Not Improved, New (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Windshield, again

This picked up from the day before: God wants our eyes on the windshield, not the rearview mirror. 2 Corinthians 5:17 describes what's ahead. If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come.

Two kinds of new

English uses "new" for both a new car and a newborn. Greek can tell them apart, a newer model versus something that never existed before. Paul uses the second. You're not a refreshed version of the old you. That old person, the high school star or the person with a record, isn't even you anymore.

Dead, then alive

One participant pointed out that before Christ we weren't sick. We were dead. Another added that repentance itself is a fruit of what Christ has done in us, so we can't take credit for any of it. And one dad laughed that when he told his daughter to "let go and let God," she asked what had happened to her father.

Identity

Someone noted that many believers stay stuck because they've never taken hold of their new identity, in their hearts and in their heads.

Try this

• Write down one thing you still define yourself by from before Christ, and cross it out.
• Read 2 Corinthians 5:14-21.