Putting on the New Man

Perfection is choosing to obey God in all things at all times. This is a profound definition and it has helped many to come to belief. But the truth is, we did not fully understand why perfection was not only a possibility, but also a mandate from the Father. In the previous chapters we learned how the soul was taken out of the flesh through the miracle of circumcision. We also discovered that circumcision was the death of the old man, the body of sin, and that all who have received Christ have been baptized into His death.

God's plan, having done all of this, was for us to be witnesses and ambassadors of Christ.

WITNESS: to openly profess the faith

• A person who was present and saw an event take place

• The evidence and proof of an event.

• To have personal knowledge of an event or change from personal observation or experience

• One who acts as a representative of another country in a foreign land.

An Ambassador: A ‘servant’

The plan also included entering into the fellowship of His suffering and walking in the power of His resurrection. You might ask, “what is the purpose of all this?” The purpose is the same as it has always been – the ministry of reconciliation. God has given a great gift to the world. He has made a way of escape from His wrath that is coming upon the world, but the world will not know of this great salvation unless there are those who are willing to bear witness of it. However, the world will not believe unless it can see evidence of such a gospel.

Summary Scripture:

Colossians 3:9-10

9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Jesus understood this and brought it before the Father as He prayed in the Garden:

John 17:20-24

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word

I thank God that Jesus prayed for all of us who would have come to believe on Him.

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

Jesus knew that there was no way the world would believe He came as the Son of God to die for the sins of the world, except they are able to see the evidence. He knew that those who have received this great salvation must walk among the world as He did. They must be as He is.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one

This is just another way of saying, “Baptize them in the Holy Ghost. For it is the glory of the Father and the Son; and now it is the glory of the sons.”

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation the world.

Here is where the glory of Christ is manifested. He is going to come back to the earth in the glory that He had with the Father before the foundation of the earth.

If we go back to the beginning of this chapter, we see even more clearly how the mystery of Christ is to be revealed.

John 17:1-5

1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee

2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him

3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent

4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do

5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

It is so very important to grasp the understanding of this prayer. The first thing you must remember is that this is a prophetic prayer. Jesus is looking beyond the cross and seeing the glory set before Him. He is looking at the church. This we have known in the past. Glorify thy Son, glorify me with your own self. Give me the same glory that I had with you before the world was. He was with the Father in the Godhead as an omnipresent Spirit. Here on the earth I am confined to this one body, but I desire to be in them all. Place this life that I lived in the flesh into all that believe on me. You can do this Father because you have given me power over all flesh. For us, this is the most powerful of all statements in the prayer. They can be my witnesses and my ambassadors and just as I have glorified you on the earth, they will glorify me.

Hebrews 10:5

5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

We often say that Jesus was our example, but there is still controversy in the Church as to whether we can live as He lived. The truth is... when John said, “as he is, so are we”, he meant it in every sense of Jesus’ walk on the earth. Jesus took on the human body supplied by Mary, the seed of Abraham, but the Holy Ghost overshadowed her and prepared the body of Christ to be a holy habitation of the Father. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Life. When it enters a body, it produces the Law of the Spirit of Life, which makes the body free from the law of sin and death:

Romans 8:3

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.

There were no motions of sin working in Jesus' flesh. Jesus was the Word of God who became flesh. Therefore, as long as His eye remained single, sin was not a temptation to Him. It was not hard for Him to resist the pleasures of this world because He had no desire for them. His affections were on things above. His meat was to do the will of His Father. His eye was single and therefore, His whole body was full of light.

Hebrews 4:15

15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus is able to have compassion towards us because during His tenure here on earth, He was tried and tested in all points pertaining to the flesh. Nevertheless, He did not give in to any. He never knew or committed a sin.

Colossians 2:14

4 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross

The sins of the whole world were placed on that sinless body called Jesus. On the Day of Atonement, in the Old Covenant, the sacrificial ram had to be spotless and without blemish. This was our Jesus, the spotless Lamb of God. He carried all of our sins in His body. Now the seed of Christ has germinated. The single seed that was planted in the earth has produced a full harvest: the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus' days are prolonged because in Him is eternal life. The pleasure of the Lord was to have a holy habitation, to live among His people. Jesus has fulfilled the eternal purpose of the Father.

