by Jason Caywood
Sometimes we start to believe that our main sins are gone—after all, we are now part of God’s Kingdom. But then we notice old desires returning. These urges try to pull us back into the same harmful thoughts and behaviors we once followed willingly.
When we go back to the Bible for help, we may feel discouraged instead of comforted. God’s promises about freedom and peace can seem far away or even unreal. We cry out, Lord, have mercy!
One verse that can confuse or trouble us is 2 Corinthians 5:17. Let’s look closely at it.
A more literal way to translate Paul’s words is:
“So if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation; the old things have passed away, look, the new things have come.”
Let’s look at two key Greek words:
- parelthen (“passed away”): This means the old things are gone in a complete way.
- gegonen (“have come”): This means the new things have started and are still happening. Because of how this word is used, there isn’t a fixed time limit—it shows the new is both here now and still coming.
Paul’s teaching here is precious and important for us to understand.
So how does this help us in our struggles as we try to love and follow God?
First, we are not yet spiritually perfect. The new life is still unfolding. We need to accept our struggles as part of God’s work in us. God uses these battles to shape us. Nothing we face surprises him. Even our choices to sin are already known and will be used for our good.
The Holy Spirit never wastes anything we do or experience. He works in hidden ways through all of it, even in what others do to us.
Second, our hope is in Christ alone. As we learn to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit, we will better understand what God has done for us. The Spirit has placed us “in Christ,” so that his death and resurrection bring both death to our old self and new life within us.
We often trust ourselves too much. But because of the power of sin and our inward selfishness (“the flesh”), we cannot save ourselves. Only Christ’s sacrifice makes us free.
As Paul wrote: “One has died for all; therefore all have died.” (2 Corinthians 5:14)
That is why “the old things have passed away.” We need to learn to live in this truth if we want real freedom, as Jesus promised (John 8:36).
Third, since we truly are “in Christ,” this must become the foundation of how we live—both now and forever. Those who are “born from above” are already part of the “new creation,” even if they don’t fully see it yet.
Our main struggle is this: we try to understand God’s work using only human thinking. Instead, we should open our hearts to him. The sooner we learn to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7), the sooner the Holy Spirit can show God’s power in every part of us—body, mind, emotions, and memories (see 2 Corinthians 4:7–12).
Finally, we can take courage. Becoming mature in Christ is a process. God is doing a mysterious work in us, and his timing is perfect. The “new things have come”—and they keep appearing in us in ways God chooses and when God chooses.
We cannot create these changes on our own. But we can keep offering ourselves to the Holy Spirit, again and again, asking for this divine work of change. We can choose to obey God’s good commands. We must do this!
We can also choose to receive God’s rest “in Christ.” We do this by opening our whole selves to His love and power, moment by moment, day by day (see 2 Corinthians 4:16–18).