Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” – Revelation 21:1-7 (emphasis added) ¹

In this article…

• Has your old life been taken away?
• Are you remaining in Christ?
• What’s so new about the New Culture?

When I was living in the Middle East, I had an appointment one day with a student who I had met with many times before to talk about Jesus.  I could immediately tell that it was not going to be any ordinary meeting.  He introduced me to a friend that he had brought along and said simply, “You need to hear her dream.”  He translated as she explained her dream with a nervous look in her eyes and a quiver in her voice.  She knew very little about Jesus but it was obvious that the dream had a powerful impact on her.  She described three different “scenes” in which Jesus appeared — each contained beautiful symbolism which lined up perfectly with Scripture.  At the end of the final scene she said Jesus put his hands on her face and said simply, “From now on your old life has been taken away.”  It was a joy to take them both to the Bible passages that matched her dream and talk about the new life they could experience in Christ.

Has your old life been taken away?

If you are reading through these principles of the New Culture and have never experienced the new life that only Jesus can give, I encourage you to visit our “How can I experience new life through Christ?” page before reading on.  The most important thing you can know about the New Culture is this: it is impossible to be a part of the New Culture without receiving new life through Jesus Christ.  This is one of the many ways that building the New Culture is so different than diversity training and other secular efforts to build interracial “understanding”.  Trying to take the Bible’s teachings on race relations and build multi-ethnic community apart from an ongoing connection to the power of Jesus Christ is like creating a computer with no power cord — all of the pieces may be in place but it still will not work.

Are you remaining in Christ?

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”  – Jesus Christ (emphasis added) ²

If you have already experienced new life through Christ, it is still important for you to consider, “Am I remaining in Christ?” The second most important thing you can know about the New Culture is this: it is impossible to build and sustain the New Culture apart from remaining in Jesus Christ.  The challenges are far too many, the issues too emotional, the questions too complex. The Christians in a biblical, multi-ethnic community do not need to be perfect, of course, but they must have a supernatural ability to love others which can only come through abiding in Christ (John 15:1-17) and living by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). Without God’s power flowing through our lives we will never be able to exhibit the "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."³ that it takes to build and sustain the New Culture.

The more I work with individuals and ministries trying to form multi-ethnic community, the more I am convinced that our greatest obstacle isn’t isolation, lack of understanding, prejudice, etc. but a lack of abiding in Christ.  Jesus said simply, if you abide in me you will bear fruit.  He then clarified that fruit would primarily be manifest in our love for one another (John 15:9-17).  If you are not currently abiding in Christ I encourage you to first make that the primary emphasis in your life (even before building the New Culture).  Please visit our “How can I remain in Christ?” page for some resources that may help.

What’s so new about the New Culture?

The New Culture is impossible apart from an intimate, on-going relationship with Jesus Christ because everything new about the New Culture comes from him. Through Christ each individual in the New Culture:

• has received new birth (John 3:16, 1 Pet 1:3)
• has received new life (Rom 6:4)
• becomes a new creation (2 Cor 5:17, Gal 6:15)
• approaches God through a new and living way (Heb 10:20)
• puts on a new self (Eph 4:24, Col 3:10)
• serves in the new way of the Spirit (Rom 7:6)
• will be given a new name (Rev 2:17)

And, through Christ, we come together in a community where…

• we obey Christ’s new command to love one another (John 13:34)
• all divisions are broken down and we live as a new mankind (Eph 2:15)
• we live in a new covenant with God (1 Cor 11:25, Heb 8:13, 9:15, 12:24)
• we become ministers of the new covenant (2 Cor 3:6)
• we will share eternity together in the new heavens and the new earth (2 Peter 3:13, Rev 21:1) in the new Jerusalem (Rev 3:12, Rev 21:2)

This list could go on and on. Christ truly does make all things new!

 Footnotes:

¹ The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Re 21:1-7

² The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Jn 15:5-8

² The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ga 5:22-23

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