II Corinthians 5:15-17 “And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
Having emphasized the payment for redemption, “And that he died for all . . . and rose again”; Paul then declares the product of redemption; “he is a new creature.” With respect to what is divinely accomplished in the life of the sinner when one has expressed faith in the complete work of Christ on the cross; II Corinthians 5:17 is probably the most well-known and most quoted verse in Scripture. It is only upon close examination of the text that one discovers the wealth of truth found in Paul’s declaration of the product of redemption! The first thing that we discover is the originality of the product, “a new creature.” The word “new” has the idea of a new quality with respect to its freshness and not its age. The word “creature” is a very interesting word. One of its meaning is, an original formation. God is not in the reworking business in which He takes a bunch of old parts and putting them together in a different way. The product of redemption is an original, there is nothing like it! This truth is further emphasized by the fact that it is a birth.
The second thing that we discover is the occupation of the product. The word “creature” also had the idea of the founding of a city, colonization of a habitable place. It comes from a word that means to found a city or a habitable place. At the time of redemption, God takes up residency in the product because for the first time since the fall man is now a habitable. If God does not occupy the individual, then redemption has not occurred; “Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his” (Roman 8:9). In I Corinthians 6:19, Paul emphasizes this further; “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God?” What a glorious thought that God redeemed me so that He could live in me!
The final discovery is the owner of the product. The word “creature” comes from a word that has the idea to fabricate with proprietorship of the manufacturer. In addition to telling the product that they are “the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you”; Paul adds, “and ye are not your own?” God has not given up the right to ownership!
The payment of redemption had yield the product of redemption; a product of significant value and worth because of its originality, its occupation, and its owner. In all the world, there is nothing like the product of redemption! The only thing better than knowing about it, is being one!