The New Man

I want to talk to you today about our identity in Christ. We will be looking at Colossians 3:9-11, 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

Whenever you see a policeman, postman or a soldier what do you notice about them? They all wear a uniform; they all wear something that allows them to stand out from the crowd. What we wear is important, relative to what we are. If you will look in Colossians 3 that is exactly what Paul is trying to tell us. Now he is not telling us how to dress physically but how to dress spiritually. Since you’re a new man and a new creation in Christ, you need to dress like it. Here is another way to look at it, when you became a true Christian your old man died. Then as soon as your old man died you were born again, a new man. The new man does not want to put on the old mans cloths, he wants to wear the new wardrobe that Christ has given him. We are to live a new lifestyle.

When you read Colossians 3:9 did you notice the term “the old man” and then in verse 10 the term “the new man”? One might ask what is the old man and the new man. Do we still have the old man or are we the new man? Or are we a mix of both? When you give your life to Christ you cease to be an old man, you are now a new man. The so called normal things that you used to do and the people you used to associate with suddenly become abnormal to the new man. They just don’t fit in to your new lifestyle. So this section of Colossians is simply saying now that you are a new man you need to dress like one. You need to put on the clothes that match the life that is in you now. If you have the inward risen life there should be an outward apearence of it. All of us have seen a new man in their old clothes before, a Christian that has put on the old dirty rags of their former lifestyle. But we as Christians must understand that we can’t live that way anymore, the old life has been condemned. Our old man was crucified with Christ. Look at Romans 6:6, “6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

Now what is it that we are supposed to wear now that we have thrown away the rags of the old life? We have to start with the identity of the believer in Colossians 3:9 to about mid way through verse 10 “9 since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man”. That’s the first thing right there; Paul describes the supernatural transformation that takes place in a believer’s life as soon as he or she becomes saved. Just remember that there is a difference between the old man and the flesh that the new man is living in. the flesh quite frequently will try and lure you back into the old rags of your former life but don’t give into it. Be strong.

Now the second article of clothing which is the progress of the new man is found in verse 10, “10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him”. Okay, now that you know you’re a new creature your flesh will begin running around like mad trying to convince you to slip back into your old rags. You will have to begin conquering the flesh little by little and day by day. But as you start to conquer the flesh there is progression, the new man begins to grow and mature. Think of a baby when it is born you watch it grow and grow and grow. The same goes for the spiritual life, you were born again, a new life but there is to be progress of growing into the likeness of Christ. Look at Romans 8:28-29, “28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” You see it has been God’s plan from the beginning that we be transformed into the image of His Son Jesus Christ. There is a process of renewing of your mind going on in your life to bring you to full knowledge in Christ. The new man progresses to new knowledge and as you start to mature from the knowledge you gain, you will see a huge behavior change in yourself. Look at 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness”. In other words you reach spiritual knowledge by the word of God and from that good works will come. You will start to spiritualy act mature and your actions will show it to.

Now how do you apply all that to your daily life? Well when God reveals His truth to you, you need to apply it to your life. Devour it, apply it and move on to the next spiritual meal so that you will continue to grow. Just like when you were first born your meals were milk, and as you got older you began to eat foods that had more substance to them. You didn’t just stay with milk your entire life; you would not grow very well. You need to let the word of God be the fuel that drives you. Check out Ephesians 4:22-23, “22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind”. So in other words don’t wear the old mans cloths but be renewed in the spirit of your mind. So the main point now is If you are wanting spiritual maturity to energize your life you must kill the old lifestyle and embrace the new life so that you can grow.

The first step was the position of the believer and the second step was the progress of the believer. Now we come to the third step of the first part of this study and that step is the partnership of the new man. Look at it in Colossians 3:11”where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all”. There are no more barriers that separate us. We are all one family together in Christ. Anyone who is a true believer in Christ is ether your brother or sister. We are all equal in the eyes of Christ. There is no division between race, sex, age, height, weight and any other thing you can think of. Did you see how Paul ended verse 11 there, “but Christ is all and in all”. We have no other choice but to love one another, no matter what our differences are just as Christ loves us because we are all in Him.