“A New Creation” 1-1-23
Overview
A New Creation
Try as we might, none of us can speak an apple into our hand. We are not God. Only the Lord creates from nothing—and He did. In Genesis 1, He spoke, and the heavens, the earth, the seas, every living thing, and finally humankind in His own image came into being. That is the original pattern: God speaks, and it is so.
But sin entered the world, and with it a tragic shift. Genesis 5:3 records that Adam fathered a son "in his likeness, according to his image"—no longer purely the image of God, but the image of fallen man. By Genesis 6:5, every inclination of the human heart was "only evil continually." Even after the flood, God acknowledges in Genesis 8:21 that the human heart remains evil from youth—yet He pledges mercy. The problem of sin is not solved by a fresh start or stronger willpower. This is why "be better" resolutions, however well-intentioned, cannot reach the root. The Ten Commandments expose us; they do not transform us. As Paul cries in Romans 7, "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?"
The answer comes where only God can act. In Ezekiel 37, the prophet stands in a valley of dry bones—an image of our spiritual condition apart from Christ. The bones do not revive themselves; God speaks, breath enters, and the dead live. So too with us. 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, "If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. Everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new." In the waters of baptism, the old Adam is drowned and we are raised, remade in God's image through Christ. As Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."
This reconciliation is entirely God's work—2 Corinthians 5:18–19 says He reconciled us to Himself through Christ, not counting our trespasses against us, and entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. So the pastoral word for the new year is not "try harder." You cannot speak an apple into your hand, and you cannot cure the habit of sin. But God, in His mercy, daily places the apple of righteousness and forgiveness into your hand through Christ—and then sends you to share that word with others. You are not striving to be better; you are better, because you are a new creation, a child of God in Jesus Christ.
Transcript
Our text today is out of second Corinthians chapter 5, but we're not starting there. 3s
I want everyone to hold out their hand. 11s
Yes, for real. 15s
Hold out your hand. 16s
Now concentrate really, really hard and say the word apple. 17s
And I want everyone to be holding an apple. 23s
Are you ready? 26s
Let's try this. 27s
Consentrate and say the word apple. 28s
Does anyone have an apple in their hand? 33s
I don't see it. 37s
Okay, so we really, really, really need to try to concentrate really, really hard. 37s
Let's make this happen, okay? 45s
All right. 47s
Again, we're going to concentrate really hard. 49s
Apple. 52s
Oh my gosh. 55s
I don't see a single apple. 57s
I don't see a single apple in anyone's hand, including my own. 60s
And I don't know about you, but I was trying really, really hard. 66s
And I was really, really putting a lot of effort into creating an apple. 71s
We're going to come back to our apples or our lack of apples in just a moment here. 80s
But I want to go first to Genesis, where creation happened because God, God spoke and 87s
created. 96s
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless 98s
void and darkness covered the face of the deep. 102s
While a wind from God swept over the face of the waters, then God said, let there be light 105s
and there was light moving down. 111s
God said, let there be a dome in the midst of the waters and let it separate the waters 116s
from the waters. 121s
And it was so continuing. 122s
And God said, let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place and let 126s
the dry land appear and it was so. 131s
Then God said, let the earth put forth vegetation plants, yielding seed and fruit trees 135s
of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it. 139s
And it was so. 143s
And God said, let there be lights in the dome of the sky and it was so. 145s
And God said, let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures and let birds fly above 151s
the earth across the dome of the sky. 156s
Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind and it was so. 158s
Then God said, let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness and let them 167s
have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over the cattle 173s
and over the all the wild animals of the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps 178s
upon it. 183s
So God created humankind in his image. 183s
In the image of God, he created them male and female. 188s
He created them. 194s
God spoke and it was so. 197s
God spoke in the middle the vastness of nothing and creation happened. 203s
Everything that has ever been walked, swam, breathed, lived. 217s
In creation was because God spoke and it was so. 225s
Does anyone here have a New Year's resolution? 237s
Every year, I love making resolutions. 242s
I don't know why because every resolution I know I am going to fail. 246s
But I still love making them and we will see across the board different varieties of 252s
New Year resolutions and some really motivating things and you know, 261s
be healthy, be wise, be rich, just be better, be better, be better. 266s
So God created, created male and female in his image, created mankind in his image. 281s
And then mankind was tempted. 293s
Then mankind saw the fruit that they were not supposed to eat and they ate. 300s
And sin entered into this perfect creation that God had spoken into existence. 311s
