MODULE 2

THE NEW CREATION

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this class, the students are expected to:
* Understand the New birth
* The realities of New Creation
* Composition of Man
* The importance of Confession, Forgiveness of Sin and Salvation by grace and Assurance of
Salvation.
* To understand the Salvation of Man and his activities as a natural man
* Understand the Love of God and love expected from the followers of Christ.
 10Understand the Love of God and love expecteo n-

Understanding the New Birth Therefore if any man be in

Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;behold all things are new. 2
Cor 5:17, Eph 2:10
Neither is there Salvation in any other for there is none other name under heaven
given among men,whereby we must be saved.(Acts 4:12

New Birth is a spiritual experience, it is a turning-point in the life of a Christian.A

Christian is a New Creation, he is someone who never existed or pre-existed that
altogether is a new man, with a new kind of life in Christ Jesus,and his life comes
directly from [Link] is the receiving of God's life and God's righteousness. It is both a
spiritual and moral change.
The birth is a rebirth because to God this man never had a past nor existed, He is a
brand new person with a new life

Being Born of God:This new creation in Christ Jesus is born of God. A son is a child of
his father, born of his father's seed. John 1:12-13 “ But as many as received him, to
them he gave the power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his
name which were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man,
but of God".
The reason why the birth of Jesus could not have been through the agency of man
otherwise Jesus too would have been born a sinner. But Jesus was born of a virgin
without a man and so without the sin nature. He also lived above the temptation of

BELIEVERS CLASS LECTURE MANUAL

 sin, so his blood was pure enough to be the price for our justification,Romans
3:23-28

Christ lives in you by the Holy Spirit. It is not an intellectual birth. It is a rebirt of
man's soul. It is also not a physical birth, it is our spirit not flesh that is born
[Link] one can enter into
God's kingdom without being born again. Jn. 3:1-7,Jn.1:12-13,I Pet.
1:23,Col.1:12-13,Eph.2:8-10

[Link] the New Birth is so important

i. The natural man is spiritually dead and cannot therefore obey or
[Link] please [Link].8:6-8,Jer.17:9,Eph.2:[Link] new birth gives
eternal [Link].3:16
ii. The natural man is corrupt in his affections and perverse in his will-Gal.5:19-
21Mk. 7:[Link] new birth affects our tastes, habits, desires, actions,
speech,vocabulary etc.
iii. He is on a course to destruction. Prov. 14:12, 12:15. The new birth
guarantees that our names are written in God's book of life Jn.3:3-5 Rev.20:15.
How Can One Be Born Again?

a. Acknowledge that you are a sinner-Rom.3:23,Lk.18:13,ps.51:5

b. Sincerely repent of your sins-Acts 3:19,Lk.13:3.
c. Confess your sins to God-IJn.1:19
d. Forsake or turn away from your old sinful [Link].55:7,Prov.28:13.
e. Believe Him and the price of sacrifice Jesus paid on the [Link].3:16, ll Cor.5:21.
f. Receive Him into your heart by faith and thereafter thank God for saving you-
Jn.1:11-12,Eph.2:8.

Confession
It is essential for Christians to confess to faith and to sin. 1John 1:9
Confessions of faith are public acknowledgement of faith and believe in God and to
the truth through which God is [Link].10:32 "Everyone......who shall confes
me before men"
Confession of Sin is expected to be made to God and to one another. Psalm 32:3-
6James 5:16.
Forgiveness

BELIEVERS CLASS LECTURE MANUA

The bible say if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us. 1John1:[Link]
admonishes us to forgive others who trespass against us.A child of God enjoys the
forgiveness of God and as such he is expected to exhibit forgiveness to all those
that offend him.

