New beings fit for the kingdom of God

New beings fit for the kingdom of God are new creation, new creatures. For, we have been born again, born of the Spirit and blessed. 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Messiah,…” Ephesians 1:3 (Eph 1:1-23)

“Therefore if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new. But all things are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Yeshua the Messiah, and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation; namely, that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses, and having committed to us the word of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 WMB

Becoming new beings is an instantaneous salvation process.

 We are God’s “workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10

Paul sums up that salvation process…

And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:1-10 NASB

F.F. Bruce provides this insight: “It must be remembered in the New Testament times repentance and faith, regeneration and conversion, baptism in water, reception of the Holy Spirit, incorporation into Christ, admission to church fellowship and first communion were all parts of a simple complex of events which took place within a very short time, and not always in a uniform order. Logically they were distinguishable, but in practice they were all bound up with the transition from the old life to the new.” The Epistle to the Ephesians, Pickering and Inglis, 1969, page 79

Through His workmanship, God makes us new beings in Christ

The moment we repent of our sin and believe in Jesus, God our Father creates us in Christ Jesus and we are born again as new beings. In His conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus clearly revealed how being born of the Spirit is vital to seeing and entering the kingdom of God.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews; this man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered,

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit. John 3:1-8 NASB

New beings think differently and put on the new self.

“And so from now on we don’t think of anyone only as a human being. Once we thought of Christ only as a man, but not now anymore. So if anyone is in Christ, he is a new being. The old things have passed away. They have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 AAT

“Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.” Colossians 3:9-11 NASB

May I never boast of anything but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world. No circumcision of the lack of it is anything, but only the new life that is created. Peace and mercy on all who follow this rule, that is, on God’s Israel. Galatians 6:14-16 AAT 

God creating us in Christ Jesus as new beings is called regeneration

Paul explains our regeneration as God gives us new birth, our again genesis for life in the kingdom that is.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration/παλινγενεσίας and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. Titus 3:4-7 NASB

There, in the washing of regeneration, we see God our Savior, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ our Savior. God our Savior saved us by His grace. (Eph 2:8) We are born of the Holy Spirit. (Jn 3:4-6) Jesus Christ baptizes us with the Holy Spirit. (Mt 3:11). N. T. Wright puts washing of regeneration “washing of the new birth.” (The Kingdom New Testament).