To put on something, we must take off something. I love putting on a new dress and discarding the old. When I go to the store for a new outfit I don’t want a refurbished, or a used one. I want a new one! You can take a garment apart and restyle it and it may appear to be new, but the garment is still old because of what it is made from. Sometimes, those who profess Christ as their Savior seek to change a little. The old man gets dressed up and goes to church, but underneath that facade, he’s still the same old person. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:9, to put off the old man, but he doesn’t leave us there. He tells us in verse 10 to put on the new man. The old man represents the unregenerate state and is equivalent to our sinful nature. Our sinful nature will always be with us in this life. The new man Paul is talking about is the regenerated state we are in once we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord.
Colossians 3:10 “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”
The new man seeks to put away the activities and attitudes of the old man so that the new man can have victory over the sinful nature. We are to shed off the rags of sinful behavior as we put on the clean robes of righteousness. We can’t just turn over a new leaf and get rid of some old habits, we need to be renewed.
So, how can we be successful in this quest to allow the new man to reign? When we put our faith in Jesus he covers us with His righteousness. The Holy Spirit comes to live within us as an aid, a comforter, and to reveal truth to us. We are taught this newness of life by the Holy Spirit. He does this by revealing truth and knowledge to us through the word of God. This process is not done to us, but through us.
Romans 12:1-2 teach us about this process of putting on. We present our bodies, our very lives, to be a sacrifice to God. A sacrifice of our own will and desires must be handed over to God. Paul says that is reasonable, not extraordinary, just reasonable. Verse 12 goes on to tell us not to be conformed to this world. We are not to have the same attitudes and actions of the world. The basis for everything we do, say, and even look like, comes from our desire to please God and represent Him as He is.
Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
When we become a Christian Paul says all things become new. We are changed from the inside out. Our habits begin to change because our desires change. The things that were important to us no longer interest us. We have a new purpose to live. There is a joy deep within in us that nothing can touch. Everything looks, feels, and even sounds different, because of the Holy Spirit that lives within. If we slip up and commit a sin that was part of our old life, we feel terrible because the Holy Spirit convicts us.
II Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new.”
According to verse 11, it doesn’t matter who we are or what we are before Christ, when he becomes our Savior and Lord we are part of a new family where we are all the same. Earthy distinctions are irrelevant when we are in Christ. All ground is level at the foot of the cross. The color of your skin, the place you came from, the financial status you have, or the education you acquired has no bearing on God accepting you. The Christian faith is the only faith where we are all brothers and sisters where our God sees us as equal. Not only do we become a new person we get a new family. When we put on Christ we gain a new life in every way. New master, new family, new attitude, new gratitude, new actions, and new hope!
Colossians 3:11 “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all and in all.”
