2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, etc..] There's a secret being in Christ from everlasting; so all that are loved by him, espoused unto him, chosen and preserved in him, to whom he was a covenant head, surety, and representative, are in him, united to him, and one with him; not in such sense as the Father is in him, and the human nature is in him, but as husband and wife, and head and members are one: and there is an open being in Christ at conversion, when a man believes in Christ, and gives up himself to him; faith does not put a man into Christ, but makes him appear to be in him: and such an one “is a new creature”; or, as some read it, “let him be a new creature”: who understand being…”

“Therefore--connected with the words in Co2 5:16, "We know Christ no more after the flesh." As Christ has entered on His new heavenly life by His resurrection and ascension, so all who are "in Christ" (that is, united to Him by faith as the branch is In the vine) are new creatures (Rom 6:9-11). "New" in the Greek implies a new nature quite different from anything previously existing, not merely recent, which is expressed by a different Greek word (Gal 6:15). creature--literally, "creation," and so the creature resulting from the creation (compare Joh 3:3, Joh 3:5; Eph 2:10; Eph 4:23; Col 3:10-11). As we are "in Christ," so "God was in Christ" (Co2 5:19): hence He is Mediator between God and…”

“Therefore if any man be in Christ - The phrase to “be in Christ,” evidently means to be united to Christ by faith; or to be in him as the branch is in the vine - that is, so united to the vine, or so in it, as to derive all its nourishment and support from it, and to be sustained entirely by it. John 15:2, “every branch in me.” John 15:4, “abide in me, and I in you.” “The branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine; no more can ye except ye abide in me.” See also John 15:5-7, see the note on John 15:2. To be “in Christ” denotes a more tender and close union; and implies that all our support is from him. All our strength is derived from him; and denotes further that we…”

“Therefore if any one be in Christ - A true believer in him. There is a new creation - Only the power that makes a world can make a Christian. And when he is so created, the old things are passed away - Of their own accord, even as snow in spring. Behold - The present, visible, undeniable change! All things are become new - He has new life, new senses, new faculties, new affections, new appetites, new ideas and conceptions. His whole tenor of action and conversation is new, and he lives, as it were, in a new world. God, men, the whole creation, heaven, earth, and all therein, appear in a new light, and stand related to him in a new manner, since he was created anew in Christ Jesus. 2…”

“be: Co2 5:19, Co2 5:21, Co2 12:2; Isa 45:17, Isa 45:24, Isa 45:25; Joh 14:20, Joh 15:2, Joh 15:5, Joh 17:23; Rom 8:1, Rom 8:9; Rom 16:7, Rom 16:11; Co1 1:30; Gal 3:28, Gal 5:6; Eph 1:3, Eph 1:4; Phi 4:21 he is: or, let him be a new: Psa 51:10; Eze 11:19, Eze 18:31, Eze 36:26; Mat 12:33; Joh 3:3, Joh 3:5; Gal 6:15; Eph 2:10 old: Co2 5:16; Isa 43:18, Isa 43:19, Isa 65:17, Isa 65:18; Mat 9:16, Mat 9:17, Mat 24:35; Rom 6:4-6, Rom 7:6, Rom 8:9; Rom 8:10; Co1 13:11; Eph 2:15, Eph 4:22-24; Phi 3:7-9; Col 3:1-10; Heb 8:9-13; Pe2 3:10-13; Rev 21:1-5 2 Corinthians 5:18”