I Am Born Again!

Read |2 Corinthians 5: 17|

One of my favorite choruses is:
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“I’m a new creation, I’m a brand new man. Old things have passed away, I’m born again. More than a conqueror, that’s who I am. I’m a new creation, I’m a brand new man.”

Born Again! Every time I sing this song I am reminded of the sacrifice Jesus Christ made so that I could be born again. Being born again describes the change that comes over us when we, acknowledging that we have justly earned the penalty of death on account of sinning and falling short of the glory of God, receive the gift of God unto eternal life in Jesus Christ. We exchange our sin for His righteousness. We exchange our self-made and fleeting standing in the world, for an eternal place in Jesus Christ. (Romans 3: 23 & Romans 6: 23). We are never again the same. The old has passed and behold all things are made new. (2 Corinthians 5: 17).

We are changed from the inside out. Although our bodies remain unchanged, the eternal landscape of our inner man has been and is being renewed by the Holy Spirit. God is at work in us and this makes all the difference in the world! He is on mission--making us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 3: 18). He is on mission--renovating our hearts and renewing our minds, so that our actions come to reflect an inner life steeped in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 2: 20).

We are no longer slaves to our old sinful ways. We are declared free! We are free to love God. We are free to love ourselves. We are free to love our neighbors. (Romans 5: 17). We are free and, free indeed. (John 8: 36). God who grants us this freedom, is the One who sustains it. He is able. (Jude 24 - 25).

Beloved, would you sing this declaration of truth over your life today:

“I’m a new creation, I’m a brand new man. Old things have passed away, I’m born again. More than a conqueror, that’s who I am. I’m a new creation, I’m a brand new man.”

As you sing this chorus, know that your past does not define who you are. When patterns from your life before Christ resurface, sing. When what you can see makes it hard to believe that you are in fact brand new and free, sing.  Sing the truth of what God has already done. Sing to celebrate what He is still working in and through you. Sing this song to mark the death of the old man. Sing this song to celebrate and encourage the rise of Jesus’s life in and through you. You are more than a conqueror through Jesus Christ. (Romans 8: 37).  

Go Deeper
Read today's scripture as presented in the Amplified version of the Bible and answer the questions that follow:

​Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].  But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him], that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them [but canceling them]. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation [that is, restoration to favor with God]. (2 Corinthians 5: 17 - 19, AMP).

1. How does one become a new creature? What is the prerequisite?
2. What does it mean to be in Christ?
3. What are the old things? 
4. Read Romans  1: 29 - 32 & 3: 10 - 18 and write a more thorough description of "the old things".
5. What are the new things?
6. Read Romans 6 and write a more thorough description of the "new things".
7. To whom is attributed the passing of the old things and the coming of the new?
8. By what means did the old things pass and the new things come?
9. What expectation is placed on the new creature?
10. In addition to "I am born again", what other "I am" statements can you make based on today's scripture? Write them out and speak them as affirmations over your life daily.