There are two words in the Greek Testament meaning "new." One, kainos, is "new" in the sense of fresh, different from, taking the place of, another; the other word, neos, has the meaning of young, of recent origin, not long in existence.
It is the former word which is given in the following passages: Hebrews 8:8 - 13, "New covenant"; a better one than the first, which has been made old. Of this covenant, dedicated with blood - the blood of the everlasting covenant, His own blood - Christ is the Mediator. (Hebrews 9:15.) This blood, having been shed for us, is set before us in the Lord's Supper (Mark 14:24), in the cup which we drink. (1 Cor. 11:25.) Of this covenant the apostles were appointed ministers, and they who through faith receive the ministry are, as the blessed result, an epistle of Christ written on the heart. (2 Cor. 3:6.)
The spoken words of the Lord Jesus were correctly designated by men as a "new doctrine" in Mark 1:27; so were "Jesus and the resurrection," as preached by Paul in Acts 17:19. And, indeed, as it was a "new tomb" wherein the body of the Lord Jesus was laid (Matt. 29:60; John 19:41) (for never before or since was there a dead body such as His, or one who had died in such a way - crying with a loud voice, and expiring of His own will), so out of that new tomb there issued a "new man," created in Himself, who had, by His cross, reconciled to God both those "afar off," the Gentile, and those that were "nigh," the Jew - a "new man," a new order of being, created according to God in righteousness and holiness of truth. (Eph. 2:15; 4:24.)
The name of the "new man" is Christ, i.e., the Lord Jesus Christ, "the First-born from among the dead," "the beginning of the creation of God," in union with all those who, having received the Spirit, are members of His body. Now, therefore, if any man be in Christ it is a "new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17), and it is "new creation" alone that stands or avails before God. (Gal. 6:15.) It is also "new cloth," and to tack this on to that which dates from before the cross, that which is of the Spirit on to that which is of the flesh, must be to make bad worse; a strip of the new will never harmonise with the old - the material, quality, colour are all different. The enactments and ordinances, the "skins" in which the old wine was held, cannot hold the "new wine" of the strength and fulness of the Holy Spirit; for this there must be "new skins," not tables of stone, but hearts of flesh. (Mark 2:22; Matt. 9:17; Luke 5:30.) This "new wine" in the regeneration, when "all things" shall have been made "new," the Lord Jesus will drink with His own in the Father's kingdom, in the kingdom of God. (Matt. 26:29; Mark 14:25; Rev. 21:5.)
Meanwhile, we who are His have been empowered to speak with "new tongues," not indeed, now, as at Pentecost, in foreign languages, but with grace, a manner of diction quite foreign to us when in the flesh. (Mark 16:17.) We are already singing the "new song" of Revelation 5:9, a higher strain than that of Revelation 14:3, to be sung by others hereafter. Abiding in Christ, we are also made strong to bring forth out of hearts stored with heavenly treasures "things new and old" (Matt. 13:52), and our proper walk is in "newness of life" (Romans 6:4), as we reckon ourselves dead indeed unto sin, and alive to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. "Newness of spirit" (Romans 7:6) characterises our service, the spontaneous service of love. For we have received a "new commandment," not merely to love each other, but "as I have loved you, that ye also love one another," a thing true in Christ and in us now that the true light is shining: as He kept His Father's commandments and abode in His love, we have the same blessing as we abide in His commandments. (John 13:34; 1 John 2:7-8; 2 John 5.)
By thus keeping Christ's word and overcoming we are filled with the joyful hope of receiving a "new name," as a precious secret token, between Him whom we love and ourselves, of His gauge and appreciation of our devotion (Rev. 2:17), as well as to be stamped with His "own new name," written upon us, that so we may show forth His glory throughout the eternal universe. (Rev. 3:12.) We are citizens of the "new Jerusalem" (Rev. 3:12; 21:2); as heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ, and looking for such things as "new heavens and a new earth," wherein dwelleth righteousness, we do well to be diligent, that we may be found of our Lord in peace, without spot, and blameless (2 Peter 3:13; Rev. 21:1), purifying ourselves, even as He is pure.
In all the above places it is most encouraging and helpful to understand that the "newness" is that of 2 Corinthians 5:17, the all things having become new, because of the old things having passed away. The "new" take the place of the "old," and differ from them in essence, duration, and accompaniments, as the work of God differs from that of man, that which has been established in the last Adam from that which was entrusted to the first.
The value of the other word, neos, is seen in its use in such places as 1 Corinthians 5:7; Ephesians 4:23; Colossians 3:10; Hebrews 12:24. In the first of these places a "new lump" gives the sense of beginning again, after purging out the old leaven, making a new start as those who were unleavened; "renewed in the spirit of your mind" is to be freshened, renovated, made young again, so to speak, through the exchange of the first man for the second; in the expression "the new man" the point is, not as in Ephesians 4:24, the new order of being, but that it is a life in the new bloom of youth - bright, healthy, and vigorous - a life, moreover, wherein by the anakainosis, the redintegration of, the complete change effected by, the Holy Ghost, fresh, entirely new realities are experienced. In Hebrews, in the passage cited, the receivers of that epistle are reminded that the covenant of which Christ is the Mediator is one that has only lately been inaugurated. To this latter sense of the word "new" we who are Christ's are being continually kept alive, as we find Jesus Christ to be the same yesterday, and today, and know in our hearts and in our souls that He will be so for ever. He has the bloom of His youth. There is a deep significance in the name which He bears, and in the aspect in which He is presented to us as the Lamb. Eternal freshness is always associated with Him. His presence is always fresh; weariness and repetition are impossible where He is.
And so there blend in Him the meaning of both neos and kainos; for He is always the One in whom there is no change, nor shadow of turning, the "altogether lovely," His "name as ointment poured forth" - neos: and how true the word kainos is of Him, and of everything belonging to Him, the passages given above are abundant proof. He is our blessed, eternal inheritance. The riches of Christ are unsearchable. The love of Christ passes knowledge. And yet all things are ours, because we are Christ's, and Christ is God's. W. C. C-B-C.