PUT ON THE NEW MAN
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on June 4, 2023 under 2023 |
Bethany Bible Church Sunday Sermon Message; June 4, 2023 from Ephesians 4:22-24
Theme: As believers, life-transformation occurs by putting off the ‘old man’ of sin, being renewed in the spirit of our mind, and putting on the ‘new man’ in Christ.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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Long ago, in Old Testament times, there lived a high priest of the Jewish people—Joshua by name. And God did something very remarkable to him—something that was meant to serve as an important spiritual illustration for you and me today.
This high priest’s story occurred at an important time in the history of the Jewish people. Because of their sin, they had been carried away from their homeland; and they suffered exile in the land of Babylon for 70 years. When God’s appointed time of exile for them had come to an end, He brought them back and restored them to Jerusalem. He gave them the command to rebuild the broken-down temple, and to restore the ministry of the priesthood within that temple. And they had even begun to rebuild. But pressure and threats from enemy nations had brought the work to a standstill. It all sat neglected for many years. And so, God put it upon the Old Testament prophet Zechariah—through a series of remarkable visions—to exhort the people to get back to the work of rebuilding.
Now, this man named Joshua was the high priest of the people at that time. And in the Old Testament book of Zechariah, we find a vision that God gave to the prophet Zechariah about this high priest:
Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” (Zechariah 3:1-2).
You see; Joshua had been among those who had been neglecting God’s command. And Satan—’the accuser of our brethren’ as he’s called in Revelation 12:10—stood at his right hand and brought slanderous accusations against him. ‘After all’, Satan may have been arguing, ‘how could God use such a man as this? How could such a neglectful sinner be an instrument of God?’ But the Angel of the Lord stood to Joshua’s defense. Joshua had been in the fires of trial; and as if he was a burning stick, God had graciously rescued him and called Him out for His service.
Joshua could never have ‘plucked’ himself out of the fire. Only God could have done that. And it was all by God’s grace; therefore, none of Satan’s accusations could undo what God had graciously done for Joshua. But there was more that needed to be done before Joshua could be the instrument that God wanted him to be to His people. After all, he had indeed been in exile along with the others because of the sins of the nation. And what’s more, he—like all the others—had indeed been neglectful of God’s command. He had behaved as if he was still under the dominion of God’s enemies. A genuine transformation of his life needed to occur. And so; this is what we go on to read in verses 3-5;
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him (vv. 3-5a).
Three things were done for this high priest Joshua—three things that transformed him for God’s use. First, the old, filthy garments of his captivity and sin were taken off of Joshua. He laid those old garments of sin and failure behind. Then, the new, clean, rich, glorious robes of righteousness were put on Joshua—the robes of God’s holy call upon his life. And a clean turban was placed upon Joshua’s head—which, of course, was a part of the priestly garments; but which perhaps also represented a whole new way of thinking for Joshua. He was no longer what Satan had been accusing him to be. He was a ‘brand plucked from the fire’ by God’—now called by God to be His priestly servant; and he needed to think of himself as such.
As we go on in the prophecy of Zechariah, we see that this man Joshua was meant to be a sign to his people of yet another ‘Joshua’ who was to come—God’s Servant ‘The Branch’—none other than our Lord Jesus. It would be through this future ‘Joshua’ that God would completely remove all iniquity from His precious people Israel. What a picture this high priest Joshua is!
But I’d like to suggest to you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, that Joshua is also a picture of something that God does for you and me. I feel very sure that the apostle Paul had this story in mind when he penned the words that we’ve been studying together from Ephesians 4:17-24. Paul was writing—not to the Jewish people—but to Gentile people who had placed their faith in Jesus our Savior and Redeemer. They too had, in a sense, been ‘plucked from the fire’ and now belonged to Him. But a real life-change needed to occur. So Paul wrote and told them;
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (vv. 17-24).
