To treat others as if they're part of the brethren is an injustice to them, making them feel comfortable in their sin and non-acceptance of Christ, and it's terrible for new and weak believers, who don't have the capabilities to discern the difference.

It doesn't matter what anyone says or has done, we will know them by their fruits, and the fruits of modern-day evangelism is among the worst in history, largely because of the failed methodology of pressuring people to repeat a prayer as if that's the means of salvation.

This isn't much different than the idea children are saved because they're sprinkled with water.

What is inevitably asked at this point is if this is creating expectations too high for anyone to meet. The answer is absolutely not.

I'm not talking about people becoming perfect the moment after salvation or soon after, but of the reality they know within themselves that they have been forgiven of sins by the implementation of the new birth by the Holy Spirit which indwells every new believer.

While they will still sin and make mistakes, there is no question as to the validity of their new birth because they will have taken a stand against the world, the devil, and their very own selves.

They may not know how to express this reality, but their lives will reflect that, as well as a sincere hunger for Jesus Christ and being changed into His image.

Salvation is an experience, on that no one could ever forget. Some children born into Christian families experience this because of the presence of Jesus Christ abiding in the home throughout their young lives, and so may not remember a huge moment, but they will have at one time placed their faith in Jesus Christ.

I say this because some real Christians will at times express the idea that they can't remember when they haven't believed. The point is some time in their younger lives they did place their faith in Jesus, and they simply can't remember the exact moment because of their youth.

Either way, we still will know them by their fruit, and we should, in a kind manner, talk to people not showing the fruits of their alleged faith and ask them to reconsider their position.

This must be done in the right way and timing, but it definitely needs to be done when considering someone's eternal future is at stakes, as the visible church's is.

If we allow non-Christians to be part of our lives, we aren't living in the way Jesus Christ has commanded us to as the Church.

This is why Paul said those that are "worldly" and are allowed to be part of the people of God should be removed from fellowship if it is found their lives do not reflect a born again experience.

Again, I'm not talking about perfection, but willingness to receive input and correction in order to live a more godly live.

Those that refuse to respond over a period of time, must be considered suspect as to being truly saved.

Exceptions to this are those who are Christians but may get involved with sin that must be dealt with in an immediate manner. But even here if they repent, they can remain in the assembly of believers. For those that don't they must be disfellowshipped so others may have a deep respect for who Jesus Christ is, and also so the one being sent away will be ashamed and seek to enter back into fellowship with God's people through true repentance.

Not all those who proclaim they are Christians are Christians. I would even say the majority who say they've made a decision for Christ have only repeated a sinner's prayer and from that act assume they have been born again.

Of course it doesn't help that you have someone on a stage or platform confirming that assumption.

This is the only answer to why the so-called church has worst statistics concerning marriage than the world has: it has become the world by allowing mixture, based upon false conversions.

As for those of us outside the institutional church, we must not fall into that error. And because we live life daily with one another, it's much easier to spot the unrepentant and those not living the life we've been called to live.

Calling them alongside of us, we can then lovingly point out these things and help them see their need for Christ; whether for salvation or for a change of heart concerning matters they need to conform to Christ in.

People who have had a real experience with Jesus Christ will be broken from the revelation they are sinners before God, and only by turning from their lifestyle and world, while relying upon Jesus Christ to make them right with God.

It isn't something they've done, but the gift of eternal life from Jesus Christ that makes them whole and saved. It's not a method or thought pattern, but a real and actual experience they will never forget.

Thus brokenness is a real fruit of true repentance and regeneration. Those that have been born from above will know they are not, and can no longer be the same person they were before.