Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Putting on the New Man
(Ephesians 4:17-29)
Maturity has a look about it. Sometimes young people refer to it as “old school.” Christian maturity has a marked appearance as well; and Paul’ refers to it as the “new man.” Spiritual maturity is not tolerance for dabbling in worldliness. Rather, spiritual maturity appears as a “new man,” completely different from the culture at large (17-19).
Not indulging in the excesses of this world, mature believers “put off…the old man” and, being “renewed in the spirit of [their] mind,” put on the “new man”—characterized by righteousness and true holiness (22-24). In what garb, exactly, does this new man appear?
Paul tells us the new man is impeccably honest (25). While passionate, he is not wrathful (26). He is also hard working, generous, and clean talking (27-29). In short, he is demonstrably different from the old man.
Contemporary Christianity falls all over itself promising sinners eternal salvation without genuine conversion—real change. This modern counterfeit is foreign to New Testament expectations for believers. As Paul would say, “Ye have not so learned Christ” (20). New Testament Christianity involves maturing into Christ’s image, and that always means significant change. Simply put, change does not save; but genuine salvation always changes the life of every believer. And the change that’s possible is so radical that Paul likens it to a brand new man altogether—not a moral reformation, but a new creature!