Just as was the case for Joshua, these Christians needed to put their old way of life completely behind them—a former life that was no longer true of who they now were. Genuine life transformation needed to occur. And so, like Joshua, they were to put off the ‘old man’, be renewed in the spirit of their minds, and put on the ‘new man’ who was created in true Christ-likeness.
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Now; this picture that is given to us—this picture of taking off the old man and putting on the new—is meant to illustrate an important work that God does in us as believers. It’s a work called ‘sanctification’. God’s work of ‘sanctifying’ us is that work by which He increasingly and progressively removes from us the old sinful practices and habits of our former life; and enables us to live and think—in daily practice—more and more like our Lord Jesus. And we’re to cooperate with Him in this work.
You see; there are three great works that God does in our salvation. First, when we placed our faith in Jesus, the heavenly Father ‘justifies’ us—that is, He makes us 100% righteous in His sight through our faith in Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross. Then, having been made completely righteous in His sight, the Holy Spirit works in us to ‘sanctify’ us—making us live our daily lives increasingly in accord with the righteousness the Father has given us in Christ. And finally, the Father ‘glorifies’ us—that is, He brings us into complete conformity with the majesty of His Son Jesus at Jesus’ return; making us to share forever in Jesus’ own heavenly glory. Our justification is not something that we have anything to do with. That’s a work of God’s grace completely. And our glorification is also not something that we bring about. That too is a work of God’s grace. But that work in the middle—the work that is going on right now—our sanctification—is a work in which we cooperate with God. And it’s an absolutely essential part of our Christian life. We must—with the Holy Spirit helping us—daily put away the old; and with the renewing of our minds, daily put on the habits and practices of the new life in Christ.
Let me share with you a few passages of Scripture that show that this is an absolutely essential part of our Christian life. In Romans 13:11-14, the apostle Paul was writing to his brothers and sisters in Rome and told them;
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts (Romans 13:11-14).
Isn’t that a wonderful way of putting it? We’re to “cast off” the works of darkness—those old sinful habits and practices that characterized our unsaved condition; and “put on” the Lord Jesus Christ. This is clearly a work that God our Father does in us; but it is also a work with which we are to cooperate and do our part. As Paul put it in Philippians 2:12-13;
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).
Our Father, through His indwelling Holy Spirit, shows us the sinful habits, practices, and attitudes that are left over from our old life of sin—the things that are not pleasing to Him and that are not consistent with who we now are in Christ—and He gives us the power to lay them aside. He also shows us how we are to behave like Jesus instead. He even empowers us to do so. But we must “work out” what He “works in”—continually putting off the old and putting on the new. In a similar way, Paul wrote in Colossians 3:5-11;
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all (Colossians 3:5-11).
So you see; this life-transformation—this process of sanctification—is to be the normal, regular, ongoing dynamic of our Christian life. That life began by God’s grace. We must be ‘born again’; and we are born again when we placed our faith in what Jesus has done for us on the cross. We were then raised again with Him unto new life. But now—having been born again, and having thus been raised with Him—we must go forth and live in a brand new way. We must ongoingly set aside the ‘old man’, be continually renewed in the spirit of our minds, and keep putting on the ‘new man’ which was created in true righteousness and holiness.
That’s what the apostle Paul is telling us in Ephesians 4:22-24.
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Now; let me ask you to do something. As we look at this passage in greater detail, you will probably recognize that—right now—there is some aspect of your old life that is still remaining and that is still plaguing you. It may be a relatively small thing; or it may be a very large and very secret sin that is dragging you down. It may be a sinful habit or practice; or it may be a sinful attitude. It may be something that is largely kept inside—out of the view of others; or it may be something that shows itself very visibly. If you are a sincere follower of Jesus, you know that it’s something that God wants out of your life. And it’s something that you truly want out of your life, too, but aren’t sure how to go about it. You may even feel you can’t.
