Regenerating Grace

Have you ever been reading The Bible and came across a familiar passage, and then upon reading it further and some study you find something in it that absolutely blows you away? Man, I read this and I about fell out of my office chair. This junk is SICK!!!

2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come." (NASB)

Nothing new there right? Heard it a million times, powerful and life changing but we've still heard it all of our lives. But I decided to look it up in the Matthew Henry's Commentary. And when I did I read this, "Regenerating grace creates a new world in the soul; all things are new."

Ok, so it breaks it down right? This isn't the kicker but think about it a little bit. God loves us SO much, and cares SO much about our promises that He has given us that He is willing to forget eveyrthing from the past and make us new. ALL OVER AGAIN! In order to achieve the promise, we must be willing to sacrifice. (Hebrews 11:17-19) So in order to help us achieve our promises, and achieve the holiness we can achieve with and through Him, we are to be made new! I'm NOT THE SAME PERSON I WAS YESTERDAY!!

But here's the part that took me back: "regenerating grace"...WHAT? So I decided to look up the word "regenerating". I mean, I knew what it meant but I wanted to make sure. Here are the definitions I saw that were most relevant:
- to form again (ok, good one)
- to change radically, for the better (another good one)
- to restore to original strength or properties (HOLY STINKIN' COW)

Ok, so here's really what this verse is saying. You, by being YOU, have dilluted the original function and power of the cross of grace, but IF you will simply come to ME (Jesus) and let ME wrap MY arms around you, quit worrying about other stuff, the grace that I died for, will be restored to it's ORIGINAL strength and property.

The grace that raised Jesus Christ from the grave, the grace, that Saul later turned to Paul, was given after cursing and killing God's people and His name. The grace that Zaccheus experienced at his dinner table; the grace that Matthew the tax collector experienced when asked to "Follow Me". THAT will be restored to it's original strength or property. DUDE, that PUMPS ME UP!!! In order to restore grace to it's original property and strength SOMETHING must die. SOMETHING must pass away.Why? Because WE can't handle the true strength and property of real grace! WE can't understand, fathom, or grasp the reality of it all, but when we allow our flesh man to die, and the spirit man to take over, we CAN grasp it and restore it. SOMETHING must die and be "gone" in order for regenerated grace to become NEW in my life!

Maybe I'm a little behind, and maybe I'm the only one that this pumps up, but I'm telling you I'm jacked up today because of this. Grace can be regenerated in my life, by allowing there to be "less of me, and more of you." Holy stinkin' cow!I love regenerated grace!