And with sin entering into creation, there was a curse, a curse of that sin that permeated 319s
in every aspect of creation, every aspect of life. 334s
And I want to fast forward to Genesis chapter 5. 340s
I had a seminary professor who said this was the saddest verse in all of Scripture. 343s
Genesis 5 verse 3, when Adam had lived 130 years, he became the father of a son in his 351s
likeness, according to his image and named him Seth. 362s
When God created mankind, he created them in his image. 370s
And when sin entered in through Adam and Eve and a son was born, mankind was no longer 376s
created in the image of God, but created in man's image, created in the image of sin, sinful 385s
man. 395s
God goes on to continue telling us about mankind in chapter 6. 398s
The Lord saw that the wickedness of humankind was great in the earth and that every 405s
inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. 411s
So man was created in the image of God, lost the image and created in the image of man. 418s
And what is the image of man we find out that it is evil continually, evil continually? 428s
God could not abide by the wickedness that was in creation. 440s
He could not stand by. 446s
In fact, it says that the fact that he had made humankind on earth grieved him to his heart. 449s
And this is where we have the flood where it wipes out every living creature, every living 457s
being through the floods except for Noah and the animals that he was told to save and 466s
his wife and sons and their wives. 474s
God could not stand the wickedness. 478s
God could not stand the evil that was continual in man's heart. 482s
And so he decided to wipe the face of the earth, clean of its inhabitants. 488s
But when mankind was repopulated through Noah, through his sons, through their wives, 494s
we see that wickedness did not end because mankind continued to be made in the image of mankind. 505s
And the image that we have as men, as women, is an image of sin, of sinners. 517s
And God made a promise. 529s
He made a promise to those sinners. 531s
In chapter 8, he said, I will never again curse the ground because of humankind. 535s
And for the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth. 541s
Nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. 547s
What I think is very interesting here is that God was not saying that he had once again 551s
made perfect creation because those who were repopulating the earth, they were still in 557s
the image of man. 565s
And he knew. 567s
Every inclination of the human heart is evil from youth. 570s
But he had grace, he had mercy, and he said, I will never destroy every living creature 575s
by the flood again. 581s
It wasn't that wickedness had gone away. 584s
It wasn't that sin had gone away. 587s
And it wasn't that God was okay with sin. 590s
He still could not abide by the wickedness, but he promised that he would never again 593s
wipe out his creation through flood. 603s
Every inclination of the human heart is evil from youth. 611s
We are evil from youth. 625s
We are born in the image of man. 630s
We are born with the image of sin. 633s
I am resolved to be better. 643s
Would you all make that resolution with me? 648s
We are going to be better. 652s
God tells us exactly how to do it. 654s
We have the ten commandments. 656s
Be better. 658s
Just don't make idols for yourself. 660s
Be better. 663s
Just don't come it. 664s
What someone else has. 666s
Be better. 670s
Just don't use the Lord's name in vain. 671s
Be better. 678s
Well, there's a real, real problem. 683s
With that. 687s
With that expectation, with that declaration that I'm just going to live up to perfection itself. 691s
That I, in my own efforts, am going to be able to put forth the effort, the strength, 704s
the endurance, the patience, the kindness, the love, the mercy to just be better. 713s
Because I'm still born human. 724s
I'm still made created in the image of man and every inclination of man's heart is evil 727s
from youth. 737s
All right. 739s
Do we remember how we tried to create those apples? 743s
Do you remember how we gave it our best effort that we really, really concentrated and 749s
really, really tried hard to create those apples? 757s
But not a single one of us could do it. 764s
And how to single one of us have an apple in our hands. 767s
Is it because we don't believe hard enough? 773s
Is it because we didn't speak it loudly enough? 777s
No, of course not. 785s
It's because we are not God. 787s
And we don't speak things into existence. 789s
We are not God. 794s
We do not create things out of nothing. 796s
We do not create out of nothing. 803s
That makes me think of the prophet Ezekiel. 806s
In the 37th chapter, where the Lord brought Ezekiel to the valley of the dry bones. 810s
In 37 verse 1, it says, the hand of the Lord came upon me and he brought me out by the 817s
spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley. 823s
It was full of bones. 826s
He led me all around them. 828s
There were very many lying in the valley and they were very dry. 830s
That means they had been there for a long time. 834s
They were dead. 837s
Gone, not living. 839s
He said to me, mortal can these bones live? 842s
I answered, oh Lord, God, you know. 845s
Then he said to me, prophesy to these bones and say to them, oh dry bones, here the 848s
word of the Lord. 854s
Thus says the Lord, God, to these bones, I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live. 856s
I will lay sinnus on you and you will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with 864s
skin and put breath in you and you shall live and you shall know that I am the Lord. 869s
Then he said to me, mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. 876s
They say our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. 882s
