PUT ON THE NEW MAN
Col. 3:10-11
Morning Meditation 4/17/2015
Verses 10-11 say, "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all."
Let us look first at,
THE NEW MAN'S EXISTENCE
Paul identifies a "new man." The word translates "neos" and means, "one recently born," in contrast to the "old man" in verse 9. This is definitely talking about the new birth. Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Conception and birth is the beginning of life for the Adamic man. This is also true of the Christian. One does not become a Christian until conception and birth takes place. Peter said in his first Epistle chapter one and verse 23: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." The new man is begotten through the Word and born of the Spirit. He becomes a new man in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:17). Here we have a man who existed before as an "old man" who is no longer an "old man" but a "new man" and it happened by the creative power of God.
Paul says, "And have put on" and this translates "enduo" and means, "to sink into (clothing), put on, clothe one's self." It is an aorist middle participle. The aorist tense means it has already taken place. The middle voice means that the subject (the Colossian Christians) acts and participates in the result of the action. This took place when they responded in faith the gospel of Christ. Every Christian has "put on" the new man in this sense. Paul is not crediting them with being the cause of the existence of the new man. God "created" the new man as we are told in this verse. He is acknowledging something that has already taken place so that he can tell them some things about it. So now he tells them of,
THE NEW MAN'S SUPPORT
Paul says, "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him . . ." The words, "is renewed" translates "anakainoo" and means, "to cause to grow up, to make new, to be changed into a new kind of life as opposed to the former corrupt state." The creation of the new life takes place at the point of salvation and Paul is saying here that the new life created continues to get support from the One who brought it into being. It is a present passive participle. The present tense represents continuous action in the present. The Lord never ceases to work in the present tense of the believer's life. He may be backslidden and away from the fellowship of his Saviour, but He is never abandoned by the Lord. He is either developing His child in a positive way through the normal process of daily growth, or chastening him in love to correct an inappropriate course, that he might be cleansed and restored (Heb. 11:6-11).
Paul brings this same truth out in Phil. 1:6: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." This is the "good work" of salvation. The words "will perform" translate "epiteleo" and mean, "to bring to an end, to accomplish it, to perfect it, to execute it, to complete it.." It is a future active indicative verb. This means that God has the future in mind in His present work in the believer and He is saying that He finishes what He starts. God personally supports the new man forever. Next Paul speaks of,
THE NEW MAN'S LIKENESS
The words "renewed in knowledge after the image" describe both the likeness and the way it is accomplished. The word "image" translates "eikon" and means, "an image, figure, likeness, the image of the Son of God, into which true Christians are transformed, is likeness not only to the heavenly body, but also to the most holy and blessed state of mind, which Christ possesses." This creation is a restored image that Adam lost when he sinned against God in the Garden Temptation. Ephesians 4:24 says, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." You will notice that the new man of this verse is CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND TRUE HOLINESS. He does not become that way by growth but by CREATION. The believer's body is inhabited by a new man that was created right at the point of the new birth.
The renewal of our text is speaking of the growth of the Christian. The "knowledge" is the believer's positive and believing response to the Word of God. The Word of God is so important to the growth of the Christian. It is the way God is transforming the new man in Christ into the likeness of Christ in an experiential way here on this earth. The process is described in Ephesians 4:11-16. God gives gifted men to the church (vs 11) for the purpose of developing the new Christian (vs 12) into the likeness of Christ (vs 13). When a Christian gets upset with a church and quits, he is making a mistake. He does not only set himself up as a judge of a blood-bought institution (Acts 20:28) but he cuts himself off from God's ordained way for his own personal development. Next Paul declares,
THE NEW MAN'S ORIENTATION TOWARD OTHERS
Paul says in verse 11, "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all." This verse is not talking about how it will be when we get to heaven. He is speaking about how it is here to the new man in Christ Jesus. The words "Where there is" translates "eni" and is a contraction for the third person singular present indicative." It means, "is in, is among, has place, is present." This means that there is no place in Christ for the distinctions that are made between races and social status. One will never get the world to change. In fact one of the signs of the last days that Jesus gave is that "nation shall rise against nation (Matt. 24:7). The word "nation" translates "ethnos" from which we get our word ethnic. It is race against race. Racial strife is not only found in the U.S. It is global, i.e, Bosnia, Serbia and all over Africa. It is a sin that believers in a New Testament Church take a different position than the Word of God. I was totally blind on this subject for years. I have no criticism for those who do not agree with me. I have been there. I personally confessed it as a sin and God forgave me and has graciously given me a ministry with a multitude of different races.
The words "Christ is all" cover what the word "all" means. That is what Christ is. John Gill says, "he is "all" efficiently; he is the first cause of all things, the beginning of the creation of God, the author of the old, and of the new creation, of the regeneration of his people, and of their whole salvation: he is all comprehensively; has all the fulness of the Godhead, all the perfections of deity in him; he is possessed of all spiritual blessings for his people; and has all the promises of the covenant of grace in his hands for them; yea, all fulness of grace dwells in him, in order to be communicated to them: and he is all communicatively; he is their light and life, their wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, their food and clothing, their strength and riches, their joy, peace, and comfort, who gives them grace here, and glory hereafter."
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown in their commentary say, "Christ is all--Christ absorbs in Himself all distinctions, being to all alike, everything that they need for justification, sanctification, and glorification(1Cor. 1:30 3:21-23 Gal. 2:20).
The words "and in all" means that He is in each and every.. Paul says in Romans 8:9: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." The words "have not" is a present active indicative with the negative. It is saying that if you are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit you are not saved. Jesus in the Person of the Holy Spirit indwells every believer without racial distinction or social standing. Paul takes the lowest sinner he could write about when he used the word "Scythian." This is described by Gill: "The Scythians were, of all people, the most barbarous and unpolished, and were in great disdain by others, therefore the apostle mentions them, as being within the reach of the powerful and efficacious grace of God; nor were the fierceness of their dispositions, and the impoliteness of their manners, any bar unto it." (John Gill in the Online Bible)..
The grace of God is able to save all no matter what. The problem is not with grace. It is with the depraved will of satisfied sinners who enjoy and boast of their disbelief in God and Christ and will pay for it through all eternity. May God help them to change their minds before it is too late.
Paul has identified the truth of the new man and some things about his attitude and growth. In the verses to follow He will tell us how to dress the new man.
May God bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
