Weblog Entry - 09/18/2006: Volume 90 - The New Creation - Part II by Milt Rodriguez

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09/18/2006: Volume 90 - The New Creation - Part II by Milt Rodriguez

The New Creation - Part II

"For neither is circumcision anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creation is what matters." Gal. 6:15
The Old and the New
The letter to the Galatians makes it very clear that there is an old creation and a new creation. There is an "old man" and a "new man." The old creation is the old man, the old race, his name is Adam. The new creation is the new man, the new race, his name is Christ. These two are clearly contrasted in I Cor. 15: 45 - 47.
In that passage of scripture, Adam is called the first man. But Christ is called two things: the last Adam (verse 45), and the second man (verse 47).
The Last Adam
Christ is referred to by Paul as the last Adam because he was the last man in Adam's race. As far as God is concerned, on the cross the race of Adam was done away with.
Now we need to understand that if we are attempting to see things from God's viewpoint, He is not limited by time and space. In fact, He is eternal, which means that He lives outside of time and space. From His viewpoint, when Christ was crucified, the whole race of Adam was also crucified. The "old man" was done away with (see Rom. 6:6) through the crucifixion. This makes Christ the "last Adam or the last person in Adam's race.
The Second Man
Christ is also called the second man because He is the first of an all new race. He is called the Firstborn from the dead (Col 1:18) because He was the first one to be raised in the resurrection. The resurrection of Christ was the beginning of the new creation, at least as far as time and space is concerned. But actually, the new creation is older than the old creation! Or perhaps you can't call it "old" at all since time had nothing to do with it.
Before the Foundation of the World
The new creation was established before there was anything; in eternity past. There is a phrase that the scriptures use to explain when something happened before God created. This phrase is: "before the foundation of the world." Whenever you see this phrase in scripture, it is referring to something that happened before time and space; before there was anything.
"Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love . . ." Eph. 1:4
The word "chose" in this verse is literally translated as "marked-off," hand picked or selected. God established the new creation by choosing you and I inside of Christ before there was anything! This should definitely give you a sense of destiny and purpose!
So this is why I say that the new creation actually came before the old creation. However, there was a point in time when the new creation came forth. That point was in the resurrection of your Lord! This is why He is called "the second man," because He started a second race of humanity. This second humanity is called the new creation or the new man.
A Complete Person
The revelation of this new humanity was especially given to the apostle Paul. He told the Colossians the he was called to be a steward of a mystery (Col 1:26, 27). He said that this mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory. This is the essence of the new humanity. This is a new race with Christ at the heart and center of everything. In this new man, He is the All in all (Col. 3:10, 11).
What we need to realize is that the new man is actually a new Person. A Complete Person. He is a Person who has a single membered Head and a many membered Body. This is a Corporate Person. When Jesus Christ rose from the dead, He was part of the birth of a whole new humanity. He is the Head and His Church is the Body. But they are one. There is only one Person! This Person is Christ (1 Cor. 12:12).
This is why He is called "the Firstborn among many brothers" (Rom. 8:29). It's not that He was born (in resurrection) and then we were born as a separate event. We were all born at the same time; in His resurrection! How is a child born into this world? Does not the head come out first and then the body? The head and body make up one complete person. So is the New Man. This is the New Creation.
The Importance of the New Creation
Paul tells us that this new creation is all that matters now. Being circumcised doesn't matter. Not being circumcised doesn't matter. Being religious doesn't matter. Being unreligious doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what your doctrines are, or what your religious background is. It doesn't matter if you are Catholic, Protestant, Pentecostal, or Evangelical. It doesn't matter if you are white, black, Hispanic, or Asian. It doesn't matter if you sit, stand, or jump to worship God.
The only thing that now matters in this universe is the new creation.
And in that New Man Christ is All in all!
Written by Milt Rodriguez