We are cut off completely. 884s
Therefore, prophesy and say to them, thus says the Lord, God, I am going to open your 887s
graves and bring you up from your graves. 893s
Oh my people. 896s
And I will bring you back to the land of Israel and you shall know that I am the 897s
Lord when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves. 904s
Oh my people. 908s
I will put my spirit within you and you shall live. 910s
And I will place on you your own soul. 915s
Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. 918s
Says the Lord. 927s
So, as easy as you will brought to this valley of these bones, just multitudes of bones, 928s
dry bones that had been there. 940s
How can these bones be revived? 943s
How can these bones move, breathe, live once again? 949s
The Lord says prophesy is equal to these bones. 956s
Speak the word of the Lord to these bones and they will live. 964s
God breathed life back into these bones. 971s
God gave these bones his own spirit. 974s
My brothers and sisters, we are born in the image of mankind. 980s
And we are born in the image of sin. 983s
And in sin we are dead. 989s
We are no greater than those bones in the valley. 995s
We are no more alive than the bones in the valley when we are born as sinners. 1000s
But we, like these bones, are given life. 1009s
And we are made new, made new through and in Jesus Christ. 1016s
Now we're at 2 Corinthians, chapter 5. 1027s
Beginning in verse 15, he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, 1032s
but for him who died and was raised for them. 1040s
From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view, even though we once 1044s
knew Christ, from a human point of view, we know him no longer in that way. 1049s
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. 1054s
Everything old has passed away. 1059s
See everything has become new. 1062s
In Christ, there is a new creation. 1066s
Just as God created out of nothing, he spoke and it was just as he gave life to those dry bones. 1070s
God gives us new life. 1081s
And we are not merely revived. 1085s
We are not merely resuscitated, but we are made new. 1088s
We are made new. 1094s
We were born as sinners. 1097s
But when we are called into faith and through the waters of baptism Christ united us to himself, 1100s
the old has passed away. 1110s
The old has passed away. 1113s
That means that the old Adam, the old Eve, the one who was born in the likeness, the image of man, 1115s
the one who was born as a sinner. 1122s
That is gone. 1124s
Your old Adam, your old Eve has been drowned in the waters of baptism. 1127s
And you have been brought forth reborn, made new in the image of God once again. 1133s
Our new here is resolutions. 1145s
We don't have to try to cure these really annoying habits that we have because when it comes down to it, 1148s
none of us can cure the really annoying habit of sin. 1157s
None of us can cure sin in our lives. 1165s
When we make a new year's resolution, we have to try and we have to work at it over and over and over again. 1171s
And so many of us, by the time we get to January 10th, we're done. 1181s
It's hard. 1191s
Paul asked the question in Romans. 1196s
He says, who shall deliver me from this body of death? 1200s
How are we cured of the habit of sin, were cured by Christ, by Christ alone? 1204s
If we look at verses 18 and 19 in 2 Corinthians 5, it says, all this, the old going away, the new creation that is all this is from God, 1215s
who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation that is 1226s
increased. 1234s
God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. 1236s
It is God himself who has delivered us. 1249s
It was God himself who was resolved, not to only make us be better, but make us new. 1254s
God in himself has reconciled us to himself. 1265s
We are reconciled to the Father, the Father who cannot abide wicked man. 1270s
We are reconciled through the sacrificial blood of the second person of the Trinity. 1277s
We are brought once again into relationship made once again in the image of God through Christ and Christ alone. 1283s
Increased our center shifts. 1296s
Our center shifts and we live for Christ and Galatians. 1300s
Paul says, it's no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me. 1305s
It is Christ who lives in each and every one of his children. 1312s
Our sins are no longer counted against us. 1322s
We live in the reconciling sacrifice of Jesus. 1326s
And it doesn't end there. 1332s
That's not the end of it. 1334s
Paul goes on to say that we are reconciled, but not only are we reconciled, we are entrusted with the message of reconciliation. 1338s
We are entrusted with delivering that word that is equal was called to deliver to the dry bones the word of God. 1351s
When we hold out our hand and try to speak and apple into existence, we know it absolutely will not happen because we don't create out of nothing. 1365s
But God in his mercy places the apple in our hand, the apple of righteousness, the apple of forgiveness day after day, moment after moment. 1380s
And when that apple is placed in our hands, it's not for us to keep to ourselves. 1395s
We take that apple, we take the word of God and we share it and we give it and we continue giving it because God in his mercy does never run out of apples. 1400s
God in his mercy never tires of creating new creatures in his image. 1416s
God in his mercy never tires of forgiving us, living in us and calling us to live in and by his spirit. 1426s
So how does this or how can this inform our new years resolutions? 1442s
Do we go about? Be better! Be better! 1452s
No, it's nothing that we strive for. You are better because you are a child of God. You are a new creation in through and because of Jesus Christ. 1457s
Amen. 1487s