I had intended to delete the previous post on this verse, but since there was response from Norwood, I will leave it in place despite the need of some editing. I like what Norwood has to say, and take no real exception to it. Well, one exception. A better term might be "essentially relative," but certainly not "relatively essential."

My intention in this blog is to show that divine relativity is the essence of God, as best a human can comprehend the divine mystery.

This post contains the revision of the earlier post, and a followup on it.
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"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
AV (KJV)

I memorized this verse more than sixty years ago, and have never forgotten it. In my memory it lives in the phrasing of the King James Version. And in the words of that version, it has disturbed me for a couple of decades. So, finally, I have devoted time to deliberately scrutinize the verse.

I have learned, through the process described in this blog, that part of my frustration lies in the King James language. But that doesn’t cover it all. I intend to bring this quandary, and this post, to a relatively satisfying conclusion.

"Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come." NASB

2 Corinthians 5:17 is one of the most widely quoted verses in the New Testament. On a first reading, it no problem to understand.

If anyone has given their life to Christ (is a Christian, a believer in Christ), God fashions them into a completely new person (born anew, re-generated). The person they were no longer exists. See (examine with your own eyes, observe, it is obvious), a new person has appeared.

But this poses a logical dilemma:

Either 2 Corinthians 5:17 speaks of total conversion, or it is not literally true.
If it refers to total conversion, then it is a false statement
If not literally true, it could be relatively true
Therefore, 2 Corinthians 5:17 either is a false statement, or it could be relatively true

This verse is in the form of a conditional (if, then) statement. Logically, when the if part of the statement is true, the then part of the statement must be true. To state it a different way, when the then part of the statement not true, the if part of the statement cannot be true.

If an individual is completely converted, their old life is completely gone
The old life is not completely gone; elements of the old life remain
Therefore, they are not completely converted.

To restate:
If an individual is "in Christ," then it is a certainty that their old attitudes, values, and way of life have disappeared. If we find that the life of a person who claims to be "in Christ" retains any of the same old attitudes, values, and ways of life, then we must conclude they are not truly "in Christ."

Long-term observation indicates that some old attitudes, values, and ways of life continue in the lives of all professing Christians. If this is true (and I think it can be demonstrated), then no professing Christian is "in Christ." In fact, there are none "in Christ." Can one be a Christian, but not "in Christ?" If so, then what does "in Christ" mean?

On the other hand, if we understand this verse to be relatively true, then it is possible that an individual might have a definitely positive relation to Christ--relatively in Christ--but not completely. They could be a relatively new creation with their old life relatively gone. The new is in the formative process, and the old in the process of being eradicated.

Of course, this raises a question about the nature of the entire Bible.
If the Bible is absolutely true, then 2 Corinthians 5:17 must be absolutely true

2 Corinthians is not absolutely true (so it seems from the preceding)
So, the Bible cannot be absolutely true
If 2 Corinthians 5:17 is relatively true, then the Bible is relatively true
2 Corinthians 5:17 is relatively true (so it seems from the preceding)
Thus, the Bible must be relatively true.

This necessitates a complete re-viewing of the Bible, a re-vision of our understanding of the Holy Scriptures. Now, it must be looked at from a new perspective, a perspective that differs from the consensus of Christian tradition.
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The above is a revision of the post,
I have not only revised, but have written a followup of the above.
The following is the followup
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Several Translations

"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
AV (KJV)

This seems to speak to the individual who is "in Christ," therefore , since "he is a new creature" for whom "all things are become new," the implication is that all the "old things are passed away."
The entire conditional statement indicates a complete change, conversion, of the person. Nothing of the pre-Christian life remains.

Obviously, the color of a person’s eyes, their fingerprint, and such, will not have changed. If those changes are excepted, where can we draw the line between those things that don’t change, and those that do. "All things?" What does "things" comprise?

For me, this translation indicates that when one becomes a Christian, all of the spiritual--moral and religious–life is transformed, made new. Thus, if all is not new, if some of the old remains, the person is not "in Christ." I’ve not known anyone where this total transformation has already come into being. If not, either the passage is not a true statement, or there are no Christians to be found.

