What does 2 Corinthians 5:17’s statement that “all things have become new” mean?

What exactly does it mean when the Bible says that “all things have become new” in 2 Corinthians 5:17?

ANSWER

Mary Magdalene describes her entire metamorphosis as a result of knowing Jesus Christ to Jewish religious leader Nicodemus in the first episode of the television series The Chosen. She says, “I was one way, and now I am completely another.” And he was the event that occurred in between. The apostle Paul’s doctrine that “if anybody is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have gone away; see, all things have become new” served as the inspiration for this dramatic sequence (2 Corinthians 5:17, NKJV).

We were thus buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might have a new life. This happens when a person comes into contact with Jesus Christ and surrenders to him as Lord and Savior (Romans 6:4). In Jesus Christ, we are completely transformed (Galatians 6:15). Our “previous way of life,” or “old self,” was “one way,” as Mary said in the television series, and it was “corrupted by its deceptive cravings” (Ephesians 4:22). However, the “new self” in Christ is “totally different,” having been “created to be like God in genuine righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24). According to the Bible, Jesus exorcised seven devils from Mary Magdalene when they met (Luke 8:1-3). Mary was eternally transformed into a passionate disciple of Christ after being set free.

For those who have experienced a new birth, everything has been made new through connection with Jesus Christ. We will be resurrected to life as he was because we were with him in his death.Our former existence, which was governed by sin, no longer has dominion over us. We are aware that sin was defeated in our lives when our former, sinful selves were crucified alongside Christ. Sin no longer has us as slaves. Because we were delivered from the power of sin when we died with Christ. Because we died with Christ, we know we will live with him (Romans 6:5-8, NLT).

All things have changed for the better, which represents the beginning of our transformation—our internal renewal and regeneration—which will result in the completeness of our redemption, which will be felt in eternity. In accordance with his word, however, we anticipate a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness resides. Our Savior’s death and resurrection heralded the beginning of this brand-new world (2 Peter 3:13). Everything in creation will eventually be renewed (Romans 8:19–20; see also Isaiah 65:17–25).

According to Paul, the new self of a Christian “is being recreated in knowledge in the image of its Creator” (Colossians 3:10). Believers develop more and more into the likeness of Christ “with ever-increasing splendour” as a result of the interior activity of the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18). God promises to remove our “heart of stone” and replace it with a “heart of flesh,” giving us a brand-new, undivided heart (Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26). And I will give you my spirit, which will inspire you to obey my commands and take care to uphold my rules (Ezekiel 36:27). Changes start in the heart, but they eventually spread to our conduct (Romans 12:2).

Paul emphasized in Philippians 3:4–9 that these transformations take place as a result of living by faith in Christ rather than by willpower and self-effort: “My old self has been crucified with Christ.” Christ now lives in me; it is not I who am alive. So, I rely on the Son of God, who loved me and offered himself for me, to sustain me in my physical body (Galatians 2:20, NLT).

For Christians, everything has changed—both inside of ourselves and in the ways we interact with others. Since Christ considered unbelievers as “sheep without a shepherd” or “lost sinners in need of a Savior,” we now see them with compassion (Matthew 9:36). There is no Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, because you are all one in Christ Jesus, regardless of how different they may be. We acknowledge fellow Christians as members of one undivided body—the new creation “(Galatians 3:28; see also Romans 12:5).

Through our unity with Christ, everything has been made new, and we no longer pursue our own interests (2 Corinthians 5:15). Jesus continued, “A new command I give you: Love one another.” You are a new creature in Christ. You must love one another, just as I have loved you. If you show one another love, then everyone will know that you are my disciples (John 13:34–35). We no longer live to satisfy ourselves but to please Christ (2 Corinthians 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1), to serve Him, and to watch out for others’ needs (Philippians 2:3-4; Galatians 6:2).