A NEW WORLD DAWNING

The dawn of a new world has broken over the horizon of darkness. We, Christians, are the vanguard of God's new creation which will someday wholly replace the old world order. Paul wrote, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation; the entire old order has passed away, behold the new has come to be (2 Corinthians 5:17).

There is no verb in the opening clause so we must supply one. A common interpretation is to make this into a statement of personal regeneration. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The noun (κτίσις) can mean "creature," and it is certainly legitimate to supply "he is" as the verb. The verse would be understood as an explanation of regeneration. The form of the expression is similar to Rabbinic language for proselyte conversion and the forgiveness of sins (Meyer, 2 Corinthians, p. 534). Paul uses similar language when he writes that we are created (κτισθέντες) in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:10). 

However, I think it best to understand the verse as speaking about a new creation that Christians inhabit when we are placed into Christ. Do the words "new creation" (καινὴ κτίσις) explain the person (anyone, τις) or "in Christ" (ἐν Χριστῷ)? The emphasis falls on "in Christ." The new creation defines "in Christ" more than personal regeneration (Martin, 2 Corinthians, p. 152). We become part of a new creation in Christ. The old world order has passed away for us, and we are now part of a whole new world that has dawned. We certainly must be new creatures (by regeneration) to be part of the new creation, but I think the emphasis is on what it means to be part of the new creation for three reasons.

1) The noun κτίσις is more commonly used for God's creation whereas the noun κτίσμα is more commonly understood as creatures (NIDNTT, 1:378). James 1:18 says that God brought us forth ... so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures (κτισμάτων). The Qumran sect used the concept of a new creation (κτίσις) to refer to a new world order that the righteous would inhabit after the old world order disintegrated (NIDNTT, 1:383).

2) The following clause explains the new creation. Paul says the old order has passed away. The neuter plural adjective (τὰ ἀρχαῖα) means the total of everything old (Robertson, Grammar, p. 654). When combined with the verb "passed away" (παρῆλθεν) the sense refers to an old world order (Martin, 2 Corinthians, p. 534). The verb translated "passed away" is used elsewhere for the passing away of an old world order (Hughes, 2 Corinthians, p. 203, fn 42). Peter uses this word in 2 Peter 3:10 to describe the Day of the Lord when the heavens will pass away (παρελεύσονται) with a roar (cf. Mt. 24:35). John uses a similar verb in Revelation 21:4 when he describes a world without death, mourning or pain because the first things have passed away (ἀπῆλθαν). 

3) The opening word of the verse (ὥστε) ties verse 17 directly to verse 16. Verse 17 is the result of what he has said in verse 16. Our relationships with one another and with Christ have been completely changed because we are part of a whole new creation. We no longer recognize others according to our physical connections, but we relate to one another in a new and spiritual way. The prejudices of the old world have passed away in this new creation. In Christ, we practice a new way of relating to others because we are part of a new creation.

A new world order is dawning. Because we are new creations in Christ, we are part of a new creation of Christ. One day we will see the new world in all its glory. We will see a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away (ἀπῆλθαν). We will finally and fully experience our new creation relationships with God and with others in ways we can only glimpse today (Revelation 21:1-4). Awesome!