This is the great love of our Lord for us. He is our atonement. Because we sinned in the flesh, He carried our sins in His body. But it is our soul that was responsible for the sins of the flesh. Therefore, His soul went into hell, surrendered to death (alienated from God) until the law was satisfied. Then came the resurrection. He was born again. Luke writes about this new birth in the book of Acts: God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee (Acts 13:33).

Because Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, and the record in Heaven states that eternal life is in the Son of God, then it can only be concluded that all who believe on Him, whether they be Jew or Gentile should not perish, but have eternal life. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace (Ephesians 2:15).

Ephesians 2:15

15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

Here again, the mystery of Christ unfolds even more. Please continue to connect the dots here. We have taken a detailed look at how the soul was saved or preserved in Christ. We now understand the atonement that made us one with His death. But what happens to us after His resurrection? Are we only to rejoice in the fact that we are saved and guaranteed a seat in the Kingdom of God? I think not. We were saved through the preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Someone had to bear witness of this great salvation, or else we would not have known that such deliverance was available to us. The preservation of the soul was not the end of it.

Romans 6:4-5

4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:

When Jesus prayed in the Garden, He said, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17:24).

John 17:24

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

After the resurrection, Jesus returned to the earth in the glory that He once had with the Father. He is an omnipresent Spirit in all who believed on Him. At salvation, the great exchange took place. In exchange for the preserving of the soul, the body is resurrected alive again unto God. It is the body of Christ. He is in our bodiesso that we can be witnesses of His resurrection. Therefore, we are instructed that if we live in the Spirit then we ought also to walk in the Spirit. The same spirit that raised Christ from the dead has quickened our bodies. He lives in us to continue the ministry of reconciliation. But our walk in the flesh is different now.

Galatians 2:20

20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

How is it possible for the sons of God to accuse the flesh of being sinful or having the nature of sin? It is Christ who lives in the flesh to do the will of the Father. It is the temple of the Holy Ghost. Our is the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:20-24

20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Put on the new man, embrace him. He is Christ in the flesh. Put him on, or rather, walk in him. John said, “He that is born of God cannot commit sin because the seed remains in him.” Where is the seed? It is in your body. It cannot sin as I did before. Paul wrote, “For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).

Romans 8:15

15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

We don’t have to be afraid that our body will betray us, nor do we have to worry about a law working in our members to bring us into captivity. The body is a new man. It is Jesus manifested in the flesh. It is the member of Christ.

Ephesians 5:30-32

30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

This is the greatest mystery of all. We are not only one spirit in Christ, but we are also one flesh. Each one of us are members of Christ.

Colossians 3:9-11

9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

The new man is not a Jew, nor Greek, neither any other race nor nationality. He is Christ in the flesh. So, from henceforth, see no man after the flesh in regards to their humanity. The body o f Christ is the temple of God. Though it is made of earthen or human vessels, the nature of it is not human. It is impossible for human nature to love its enemies or lay down its life for those who despise them. The nature of the new man is divine. He craves the things above. His desire is to please the Father. Yes beloved, that is the nature of the flesh. It has no will to disobey God, it is His temple. But God has given us complete access. Remember, we are in Christ and Christ is in us. If we sin, it is not due to the nature of the flesh, it is due to the rebellion of the new creature: the soul. So a man thinks, so is he. As we have already learned in previous chapters, the old man was crucified with Christ. He died because of sin. But in that experience, the soul was saved or preserved in the Spirit. But the plan was for us to be witnesses and ambassadors. Therefore, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead has quickened our mortal bodies. The body is alive again and now we can experience the power of His resurrection in our very own flesh.

Just as we were planted with Him in death, now we live with Him in the quickening or resurrection of our bodies. Yes, we are now with Him in our bodies. Wow! Now it is fulfilled that as He is, so are we. Jesus is in our flesh. And remember what He said to His Father, “ As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him” (John 17:2).

John 17:2

2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

He is the reason we do not crave sin any longer. He is the reason the motions of sin cannot work in us. The law of the Spirit of Life has made us free from the law of sin and death. We are free now to serve without the power of sin working in us. Sin has no more dominion over our bodies. Therefore, we are commanded to put on this new man. The words ‘put on’ means “to clothe yourself in”. So, let us clothe ourselves in the new man: the body that has received Christ and is ready to manifest himself to the world. Jesus gave us a glimpse of the intent of the Father in His teachings.

Mark 2:22

22 And no man putteth new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.

Jesus did not bring us back into a body that is unclean and defiled by the law of sin and death. We are complete in Christ and are able to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable unto God.