“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
2 Corinthians 5:17
I have a Christian friend who will probably never get out of prison. Despite DNA evidence that I believe points to his innocence, he was convicted of murdering his wife. Sadly, he lost one legal appeal after another. Yet he is one of the most joyful men I’ve ever known.
What does a man serving a life sentence in prison have to look forward to? If his heart has been transformed by the Spirit of God, he has the same hope as every other believer. The apostle John gives us a glimpse of that hope in the book of Revelation: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea” (21:1).
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the beginning of a new creation. We become partakers of that new creation in the second birth, when the Spirit of God graciously opens our hearts to believe the gospel. We begin walking in the newness of life that comes down to us only from above. Nothing else in this world could give such hope, even when all around us is despair.
What does a man serving a life sentence in prison have to look forward to? If his heart has been transformed by the Spirit of God, he has the same hope as every other believer. The apostle John gives us a glimpse of that hope in the book of Revelation: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea” (21:1).
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the beginning of a new creation. We become partakers of that new creation in the second birth, when the Spirit of God graciously opens our hearts to believe the gospel. We begin walking in the newness of life that comes down to us only from above. Nothing else in this world could give such hope, even when all around us is despair.
Scripture Focus
John 3:1-21
Insight
If you are in Christ, you are a new creation. You already enjoy the first fruits of the heavenly life to come.
Bible In A Year
- Exodus 39-40
- Psalm 45
- Luke 9
