Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come (2 Cor 5:17).

These words of Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians are so familiar to us today that such mental familiarity sometimes causes spiritual blindness to the true meaning of the scripture. Although it says, “The old has gone, the new has come,” we still have the same hair, nose, and eyes; we speak the same language, and have the same memory of the past as before. How much have we really changed from “the old” to “the new” since we believed in Jesus?

Does the Bible lie? If not, something must be wrong with the way we understand it. The reason that the Bible often seems unreal is that it always speaks of spiritual realities, not physical ones. Hence, you always need to be aware of the gap between these two different realities. Look at what Paul says immediately before the above verse:

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer (v. 16).

What he means by “a worldly point of view (literally, according to the flesh)” is the view in which a natural man with no spiritual awareness or discernment sees things of this world. For instance, if you consider Jesus from this point of view, he was only a son of a carpenter, who lived in Nazareth, but from a spiritual point of view, he is the Son of God, the Incarnate Word, who existed before the creation of this world. In the same way, when the Bible says that you are “a new creation,” it speaks of you from a spiritual point of view, not from a worldly point of view.

What is important about this reality is that you need to accept it by faith, and only then, the truth becomes activated and begins to work for you. Jesus who physically lived on earth two thousand years ago died for the forgiveness of the sins of all people. This truth, however, works only for those who accept him by faith. Read the following scripture:

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life (Rom 6:4).

In what sense, can you say that you “were buried with him”? Were you? No, not in a physical sense, but yes, in a spiritual sense. This baptism, therefore, is not the water baptism you received. Even if you have not been baptized with water physically, you were baptized into Jesus Christ, and were united with him in his death as long as you believe in him. It is the spiritual reality that happened to you, and you need to take it by faith.

The new series “God of Creation” has started. I see a lot of misunderstandings as well as ignorance concerning God’s creation among people of faith today. Be open-minded, and meditate upon the scriptures presented to you. If you really grasp what they mean, the truth you learn will change your life. It is so powerful that God’s creation work will be manifested not only to you, but also to those who come into contact with you. Be faithful in listening to the sermons, and doing each drill. Drills are made in a self-study format so that as you answer each question, you come to discover truths directly from the Bible. These drills also aim to train your spiritual ears and eyes so that you come to see more the mystery of God’s wisdom.

The Bible contains so many stories and passages regarding God’s creation starting with those in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. They are all true stories revealing the true spiritual realities. Let us first look at the following passage in Ezekiel:

The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said, "O Sovereign Lord, you alone know (Ezek 37:1-3)."