Gr. ktisis, “creation,” “thing created,” “creature.” For a man to be constrained by the love of Christ to live no longer unto self but unto God, to judge men no longer by appearance but by the spirit, to know Christ according to the spirit and not according to the flesh, he must be created a new being. To transform a lost sinner into a “new creature” requires the same creative energy that originally brought forth life (John 3:3, 5; Rom. 6:5, 6; Eph. 2:10; Col. 3:9, 10). It is a supernatural operation, altogether foreign to normal human experience.

 This new nature is not the product of moral virtue presumed by some to be inherent in man, and requiring only growth and expression. There are thousands of so-called moral men who make no profession of being Christians, and who are not “new” creatures. The new nature is not merely the product of a desire, or even of a resolution, to do right (Rom. 7:15-18), of mental assent to certain doctrines, of an exchange of one set of opinions or feelings for another, or even of sorrow from sin. It is the result of the presence of a supernatural element introduced into a man, which results in his dying to sin and being born again. Thus are we created anew in the likeness of Christ, adopted as sons and daughters of God, and set on a new path (see Eze. 36:26, 27; John 1:12, 13; 3:3-7; 5:24; Eph. 1:19; 2:1, 10; 4:24; Titus 3:5; James 1:18). Thus we are made partakers of the divine nature and are granted possession of eternal life (2 Peter 1:4; 1 John 5:11, 12). The new believer is not born a full-grown, mature Christian; he first has the spiritual inexperience and immaturity of infancy. But as a son of God he does have the privilege and opportunity to grow up into the full stature of Christ (see on Matt. 5:48; Eph. 4:14-16; 2 Peter 3:18).

 See on Rom. 6:4-6. Textual evidence favors (cf. p. 10) the omission of the words “all things,” the last clause of v. 17 thus reading “they are become new.”

 Paul’s favorite definition of what it is to be a Christian. When he became a Christian he was baptized “into Jesus Christ” (Rom. 6:3), and the new life he lives henceforth is centered in Christ (John 15:3-7). He is joined to Christ and wholly subject to His life, power, influence, and word. Paul’s whole life moves in a new, spiritual sphere. Nothing is exempted.

 Only “in Christ” can a sinner find acceptance with God (Phil. 3:9) and sustenance for living the new life (John 15:4, 5; Gal 2:20). The joys and sorrows, triumphs and sufferings, of life are all “in Christ” (Rom. 14:17; Phil. 3:9, 10). Even death is robbed of its sting, for those who “die in the Lord” are blessed (Rev. 14:13). Christianity elevates every human experience and obligation into a new relationship, designated by the term “in Christ.”