Out with the Old and In with the New
ICS Daily Devotions
Colossians 3:9-11 (NKJV) Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
In the above passage, the Apostle Paul was writing about a new way of living by making a comparison between the old man and the new man. We will continue to live in the old man, its identity and lifestyle until we renew our minds with the Word of God regarding who we are in Christ.
In those days, both the Greeks and the Jews were considerably proud people. The Greeks tended to identify themselves as being more superior than others due to their intellectual and philosophical background, while the Jews took pride in being the chosen people of God and having the law. Being the circumcised ones, they considered the Greeks as gentiles. Then there were those who identified themselves as business people who owned slaves, thus having a much higher social standing in society, while females in those days tended to have less significant roles in society. However, all these differences in social standing, family background and perceived superiority were hindrances to walking in love and acceptance among church members during the time of the Apostle Paul. Unfortunately, it is also happening in the church today. While they needed to make many adjustments after their salvation, the same applies to all believers today.
Our self-perception will affect how we carry ourselves, either with confidence or lack of confidence. We will tend to be rude, insensitive with our word and action if we think that we are one-up against the others, because our behaviour is very much tied to our identity. If we identify with the old man, our attitudes and lifestyle will be no different from the people of the world. However, there is a big difference between the two identities of the old man and the new man. The former identifies itself in the doing, while the new man identifies itself in being in Christ.
Jesus came to give us the right identity and self-worth. We will only begin to enjoy the abundant life meant for us when we have the right identity in Christ. There is nothing for us to prove because we no longer look to earthly cheerleaders to cheer us on. Instead, we only look to God as our cheerleader because we have chosen to live our lives for Him. Once we know that there is nothing to prove because we are already accepted in Christ, we won’t be easily offended by others’ opinions or comments, so let go of the identity of the old man and put on the new man!
Sermon Series: A New Identity after His Resurrection
