All things new
Rev_21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
In a scene from the movie, Passion of the Christ, Jesus stumbles and falls while carrying the cross. His mother runs to Him in deep anguish to help Him. He turns to her with a whisper of a smile on His face and says; “Behold, I make all things new”. It was this scene that opened my eyes to God’s re-creation of all things through the cross. The new order now is what follows the cross and not what was before the cross. It is necessary that we understand this; otherwise, we will remain in our sins not having accepted the cross and crucifixion as God’s gateway to re-creation.
Apostle Paul asks the Jews who did not believe in resurrection several questions in these verses 1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 1Co 15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. 1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: 1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. 1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. 1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
The word of God is very clear; except a seed die it cannot produce fruit. This is a spiritual principal made clear in a natural example of everyday life concerning vegetation. What is true of the spiritual is manifest to us in the natural and all we have to do is look at creation to understand the ways of the Lord. Even though death was never the plan for His creation; it became so because of sin. Even sin was not the plan of God for mankind but it became so because of free will. The question many ask is; “Why did God not make everything perfect?” The answers is; He did. What would you prefer; a robotic creation (whereby what is created (us) simply does everything as programmed) or a creation that has the power of choice? Personally, in hindsight, I would have preferred to be robotic in nature because then there would be no sin or death. However, having lived this life, I realise that choice is very powerful. It gives me an opportunity each time to start afresh even in failure.
Success is not about achieving new things but success is about failure made whole; all things made new to begin afresh. That is why forgiveness and love are such powerful attributes of choice. It has to do with will and not being a robot. Jesus willed Himself to the cross to make all things new. He did not have to do it but chose to do it for our sakes. This speaks of His love. People say; “I can’t forgive or forget”. It is a matter of your will and therefore choice. The consequences of choice can be a very heavy price to pay even in success. The cross spoke about success over death and sin. It did not speak of defeat to sin and death. Therefore, the cross is preferred by choice than living on earth in sin only to go to hell.
Many think God could have just snapped His fingers and made all things new. That was not the case to be, even though He could have done that. His wisdom was to allow us to go to the cross but not like He did. He knew that His cross was not some place we could go to die. No one in fact could go to the cross and die for the sins of the world. Man needed a Saviour; someone, who could pay the required price of redemption. A price for something is always a good idea. When things are given free, they bear no value to the receiver. Salvation was not free. It was conditional on us accepting what Jesus did for us. This meant, we needed to die to our pride and other ways of sin in order to be made new. When we did, we found that all things had become new. The suddenness of what was always there but never appropriated came out of death to self. This meant it had value because it cost us. Value means we will know that it cost us something and therefore we will protect it.
When something becomes new, there are many opponents to newness. This is the cost of the cross we carry. Many new believers suffer persecution from friends and family. New levels of faith achieved attract even more demonic attacks and the list goes on. So, when all things were made new by Jesus, He left the new thing He created on earth till His return when He will manifestly make all of creation new. This time, no more death or sins to deal with. This is His promise. I am looking for a new world such as this but realise that while I am on this earth, the new life I now have in Jesus needs to be protected. Protecting the new heart and new life means many trials and tribulations that do not make sense. New deaths follow my journey of life with the choices I have to make to believe and trust God each time. Choices to go forward in the new life and not slip back to the old and the familiar. If I do slip back, the new decays and dies and the old resurfaces as victorious. However, if I choose newness, then I face death of a new kind; death to this world and old ways. This produces in me more new spiritual life which is added to me with each choice. 2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 2Pe 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 2Pe 1:6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 2Pe 1:7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 2Pe 1:8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2Pe 1:9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Peter speaks of adding to our faith aspects of Christian character that will keep us focussed on the new. Since the new is ever unfolding, we need to make choices to seek the new. Otherwise, legalism will set in and our choices will be made based on old knowledge and old ways. Many get caught in this trap because the new is challenging. Jesus put it this way; Luk 5:39 No man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new: for he saith, The old is better.
The concept of newness in our lives is about total change. It speaks of the old being put away for good and something new beginning in our lives. There are several concepts in the Bible concerning new. New wine, New Testament and a new day. There are several other “new” concepts in the Bible that speak of an eternity in newness. Things unseen or unheard of, will all be new and we ourselves will have a new body and new revelation. The concept of new whilst living on this earth and what we can look forward to is exciting. The scriptures keep giving us new revelation of God and His ways and power while revealing to us what we can expect in the everlasting kingdom of God in heaven. Many do not understand newness and so are stuck in their old ways leaving them in despair and without hope of a future, even as Christians. The darkness that surrounds the mind of a person nullifies the light of the gospel because the devil has blinded their eyes to the recreated person and world through Jesus. They only see the same old dark dungeon of the ways of this world leaving them in depression and sin. The light of the gospel means exactly that; it reveals the new things in God. Many have lost their way because their hope is in what they think they can discover as new in this world. That is why new inventions can be exciting and even brings hope on a medical level. When there was no electricity, it was a dark world. However, when electricity came, it plunged mankind into more darkness as he tried to hide what he had been doing in darkness up till then. Likewise, when the Light of the world came to this earth, men preferred darkness. Joh 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Joh 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
New inventions and the like give mankind a hope in this world but can never make a man understand the light of the Lord that saves a soul. No invention can save a soul or recreate this world. What we see instead is the death of the world through more inventions of mankind. More killing machines are made for wars and murder of mankind. This is darkness, which is perpetrated by the devil in the weak minds of men. That is why God has given this world a period of time to repent and turn from its sins. Then comes the final judgement. The crucifixion of Jesus instigated the countdown for the end. Whatever needed to be done to recreate a new order was done in Christ on the cross. All who accept Him and live by His code will be saved and be made whole. For them, all things have been made new. They understand new things and look forward to it manifesting in this lifetime and the one to come.
I am waiting for new things in my life in this life time and the one to come. A new heart, a new mind, a new attitude, a new power and a new revelation. What is already available for me in this world through Christ is exciting but I can’t wait to see what is coming in the world to come. Don’t give up hope or put your hope in this world. Look to God who can make your life new in everyway. Christ came that we might have all things new. A new body follows in the heavenly. Wow! God thinks of it all.
Look to the heavens and your marriage will become new, your children will become new and even you will become new as you appropriate the recreation of all mankind through the death and resurrection of Jesus your Saviour. Make a fresh commitment to Him today and ask Him to remove the old and dead things from your life and let ALL THINGS BECOME NEW
Lots of love
Pastor Noble
01/07/2018