God "trades up" when He does a new work in you

The Bible tells us, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

There are two Greek words used in the New Testament for the word new: neos and kainos. 

Neos is how we most often use the word “new.” Neos means “new with respect to time.” It is new of “the same kind and quality” as the original.

The way we understand "new" is different than how the Bible presents it

Here are two examples:

Example 1 = I need a new pair of shoes

With young kids in my house, we bump into this one just about every single month…

One kid says, “My favorite pair of shoes wore out, so I need to go to the store and get a new, neos pair.”

Example 2 = new clothes (or a new car, a new house, etc.)

“I was exploring in the backyard in my brand new school clothes, I got a tear in them, so now I need a new pair that’s not shredded. I need a neos pair of jeans.”

My kids don’t speak in compound sentences and, again, they don’t drop Greek words in their statements. Plus, I usually have to pry this stuff out of them, less they get scolded for ripping, shredding, or tearing yet another ___________ [fill in the blank of the latest garment to be destroyed], but you get the idea. When we replace an article of clothing we generally purchase something that closely approximates what we originally had. Something identical to the old pair— except they are neos.

But “just getting cleaned-up” isn’t the full Gospel

Jesus doesn’t just cleanse us; rather, He includes us in everything He’s experienced. The old dies; something totally different and unrecognizable emerges. 

So, Paul uses a second word for new when he writes that we’re “new.” He uses the word kainos, a word which means “new as to form or quality, is a different nature from what is contrasted as old.” 

The kainos kind of new is superior to the previous product. It’s both different and of a better quality.

You might think of the difference like this:

•  If my old shoes wear out and I decide to get a new pair, that’s neos. I replace the old with a new pair— a pair that is clean, unworn, and has more “life” in it.
•  If my shoes wear out and I decide to quit using shoes altogether— then go buy a jetpack as my means of “personal transportation”— I’ve made a kainos decision. I’ve purchased something that is far superior and completely unlike the old. 

Sure, my example is a little far-fetched, perhaps, but that’s exactly point. The Bible does not say we are neos (i.e., “You have a clean slate”), as profound of a message as that would be. The Bible goes farther and says that we are kainos (2 Corinthians 5:17):

If anyone is in Christ... the old has gone... the kainos has come.