Well; our passage this morning is very practical. I ask you to take that ‘thing’ in your life—whatever it is—with you in your thinking as we explore this passage together. When it comes to real life-change, this passage gives us hope. It shows us that, as believers, life-transformation occurs by putting off the ‘old man’ of sin, being renewed in the spirit of our mind, and putting on the ‘new man’ in Christ.
Look first at verse 22. That’s where Paul writes, “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts …” And this gives us the first step in genuine life-transformation in Christ. It begins when we obey the command to …
1. PUT OFF THE OLD MAN OF SIN.
Now; who is this ‘old man’ that Paul speaks of? It’s your old ‘self’—the self that was ‘you’ before you were born-again—that old ‘you’ that was a helpless slave to sin, and that was dominated by sinful nature. And that ‘old man’ has been put to death in Christ. Paul wrote about it in Romans 6:3-7; where he said,
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 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. For he who has died has been freed from sin (Romans 6:3-7).
When we believed and were placed by God into Christ, we were united to His death on the cross. That ‘old man’ is now dead!—crucified with Christ! It’s so dead that it rots! It grows “corrupt according to the deceitful lusts”. And so, it’s very important to notice that Paul doesn’t simply say, “put off your former conduct”. If you or I try to simply put off our old sinful habits and practices as if we were still living under the power of the ‘old man’, we will never succeed. It was that ‘old man’—that corrupt, rotting, fallen ‘old self’—that was the problem all along.
Notice how carefully Paul puts this to us. He urges us to “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts”. Don’t just try to put off the ‘former conduct’. If you try to do that, you’ll be trying to live a new life while still wearing a rotting, corrupted ‘old man’ suit. You must do something greater than that. You must now consider that ‘old man’ to be completely dead and inoperative; and like old clothes that are filthy and corrupted, you must put him away from yourself entirely—and with him, the former conduct that characterized him.
Now; think of that sinful habit in your life that you struggle with. Don’t just try—in the power of your own fleshly efforts—to ‘reform your ways’ or ‘turn over a new leaf’. If you handle it that way, you will be attempting to do so in the power of the ‘old man’. Instead, consider yourself to have been placed in Christ, and having died on the cross with Him. Consider that ‘old man’ to be dead, put him away entirely, and consider yourself to now no longer be enslaved to the principle of sin—including that sin that has been plaguing you. As Paul puts it in Romans 6:8-14;
Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace (Romans 6:8-14).
There will, of course, be times when you fail. But each time you fail, pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, and pray to the Father and say, “My Father; I’m sorry. I just behaved as if I was still under the dominion of that ‘old man’. I acted as if he was still alive. Thank you that the blood of Jesus washes me clean of all my sins—including this one. And thank you that the ‘old man’ is dead.”
When that old sinful temptation comes a-knocking at the door, the truth of the matter is that there’s nobody home anymore. That old man has been put to death. And you must keep putting him away from yourself … and refuse to answer the door. That’s the first step.
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But that alone is not enough. That alone won’t result in permanent life change. In verse 23, Paul went on to say, “… and be renewed in the spirit of your mind …” Not only does the ‘old man’ need to be put away from us, but the old way of thinking that characterized that ‘old man’—and that, in a sense, empowered his rule in our lives—must also be replaced. And so, the next thing that we must do is …
2. BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR MIND.
Think of what it says in Romans 12:1-2. After having explained how God has saved us through faith in the cross, and has now declared us ‘justified by faith’, the apostle Paul then wrote these words;
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Romans 12:1-2).
As our passage in Ephesians 4;17-19 tells us, that ‘old man’ that we put away was characterized by a futile mind, and a darkened understanding, and an alienation from the life of God because of the darkness that was in him. And now, we must no longer be conformed to the world in its thinking, but rather be ‘renewed’ in our minds. The whole operating principle—the whole ‘spirit’ of our mind—must be changed.
Now God, on His part, graciously opens our minds to the truth and gives us the capacity to hear and receive it. The natural person cannot receive such things; but the believer can. But we must also do our part. We must ‘be renewed in the spirit of our minds’. And how do we do this? It’s by renewing our minds through the word of God. The apostle Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 2:1-3;
Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious (1 Peter 2:1-3).
