I guess the short question is, who sinned? Looking for your wisdom and learnings. in 2 Corinthians 5:17, says that the old is passed away and the new has come. That we are a new creation. If then we are this new creation, who sins after a person has been saved? Paul writes else where that it’s the flesh, but it seems in 2 Corinthians 5 that the flesh is put to death. Then if we are a new creation, is it the saint that sins? And why does that happen? I’ve seen a couple approaches to this and welcome your thoughts. One approach being a way to absolve yourself of responsibility because something other did it. The other proclaiming you are new and sin is not a part of you anymore.
The Kingdom is at hand but it is not yet complete. We have been declared righteous but our transformation is not yet complete. God knows how we will end up, and in faith we take his word for it while we are still undergoing the process of change. Sin once defined me. It was at the core of who I was. Now Christ defines me. He is my center. Sin is still in the picture, but it is a weak, pallid thing. I sometimes still choose to give it too much focus, and then I need a reminder of whose I am now, some encouragement from the Body to get back on track. We are complex and complicated. Black-and-white seldom applies to human beings.
In Paul, new creation/age to come/Spirit/resurrection pertains to the inward person, while the outer person remains connected with the first creation/this present evil age/flesh/death. A good to-the-point verse on this: 2 Corinthians 4:16: So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. You could call this a summary of regenerate Christian anthropology. If you pay attention as you're reading particularly Paul's letters, you will see this inner man/outer man distinction everywhere. The outer man will partake of the new creation/age to come/Spirit/resurrection on the Last Day. For now, we Christians participate in both ages simultaneously. Jesus alone (presently) fully participates in the new creation/age to come/Spirit/resurrection. Unbelievers only participate in the first creation/this present evil age/flesh/death, that is, until the Spirit changes them. If you want a book on the topic, send me a message.
