Tue 7.2 – “Raised to walk in newness of life”

Today’s Readings: Colossians 3.10-16; 2 Corinthians 5.17; I John 3.9; I Corinthians 6.17, 15.45-49

Yesterday, we looked at some of the characteristics of the NEW MAN that we are to PUT ON. I want to point out a couple simple things today as we compare the verses from today’s reading with each other to cover these truths from Colossians 3.10-16

1 – please notice that we ALREADY HAVE the NEW MAN if we are born again. 2 Corinthians tell us that if any man is in Christ, he IS a new creature. That means they already has the newness in him/her. What we are talking about here is not HOW TO GET THE NEW MAN. That is a question of salvation. What we are talking about is PUTTING ON THE NEW MAN, or in other words how to live in the full reality of our new life in Christ.

2 – I want to make sure and point out another vital truth this morning. The new man is not simply a better version of ourselves. Some will read these words and think that we are talking about how to adjust our lives to be BETTER lives than what we currently have. That is NOT it. What we are talking about here is a COMPLETELY NEW PERSON living in us after salvation. This is not simply a reformation, it is a replacement. It is not just a remedy, it is a rebirth.

And, just in case all of that goodness was not enough, that NEW MAN inside of us is not even us! Sure, we are united with it; Peter said we are PARTAKERS OF THE DEVINE NATURE (2 Pet 1.4), but the amazing truth is that in being united with HIS NATURE we are no longer simply ourselves. Check out how Paul describes it in Romans 13.14, “PUT YE ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST” wow!

THE NEW MAN IS JESUS CHRIST IN US! Remember what we read back at the end of chapter 1? Paul describes the golry of God in the Mystery of CHRIST IN US! It’s just like our God…He will never call us to do something that He hasn’t first already equipped us to do! (1 Thes 5.24)

When we yield our lives to the new man, allowing the life of the new man to reign, and we PUT OFF the old man, we are actually seeking to distance ourselves from … well … OURSELVES, and place ourselves more fully in the One who is IN us! Check out 1 Corinthians 15.45-49 as you conclude your time with the Lord today and notice all the differences between the two men in that passage. One is earthly, carnal, sinful, and mortal. The other is heavenly, spiritual, sinless, and immortal. ADAM was that first man – the old man that we are to PUT OFF! And Christ was that second man – the new man that we are to PUT ON!

What are you wearing today? Rags, filthy stains, temporary things? Or are you wearing gold, silver, eternal works, blessings and praise, divine nature??? Now that we are RISEN WITH CHRIST (3.1) let’s walk in the newness of THAT life! Amen.

1.5 - CHANGE comes with the new Identity.

Today’s reading: Colossians 3

For those of you who know me very well, you know what fitness is kind of one of my hobbies. When I was in High School, I was the “Goofy Fat Kid.” You know the one I’m talking about. The kid who has a very poor self image, no confidence, and never really pops up on anyone’s radar? I was 15 and weighed roughly 250 lbs. Now at 15 and around 5.10, that’s a pretty hefty kid.
Then something happened inside of me. I would like to say it was God getting ahold of me and convicting me about gluttony and not taking care of my body, but at that point in my life God was the furthest thing from my mind. I wasn’t even a believer at the time (though I was playing the “spiritual” game from time to time when it was convenient). If I am being totally honest, my basic motivation for changing my body was two things: (1) I was unhappy and was tired of being so awkward and uncomfortable, and (2) I noticed that all the fit guys seemed to get the girls. So, unfortunately, my original motivation for getting fit was not the right ones, it was basically selfish and greedy. However, thankfully as I have been saved and come to know God and His Word over the years, He has shown me how important it is for us to be good stewards of the body He has given to us, and I thank Him for giving me that right way of thinking. So, let’s think about some of the similarities here…

How many of you have ever seen one of those TV infomercials about a weight loss program? You know the ones, “Call today and for three easy payments of $19.95 you can loose 30 lbs in 30 days…” Then they show pictures of success stories like the one above and tell you how perfect this system is. If you will notice, there is usually some fine print that will say something like “results not typical”. Does anyone want to guess why that is? It is because most plans like those are not “lifestyle” plans, they are quick fixes. Let me repeat that for those of you who haven’t been catching the spiritual parallels there, they do not work because they are not LIFESTYLE plans, but instead are QUICK FIXES. What you will often find is that if you could look up those people on the commercials today, they’ve gained the weight back, and then some. It’s called the YO-YO effect. The problem is that those people REALIZED THEIR CONDITION as being in need of help, and they sought out  QUICK FIX that helped them for a while, but soon returned to their OLD WAYS of living and now are right back where they started, and often worse.

Take time today and read Colossians 3 in that light. Paul is telling us that we cannot come to Christ as a QUICK FIX. That is not what He is. Christ is a LIFESTYLE (Col 3.4) and if we are RISEN WITH HIM (our we could say if we are IN HIM) then our LIFESTYLE should reflect that change. In the same way a person who is seeking to lose weight can wind up right back where they started from, a Christian can too in some ways. Obviously, they cannot lose their salvation, but they can lose their testimony, effectiveness, fellowship, and so much more. Some Christians even walk around looking, acting, and living just like they did before the CHANGE of JESUS CHRIST in their lives. That’s what Paul is saying here. That’s what God does NOT want from His children.

Unfortunately, a QUICK FIX JESUS is what most churches are preaching today. “If you want to be happy, come to Jesus. If you want to give Him all your burdens, come to Jesus. If you want to be forgiven, come to Jesus. If you want to find strength and healing, come to Jesus.” And while all of that is true, and while He is all of those things, those are all the SIDE EFFECTS of a relationship with God, not our PURPOSE for one. HE IS OUR PURPOSE for having a relationship with Him. God wants us to walk according to the life we now have in Him and that is what Colossians 3 is all about. Let’s listen carefully to His instructions about how our life should look as someone RISEN WITH CHRIST.

We do not want to “put the weight back on” so to speak once we’ve been freed. So let’s PUT OFF the old man who put all of that spiritual weight on us to being with, and PUT ON  the new man in the LORD JESUS CHRIST to walk according to His way.