Common English Bible & 2 Cor 5:17 - A Question

Yes. The Greek has literally, "If anyone is in Christ, a new creation." Many translations assume that "new creation" refers to the person; others argue that it is larger than the person: everything has become new.

Quoting on Andrew D. Rowell on John Howard Yoder:

"Yoder makes his strongest argument here on this subject in Body Politics. Yoder also argues earlier about the importance of the Jew-Gentile reconciliation for the apostle Paul in the following two works. Yoder, “The Apostle‟s Apology Revisited,” in The New Way of Jesus, 115-134. Yoder, The Politics of Jesus, 212-227. In this [sic] two passages, he spends significant time interpreting 2 Corinthians 5:17. He argues the best reading does not describe something inward. “So what Paul says is not centered on the changes that take place within the constitution of the individual person, but on the changed way in which the believer is to look at the world, and especially on overcoming the „carnal standards‟ in which he used to perceive men in pigeonholes and categories and classes. Now he is able to perceive them in the light of their being in the place of Christ.” Yoder, “The Apostle‟s Apology Revisited,” in The New Way of Jesus, 131. The context of 2 Corinthians 5 supports Yoder's reading which the TNIV has adopted (though other recent translations —HCSB, ESV, NLT—have not). “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view . . . Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Cor 5:16-17 TNIV). The importance of the Jew-Gentile issue is more easily made from Galatians, Romans, Ephesians, and Acts than from 2 Corinthians. Still, Yoder makes a good case that conversion is always more than an internal feeling. The reference to “new creation” in Galatians 6:15 strengthens his case further that this conversation language of “new creation” connoted overcoming social barriers. “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation” (Gal 6:15 TNIV).

"The Ecclesiology of John Howard Yoder: Scripture, Five Practices of the Christian Community, and Mission," by Andrew D. Rowell, Aug. 1, 2008, Duke Divinity School, p. 39, n. 103.

The new NIV changes the translation of this verse for some of the reasons mentioned above. The new NIV site gives an explanation which is interesting, though I confess I can't find it now.

To the OP, a good review of a couple conservative, scholarly commentaries exegeting the passage should get you an answer rather easily.

What I do not see above is what folks think that "new creation" actually is.  I can argue it is the creation of the human spirit where the Holy Spirit's temple resides.  Our soul doesn't change, nor our physical body.  In order to be a new creation, something has to fundamentally change in its foundational structure.

Another question is what classification "if" is in the verse.  There are four conditional classifications of "if" in the Greek.

Just food for thought.  Additionally, you would be well served to view in context the phrase as all language is communicated exactly based on context; ergo, double entendre.

Full disclosure:  I am not a Greek scholar; however, I depend on a good pastor who prepares his English sermons based on the original languages.  Would we take a French literature professor seriously if he could not read the literature in the original French?