Salvation by Grace Our salvation is by grace,we donot have to do anything to earn

it. All that have to be done is believe and receive it by faith. Through faith in
Christwe have been acquitted or not guilty before God Eph.2:8-9
Romans 5:17The Spirit of God also bears witness to the fact that our Salvation is
assured Romans 8:16

Compositionof Man
Man is made up ofSpirit,Soul and Body.
Spirit of Man a) The Spirit of Man got saved 2 Cor.5:7, 1Cor.6:17. The spirit of
man lives in the body and communicate with God who is a Spirit being.
b) The Spirit of Man lives on the word of God 1 Pet.2:2. It feeds on the word of
Goo to grow, every Christian should be desirous of God's word to grow and be
nourished.
c) The Spirit of Man is the recreated fruit Gal.5: 22-23. Fruits of the Spirit are
the characters that we exhibit externally that tells people who we really are,
man's spirit produces character traits that are Christ's [Link] fruits
determine how much we love Him, know Him and how much of His nature has
formed in us All these are through the Spirit of man.

The Soul of Man

The Soul is the processing centre of man, it houses his emotions, will, feelings hi
mind and intellect and is the window between the Spirit and the Body. Our soul i
immortal, it can also be referred to as the mind or thoughts, so the mind is
expected to be renewed with thoughts that are of God.

The Body of Man

The body is just container it has no will of its ow n. It is either a slave to the Spirit
or th [Link] such we are encouraged to put the body under subjection to our Spirt
and
Soul (Mind).When Man dies, the Body becomes carcass, and is buried;fulfilling the
truth that the body came from the dust,and the dust shall it return.

What Jesus Did For the Natural Man

a. S aved us from sin-Matt 1:21,John 1:29,MMatt 26:28, 1John 3:5ii. Delivered us
from the works and power of the devil in our lives. Col.1:13,1John.3:8-9
iii. Paid the penalty for sin and removed the curse of God upon man-
Gal.3:13,2Cor.5:21.
iv. Reconciled man (the offender) to God (the offended) by acting as a
mediator between man and God.

Evidences of the New Birth

Noticeable evidence of the new birth after openly confessing Jesus Christ as saviour:
I. A changed life 2 Cor.5:17, Col.3:1-3
ii. Arighteous and holy life 1 John 2:29,1 Pet.1:14-16

iv. Godly love and love for the Scriptures IJn.4:7,Acts 7:11.
v. Godly fear and obedient to God Ecc.12:13.
vi. An overcoming life IJn.5:4.
vii. Witness of the Spirit Rom. 8:16
[Link] and fellowship with God 1John 1:3
ix. Power to live the Christian life John1:12

How to Live Life Successfully?

A Giving ourselves to the study of the word 1 Pet. 2:2, Ps.119:103, 2 Tim.2:15
Prayer and constant fellowship with the brethren Heb.10:25,1Thess.5:17
iik Total submission to ChristJames4:7;John 14:15,5:14.
iv. Witnessing Christ to others Mk.16:15, Matt.5:14-15

In the light of what we have learnt today, a born again Christian MUST be different
from those who are not. This difference should be evident in the words,thoughts
and actions (what you do, wear, hear, see or touch) of the believer. Also,as a born
again Christian, we must let go of old patterns of sins; do away with every form of
destructive relationship. Know this one thing, that any life committed to Jesus
cannot be [Link] are you doing with JESUS CHRIST?

BELIEVERS CLASS LECTURE MANUAL

 Love of God The Christian faith is unique in understanding God as love, and the
implications of this are profound. When you peel Christianity down to its very
core,you will find God as love. What does "God is love" mean? Yes, the Bible
teaches that God is just and omnipotent,and yet [Link] trademark
characteristic of God is love.

God is love:
1. God is the First Lover
God is the source and inspiration for our own love.
"We love because he first loved us."1John 4:19
Any kind of love that we experience for friends, for family, for that someone
special;all of it hadits root in God. Since the Bible teaches that we are made in
God's image (Genesis 1:27). We are designed according to his own "template."

2. God Loves Us
Perhaps the most wonderful and profound truth that you can grasp is that the
God of the universe knows you individually and loves you personally and
[Link] most famous verse in the New Testament spells this out:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (Jon 3:16). Jesus' prime
motivation to come to our world was love.

