New creation (theology)
Encyclopedia
The new creation is a concept found in the New Testament
, related to the new life (ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς) and new man (καινός ἄνθρωπος) but with reference also to the Genesis "old creation".
Consider Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." The old, Adamic creation could not be said to be in any sense "in Christ" (even though brought into being by Him in the person of the Son prior to the incarnation (Col. 1:16)), so this must therefore be speaking of new creation.
Often the themes of the Genesis creation and new creation are contrasted, as, per N. T. Wright, in Colossians chapter 1, where the old creation and new creation in Christ (1:15-20) are compared with the new creation (vv. 21-23)
in Matthew's word genesis (γένεσις) between the meanings of "origin", "Genesis" (the first book of Moses) and "genealogy":
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
, related to the new life (ἐν καινότητι ζωῆς) and new man (καινός ἄνθρωπος) but with reference also to the Genesis "old creation".
In the letters of Paul
The language of a new creation is not limited to the two verses in the KJV that include that actual phrase (Gal. 6:15, 2 Cor 5:17). Other passages, such as Galatians 6:12-16, 2 Corinthians 5:14-19, Ephesians 2:11-22, Ephesians 4:17-24, and Colossians 3:1-11 present new creation teaching also, without that exact phrase.Consider Ephesians 2:10, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." The old, Adamic creation could not be said to be in any sense "in Christ" (even though brought into being by Him in the person of the Son prior to the incarnation (Col. 1:16)), so this must therefore be speaking of new creation.
Often the themes of the Genesis creation and new creation are contrasted, as, per N. T. Wright, in Colossians chapter 1, where the old creation and new creation in Christ (1:15-20) are compared with the new creation (vv. 21-23)
Other NT references
The first words of Matthew may also be an allusion to the idea of a new creation, with a double entendreDouble entendre
A double entendre or adianoeta is a figure of speech in which a spoken phrase is devised to be understood in either of two ways. Often the first meaning is straightforward, while the second meaning is less so: often risqué or ironic....
in Matthew's word genesis (γένεσις) between the meanings of "origin", "Genesis" (the first book of Moses) and "genealogy":
- Genesis 1:0 Septuagint: The Book of Creation [of Moses] (Βίβλος γενέσεως [Μωσέως])
- Matthew 1:1 Koine GreekKoine GreekKoine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
: The Book of Creation of Jesus Christ (Βίβλος γενέσεως Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ)