A New Creation

With the Easter season upon us, and Resurrection Sunday fast approaching, I pray we would fully recognize the significance of what happened that glorious day. Sharing some of my notes compiled as I spent time in the Word preparing for a series I taught on the New Creation last year. This great plan of God becomes more real to me with each passing year, and is what gives me the hope in spite of what I see happening in the world around me. Dear saints, let us spend time with Jesus this Eastertime and let His Word strengthen us and give us peace, hope and joy.

A NEW CREATION

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;
And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind."

- Isaiah 65:17

When Jesus walked out of that tomb on Easter morning, the new creation had fully begun. This Man, the last Adam, was a Life-giving spirit in bodily form.

Before the time came for Jesus to born of woman (Gal 4:4), He existed as the Word.

Ø  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning.” – John 1:1-2 NIV

That Word was made flesh (John 1:14) and walked among men. But He was not yet perfected into the new creation. This One had to be tested.

Ø  “For it was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through suffering.”

– Heb 2:190 RSV

“Pioneer” (Strong’s 747) – ‘primarily signifies one who takes a lead in, or provides the first occasion of anything.’

The root of archegos is arche (Strong’s 746) which translates as “beginning” or “corner”, or “first”, and ‘ago’ (Strong’s 71) meaning “bring” or “lead”

Jesus passed every test. From being an obedient son to Mary & Joseph (Luke 2:51-52), to resisting the temptation in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13), to His greatest test in the garden (Matt 26:36-46) and everything else in between (Heb 2:17-18, Heb 4:15). His resolve to obey God never wavered. Jesus “became obedient to death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil 2:8)

Yes, as Isaac was to Abraham, Jesus was God’s beloved Son, but He had come for a purpose: To become the Firstborn of the new creation by leading the Way to the Father through the Cross. He not only showed us the Way, but Himself became the Way (John 14:6).

Ø  “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” – John 14:6 NKJV

  

The prophetic Word concerning Jesus was spoken through the Psalmist –

Ø  “I will declare the decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.”

- Psalm 2:7-8 NKJV

Whereas others we’ll read about shortly had great selfish ambition to be as God (see Phil 2:6-7). The Logos (the Word) was simply content to dwell with God. Speaking I believe of Their relationship from eternity, Proverbs 8 says -

Ø  “Then I was constantly at His side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in His presence.”

- Prov 8:30 NIV

Rather it was God Himself who desired to exalt this One who would become His Son.

Ø  “Christ did not exalt Himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by Him who said to Him,

“Thou art My Son,
today I have begotten Thee.”

- Heb 5:5 RSV

Throughout His earthly ministry the Father honored Jesus, as He took every cue from His Father and walked the road that God had set before Him.

When Jesus came to John to be baptized, in order to “fulfill all righteousness” the Voice from Heaven declared - “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt 3:17)

Alone with Peter, James & John atop the mountain, when He revealed a taste of the glory to come, again spoke the Father - “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” (Matt 17:5)

The Father was pleased with Jesus. All that Jesus did was directed by God. His ambition was only to do the works of His Father and be about His business. (John 5:36, 14:10, Luke 2:49)

Ø  “Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I Am, and that I do nothing on My own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed Me. ²⁹ And the One who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do what is pleasing to Him.” – John 8:28-29 NRSV

When my own little boy gives me a hug for no reason, or tells me he loves me, and especially when he just wants to be with me, it truly touches my heart and gives me great pleasure to know he is my son.

Several times we find in the Gospels, Jesus going off alone to spend time with His Father.

Ø  “When He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.” – Matt 14:23 NKJV

Ø  “It came to pass in these days, that He went out into the mountain to pray; and He continued all night in prayer to God.” – Luke 6:12 ASV

Jesus’ concern was that God’s Name would be glorified (John 12:28). God’s desire was to give glory to His Son. (John 17:24). And Jesus wants us to share in that glory. (John 17:22)

These verses tell of a wonderful relationship between a Father & Son, yet the complete fulfillment of this relationship, with Jesus as the new creation, still needed to be accomplished. The ultimate test needed to take place. The sacrifice of all that He was and had to obtain everything God is and has.

