The old condition has passed away; a new condition has come. 

(2 Corinthians 5:17  Williams)

God would not make an unrighteous new creature because He already had an unrighteous old creature!

Mark Hankins

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”  Verse 18 begins, “And all things are of God,” which means this is the work of God.

The old condition from which you have been redeemed is the curse of the law, which includes poverty, sickness, confusion, fear, sin, and the devil’s domination of your life. When does the “old condition” pass away and the “new condition” come? It doesn’t happen over a process of ten or twenty years. It happens the moment you are born again because of the grace of God. The moment you are saved, you become a new creation in Christ.

God would never make an unrighteous new creature! The moment you were born again, you are in Christ, and you are a new creature. Old things are passed away and everything has become new.

Confession: I am the workmanship of God. My old condition is gone and a new condition has come. I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

That the communication of they faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.

(Philemon 6)

Every believer needs to have a daily acknowledgement or confession of who he or she is in Christ.

Mark Hankins

We often spend too much time focusing on our bad qualities and what is wrong with us. If you look at what is wrong with you long enough, it will get worse.  Paul is saying that for our faith to become effective or effectual, we need to acknowledge every good thing that is ours in Christ. How do you acknowledge them? By confessing, speaking, or acting on the Word of God.

When you first get up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror you should take time to acknowledge some of the good things of who you are in Christ. When you are driving down the road, begin to confess who you are and what you have in Christ. It will change your prayer life because often you will quit asking God for things that the Word says already belong to you!

Confession: Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption are mine because I am in Christ!

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

(Luke 2:52)

The greater your Word intake, the more Christ will be manifested 

through you. Mark Hankins

I believe when Jesus was ten, eleven, or twelve years old, He found out who He was by reading it in the scriptures. Jesus identified with the Word as He read Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

Many people, not just teenagers, have an identity crisis. They search for it in some psychology book or by trying to mimic a movie star. They comb their hair like someone they see on TV.  They watch some cowboy movie and think they are John Wayne, or they see a motorcycle rider and think they need a motorcycle and a bandanna around their head too!

You will find your identity in the same book as Jesus did — the Bible. You do not have to spend your entire life searching for your identity. You are a new creature in Christ — your identity is now In Christ!

Confession: I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me.  (Galatians 2:20)

And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Matthew 16:16)

You need to find your identity from God; you are an individual created to reflect His glory.

Mark Hankins

In Acts 19, the seven sons of Sceva, without having a relationship with Jesus (which would give them authority to use His name), tried to use the name of Jesus to cast out evil spirits. An evil spirit said to them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?”  Because they didn’t know their identity in Christ, the scripture says, “The evil spirit…leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” (Acts 19:16)  It is important to understand who you are in Christ because the devil knows if you know your identity.

The devil will do everything he can to steal the Word from you to keep you from understanding your new identity in Christ. He wants you to see yourself in the natural. He will even get you to study your family tree, which never produced anything but a bunch of nuts! You need to find your identity from God. You are an individual created to reflect His glory.

Confession: I am a totally different person In Christ then when I was born. I was created to reflect His glory!