Putting Off & Putting On
Colossians 3:9-11
You can tell a lot about people in our society by the way they dress. From baseball players,skaters, to bus drivers, from postal carriers to policemen, people wear the uniform of their profession. Who we are determines what we wear, not ¡§dressing the part¡¨ can sometimes have embarrassing consequences. Many years ago a very wealthy man in a Southern California town was found wandering around the local country club wearing shabby clothes. He was in custody by security guards and charged with vagrancy¡Xeven though he owned the country club. He had failed to dress consistent with who he was.
That is exactly Paul¡¦s point in 3:9¡V17. Christians must dress themselves spiritually in accordance with their new identity. This section links 3:5¡V9a, which tells believers what to put off, and 3:12¡V17, which tells them what to put on. This is the bridge between the old self and the new self
1. The Position of the New Man verse 9b-10a
since you have taken off your old self with its practices. and have put on the new self,
„à The word ¡§since¡¨ acts the transition from the old self to the new self. The relation of the old self and the new self has been much disputed.
View # 1 Many hold that at salvation believers receive a new self but also keep the old self. The argument that the struggle in the Christian life comes from the battle between the two.
„Ã This view however is not Biblical, Paul throughout his epistle said,
2 Cor. 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Romans 6:6 - For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--
A. The Old Self
„Ã Paul in Ephesians (Colossians twin epistles)
Ephes. 4:25-32 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. [26] "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] and do not give the devil a foothold. [28] He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. [29] Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. [30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [31] Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. [32] Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
B. The New Self
Ephes. 4:17-24 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. [18] They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. [19] Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. [20] You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. [21] Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. [22] You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Question: Why Do Believers Sin, if the Old Self is Gone?
They do so because the new self lives in the old body and must contend with the flesh. Paul shows this in the conflict described in Romans 7:14¡V25. After a person is regenerate, old value systems, priorities, beliefs, loves, and plans are gone. Evil and sin are still present, but the believer sees them in a new perspective, and they no longer control him.
[15] I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. [16] And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. [17] As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. [18] I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. [19] For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. [20] Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. [21] So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. [22] For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; [23] but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. [24] What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? [25] Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
To argue that believers have both an old and a new self is to say we are spiritual half-breed in Scripture.
„Ã If you are a Christian, you should act like it. To be a Christian means more than just making good resolutions and having good intentions; it means taking the right actions. This is a straightforward step that is as simple as putting on your clothes.
2. The Progress of the New Man v10b
which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
„Ã Possession of the new self does instant spiritual maturity. The battle against the flesh will go on throughout our lives. The new self is complete, but its need to grow, just as a baby is born complete and has the ability to grow.
2 Cor. 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 2 Cor. 3:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
„à The new self is being renewed to a true knowledge. The source of knowledge is the Bible. Paul wrote to Timothy, 2 Tim. 3:16¡V17 ¡§All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work¡¨
„à Peter exhorts believers, 1 Peter. 2:2 ¡§Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation¡¨
„Ã The goal of knowledge is to conform the believer to the image of the One who created him. The new self becomes progressively more and more like the Lord Jesus Christ who created him.
1 Corinthians 15:49 tells us, ¡§Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.¡¨ It is God¡¦s plan to make-believers like Jesus Christ.
Rom. 8:29 ¡§For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren¡¨. The new self will continue to progress toward Christlikeness until the Lord returns or the believer dies.
1 John 3:2 The apostle John wrote, ¡§Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is¡¨
„Ã Every Christian is in a continuing education program. The more we know of Christ and his work, the more we are being changed to be like him. Because this process is lifelong, we must never stop learning and obeying.
3. The Partnership of the New Man verse 11
Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
„à The final reason for putting off the evils of the old self is that the new self brings a renewal that is so radical, it changes all human relationships. Paul says in verse 11: ¡§Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.¡¨ If we make a practice of putting to death our sensuality and covetousness, laying aside evil attitudes and malignant speech, we will fully experience this astounding removal of barriers in human relationships.
„à The ¡§new self,¡¨ lived out, brings the destruction of
Racial or national distinctions, such as between Jew and Gentile. The spread of the Greek culture and civilization meant that a Greek person (regardless of his or her country of origin) could feel pride in a privileged position and would look down on the Jews and their persistent clinging to an ancient culture. The Jews, meanwhile, would look down on Greeks as heathen, immoral, and outside of God¡¦s grace for the chosen nation.
Religious distinctions, such as between those who have been circumcised (Jews) and those who are uncircumcised (Gentiles). Circumcision, the physical mark of the male Jew, was prized as part of the covenant of God with his chosen people. If practiced at all by Gentiles, it was as part of a heathen cult; most often, the Gentiles were uncircumcised, and they mocked the seriousness of the rite for the Jews.
Cultural distinctions, such as between barbaric or uncivilized peoples (contemptuous names used for people unfamiliar with Greek language and culture) and cultured peoples.
Economic or social distinctions, such as between a slave and a free person. Slavery was common in the ancient world. Paul would have special words for the relationships between masters and slaves (3:22¡V4:1).
„à How could these barriers possibly be removed? Paul¡¦s answer: because Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. The Colossian church was probably made up of all kinds of people. No believer should allow prejudices from pre-Christian days to be carried into the church. Christ broke down all barriers; he accepts all who come to him. Believers, as Christ¡¦s body, must do the same. Nothing should divide believers; nothing should keep them from experiencing unity.
