Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
I continue my study of The Character of Jesus. For this morning, I focus on chapter 8: The Originality of Jesus where I highlighted in my Kindle version the following excerpts:
- Jesus is accused by many to speak with a "patchwork of quotations" and as a "repeater of wisdom taught by men before his day."
- "The fact is that God has never left himself without a witness. The Son of God has always been in the world. He is the light that lights every man who is born. From the beginning he has been giving men right ideas and right feelings and helping them to reach right conclusions and decisions. We ought, therefore, to expect nothing in Jesus' teaching absolutely unthought of before his incarnation. We ought to expect to find just what we do find, that everything he taught had been anticipated, and that all his cardinal ideas had existed in germ in the writings of holy men who at diverse times had been moved by the Holy Spirit. Jesus instead of suggesting ideas never before heard of, and expounding truths of which no man had ever conceived, picked up the ancient writings, declaring that they contain the word of the Almighty and that he had come to interpret their meaning and to fulfill what the poets and prophets had dreamed. He did not come to destroy the old ideas or the old truths. He came to fulfill."
- "It is at this point, then, that we are to look for the originality of Jesus. We shall not find it in his phrases or even in his conceptions, but rather in his emphasis and his manner of reading life and the world."
- "Men were reading the Scriptures, but they did not know which words to emphasize. Jesus understood. The result was that the Scripture became new....[T]he leaders of the Jewish church had forgotten the point of emphasis. Jesus knew. By emphasizing mercy instead of sacrifice he made religion new. Men had forgotten how to read the world. There were institutions and there were human beings, and the wisest men of Israel had forgotten which is most important, — an institution or a man. Jesus threw the emphasis on the individual soul and by so doing opened a new epoch in the history of the world."
- "[Jesus] lifted himself into a unique position and claimed for himself privileges and rights which he denied to all others. He claimed to be the light of the world, the bread of life, the water of life, the only good shepherd, the way, the truth, the life, the only mediator between God and man, the only one who knows deity completely and who can save the world from its sins. Here we strike something which is unique and in every sense original."
- "John, who knew him best, heard him saying, "Behold I make all things new." He could say this because he was new himself."
- "It may be that for some of you life has grown irksome and the world drab and commonplace....The days are threadbare and everything has lost its bloom. What will you do? This is the wise thing to do: Go to Jesus and give yourself afresh to him. Sink your life deeper into his life and catch his ways of seeing things and serving God. Take his standpoint, assume his attitude, catch his emphasis, drink in the accent of his voice, and undoubtedly he will do for you what he did for Saul of Tarsus, and what he has done and is doing still for many, — he will make all things new.
- "[Jesus] unifies human life and simplifies it and elevates it and transforms it and transfigures it, all because he is the Master and the Savior of the heart. "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold all things are become new."
Like Paul, each believer has his or her own testimony about how God and the Holy Spirit worked in his/her life to transform and change the heart - to make it more like Him. Chuck Colson is one such believer who was radically changed by the Gospel. IAmSecond.com chronicles many more such stories of heart and life change. Ezekiel 36:26 prophesied this when he delivered words from God: "I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And
I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart
of flesh." This is new birth or the doctrine of regeneration. John Piper speaks of this in a message posted here on DesiringGod.com. Believe in Jesus and watch Jesus make all things new again!
Comment and discuss this post.
My Prayer: Father God, You are an awesome God who has given me a heart of flesh and made all things new again in my life - thank You! I am not deserving of how You gave me faith, saved me, and transformed my heart and life. My sin is great and it continues...arrogance, harshness, etc. Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from such sin towards You. Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me. Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength. Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin. Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.
