📊 2 Corinthians 5:17 | Phrase by Phrase, Greek and Trivia

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📧 In today’s email…

• Phrase-by-phrase: Verse 17 🧐 

• Two Greek words 🌊

• Reflect: Looking at the past & speaking life over others 🤔 

• Tuesday Trivia about Paul and the Corinthians 📊

 🧠 Memorize

_{see if you know what words go in the blanks}

Therefore, if anyone is __ ______, he is a ___ creation. The old has passed ____; behold, the ___ has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17

🤓 Greek Lesson: New Creation

Today, let’s dig into the first part of verse 17:

Therefore

• Anytime you see this word, ask the question: What is ‘therefore’ there for?

  • It means what you’re about to read is connected to a previous verse. So it’s important to figure out what it’s connected to.

• There are actually numerous ‘therefores’ in this passage that link together, but what we read directly before this ‘therefore’ is verse 14 and 16:

Paul is saying that when Jesus died on the cross, it was not just Him that died.

Our sin and our “old self” was crucified with Him and now, everyone has the opportunity to become righteous:

(Yes, all of that and more is packed into a single ‘Therefore’..)

if anyone

• It doesn’t matter who you are - your socioeconomic class, your race, your upbringing, what language you speak, where you live, or how smart you are..

• Anyone can become a new creation in Jesus if they put their faith in Him.

• This is great news for our friends who aren’t yet reconciled to God!

is in Christ

• Becoming a new creation and receiving a new identity that is actually stable is only possible in Christ because he conquered death.

  • While therapy, self-help books and other human efforts at self-improvement can be helpful in life, they did not sacrifice themselves for you. They didn’t defeat death.

  • And they are not enough to turn us into a new creation. Only the Spirit of God can do that.

he is a new creation

• The Greek word for “new” is kainos and for “creation” is ktisis

  • kainos can mean recently made, fresh, of a new kind, unprecedented, or novel

  • ktisis means something that was created, a creature

🤔 Think about the use of this language. Creation is what God did when he turned nothing into something.

• A “new creation” implies that it’s not simply a “spiritual tune-up” or “moral upgrade.” It’s not even a re-arranging of what was there previously..

• It’s something entirely new that is created. Something novel - there for the first time. It’s a new birth.

In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul is talking about this new birth that is only possible in Christ.

Throughout the rest of the week, we’ll spend time looking:

• Back at the history of how God has made you a new creation

• The present ways God is transforming your heart

• The fully complete new creation we look forward to in eternity

Reflect: How has God made you new? 🤔 

Being a new creation doesn’t mean that we are perfect, but it means that we have changed.

Today, let’s look at where you’ve seen this play out in your past.

Reflect 🤔 

Name one way you have experienced becoming a “new creation.”

What’s one example or area of life where you personally have experienced a drastic change due to the work of the Holy Spirit?

Speak life 🗣️ 

Now consider the same questions but this time, think of a friend or family member who is a fellow believer.

Call out and share with them how you’ve seen them become a “new creation.”

Try these simple sentence stems…

• You used to be (old way)…

• Since then, I’ve seen that you (new creation)…

💡 Today, we looked at how God has changed you in the past. Tomorrow, we’ll dig into how God is changing you right now.

Tuesday Trivia 📊 

Click one of the options below. Let’s see how you do..

Answer key ✅ 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

2 Corinthians 5:17