On February 9, Denver Gratia Community Church had a graceful Sunday Service in the new church place near the University of Colorado.
Pastor Thomas delivered the message titled “In Christ, the New Creation Has Come“, based on 2 Corinthians 5:16-17
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
Novelty in us
Now Paul is talking about novelty. January 2020 is passing. It’s a new year. What is new? 2019 passed and it becomes 2020. This is an interpretation of time. It is a quantitative. Ecclesiastes 1: 9 said, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” It says that there will be same thing over and over again. That’s how it always happens.
The interpretation of time in Old Testament
Jewish perspective is a little different. Jews view evening as the beginning of the day. Their interpretation is that, through the night, they will see a new morning of light. When think that evening is starting point, it is night that follows immediately. No matter how dark it is, there will be a new morning of light is coming.
It’s quite different from what we call the beginning of a morning, or what we call the beginning of a evening. From the start of evening, it becomes the invisible training, the invisible education that we can overcome the hardships. It’s an interpretation of the time that the people of God had.
Genesis 1: 5 says, 5 God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.
God saw the beginning of creation from the evening. By the way, today’s verse says something very meaningful.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!
Do not look people form a Worldly point of view
We have a new start in Christ. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. What is new inside of you? Before Paul talks about the new creation, what does he say? “so from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.”
How much do we judge everything by the worldly point of view? So did Paul. How much he persecuted the Christians and the disciples of Christ? Why did he persecute them? He looked at them from a worldly point of view. Paul said, “we regard no one from a worldly point of view.” This word means that we shouldn’t look anyone on superficially and outwardly. How wrong are our relationships when we treat people from a worldly point of view and when we judge and regard them by a worldly point of view. The Early Church and the disciples of Jesus looked so shabby and humble. They had nothing to boast.
Regarding ones from a worldly point of view is dangerous. In human relationships, all of the fights that happen in us begin with judging recklessly. When relationships flow in a human way, we’re going to be rude.
What is be HOLY? Being HOLY is that comes out of distinction. HOLY and LOVE are two different side. The HOLY thing is to separate. LOVE is power to unite. The closer you get to someone, the easier it is to be negligent. It’s easy to get out of the relationship being HOLY. But if the closer you are in a relationship each other, should be more distinction. This is HOLY and LOVE. These two are always very important in our faith.
Why did God separate it first? God said to Moses, “stay away”. It is different from the God of love Jesus introduced. God said to Moses, “Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground.” God who we cannot meet on a daily basis. God is holy God who cannot go near. The holy thing is to separate.
Job 28: 28 And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,and to shun evil is understanding.”
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Acts 2:43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.
In the scene of the Early Church, there was a fear between them. What is the fear? It’s awe. When we treat others from a worldly point of view, we make mistakes. We were made by God through from God’s will. It is not be seen on the superficial but inside world. When we try to find it and it, we can discover new things in us.
Spring is coming soon. I hope that we all have new start. I hope that you always meditate word of God and you will always live a year of being holy. Last week, I meditated on the Golden Rule in Matthew chapter 5.
The Eye is the lamp of the body
29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
I hope we can live with this kind of determination. Now look at this, Jesus speaks of the Golden Rules. Matthew 5:27-32 is one paragraph. Today’s word put in the middle. The Jews were very strict about adultery. Exodus 20:14 says, “you shall not commit adultery.” This is the 7th Commandment. Leviticus 20:10 says, “if a man commits adultery with another man’s wife – with the wife of his neighbor – both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death. Where the Jews focus was on action. Focus on the consequences of sin. The act itself. This is said that only who commits adultery is a sinner. But where did Jesus focus on? Jesus focused on their heart. There are two things, one is an eye and the other is hand. Right eye and right hand. This is the passage of sin. This is the passage to 10,000 kinds of sin. We should pay attention to this. How can I control this well? So how can I keep myself holy?
There is a lot of pain in the sin of seeing as you go along the path of faith. 1 John 2:16 says, “For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life- (comes not from the Father but from the world). These are the problems. And Jesus also said, Matthew 6: 22~23, “22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[a] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[b] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Because eye is the lamp of the body, so when it turns off, when it gets dim, all the problems begin to happen.
How many temptations are in everywhere? The Greek word Skandalon (σκανδαλον) means a snare for an enemy; cause of moral stumbling. How to hunt animal is to dig a hole and cover it. Beep a disguise and then caught it. Trap and snare. How many these are there in the world? When you go out, it’s like a minefield. There are so many things that take your eyes away.
Matthew 5: 30 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
The Lord of Love emphasizes Hell. It is wise to know that there is a judgement in our lives. Jesus also talks about Hell. It is necessary to repudiate sin. There are lots of snares and traps. So we should meditate word of God and pray to God and try to keep ourselves under the power of Holy Spirit.
Greek people thought man is like a bowl. People try to fill themselves with something. So before anything dirty comes in us, we need to be filled with word of God in early year.