Neither of these conclusions is acceptable, so we look to other translations to see if they might clear this dilemma for us.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
NKJV

The New King James did not clarify, rather it turned the word "creature" into the more ambiguous, "creation."

"When anyone is joined to Christ, he is a new being; the old has gone, the new has come."
TEV

Here, the word, "therefore," is omitted. It is no longer presented as a logical conclusion of what precedes the verse.
For me, "joined to" Christ has a clearer and more distinctive sound than "in."
"Being," rather than "creature, creation," moves from the language of God’s creation to the abstraction of philosophical terminology.
(We may begin to wonder what the Greek text says, in order that we may better evaluate these variants among the translators.)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
NIV

I have arbitrarily chosen the NIV rather than the KJV, as the base translation to compare others to.
This, like the NKJV, prefers, "creature." The only help with the dilemma is the deletion of the word, "all." This legitimate deletion–it does not occur in the Greek text--allows a relative conversion rather than an total, or so-called absolute conversion.

"Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come!"
NASB

Nothing much different.

"And for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation; the old creation has gone; and now the new one is here."
JB

"Therefore" omitted, losing this as a conclusion from the preceding.
"Creation," is ambiguous in this context. It could mean the Genesis creation, and that creation renewed.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come!"
RSV

I like the "passed away," our common euphemism for "died."

"Anyone who belongs to Christ, is a new person, The past is forgotten and everything is new."
CEV

A wide departure from the Greek text.

"There is a new creation whenever a man comes to be in Christ; he is a new creation; what is old is gone, the new has come."
Moffatt
The sentence is changed from a conditional to a categorical, declarative.

"So if anyone is in union with Christ, he is a new being; the old state of things has passed away there is a new state of things."
NEB

The state of what things? This language is more philosophical than biblical.

"For anyone united to Christ, there is a new creation; the old order has gone; a new order has already begun."
REB

The verse seems to speak of individuals, but the REB seems, with the word, "order," to be speaking more universally.

"Accordingly, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone. Look! The new has come!"
Verkuyl

A quite good translation. Therefore, accordingly, so, hence, function as synonyms.

"So, if anybody is in union with Christ, he is the work of a new creation; the old condition has passed away, a new condition has come!"
Williams Translation

Nothing significantly different.

"Therefore if any person is (engrafted) in Christ, the Messiah, he is (a new creature altogether,) a new creation; the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away, Behold the fresh and new has come."
Amplified Bible

"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"
NLT

"This means that," functions synonymously with "Therefore."
The NLT seems true to the meaning of the Greek text, but departs freely from a literal translation.
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The following is my concise and literal translation:
"Therefore, if anyone in Christ, new creation. The old has passed away. Look, has been made fresh."
Roark translation of the Greek New Testament, British and Foreign Bible Society,1958

Optional terms that may be legitimately substituted, are shown in what follows:
"Therefore [so, accordingly, thus, hence, we may conclude that], if anyone in Christ, new creation; the old has passed away [gone, no longer here], look [Behold] become [come to pass, been made, made, come, become, is, done, created, happening] new [fresh]."

Expanded, but still true to literal Greek: "Therefore, if anyone (in Greek, ‘is’ is implied) is in Christ, the old has passed away. Look, has already begun afresh."

So, what follows is Roark’s preferred variant, but still a literal translation into ordinary English:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the old has passed away. Look a fresh beginning has been set in motion."
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What does "in Christ" mean: united to, joined to, in union with, belongs to, or something else?

The old what is gone?

Has passed away? Dead, gone, no longer here? Other options?
How dead? None of it remaining, all gone?

A new, or fresh beginning? What is new, how fresh?

Has begun, or, on the other hand, has become, or come to pass?

Is it a process that has begun, or is it an accomplished deed?

My last translation indicates that I take this verse to be understood relatively. However, it remains ambiguous.

One thing rings true: We need to carefully scrutinize both our relation to Christ, and the conduct of our actions.