Now that we are in "The Christ", old things have passed away and all things have become new. 2 Corinthian 5:17 “Since someone is in Christ; a new creation, the old things have passed away, behold all things have become new.” What are the old things and how has everything become new? We find the answer to this question in Romans 5:12-21 among other places. Sin came into the world through Adam, which brought with it death. Because all are in Adam, death was passed onto all mankind. This death is referring to physical death. “Because of this, just as through one man the sin entered the world and through the sin, the death, and thus death passed unto all men, on account of all have sinned… .” Unfortunately, physical death is not the only thing that we inherited from Adam. We also inherited spiritual death. Romans 5: 15 “… But not according as the trespass thus also the gracious gift. For since by the one trespass the many died, much more the grace from God and the free gift by grace in the one man Jesus Christ abounded unto the many.” As a result of spiritual death, our nature has been warped. We now possess a nature that seeks to do those things that lack in character rather than what is righteous and good.
Nature
The nature of anything is the essence and attributes of that thing. Essence is the underlying structure or substance. (God is Spirit, John 4:24)
Attributes are the natural abilities of the essence. We have the ability to think, communicate, express emotions, etc.
The combination of the essence and attributes is the nature.
Two Deaths?
In Romans 5:12-21 Paul writes of a death coming from sin and a death coming from trespass. A trespass and a sin are completely different so they could not have brought about the same death. In the book of James, how a sin comes about is stated . This helps to show why sins and trespasses are different. “Let no one say when he is solicited to do something lacking in character (tempted) that he is tempted from God. For God is not tempted with that which lacks in character and He Himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when from his very own desires he is dragged away and lured out. Then the lust conceives and bears sin and sin , when it is complete brings forth death.” James 1:13-15
At this point we need to define what exactly sin is. 1 John 3:4 “all the ones doing the sin also do lawlessness, for the sin is the lawlessness”. Sin is equal to lawlessness. When a person is acting as through God has no standards by which he or she is to live, this is sin. Sin was distinctly spelled out under law; Christians are not under any quality of law. However, this does not mean Christians have no standards. Christians are to live out from their new nature not from their sin nature.It all starts with a temptation, a solicitation to do something that is against your nature or lacks in character. There are three main areas were these temptations come from, which we will study thoroughly later in this study. A desire comes into your mind, whether from you or from one or your enemies. You make this desire your own – it become desirable to you. At this point, no sin and no trespass have happened. You can refuse the desire. It may be desirable; however, you may still determine that it is not something you will do. A trespass happens when you determine to do the desire that lacks in character – lust conceives. Sin has not happened because the act has not been performed. Mark 7:15 “There is nothing from outside of a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.” 1 Corinthians 6:18 “Flee immorality. Every sin that a man commits is exterior to the body, but fornication is a sin against his very own body.” The determination to fulfill the lust eventually births act, which is sin.
When Adam trespassed, he determined in his mind to eat the fruit handed to him by his wife knowing that he was disobeying God, 1 Timothy 2:14 "and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being thoroughly deceived came to be in transgression." This brought about spiritual separation from God. Physical death, however, did not come until Adam actually ate the fruit, which was his sin.
These deaths brought about condemnation. When The Holy Spirit placed us into The Christ all this changed. Our position in Adam and the condemnation that comes with it is gone. These are the old things that have passed away that Paul writes about in 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Unfortunately, physical death and the sin nature were not removed from us when we were taken out of Adam and placed into Christ. They will be when we receive our full redemption. Because they have not been removed at this time, we still physically die and have a nature that tends to do things that lack in character. However, there is hope. Now that we are no longer in Adam, we can live in newness of life unto God, rather than as slaves to the sin nature because we now also possess a new nature.
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