Again, think of that sinful habit in your life. If you have put away that ‘old man’—if you have considered that, when it tempts you, the old sinful habit is seeking to tempt someone who had died to sin—then you’ve taken the first step. But that alone is not enough. You must let God’s word change your thinking. Don’t let the values and priorities of the world squeeze you into its frame of thinking about it. Feed daily on God’s word. Let the Bible, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit, transform how to think—not only about the truth about that sinful habit or practice, but also about who you now are in Christ in relation to it. And most of all, let it teach you about Jesus Himself!
Let God’s word transform your mind—not just in a superficial way, but down deep into the very spirit of your mind; and it will also transform your behavior.
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But even that alone is still not enough. To put away the old man is the first step. And to be renewed in the spirit of your mind is the second. But then, you must do one more thing. Paul says in verse 24 “that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” You must replace the old with the new. You must now …
3. PUT ON THE MAN MADE NEW IN CHRIST (v. 24).
‘Putting on the new man’ is just another way of saying ‘putting on Christ’. Whereas you formerly operated in the power of that ‘old man’ who was the helpless slave of sinful passions and deceitful lusts; now—having put that ‘old man’ away, put on the new man in Christ.
That ‘new man’ is “created according to God, in true righteousness …” That has to do with obedient, Christ-like conduct toward others. And that ‘new man’ is also “created according to God” in true “holiness”. And that has to do with our reverent obedience toward God Himself. ‘Putting on the new man’ isn’t simply a matter of adopting new behavior in our own power. It’s a matter of God the Holy Spirit living the very life of Jesus in and through us. As Paul said in Galatians 2:20;
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me (Galatians 2:20).
Think again of that sinful habit that plagues you. First, you put away the ‘old man’ who has been crucified and is no longer responsive to the temptations of that sin. Then, you allow the word of God to transform your thinking—both about that sin, and about your new position in Christ. And finally, you put on the ‘new man’. In the power of the Holy Spirit, you begin to behave like your Lord. You walk in His steps. You do as He would do. Soon, you find that that sinful habit or attitude no longer has power over you.
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Now; this is not a one-time-only kind of thing, dear brothers and sisters. It is a life-long practice. We must continually put off the ‘old man’, be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and put on the ‘new man’ in Christ. Like Joshua of old, the filthy garments must keep going off, the new robes must keep going on, and the turban must keep being placed upon our heads. But that’s God’s pattern for real life-transformation for the man or woman who is justified by faith in Christ!
As we read on in Ephesians 4, we find that the apostle Paul gives us some real-life examples of how to do this. He shows us how to put off the old man, be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and put on the new man. And I suggest that you treat that old, sinful habit that you’re wrestling with in exactly this way. Recognize it as an aspect and characteristic of the ‘old man’ that has been put to death. Pray, “Thank You, Father, that the old man—along with this old characteristic of the old man—has been put to death in Jesus. Like filthy old clothes, I put it off myself.” Then, allow your mind and your thinking to be fed by and renewed by the word of God. Say, “Thank You, Father, that You have shown me in Your word that I am no longer under the dominion of that ‘old man’—that I have been raised by You to new life in Jesus. Thank You that You have shown me that this sin is something that is displeasing to You—out of character of my identity in Christ; and that You give me Your help in putting it away.” And then finally, put on the ‘new man’ in Christ. In prayer, say, “Father; help me to now live like Jesus with respect to this old temptation—with the Holy Spirit empowering me.”
Just read carefully through verses 25-32 and see for yourself how this works.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; I have put this to work in my own life. And I can testify that it has—and is—helping me to experience genuine life transformation in Christ. May we thus, increasingly, grow to be like Jesus … all the way until the day when God the Father finally transforms us forever into Jesus’ image in glory.
AE
