The New Man

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Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

If you really know Jesus as you Lord and Savior, then the old life of sin will be put off and new the life in Christ will be put on. There may be some old habits that putting off may take time, but as we learn more about Jesus, He gives us the help we need to put off the things that bring leanness to our heart. What does this new man look like? How does this new man live? The new man is a seeker after the holiness of God. He desires to live right and do right. His life is controlled by God. He walks in the light that God gives him and allows the Holy Spirit to led him in the path of righteousness and true holiness. It is the will of God that the new man be sanctified and be a vessel filled with the Holy Spirit, ready to be used by Him.

Corrupt Communcation

Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

The scripture has a lot to say about how Christian should be communicating. Before coming to Christ, unless trained otherwise, we took no thought about the words we spoke. The old self had no filter, it spoke what it thought, and would justify itself because they were injured or disrespected by someone else. When someone does wrong against us or violates our self image, the natural response of the “old man” is to lash back out. To get even, get revenge. “No one talks to me that way, I’ll show them”. Being angry at the actions of other people is not sinful, Paul said, “Be angry, but sin not”. Don’t let your displeasure cause you to spew out corrupt communication. Let the Holy Spirit put a guard on your tongue. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit by allowing the devil to take control of the words you speak. Put on the “new man”. Let God transform the way you communicate the words that come out of your month. Especially those that are new born in Christ. It will be a work in progress. Putting off is a deliberate action that is taken. Refrain from using words that are filled with evil speaking and are malicious. But let the words you speak be uplifting and kind. A soft word turns away wrath. Entreats the Holy Spirit to empower you to be a witness for Christ and minister grace to those who may not be deserving.

Our Affections

Col 3:2-3 “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”-

As a sinner, our affections were set on the things of this world. Our carnal lustful desires were rooted in self and gratifying the flesh. “If it feels good, just do It” has been the motto of many who seek their own pleasure. Setting your affections implies that one’s will is involved with how those affections are fulfill. Paul, knowing that sexual desire is a human affection given to us by God, write that this affection be not satisfied in a way that fulfills the lust of the carnal flesh. God has ordained that this heavenly affection is fulfilled between a man and a women who have joined themselves in marriage. Sex outside of marriage, or allowing the mind to fulfill this desire is unclean and considered inordinate affections. We are no longer sinners, if we have put on the new man which is the image of Christ. We must now set our will to desire those things that reflect this image. The “new man” will seek the Holy Spirit to help them set their affections on things that are above, or Christ like. We no longer walk in the way of sinful living, but Christ who lives in our heart sent the Holy Spirit to help us put to death those members that seek after the things of this world. As a Christian, Satan will try and twist our affections and tempt us to fulfill a desire that is holy and fulfill it in a way that is sinful. Many a good person have fallen because they failed to keep their eyes and affections on Christ and have given in to Satan’s suggestions. Let us walk in the Spirit, so not to fulfill the lust of the flesh.