Into God’s Best for Your Life- Part 3 Living as a New Creation The Point: You cannot live out God’s best by living in the flesh and not as a new creation. Intro: Out of Dust 7 then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature 1 — Genesis 2:7 The dust from the ground is where your flesh came from… The ground was cursed as a part of man’s sin (Thorns and Thistles). The flesh will return to the dirt. But there is a second part here, God “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” The life part came directly from God’s breath. o That is an amazing truth. o Let that speak to your heart. We owe him everything; he personally made us and gave us life through his own breath. Then we BETRAYED him. That led to a broken world, a broken body, and worst of all, a broken fellowship with God. TRANSITION: THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT GOD’S WORD TELLS US THAT HE HAS A RESTORATION PLAN FOR ALL THREE. TODAY’S MESSAGE IS GOING TO BE ABOUT GOD’S RECONCILATION AND HOW TO LIVE IN IT. 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 Today we will go verse by verse. Verse 16- “We regard no one according to the flesh…” o Today we will begin by talking about personal pronouns. Don’t run just yet! I know it sounds like a 2 nd or 3 rd grade grammar lesson, but there is something important in this. o We learn to use personal pronouns when we are very small. In fact, I think one of the scariest stages of parenthood is when a child is too small to express what is wrong with them. It is just before they learn to explain things about themselves…but when (all of us) get old enough to know those pronouns: I, me, we, and us. o Track with me just a second as we go after this rabbit. Words like I and me are descriptions of who we are. The Bible explains that we are complex. In the chapter of scripture we will study today, the Bible says that we are one part “flesh.” The flesh part doesn’t like pain. o What happens when you burn your hand? You recoil away from what burned you. Why? 1 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ge 2:6–7. o Cause it hurt! The flesh naturally avoids pain, naturally seeks self-satisfaction, and self-preservation. o There is another part of the personal pronouns we use to describe ourselves. It is our soul. Our soul is a part of something bigger, and unlike the flesh, it is not as driven by the natural. o The flesh is not what we are referring to. In fact, the passage this morning tells us “we regard no one according to the flesh…” o The “flesh” is our “tent” (earlier in verse 1 of this chapter) A tent is temporary The Tabernacle/tent was temporary for Israel’s reconciliation with God. Our flesh is temporary It is a covering, not an identity. o 16b – Jesus was incarnate Incarnate means- “clothed in flesh.” His flesh was temporary He rose from the grave with a glorified/resurrected body (mysteriously exciting) What can the glorified body do? It is not contained by the parameters of the broken, physical body. The incarnation is over. Verse 17- “If Anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” o Jesus makes all things new. “And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” 2 — Revelation 21:5 A continual thought in this chapter is that what is old and broken is made new in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Verse 18&19- “Reconciled” o The key word here is ‘reconciled.’ It is capturing the idea of restoration of something that is broken. It is Illustration: Imagine an old, broken-down home. Imagine grass growing up all around the old home place. Imagine rotten boards and broken windows. Imagine a crumbling chimney and broken stairs. Now imagine the best builder and restorer known to man comes and says, “Give me three days.” You come back in three days, and HGTV doesn’t have anything close to this. Everything is restored with the absolute best material. Not one nail or screw is left rusted or bent. Not one board is warped or splintered. Every stone is carefully crafted and placed. Every window is perfect without a smudge. Every seal is without a gap. Every appliance is a perfect match with the latest technology known to man. This is a poor representation of what a reconciliation to God would be. It is a TOTAL restoration. How do we know this? Look at the next verse. Restoration, in the sense that it is used here, is about relationships completely restored into beautiful harmony. God is innocent in the relationship that is broken. He initiates the restoration. 2 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Re 21:5. Verse 20&21- “Righteousness of God” o His perfect righteousness is somehow displayed on us and through us. Miraculously, every dirty rotten piece of us is given a new identity. We are perfect before him because of him. We lay our heads down at night as a fully renewed creation in Christ. DO YOU HAVE THAT? DO YOU FEEL THAT?