“And He that sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said unto me, ‘Write; for these words are true and faithful.'” Revelation 21:5
What is the newness of God as opposed to that which men call “newness?” First of all, it must be said that there is no comparison. The limitations of men, especially with regard to their mental and physical capacities, is such that man cannot conceive anything truly Good, as God sees it, in particular with regard to that which is holy, completely and distinctively separate from himself. If man’s limitations were not enough with regard to his state coming into this world, and living in it, his sinful tendencies and downward trends of thought, would convince us that he cannot get beyond himself. Man is a prisoner to his fallen nature, and captive to his enemy the devil in a fallen world. This is absolutely NOT true of God, revealed in Christ. Paul’s great words in his letter to the Galatians gives us a slight glimpse of what is possible to man who is IN CHRIST, made real by and according to the power of the Spirit that works in him. Paul wrote very simply: “For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.” (Gal. 5:13) The measure in which the believer lives, and walks by the Spirit of God, is the measure in which he knows and experiences this liberty from the bondage of sin, self, and the devil, being free to contemplate, and discover, by the Spirit, the newness that is of God, in Christ. Paul reaffirms this in writing to the Corinthian believers: “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Cor. 3:17) So, how does man, as the hymn-writer put it, “…rise to that sublime abode?” It is by one way, “…an offering and a sacrifice, a Holy Spirit’s energies, an Advocate with God,” Christ. As the compassions of God, and His mercy, are new every morning, because CHRIST is new, unchanging, and unalterable, the believer who would know and discover more and more the meaning and nature of this “new life,” this daily new beginning, and new creation, can do so by seeking Christ. Why? He is not only the author and finisher of faith, the beginning and the ending, but the only One who can reveal the things of God to the individual heart. He does this by His Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. (Eph. 1″17) This the Lord will do in answer to prayer, believing prayer. Paul has given us this prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23. But this is not all. Praying this prayer, or one similar, will bring us to a place of understanding concerning the meaning of “newness” in Christ, that we have never seen before. But what of the power to truly believe, and embrace it in fullest measure, “…beyond what we can ask or think?”
The answer lies in another prayer, one specifically designed and passed down in the Scriptures so that we can use it as a tool, a means, a way not only to the throne of Grace, but there to receive “help,” the strength and power to trust God fully for the realization of it in the life. Paul continues to write to the Ephesian believers: “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would GRANT you, according to His riches in glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” (Eph. 3:14-17) The newness of the new birth, the new creation that is in Christ, is just the beginning of the revelation. Then comes the revelation of the newness of Christ’s life, His mercies, every morning, every day.
The summation is: “The Christian life is a series of multiplied new beginnings.”
Dear Father, Fill us with newness. In Jesus’ name, Amen.