The Believer as a New Creation

From the believer's having died and risen with Christ (vs. 14-15), the apostle reflects on the consequences in our own experience of union with Christ in his death. The first of these consequences is the formation of a "new creation" within us as distinguished from merely a new start or something added on to what we were. The sermon connects v. 17 with our Lord's teaching that we must be "born again". This new creation in the true believer is described in the text as the passing away of the old and the bringing in of altogether new perspectives. The sermon also develops practical implications of the doctrine for believers and those who cannot say that they have undergone such a profound change.