3. God Loves Us in Spite of Ourselves

A second truth is this: God loves us in spite of ourselves. It is very common t
think that because of your sins, God does not love you [Link] may be
th way you feel about yourself,but it does not describe God's feelings toward
you Consider:

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: "While we were still sinners, Chris
died for us" (Romans 5:8).
"But because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive wit
Christ even when we were dead in transgressions : it is by grace you have bee
saved" (Ephesians 2:4-5).

And another verse that we have seen already:"Forit is by grace you have been
saved,through faith, and this not from yourselves,

BELIEVERS CLASS LECTURE MANUA

 is the giftof God not by works,so that no one can boast."(Ephesians 2:8-9)God
does not love us because we are good and worth loving. No, he loved us when
we were still rebellious against him, when we were in sin,when we were
despicable.
The Two Greatest Commandments
If the essence of God's nature is love, then it follows that he desires his children
to [Link] Jesus was asked what were the most important commands in the
Bible-out of the hundreds of instructions in the Old Testament-Jesus
singledouttwo:(a) "Love the Lord your God with all yourheart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.'2 This is the firstand greatest commandment".
(b) "And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself." (Matthew
22:37-39)Let us look at these more closely:
1. Love God
First, we are commanded to love God supremely: with all our heart, soul,
and mind. How do you learn to love God? Through prayer and worship. By
walking through your life conscious of him and seeking to please him. To love
God means that we seek to obey him. Loving God is first, not down the ladder
of priorities that guide our lives,but top rung!

2. Love Our Neighbour

Second, we are commanded to love our neighbour. Who qualifies as
"neighbour"? Someone asked Jesus that. In response he told the story of the
Good Samaritan, wherea Samaritan man (a person from a hated ethnic and
religious minority) showed mercy towards an injured Jew (his natural
enemy).In other words, even our enemies are to be subjects of our love;
they are our neighbours (Luke 10:29-37).

3. We Are to Love Our Enemies

Nevertheless,Jesus' teaching is clear:
"I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you."(Matthew 5:44)
Dear friends, this is radical! No other religion teaches that we should love our
enemies! But because the core of God is love, this love extends even to God's
enemies (as we once were), and must extend to our enemies, too. We are
instructed:

BELIEVERS CLASS LECTURE MANUAL

"Bless those who persecute you; bless and don't curse." (Romans 12:14) You
see,love is the guiding principle, the engine that drives Christian living.

Love Causes Us to Forgive Those Who Sin Against Us

Jesus' first word from the cross reflected this radical truth aboutlove:
"Father,forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."(Luke 23:34a)
The will to forgive flows from this love at the core of God. Forgiveness is expected of
Jesus'followers,[Link] the centre of the Lord's Prayer we find this request:
"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."(Matthew 6:12)

"Debts," of course, represent [Link] are praying that God will forgive our sins in the
same way as we forgive those who have sinned against us. In the measure that we
forgive,we will be forgiven. And in case his disciples did not quite get the point,Jesus
stated it more clearly yet:

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also
forgive you. But if you don't forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your
sins."(Matthew 6:14-15)

This is a hard saying. Jesus says that if we want to be recipients of God's love and
forgiveness that we must let it flow on through us to others. We cannot receive
forgiveness without giving it as well.
There are people who have hurt you,sometimes deeply! Usually it is the people who
are closest to us who are able to hurt us the most. Have you forgiven these people
who have sinned deeply against you? Jesus asks you to do that.
To forgive does not mean that you now trust them and are suddenly close friends
again. Nor does it excuse what they have done or minimize the hurt and destruction
they have [Link] it means that you have decided in your heart to no longer hold
their sin against them ever again. Sometimes we don't think we are able to do this,the
hurt is so fresh and the wound so tender. But pray and ask God to help you
forgive,and he will.

Love is Not a Sign of Weakness,but of Strength

Sometimes people think that love is a sign of weakness. They think it is a jungle out
there-kill or be killed. There is no place for forgiveness in their hearts. Frankly, that
is a pretty shallow, naive view of love. Love is the strongest force in the world-
stronger