2Corinthians 5:17-18 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed. Behold all things are made new. But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ has reconciled us to Himself (received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself) and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation (that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him)."
I remember a serial called "Tarzan of the Apes," that came to the local movie theater every Saturday when I was growing up. Tarzan was a boy raised by apes, in the jungle. Although he was human, Tarzan behaved like an ape, because he was raised in the ape culture. Tarzan acted like the apes acted, lived like them, ate what they ate and "spoke" the ape language. Tarzan was a human being and from a much higher realm of being than the apes, but he failed to function in that realm because of the culture he was raised in. Tarzan was a foster child of the apes who raised him and was born from a higher class of being and held dominion over the jungle animals. The animals recognized the place and power of Tarzan's authority.
This probably seems foolish, but whenever I think about the new creation family of God, I think about "Tarzan of the Apes." Even though we are born-again, are of the Seed of God (His Word) and God Himself calls us His children, we've been raised in the worldly culture and trained by the world and those who didn't know God at all. We've adapted the ways of the world and it's way of thinking, until we operate like they do. Tarzan didn't have to try being a human, because he was born that way. Tarzan didn't know "how to be a human being," because he adapted himself to what he was taught. Tarzan was not an ape, but he lived as one of them, because that was how he was raised.
We don't have to "try being new creation children of God," because after being born-again, we are new creations and God calls us His children. This is true, even if we were raised in the world's system. God's Word produces like it says and if you've received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you've been born into the Kingdom and family of God. You are a new creation. We've don't have to try to be in God's family; we already are. What we need to do now, is learn how to live like this new creation family is supposed to.
We can live like Tarzan, eating bark and roots and living in the trees. Or, we can enter into our real identity and live as God intended for us to live. Tarzan always held great potential, but he never saw another human being to pattern himself after, so he continued living like an ape. We've lived far below the great potential of who God has made us to be as new creation people. We've learned to talk like the world, think like the world, deny the very Super-natural ability of God like the world does and have allowed the world to tell us who we are, instead of knowing who or what we really are.
We were born into the family of God, "By the Same Word (Seed) Who became flesh and dwelt among us," according to John 1:14 The Law of Genesis says that "every seed produces after kind." We've seemingly accepted this as being Truth in every realm, except for the realm of the Spirit. We know that if one plants an apple seed, then he will grow apple trees and that if he plants corn, then he will grow corn. No one can plant corn and have grow green beans from it.
We were born-again, by the Same Seed (Word) that Jesus was born of, but we somehow think we must work at "becoming a child of God and part of His Kingdom," as new creatures. It hasn't been a matter of the Seed not doing it's job of producing children of God. It's been a matter of our not knowing what the Seed has now produced. Tarzan wasn't raised as a human being, so he never grew into his place as a human. The Church has been raised by the world, so we mostly do as the world does.
In order to learn how to become a responsible child of God and to function like a child of God, we must be trained or educated by the Word and the Spirit of God. Tarzan was alive, but he was useless t the human race. This wasn't because Tarzan wasn't human, but because he wasn't raised as a human.
The Church has never come into our life as new creation people, because the world has become our foster parents and has raised us in it's culture. Tarzan had the ability to write, read, drive a car, build a house, become an engineer of physician, but he wasn't raised in that culture. He simply adapted to and became like an ape with less hair.
We cannot allow the world to raise God children, as foster parents. The world doesn't know how we are to be raised and they don't know who or what we should be raised into. The Super-natural doesn't exist for the world, so we were raised to be that it doesn't exist too. Most of the world's gods were fostered from stone or wood and were considered superstition, so the world taught us to believe this about our God. Most of us in the new creation, pray only as a cry of desperation for help, rather than to fellowship with God or to train up ourselves in His family.
Having our prayers heard and answered, should be as true for us, as planting corn; we know what it will produce. The world, as foster parents, has raised God's children and made us to become like the society of the world system. Many in the new creation are ridiculed when speaking about the Super-natural things of God or about the spiritual ability of the new creation. This is true, even in many circles of the family of God (the Church).
When a baby is born into this world, he or she doesn't need to try becoming a human being. It was a human being, when it was conceived. This is also true for the new creation family. When you're born-again, you don't need to try becoming a Christian (or child of God), because you were born a child of God and already are His child. The Church has tried for centuries, to "become Christians," because we never realized that we are already God's children. The world has taught and trained us to be what i considers Christians and what Christians do. Tarzan didn't act like an ape because he was an ape. He acted like one, because his foster parents were apes and taught him to act like an ape.
As new creation family, we have now been born-again into the realm of the Spirit. Very few have allowed themselves to be taught by the Spirit, so we've been trained by the intellectual understanding of the Word and not the Truth and Spirit of the Word. Having a carnal mind, doesn't always mean "unsaved." It means being trained by the world, instead of the Spirit. It's obvious that unsaved men would be carnally minded, but the new creation people are to be trained and raised by the Word and the Spirit. In 1Corinthians 3:1-2 (Amplified) Paul writes to the Church in Corinth (who were new creation people of God), saying, "However Brethren I could not talk to you as to spiritual (men), but as to non-spiritual (men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates), as to mere infants (in the new life) in Christ (unable to talk yet) I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough (to be ready for it)."
The Church in Corinth were new creatures, who were being raised by the foster parents of the world. Even though they were spiritual children of God, they were still being raised by the world and the natural man. In Romans 12:2 (Amplified) Paul wrote to the Church of Rome, saying, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age) (fashioned after and adapted to it's external, superficial customs) but be transformed (changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind (by its new ideals and its new attitude), so that you may prove (for yourselves) what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect (in His sight for you)."
Most of us (and I mean most of us) have been trained by the carnal mind, instead of the Spirit. Many in the Church believe that the Super-natural work of God "stopped at the early Church." We've adapted ourselves "to this present age and it's external and superficial customs," just like Paul admonished us not to do. Because we lack understanding about who God has made us to be, we've allowed our foster parent (the world) to teach us and train us up in it's ways and customs. It's true we are to observe the rules and standards of "abstaining from the sins of the flesh," but these standards were already true under the Law. The new creation is supposed to be taught by the Holy Spirit, how to bring the flesh under subjection and how to excel in the spiritual things of God.
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