So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (CEB)
It is easy for Christians to become self centered. Many times the gospel we proclaim is about “our” salvation, we speak of “our” relationship with God, and “our” finding Jesus. Those that might overhear us could quickly make the assumption that this Jesus thing is only about me, myself, and I. That God has no other interest but the individual.
The scriptures provide a helpful corrective. In Christ we become part of a larger narrative, a larger plan, a liberation of the I. We become a “part” of a larger whole that seeks to renew all of the created order back to God!
This aspect of our salvation is made clear by the Common English Bible (CEB) translators. I am thankful for their work in this passage.
The New Revised Standard Version renders this passage like this:
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!
The King James Version:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
The New International Version:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Our being in Christ unites us to the cosmic event of salvation. We become part of God’s renewing of creation, past, present, and future. Now my prayer is that we can claim salvation in this way, instead of falling into our self-centered tendencies that make salvation about us, about our going to heaven, or about our being in the in and most others in the out.