As we approach Passover, it is fitting to reflect on God's new creation, which begins with His creation of the new man, of whom Christ is the Firstfruits, the first and preeminent. This new creation will culminate in His building a new heaven and a new earth. Unlike the first order of things defined by division, unity is the defining characteristic of this new creation, an environment of fellowship and peace, as God unravels the separations of the initial creation. As members of God's new creation now, the unity He is building must deeply affect our thinking and actions. In the new order of things, as seen in Revelation 21, God replaces the separations established in Genesis. The sea is gone, dissolving the land/sea pairing by removing one member, creating a symbolic unification where all is land. Similarly, the day/night pairing ends, with no night in this new order, reversing another fundamental separation. This process of unification, not division, marks the new heaven and new earth. For those who have clothed themselves with Christ, as described in Galatians 3 and Colossians 3, old pairings such as Jew and Gentile, male and female, no longer hold spiritual validity. Though these distinctions persist in the physical order, they are already history for those oriented over-the-sun, signifying a present unity in Christ. This unification is further illustrated in Ephesians 2, where Christ's sacrifice breaks down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, creating one from two, a spiritual amalgamation reflecting peace and fellowship. God's method of destroying pairings is thorough, as seen in the dissolution of divisions with the same ardor He will display in creating a new heaven and a new earth. Christ's work is one of reconciliation, gathering into one, a process already underway as God constructs an environment of peace and unity. This new creation, characterized by fellowship with the Father, His Son, and each other, continues to be built, breaking down walls of division until all is reconciled and united in peace.

Each and every Christian is a new creation, brought into existence by God's intelligent, imaginative, and artistic power in action. This new creation did not exist before, and it is not something that a person creates within themselves. Just as a human baby does not create itself in its mother's womb, a Christian is the product of God's creative laws and powers, working to reproduce Himself in His image. The finishing touches of this material creation, begun in Genesis 1, are crafted within the relationship with Him, where He molds and shapes us spiritually. This creative process starts with God's calling, without which there is no possibility of becoming a new creation. Through His Spirit, He initiates a transformation in the called person's life, changing their outlook and perspective. Old ways of thinking pass away, and a continuing process of new creation begins, overwhelmingly driven by His work. He establishes a new fellowship through reconciliation, making peace between Himself and us, with Jesus Christ as the basis for this unity. His initiative in providing a means of reconciliation prompts our response, enabling spiritual growth. God is the hands-on Creator, actively working in and through us, shaping us as His workmanship. We are created in Christ Jesus, fitted into His body as parts that contribute to the whole, each placed by Him according to His design. He infuses us with His life and character, forming us to be in perfect agreement with Him as the Head. As the Master Designer, He works on each of us individually, assigning specific functions within His Family government, ensuring that every part is crafted with utmost care to fit His vision. We do not create ourselves through our works; rather, we respond to what He enables us to do. He prepares us beforehand to carry out good works, giving us the desire and ability to perform them. Our role is to express and manifest what He has already put within us, yielding to His creative manipulations. This process, though challenging, is not impossible, for He works in us both to will and to do, ensuring we can become what He intends.

Every Christian, as a new man, is a new creation, no longer bound by the old life of sin and slavish obedience to human nature. Having been set free from sin, we become slaves of righteousness, renewed in mind and conduct to walk in newness of life. The new man, with a renewed, circumcised heart, is the New Covenant man, made new by a new heart and the new spirit within, which is God's Holy Spirit, enabling us to walk in His ways. The new man is not new due to physical circumcision but because he has obeyed God's command to circumcise the foreskin of his heart, being renewed in the spirit of his mind. Daily, we must choose to put on the new man, adopting the Christian way of life, just as one chooses clothing, feeling so at home with this way of life that we refuse to take it off for any reason. This choice reflects a partnership between God and us, a collaborative effort in creating and nurturing the new man over the span of a Christian's life. God initiates by creating the new man and giving a new heart and spirit, yet we must cooperate by casting away transgressions and making ourselves a new heart through keeping His law and doing His commandments. This collaboration is evident as God works in us to will and to do for His good pleasure, while we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, preparing ourselves as living sacrifices by putting on the clean clothes of the new man for the marriage of the Lamb.