Our subject, as most of you know, is the new creation in Christ Jesus. We are following this subject through nine of the letters of the Apostle Paul.
Of course, these letters were written for particular purposes, and each letter has its particular purpose. Paul did not write any one of them with the special object of speaking about the new creation.
Each letter has another purpose; and yet, from beginning to end, Paul seems always to have the new creation in mind. He was always thinking back to the beginning and making comparisons between the old creation and the new.
Let me remind you of this in the letters which we have already considered. In the letter to the Romans, Paul refers to sin entering into the world. He says that through one man sin entered, and death passed upon all men. Clearly, that takes you right back to the beginning in the Book of Genesis.
When we go into the first letter to the Corinthians, in chapter 15, we have this:
As in Adam all die,
So also in Christ shall all be made alive.
There is a reference to the old creation and the new.
In the same chapter, chapter 15, we have:
The first man Adam became a living soul.
That is a reference to the old creation.
Then:
The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
That is a reference to the new creation.
When you go into the second letter to the Corinthians, you remember what Paul said there:
Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness,
Who shined in our hearts,
To give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
In the face of Jesus Christ.
That is a reference to the old creation: God said, “Let there be light.” The new creation is that God has shined into our hearts. It is still the same God Who gives life in the two creations.
Then we pass into the letter to the Galatians, and we remember Paul’s words:
Neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Paul is thinking about two creations. This idea of a new creation is always in his mind.
When we go into the letter to the Ephesians, we find Paul quoting the very words from Genesis 2:24. In Ephesians 5, he is thinking about husbands and wives, and he says:
The two shall become one flesh.
He quotes Genesis 2:24. He has the old creation in mind and the new.
You can see what is in Paul’s mind. He is always thinking in terms of the two creations. He compares them, and then he shows their differences. He gives a picture of what the old creation is and what the new creation is.
I think we have a good foundation for saying that these letters have something to say about the new creation.
Now we come to our letter for this evening: the new creation in the letter to the Philippians.
This is a very small letter so far as its size goes, and it is a very big letter so far as its spiritual value goes. Surely the letter to the Ephesians is the most wonderful letter in the Bible, but I think the letter to the Philippians is a beautiful letter. It is a letter that we love very much. We are never tired of reading this letter.
We are going to look at it in the light of the new creation. I am going to ask this question: What is it in this letter that speaks of the new creation?
The answer is found in Philippians 2:5:
Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.
The thing that makes the new creation here is the mind of Christ.
Then we ask the next question: What is the mind of Christ? How did He do these things? Verse 6 tells us:
Who, existing in the form of God,
Counted not the being on an equality with God a thing to be grasped,
But emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,
Being made in the likeness of men;
And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself,
Becoming obedient even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
There are two things in those verses. One is a reference to the old creation, and the other to the new. Perhaps you cannot see how there is a reference to the old creation, but it gives us a picture of that which was the opposite of the mind of Christ.
We have several Scriptures which give us some information about Satan before he became Satan. Before his name was Satan, it was Lucifer, son of the morning. These Scriptures tell us that he held a very high place in heaven. He was one of the most important persons in heaven.
The secret is found in Philippians 1:21:
For to me to live is Christ.
Christ had captured his heart. He had seen the value of Christ as greater than all that this world could give. That is the secret of everything. It is a matter of how we value Christ.
There is a story from early British history. When the Romans came to conquer Britain, the British had a great general. But the Roman general defeated him and captured him. He was conquered and captured, but he was not inwardly surrendered.
He had to be led away captive, and he was taken into the camp of the Roman general. There he lived for some time, and he watched this general work. He watched how this Roman general lived.
Slowly, he came to like this Roman general. Instead of being a rebellious prisoner, he greatly admired the man who had conquered and captured him.
Then the day came when the Roman general offered him his liberty. He told him that he could go back to his people if he liked. But he said, “No, I do not want to go now. First of all, you conquered me. Then you captured me. And now you have captivated me.”
I do not know, but that is how it was with Paul. On the road to Damascus, he was conquered. Then he became the prisoner of Jesus Christ. Then he became so taken up with the Lord Jesus that nothing all this world could give him would separate him from Jesus.
He said:
For to me to live is Christ.
I have no other interest in being alive except Jesus Christ.
You see, it is that which makes the new creation. The people who have that mind are truly the new creation.
I cannot close this without pointing out one other thing. This letter has come to be called the letter of joy in Christ.
If you look at it, you will see that it was the most joyous letter that Paul ever wrote. Paul was just overflowing with joy when he thought about these Philippians and wrote to them. It is a letter of joy.
Some people seem to think that if you surrender to Jesus Christ, it is going to be a very miserable sort of life. “You will have to give up this, and you will have to give up that. You will have to give up everything if you are going to be a Christian. It is going to be a very miserable experience.”
What did Paul give up? Yes, he gave up everything, but he was not miserable. When he wrote this letter, he was the happiest man on this earth.
He had found that Christ was more than everything that this world could give. The new creation is a very joyous thing.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.