Ø  “Although he was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered; ⁹ and being made perfect He became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”

– Heb 5:8-9 RSV

We too are called to lay down all that we are, to cast our crowns at His feet, as did Jesus, who saw what awaited Him, to receive the fullness of God’s desire for us. That is why the Scripture exhorts us to -

Ø  “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, ² looking to Jesus the Pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Heb 12:1-2 RSV

Again, the Pioneer, the Author, the leader, the first; indicating that there are more of this new Creation to follow.

The Gospels confirm that Jesus was the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. In Matthew we read - 

Ø  “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.”- Matt 12:18 NKJV

- declaring the Man Jesus to be the Servant, the Messiah about whom the prophets spoke.

Messiah means ‘anointed’, and so the word applies not only to Jesus, but many others in the OT, such as Saul, David, Solomon, and even the Persian king Cyrus.

(Heb. mashiah), in all the thirty-nine instances of its occurring in the Old Testament, is rendered by the LXX. "Christos." It means anointed. Thus priests ( Exodus 28:41 ; 40:15 ; Numbers 3:3 ), prophets ( 1 Kings 19:16 ), and kings        ( 1 Samuel 9:16 ; 16:3 ; 2 Sam 12:7 ) were anointed with oil, and so consecrated to their respective offices. The great Messiah is anointed "above his fellows" ( Psalms 45:7 ); i.e., he embraces in himself all the three offices.

- M.G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1897)

In Christ Jesus, we find the Prophet (Deut 18:15, John 4:19, 7:16, Mark 6:4), the Priest (Heb 4:14-15, 6:19-20, 8:1), and the King (Dan 7:13-14, Matt 28:18, 1Tim 6:15, Rev 15:3, 19:16).

We too, the body of Messiah, are being made “kings and priests” unto God, and over the peoples of the earth. This is the reward of the saints for using their talents, being faithful to God along life’s journey and enduring to the end through all trials. (Is 32:1, Luke 19:19, 2Tim 2:12 & Rev 20:4). May we be included among them, and hear the Master invite us to enter into His joy with the words -

Ø  “Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.” – Luke 19:17 RSV

The Bible picture of eternity is the saints reigning with Jesus over the saved nations of the earth, with “righteousness, peace & joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:15)

Ø  “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.” – Rev 5:10 NIV

Man was made to have dominion over all the works of God’s hands (Gen 1:28, 9:1-3). And indeed man shall (Dan 7:27, 1Cor 6:2-3, Rev 12:5).

Ø  “When I look at thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers,
    the moon and the stars which Thou hast established;
⁴ what is man that Thou art mindful of him,
    and the son of man that Thou dost care for him?

⁵ Yet Thou hast made him little less than God,
   and dost crown him with glory and honor.
⁶ Thou hast given him dominion (rule) over the works of Thy hands;
    Thou hast put all things under his feet.”

- Psalm 8:3-6 RSV

We find this same decree in the Letter to the Hebrews, which afterward states -

Ø  “For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. ⁹ But we see Jesus…”

– Heb 2:8-9a NKJV

In our current state & condition, even as blood-washed Christians, we cannot receive it. We must be transformed even as Jesus was before we can truly be given authority to rule and sit with the Son on His Throne. But we see Jesus! That is why the writer of Hebrews tells us to “fix our eyes upon Jesus” (Heb 12:2).

In the Book of Revelation, the saints are greeted with grace & peace -

Ø  “from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, ⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” – Rev 1:5-6 NAS

“Firstborn” tells us there are more to follow Him into Resurrection Life. “Ruler of Kings” says that He will not reign alone.

Ø  “Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God
from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
¹⁰ and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on earth.”- Rev 5:9-10 RSV

The charge that was given to the physical nation of Israel (which they failed to accomplish) is now given to the “Israel of God”, the Church -

Ø  “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. ⁶ And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”  – Ex 19:5-6 NKJV

Our calling is not to be saved, but to BE salvation for the peoples of the earth (Psalm 132:16, Is 32:1-2), to be the very leaves on the Tree of Life and brings healing to the nations (Eze 47:12, Rev 22:1-2). But first we must be transformed as Jesus was into the new creation.

Ø  “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” – Rom 8:29 NKJV

Subject only to God the Father (1Cor 15:20-28, Eph 1:19-23), Jesus is Lord over all and Head of the Church (Eph 5:23), the first Man qualified to fulfill the fiat given in Psalm 8:6.

