Weekly Articles

                                                                                                                                             The New Man

“And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”  Ephesians 4:24

When a man accepts Jesus into his heart, at that very moment he receives a new regenerate spirit that has been quickened, that is, made alive to the things of God. The divine nature of God has just moved into your once dead spirit, and it is immediately made alive so that you are translated from the power and dominion of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13). This is the new birth (John 3:3), your salvation. You are now a new creation with a new purpose in life. You have been adopted into God’s royal family, and as 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “old things have passed away; behold all things are become new.” You are now a new creature because of your new quickened spirit, but your soul remains the same and now needs to be reprogrammed to line up with what has just taken place in your spirit. The body remains the same and continues to be a slave to whoever is dominant. Your soul is the heart of man; this is your will, feelings, and emotions. It once operated and was controlled by those old worldly principles which governed your life, but, because those principles were not in line with God and His Word, your soul, or mind, must now be renewed with the Word of God so that you operate in this new life by the principles of God. The reality is at salvation, although your spirit has been made new and is alive to the things of God; you still live in your flesh, which is still subject to the human passions and lust of a soul which needs to be renewed by the Word of God.

Ephesians 4:22 Amplified says to “strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion.” Your regenerate spirit has become new and is now alive to the things of God; the Word of God is now alive to you and can be understood because you have the Teacher, the Holy Spirit, within Who has revealed to you this command to put off your old behavior that you once lived by. You must make the decision to be obedient and seek the help you need to begin this process of change, which starts with renewing the mind. Understand that there can be no change in ones life apart from him changing the way he thinks (Proverbs 23:7).

Everything in life begins with a thought. Our decisions, actions, and behavior come from what we are thinking. Romans 12:2 instructs us to “be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (changed) by the renewing of the mind.” That old mindset which you operated in before you received your salvation was shaped by worldly principles and ways. Now that you are a new man you need to have your mind renewed to the things of God, by the Word of God, so that you operate by the principles of God. Renewing your mind is not a one-time event; rather it is a process that happens over a period of time. Ephesians 4:23 Amplified reads, “be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Constant means occurring over and over again. We must forever be attending to God’s Word, allowing it to conform and shape our thinking through a fresh mental and spiritual attitude which we develop through this constant intake of and meditating on God’s Word. The renewal of the mind comes by way of a persistent daily intake of God’s Word until our thinking is influenced by this new information in which our mind is now processing. It must begin to affect our consciousness until it generates thoughts, ideas, and perceptions, which are in line with what God desires for you, the new man. You must study His Word daily, pray this Word daily, and meditate on that Word day and night until it begins to shape your way of thinking, and conform it until you begin to see things from God’s perspective.

A renewed mind with a new thought pattern will generate new thoughts which will lead to new and better decisions, and produce new and better actions. The new man with a renewed mind now displays the character of God as he now makes his decisions in line with the Word of God with much better results. This new man with a renewed mind now has new principles, new habits created from these new actions, and a new disposition to live by. This new man now seeks to live a life of holiness. As he is in the perpetual process of renewing his mind by the Word of God and participating with the Holy Spirit daily in discarding that old manner of life which was characterized by corruption through deceitful lusts and passions, he must be non-compromising in walking in this new life. The new man seeks to uphold the righteous standards of God in all that he does now.  The bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 to “abstain from the very appearance of evil.” The Bishop can’t hang out at the bar just because he says the atmosphere is not bad, and plus I don’t drink anymore. Pastor can’t play a little blackjack or poker at the casinos just for a pass time; saying his losses is not much. The Deacon cannot attend the club every Friday night just to break the monotony of his life of faith. Your daily Zodiac sign reading can’t be your guide for your character, but it must be the Word of God. The new man must operate with godly integrity and discretion. The new man with a renewed mind must develop in character to operate like God. He must display the God-like character that draws others to Christ. Too many people shy away from the church for the help they desperately need simply because of the character they see displayed in some Christians. They feel that if the church can’t help you who confess to being saved, sanctified and holy, and you still are as mean as a rattlesnake, drinking, gambling, cursing, hanging out in ungodly places, then how can it help them with their character flaws and the behaviors they need to overcome. For this reason the new man must walk upright before God at all times with clean hands, a pure heart, and pure motives, so that others will see the change in his character because of this new life, and desire the same for their life. First Peter 1:14-15 Amplified says “[live] as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel]. But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living.” The new man must fashion his new life so that his inward frame, behavior, speech, and conversation are much altered from what they were in times past. You are a new man now, all old things have passed away, and you must now be holy in all manner of living. Because of a renewed mind, this new man has his understanding enlightened, the conscience softened, his thoughts rectified, his will bowed to God, and his affections made spiritual and heavenly so that he is not what he was—he is now a new man who acts from new principles, by new rules, with new ends, and in new company. He is a new man.