Tag Archives: new man

Walk In The New Man

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(Colossians 3:10) “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:”

Let the “new man” determine what you believe and how you walk today. Let the “new man” determine your politics and economic philosophy. Let the “new man” give you the freedom to walk independently of the overwhelming flood of messages impressed on your mind by the internet, television and music industry. Walk in the knowledge consistent with who you are in Christ rather than the identity thrust upon you by a world looking to profit from your ignorance. Live today without the label of “conservative” or “liberal” determining your perception of the spiritual condition of those you know and will meet. Let the “new man” determine what captures your thinking and heart.

Loss of Salvation or Loss of Testimony?

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(Ephesians 5:5)  “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”

On first glance, this is one of those verses that make you say, “Whoa! What in the world is this?” The first three chapters in Ephesians talk about God’s grace apart from works and our place in God’s program today as a result of His grace. Now we come to this verse that seems to say works do matter when it comes to our salvation. It causes many to stop and wonder, “Am I going to lose my salvation?” In fact, most commentaries won’t even touch this verse – check it out if you doubt what I’m saying. So what is Paul saying here?

Once again, the misunderstanding comes from a lack of context. Taken out of context, this verse can appear to say that anyone who does these things will not go to heaven. But if we start reading in Ephesians 4:25, we see a passage describing how a Christian ought to live compared to the unsaved. Notice the subjects covered: Lying, anger management, stealing, offensive words, bitterness, sexual immorality. These are sins committed by the old sin nature. Our lives in Christ are meant to be distinctive from the normal life of the unsaved. What is acceptable to the world should not be acceptable to us because we are now walking in the “new man.” (Ephesians 4:24) We are not to live like unsaved people.

This verse does describe the sins of the unsaved and the ultimate destiny of those who do not know Christ. So the meaning in context is this: If we find ourselves doing these things, God is telling us that we are not living consistently with who we are in Christ. If we are living in sexual immorality, covetousness or idolatry we are living like the unsaved. Our behavior does not display our true identity in Christ. Going even further than that – When the world sees us behaving like those who don’t know Christ, what kind of witness do we have that testifies to the difference Christ made in our lives?

This is not a verse warning that we could lose our salvation if we sin. It is a verse about losing our testimony. Our actions should be distinctive from the world by demonstrating the new life we have in Christ instead of the old life we had in Adam.

Renewed Thought – When God sees you, He sees Christ. Who do the people around you see?

How To Stop Arguing

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(Ephesians 4:31) “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:” 

The “new man” is the answer to just about every personal division and dispute in the Church. Bitterness and wrath build up on the inside when hurt is not resolved. Anger is the by-product. Then it all spills over to the outside and out of the mouth comes clamour (literally an “outcry”) and evil speaking. All of this becomes the status quo between two people, two families or even two groups when they continue to allow the hurt to churn. The Body of Christ is divided when we try to resolve these things in the flesh.

Notice the word “Let” and the phrase “be put away” are both passive. It means we are the recipient of the action of putting away, not the initiator. Who is the one “putting away?” It is the “new man” operating under the direction and power of God’s Word empowered by the Holy Spirit! When we “put on the new man” (Eph 4:24) the old self-life is no longer in charge of the situation. The emotions that consumed our mind are replaced with love and mercy stemming from the mind of Christ. His thinking replaces our thinking and as a result His words replace our words.

We need local churches filled with the Body of believers operating out of the “new man.” We need a fresh understanding of what it means to be crucified with Christ and raised with Him. This is the core of the “new man” life. Walking in this identity would allow us to lay aside our disputes and see them for the pettiness they really are. We would see families united, love rekindled for each other, marriages saved and friendships salvaged. The barriers and divisions that seem so large in the “old man” would turn into dust when viewed from the eyes of the “new man.”

(1 Corinthians 14:20) “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men.”

Renewed Thought – Are we more interested in being consumed with God than consuming each other?