By Rufus Parker
Text: Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 - "The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us."
I often wonder why some people worry when others get something that they may think is new? Solomon says that there is nothing new under the sun. I guess that's why automobiles lose their value as soon as you drive them off the car lot. They are made by something that already has been.
Paul tells us, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (II Corinthians 5:17) Does the Bible contradict itself? Absolutely not!
Solomon is referring to natural things, Paul is referring to Spirit things. Job asked the question, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." (Job 14:4). But Jesus said, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." (John 15:3) Again, is this a contradiction? No! Job is speaking of the natural, Jesus is speaking of the spiritual.
We know that everything that is made natural has already been because God created the heavens and the earth and all that therein is. But man isn't a natural thing, he is a living being and therefore he can be made new. The new birth process is to turn him from a living being into a spiritual being; from corruptible to incorruptible, from mortal to immortality. No one could have made this any clearer than the Lord Jesus Himself, when He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." (Luke 18:27)
Editor's Note: Rufus Parker, formerly UPCI missionary to Okinawa, Japan, is now retired and living in Wisconsin. Bro. Parker writes a daily internet blog/devotional and has authored several books.
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