Day 102: How Do We Put on the New Person?
Romans 13:14
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
In Christ, we are new creations. We do not have to give in to our sinful, rebellious desires. Instead, we can “put on” our new self—the new person—that has been created for truth, righteousness and holiness in Christ.
This week, we want to look at the “internal conflict” which we all experience as believers. This conflict is between the Holy Spirit who dwells in our hearts and the Sin that still lives in our Flesh. The way we overcome in this conflict is by putting off the “old self”/ “old me” with all of its corruptions and twisted desires and putting on the “new self” / “new me,” created in Christ Jesus to express the goodness and glory that defines the Lord Himself.
WORDwork:
Romans 6:6-7
We know that our old self was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)
What happened to the “old self” according to this passage?
What is the result of this? How did this affect our relationship to sin?
Ephesians 4:22-24
You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old self who is being corrupted in line with deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and to put on the new self who has been created in God’s image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.
What are we supposed to do with the “old self” according to this passage?
What is happening to the “old self”? What desires define the “old self”?
According to verses 23 and 24 what are we supposed to do?
What does the “new self” look like according to verse 24?
What two specific “virtues” are mentioned and where do they come from?
Colossians 3:9-11
…you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have been clothed with the new self that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. 11 Here …Christ is all and in all.
According to this passage, what have we done?
How is the “new self” being renewed? What “image” does it bear?
In our times, there has been a resurgence of emphasis on spiritual warfare. This is good because many are waking to the reality of the World in which we live. In some cases, this has been negative because this topic has not always been placed in the proper context of Jesus’ victory on the Cross and His present ruling authority. There is also an unhealthy and unbiblical focus on the “works of the Devil” as being behind everything that goes wrong with us. The truth is, there is evil within us that we still need to understand and deal with in the Way Christ has provided for us.
In the first part of this study we focused on some of the foundational blessings that have come to us “in Christ” that redefine out identities and our position before God. This entirely new identity is what the Bible refers to as the “new self,” “the new man,” “the new person,” created in Christ to bear the image of Christ. The New You in Christ is created to reflect and display the goodness, truth and glory of Jesus Himself! We need to learn how to realize this truth—make it real in our own experience. We will spend the next several lessons exploring these issues. Take note of three key ideas:
Your Old Self Was Crucified So That You Can Be FREE
Paul’s writings in Romans 6-8 as well as the whole book of Galatians is central to understanding the core truths that we need to know when it comes to the internal conflict that we experience as followers of the Lord Jesus. It is beyond the scope of this study to go into all that in any depth. Instead, we will summarize what Paul reveals there so that we can have a foundation for understanding what is going on within us.
First, we have to know and realize that “in Christ” the old person, your old self, the “old you”—characterized by spiritual death and corruption—has been put to death. The “old you” has been destroyed so that identity does not have any control over us any longer. As Paul says, the “old self” was crucified so that “the body of sin would no longer dominate us…” This is absolutely great news. As we will see, so much of our sin is rooted in keeping ourselves (even our physical bodies) at the “center of the universe.” The “old self” wants to focus on me, on my will, on my desires, on my pleasure, on my comfort. However, even when it gets what it thinks it wants, it wants more. In Christ, this old self has been put to death so that we can be free from the power of sin and free to follow Christ as He leads us to a life of eternal security and satisfaction.
The Old Self Was/Is Being Corrupted By Deceitful Desires
Even when the Old Self got what it wanted, it was never enough. The reason is because our old desires, desires shaped by the way of death and corruption “in Adam,” were twisted and bent, deceptive because they were shaped in the unreality of the lies and treachery of the Devil at work in the World. These deceitful desires could never produce real soul-satisfaction because they were leading to corruption not the “righteousness and holiness that comes from the truth.” The Truth binds us together; sin tears us apart. These deceitful desires produce the “works of the flesh”:
Galatians 5:19
Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, depravity, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!
The New Self (The New You) Is Being Renewed To Reflect The Image Of The One Who Created It: The One True God
The One True God is shaping us to be like Himself. As we put on the “New Person,” the “New Me” in Christ, the Holy Spirit will produce His “fruit” in and through us:
Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.
The key in all of this is learning to put off the “old self” ruled by sin at work in our flesh and to put on the “new self” led by the Holy Spirit who lives in our Hearts. In this way, we learn to live (“walk”) by the Holy Spirit.
Are you aware of the “old person” in your thoughts and desires?
Are you aware of the “new person” in your thoughts and desires?
Are you aware of a struggle within you between these two?
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
