2 COR. v. 17. “There-
fore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things
are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
I. THE state out of which the apostle describes himself as
having arisen, is one in which he knew men after the flesh,
and he knew Christ after the flesh. He had the common
worldly estimate of Christ and man until his belief of the
Saviour’s resurrection put that estimate aside and replaced
it by another. He realized the Divinity of Christ and a
deep sense of gratitude and love melted Him to a reality of
self-consecration.
His estimate of his fellow-men was changed. He ceased
to make himself the centre of the universe. He learned to
see Christ in his fellow creatures.
Further, he adopted new views of the doctrine and mean-
ing of human life.
II. How is this preached? Those of whom such things
can be truly said, are in Christ. The expression “in
Christ” is a sort of keynote to which all the apostle’s
statements and arguments are set. Our being new
creatures, and therefore fit for the spiritual life of the
redeemed, depends on our being in Christ
Gordon Calthrop, M.A.