How does Ezekiel 18:31 connect with 2 Corinthians 5:17 about new creation? Ezekiel’s urgent call • Ezekiel 18:31: “Cast away from yourselves all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel?” • The prophet addresses people still under the Old Covenant, stressing personal responsibility—turn from sin, embrace inner renewal, choose life. • The language implies both repentance (casting away sin) and transformation (new heart, new spirit), yet offers no explicit mechanism by which they can manufacture that newness themselves. Paul’s fulfilled promise • 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come!” • In Christ, what Ezekiel urged is realized. The new heart Ezekiel demanded becomes the new creation God supplies through union with Jesus. • The initiative shifts from human effort to divine accomplishment—“in Christ,” not “make yourselves.” The single storyline • Same goal: inner renewal leading to life with God. • Ezekiel looks forward, urging repentance while hinting at future enablement (Ezekiel 36:26-27). • Paul looks back to the cross and resurrection, declaring that enablement has arrived (Romans 6:4; Galatians 2:20). From command to provision 1. Old Covenant spotlight: Human responsibility—turn, repent, seek newness. 2. New Covenant spotlight: Divine provision—God gives new heart by the Spirit (Jeremiah 31:33; Titus 3:5). 3. Continuity: both proclaim that life and death hinge on inner transformation. 4. Progression: the gospel supplies what the law demanded. Practical implications • Assurance: believers already possess the “new heart” Ezekiel called for; regeneration is settled fact, not pending task. • Ongoing repentance: casting away sin remains necessary (Ephesians 4:22-24), but now empowered by the indwelling Spirit. • Identity: the old self is truly gone; living as new creation means aligning thoughts, choices, and habits with that reality (Colossians 3:9-10). • Hope for others: proclaiming Christ invites them to receive the very heart change Ezekiel preached and Paul celebrated. |
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