“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new,” Paul writes (2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV.)
The fact that we have become a new creation in Christ does not mean we automatically live like the new creation we have become. If it did mean that, the overall conduct of Christians would be much better than it often is. But experiencing the newness of life is not incidental to being a Christian.
In Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus, he writes, “Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:22, KJV). In other words, cease and desist from allowing your former ways to govern your life.
When we became a Christian, we didn’t forget how to behave as we used to. Being born again does not make us quit our past; it empowers us to do so. Hence, what Paul instructed the church at Ephesus to do was possible. The same is true about us. As Christians, we have received everything we need to enjoy the newness of life. But this newness of life can happen only if we choose to “put off the old man.”
How do we do that? We must, “Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth,” Paul continued (verse 24, NASB).
“Put on” denotes choosing to allow the character of Christ to govern our life. We can do this because the new person we have become is righteous and holy. But again, the newness of life that’s available to us in Christ won’t be ours merely because we are a Christian.
Experiencing Newness of Life Is a Choice
According to the verse quoted in the introductory paragraph, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away.” But we must view this biblical truth in the proper context. You see, even though we are a new creation in Christ, we are still clothed in sinful flesh. That will remain to be the case until we depart this life. In other words, it is only the spiritual dimension of our being that has become a new creation.
That means, even as a Christian, our flesh will still desire the things that satisfy itself. But as a new creation in Christ, we don’t have to give into these fleshly desires.
Of course, God could have chosen to not leave us so conflicted. When He saved us and changed us, He could have taken away the desires of our flesh. He could have made us so spiritual that we never looked back at the ways of our past.
But that’s not God’s style. He always gives us freedom of choice–along with the consequences. We must choose between holding onto the old man and putting on the new man. Doing the former tends to dead works. The latter tends to the newness of life.
The bottom line is that God wants us to put on the new man daily because we want to and not because we must. He wants us to do so because we love Him. Because we are passionate about living for Him. This is the kind of desire for God that will usher us into the newness of life He has called us to live.
Copyright © 2023 by Frank King. All rights reserved.