How the Cross Reveals Your New Creation Identity
We instinctively measure our spiritual progress by looking at the finish line. We want to see growth, maturity, and the physical manifestation of God’s promises in our lives. It makes perfect sense to focus on the end result, as nobody enters a race just to stop halfway.
Yet, there is a fundamental flaw in this thinking.
A finish line is completely meaningless if it is disconnected from the correct starting point. In a famous Comrades Marathon, twin brothers swapped places halfway through the race, finishing with an impressive time. They were ultimately disqualified, losing their medals and prize money, because you cannot legitimately end a race you did not legitimately start. The same is true in our faith. The foundation of everything we build, everything we experience, and everything we become must begin at the cross of Jesus Christ.
This truth is essential for understanding how to approach our New Creation spiritual growth. When we read The Goodness of God Is Already Pursuing You, we see that God’s heart has always been bent toward us. When we engage in Transforming Your Life by Renewing Your Mind, we realize that our thoughts must align with heaven’s reality. These realities converge perfectly in the message of the New Creation. This post will reveal why the cross must be your starting block, how the New Creation alters the very fabric of your identity, and why you possessed immense worth in God’s eyes before you ever believed.
Understanding the New Creation
Why is the cross considered the starting line of our faith?
The cross is the foundational entry point into the Christian faith. Just as a race cannot be legitimately completed without a proper start, our spiritual growth and eternal life rely entirely on what Jesus accomplished at the cross. Everything we experience as a New Creation flows from this starting point.
Did God only start loving me after I became a Christian?
No, God loved you and found you worthy before you ever believed. You were created in His image, and He considered you a pearl of great price even while you were a sinner. The cross did not create your value; it revealed the immense value you already held in God’s heart.
Why do I still struggle with old habits if I am a New Creation?
The only remaining link to your old life is your memories. The cross stripped sin and the darkness of their actual power, but our free will allows us to remember and act on old beliefs. By actively renewing your mind and speaking God’s truth over yourself, you break agreement with those memories and live fully in freedom.
The Cross is the Starting Line
If we had to select a single symbol to represent our faith, the cross would be universally recognized. The Apostle Paul delivers this reality with intense clarity in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, explaining that he passed on what is of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, and was raised on the third day. Everything we experience in the New Creation hangs upon the finished work of that cross. We must enter through the cross to run the race God has set before us. Starting at the cross is essential, as it grants us the ability to run toward the finish line and receive the fullness of what Jesus purchased for our New Creation lives.
Creating a True Foundation
We build our New Creation lives upon what we believe about ourselves. What we believe functions either as a ceiling that restricts us or a foundation that supports our growth. If you believe you are only valuable when you perform well, you will constantly live under the pressure of trying to keep people happy, and if you believe you lack intelligence, you will operate at that exact level. We cannot consistently do what we do not believe.
God invites us to shatter those ceilings. The scripture in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 declares that from now on, we regard no one from a worldly point of view. If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new is here. We must align our internal image with God’s perspective. When we start agreeing with what God believes about us, we establish a firm New Creation foundation. We discover that we are unconditionally loved, and we grow up into that incredible standard as a New Creation.
How the Cross Filters Your Reality
Everything in life intersects with the cross of Jesus Christ. The cross acts as a filter, and different aspects of our existence interact with it in three distinct ways. Certain realities come to the cross and pass straight through it unchanged, such as God’s love, because love is His eternal nature. Other things arrive at the cross and are profoundly transformed as they pass through. Old Testament worship required animal sacrifices, but the cross changed worship into a continuous spiritual connection available anywhere for the New Creation.
Crucially, some things come to the cross and stop entirely. Our negative pasts, inherited addictions, self-hatred, and destructive mindsets hit the cross and lose all authority. If you grew up believing you were unworthy or destined for failure, that lie stopped at Calvary. The cross strips those elements of their power, refusing them passage into your New Creation identity.
How Things Interact with the Cross
| Reality | Interaction at the Cross | Example |
| Passes Through | Continues unchanged because it stems from God’s eternal nature. | God’s love. |
| Changes and Goes Through | Profoundly transformed to fit the new covenant. | Worship. |
| Stops Completely | Loses all authority and is refused passage into the new life. | Sin, shame, negative past, destructive mindsets. |
You Were Worthy Before You Believed
We must recognize that we are made in the image of God, composed of body, soul, and spirit, as seen in Genesis 2:7. The most breathtaking truth about your identity is that your worth existed long before you surrendered to Jesus. We sometimes mistakenly assume that God only began to value us after we went through the cross and got saved.
Your value was immense before the cross and remains immense after the cross. God saw something so precious in you, a pearl of great price, that He sent His Son to redeem you. In Romans 5, we read that while we were still sinners, weak, and enemies of God, Christ died for us. He did this because He recognized your inherent worth even amidst the brokenness of sin. The blood of Jesus makes us acceptable to God, removing any need for us to perform or sacrifice to earn His favor. We are just as loved today in the New Creation as we were before we even knew His name.
Renewing the Mind and Speaking Life
When we step into this New Creation reality, the only remaining link to our old life is our memories. The darkness has no actual power or hook in us anymore. We possess free will, and we sometimes allow memories of past failures or old addictions to dictate our current actions. We must intentionally renew our minds to break those final mental associations. We must see ourselves as free, completely liberated by the cross and walking in our New Creation identity.
We change our beliefs by actively speaking God’s life over our situations. When you feel lacking, you declare that Jesus is the door of hope who turns dry places into fertile valleys. You declare that heaven richly supplies your needs. You embrace the New Creation identity God has spoken over you: you are an eternal being, the righteousness of Christ, the dwelling place of Almighty God, and a pearl of great price. You are perfectly safe, whole, and free.
As we walk out this incredible New Creation identity, it is vital to keep feeding your spirit with truth. Stay connected with everything happening at Fountain of Life Church, Harrismith. Receive updates and key moments from the life of the church in one place. Subscribe here: https://folhs.co.za/#connected
Embracing the Starting Line
We have established that the cross is the true starting line for our faith. You cannot run a successful race by bypassing the cross or bringing old luggage into the new reality. The cross successfully filtered out your shame, stopped the power of sin, and brought you into a completely renewed New Creation existence. You are a New Creation, loved unconditionally, and completely acceptable through the sacrifice of Christ.
Let us stand boldly on this foundation, allowing God’s perspective to dictate our potential. By renewing our minds and speaking His truth over our lives, we leave the limitations of the past behind. You are equipped to run this race with joy, confident in the finished work of Jesus, the unbreakable love of God, and your undeniable New Creation reality.
Bible References
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”
- 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
- Genesis 2:7 “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
- Romans 5:8 “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
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