Sanctified old man or Spirit-filled new man---which one will you choose?

When a person finds new life in Christ, a favorite verse to quote is 2 Corinthians 5:17. They revel in the newness which they feel growing inside of them. You often see pictures depicting a butterfly spreading it's wings to take flight with the scripture emblazoned across it in scrawling calligraphy. But I ask you, is the butterfly a new creature?

When you examine the most infamous of all butterflies, the Monarch, you can find what is considered the life cycle. From birth to death, the DNA of the Monarch remains the same. It is created as a larvae to endure the growth process of becoming a butterfly. This includes the chrysalis as it enters into the cocoon to metamorph into the butterfly. But is it a new creature? The answer is emphatically no. The butterfly is only becoming what he was created to be.

In Hebrews 9:16-18, we read "For where a treatment is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood." Realistically, I know that this scripture is speaking about the old covenant given to Moses. However, let's apply it in the light of 2 Corinthians 5:17. 

The verse in Corinthians tells us that we are a new creature if we are in Christ, that the old man has died and a new life has come. As we follow the Acts 2:38 plan for salvation, repenting of our sins, being baptized in Jesus name and receiving in ourselves the gift of the Holy Ghost, the old man that we were is replaced with a new holy man. This is not a metamorphosis as with the butterfly. It is not in our DNA to be this new creature. But when we were cleansed by His blood through baptism, there was a blood transfusion. The DNA of Jesus Christ began to flow through us making us new. 

However, we have to choose to accept that blood transfusion, just as in the natural medical field. We can sit back and morph into what we were always going to be, albeit a sanctified version. Or we can choose to allow that old man to die so that Christ can live through us. The decision is yours to make. Sanctified old man or Spirit-filled new man--- the choice is up to you.

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