Introduction
The Bible tells us about the new life in Christ. Every Christian is a new creation according to the apostle Paul (1 Cor. 5:17), which means they have a new life. Paul said to the Colossians, You were dead in your trespasses, but now you are alive, which is new life in Christ (Ephesians 2:5). My question is, here for you, how would you answer these questions in your life? How can you say you have a new life? Who is the source of this new life, and what is the purpose of this new life? This essay will talk about new life in Christ in three points to understand it easily: the characteristics of new life, the source of new life, and the purpose of the new life.
The characteristic of the new life: faith, love , hope, and gospel
How can you know you are Christian? How can one say, I am Christian? The evident qualities of the new life are faith,love, and hope. Their trial word comes many times together. faith in Christian means of the new life. Christ is not the object only but the source of every blessing and this new life. This is the first character of the new life for which Paulheard from Epaphras and gave thanks to God. Paul not only heard of their faith in Christ but also of their love for the saints. “Saints”— the word means “set apart and holy” and “chosen by God for him.” They can’t love sacrificial love, one who is not Christian. They have these because of the hope that is laid up for them in heaven. Hope is the confident assurance and expectancy of the vaster blessing in store for believers in the life of the world to come. Faith and love are not consequences of hope, but these are the result of hope, which is laid up in heaven for them. Are we thinkinglikewise? Faith, love, and hope are the fruits of the gospel. In other words, the gospel is the source of their hope and faith and love, not other things. because first the gospel came to them and worked on them and bore fruit and bore the fruits in the whole world. Gospel is the word of truth. her paul talks about a universal gospel
The purpose of this new life: to be filled with knowledge of God and power of God.
The purpose of new life in christ is to be conformed into the image of Christ and, as a result, to share in God’s rule on the earth to the glory of God. to do that one need to filled onself with knowledge of God and power of God.Paul wantsthem to be filled with the knowledge of God and the power of God. So he prayed for them in Colossians 1:9-11. Hewants them to be filled with the knowledge of God alone, not with other knowledge like Gnosticism and asceticism.Colossians 2. Then they can bear fruit and live a life that pleases God and walk in a way that is worthy of God. Theyneed to know His will. Knowing His will means knowing what He likes and what He doesn’t like. How can we know His will? Reading the Bible daily alone. We should pray as Solomon prayed. He asked for wisdom to lead his people.In other words, he asked God for wisdom on how to apply His unchanging laws to changing people and the world. Paul talks about how to live this when we are in this present world. to be like Christ. To walk in a manner worthy ofGod is to live in harmony with others; living in disharmony is not worthy of life in God’s sight. The Christian life is about pleasing Christ and bearing fruit continually. It is possible only when you are filled with knowledge of God. Christians need God’s strength to endure and be patient when faced with persecution. This is the power that God raised Christ from the dead with; it is the same power with which Christ bore every humiliation in human life while being God at the same time. God wants us to be filled with this same power so that we could overcome every persecution and obstacle with joy. As a result, the purpose of this new life is to be filled with knowledge of God and the power of God, to be fruitful, and to have endurance and patience to become more like Christ.
The source of new life: God and his work.
God created everything out of nothing, including humans. The humans were created in the image and likeness of God to have fellowship with him and multiply in nurture and guard the earth (Genesis 1:27, 2:15). But they failed to do so and were separated from God for eternity (Genesis 3). albeit God did not leave them in their condition but gave new life in Jesus. For example, one can see in the Epistle of Colossians that Paul thanked God in his prayer for God’s workin the lives of the Colossians. That life was new life for them in Christ. They once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds (verse 1:21), but now God has delivered them from the domain of darkness and transferred them to the kingdom of his beloved son Jesus Christ. He has qualified them to share in the inheritance of the saints in Jesus (Colossians 1:13-14). In whom they have redemption and forgiveness of sin is the work of God. It is the work of God alone, not theirs. in the same way for us. Christian’s new life comes from God through Christ alone is called redemption or salvation. We can’t achieve this salvation with our qualifications and good works. This depends on God’s grace alone. This is evidence that the source of new life in Christ is God himself.
Conclusion
To conclude, to say you have new life in Christ means you have faith in Christ, love for your brother, and hope in heaven. Let’s not to forget that the source of new life is God alone and is the work of God. So fill your life with the knowledge and power of God to be fruitful, to be like Christ, which is the purpose of our life.
Discussion about this post