2 Corinthians 5:11

2 Corinthians 5:11–6:13

9/21/2012

Click here to read today's passage on Bible Gateway.

New Creation
Just a short one today about new life and what it means:

"Paul proclaimed a whole new creation in Christ. Too often this verse has been individualized so that the main point is blurred. Many preach, “If anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation.” While this is true, Paul is saying much more. Not only are believers changed from within (mysterious new creations in Christ), but a whole new order of creative energy began with Christ. There is a new covenant, a new perspective, a new body, a new church. All of creation is being renewed.
So sit up. Take notice. The old, worn-out ways are being replaced with new. This is not a superficial change that will be quickly superseded by another novelty. This is an entirely new order of all creation under Christ’s authority. It requires a new way of looking at all people and all of creation. Does your life reflect this new perspective?" [1]

Remember as you're reading to understand how this connects to the rest of the letter in its context. Paul is writing for a purpose and it's easy when we're studying in chunks and having lots of memorable verses to lose Paul's train of thought. Make sure you spend some time seeing how it connects to what comes before and after.

Questions? Comments?

[1] Bruce B. Barton and Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1999), 356.

Andrei

9/21/2012 06:51:29 pm

I had a question about verse 16; what does it mean when he says that they once regarded Christ 'according to the flesh'?

greg

9/22/2012 02:48:42 am

Basically it just means thinking of Jesus from a worldly point of view. NIVAC has a good explanation - hope it helps. Here you go:

"PAUL NOW DRAWS out the consequences of the gospel he has just outlined in 5:14–15, elucidates its content, and describes how it is conveyed. The first consequence of the gospel is that Paul no longer regards anyone “according to the flesh” (lit. trans. of 5:16a). Paul’s concept of the “flesh” (sarx) is notoriously difficult to render into English. Given its various meanings in different contexts, the NIV uses forty-eight different English words or phrases to translate this one word in the New Testament! In our passage, the NIV correctly translates the phrase here as “from a worldly point of view,” that is, in accordance with the standards and values that derive from living as if physical life in this world is all that exists.
Moreover, the placement of this phrase in the Greek text indicates that it modifies the verbs, not the nouns. Though awkward in English, the text reads: “We know according to the flesh no one, even if we knew according to the flesh Christ”; not, “we know no one according to the flesh, even if we knew Christ according to the flesh.” The point is the contrast between two perspectives, not two aspects of a person’s life, such as Jesus’ earthly, historical existence versus his eschatological, cosmic identity as the “Christ.” To know someone “according to the flesh” is the opposite of knowing that person “according to the Spirit,” which is the mark of the age of the new covenant (cf. 3:3, 6–18). Conversion entails a converted criteria for evaluating what is valuable and true. In Christ, Paul no longer evaluates others according to the world’s standards or expectations (cf. Gal. 3:28), just as he no longer evaluates Christ in this way."

Scott J. Hafemann, 2 Corinthians, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 241-42.

Andrei

9/22/2012 08:03:38 pm

Oh aight; thanks a lot.

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2 Corinthians 5:11–6:13

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