Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

You are not just a forgiven sinner; you are a brand-new person!
Mark Hankins

“Therefore if any man” means this will work for anyone. Notice what Paul wrote: “Therefore if any man be in Christ.” It does not say, “if any man be in church.” You can be in church and be the same old stinkin’ thing you have always been, but when you get “in Christ,” you cannot stay the same. You are changed.

When Paul wrote, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is,” Paul was not talking about males only; he was talking about mankind–man or woman. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he [or she] is a new creature.” One translation says it this way, “a new species of being that never existed before.” When you get born again, you are not just a forgiven sinner. You have been re-created.

In the Old Testament, sins were only covered and forgiven. But because of the death and resurrection of Christ, you have not simply been forgiven; you have become a whole new person–a whole new creation. You are not just a forgiven sinner. You are a brand new person. God has re-created you!

Confession: I am in Christ therefore I am a brand new person. I am not simply forgiven; I am a whole new creation in Christ!

Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to you today; for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever. (Exodus 14:13)

If you allow the memory of your past to continue, it is just as bad as if those things were still there.
Mark Hankins

It was hard for Moses and the children of Israel to believe God would destroy their enemies because it was a radical change. They had been under bondage 400 years, but God said, “Today I will stop it, and you will never see your enemies again!”

God said that He would destroy your past. Old things have been dealt with through the power of the Gospel and the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. You have a brand-new identity in Christ! The power of the Gospel will cause the enemies that have hounded you and dominated you for years to never dominate your life again.

You have to declare who you are in Christ, and suddenly, the death and resurrection of Christ will become a reality and swallow everything that has tried to hold you in bondage!

Confession: I am a new creature in Christ. Old things are passed away. My past is forgotten. God is doing a brand-new thing in my life! (2 Corinthians 5:17)