Ø  “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

– Col 1:15-18 NKJV

Again we find that term “firstborn from the dead” (also in Rev 1:5), meaning there will be others who will rise from the grave to die no more.

Jesus, who was at the Father’s side from eternity, and who was born as a baby & walked as a physical man on the earth for 33 years, was born again a new creation when He walked out of that tomb on Easter morning.

Now the promise of God made to man in Psalm 8 could be fulfilled. The authority to rule over God’s creation and to have dominion over all the works of His hands was now given to a man; the Man Jesus, who is now fully human and fully divine, the True “Firstborn of creation.” (Col 1:15).

As the Logos, the Word of God, all things had been created by Him and for Him, yet He had to become a man as well to fully take charge over them.

It was only after His resurrection that Jesus met the disciples and declared - “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” (Matt 28:18). He was no longer “flesh and blood” which cannot inherit the Kingdom (1Cor 15:50), but rather He appeared “flesh and bone” (Luke 24:39) full of the Holy Spirit, the “fullness of the Deity bodily.” (Col 2:9)

Ø  “God raised Him from the dead and made Him sit at His right hand in the heavenly places, ²¹ far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come; ²² and He has put all things under His feet and has made Him the head over all things for the church, ²³ which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.” – Eph 1:20-23 RSV

He first had to reverse the curse brought upon us by the disobedience of Adam. He had to be perfected through temptations and suffering and be crucified. He had to be tested in all points like as we and endure through all these things without wavering in order to receive all that God desired to give Him.

Only then, after He had endured and remained faithful to the end and been raised to new Life, was He crowned. As Peter testified on the day of Pentecost - “let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36)

And now He calls us to likewise lay down our lives for Him, and endure through all temptation and tribulation.

Ø  "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." - Rev 3:21 NKJV

All the promises & rewards of Revelation chapters 2&3 especially and elsewhere, are to those who are obedient, who overcome, and who endure to the end.

Salvation from bondage to the spirit of the world is free: obtained by the blood of Jesus shed on the Cross of Calvary. But to enter into the fullness of the promises of God, we must be proven worthy. (Matt 10:38, Eph 4:1, Phil 1:27, Col 1:10, 1Thess 2:12, 2Thess 1:5&11, Rev 3:4). Indeed we have been given all we need to walk worthy of our calling, the Gospel, white robes of righteousness, the Kingdom, the Lord, and God Himself. (2Pet 1:2-4, John 15:26, John 16:13-15, Heb 13:20-21)

Where the first man Adam failed (when he disobeyed and disappointed God) Jesus would be tested. To see the fulfillment of the promises, He had to leave His place by the Father's side, to come to earth as a helpless babe, born into a poor family, and grow up in the face of persecution and temptation and ultimately great suffering, so that He could return to the right Hand of God as His rightful heir, and ruler over all creation, as a Man.

Ø  “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” - John 1:14

And by this, He made a way for us to come out from the shadow of Adam, and into His Light. To no longer be destined to fall short of God’s glory. To be born again as the sons and daughters of God that we were ultimately, and originally, meant to be.

Ø  “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him... To as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His Name."  - John 1:10-12

God's plan was that His Son would become one of us, that He might be tested, perfected, and found worthy to inherit all things. He came with the blessing of God, but indeed He came as a man. And like the first Adam, He came without a sin nature. He came to do the will of God, to fulfill the prophecies written about Him in the Law and the Prophets. He said, "I have come to do They will, O God, Yea, Thy Law is within My heart." (Psalm 40 Heb 10). He would example this resolve throughout His ministry even up to the Garden on the night of His greatest test, the eve of His crucifixion, where He declared 3 times - "Not My will, but Thine be done."

Jesus came to be that example for us to follow. Again, where Adam failed, Jesus would succeed. The first Adam broke the only commandment God had given Him. Jesus (the last Adam) would be obedient to the entirety of God's Eternal Law, even to death.

Having paved the Way, and becoming the “first to rise from the dead” (Acts 26:23), Jesus invites us to follow His example of self-denial and unwavering obedience to the will of God.

Ø  “Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, (that is where satan fell, and how he tempted Adam to fall) ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, He humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross. ⁹ Therefore God also highly exalted Him, and gave to Him the Name which is above every name; ¹⁰ that at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” - Phil 2:5-11WEB

Ø  “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. ²⁴ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.”

– Luke 9:23-24 NKJV

To be continued...