Putting on the New Man

Here is a recent question that was submitted on the blog.

From what I understand, Jesus only had the new man in Him. We as believers on the other hand have both the Old and the New man militating within us. In view of this how do we make sure that we successfully fulfill our born again identity?

I believe this is a great question to which a book can be devoted into providing an answer. My submission here is not a formal thesis because I do not have the time to develop it, but I would like to submit some thoughts on this subject in order to answer the question.

There is a distinct difference between man and Jesus. We as human beings are born into this earth with our spirit man dead because of sin (Rom 5). The law that God established brings judgment to all of humanity because there is nothing we can do of ourselves to atone for our sins. This fallen nature is what is referred to as “the old man”, which can only be exchanged with “the new man” through the work of Christ’s work on the cross (2 Cor. 5:17). Jesus, who being the very nature God, came in the form of the man, but never assumed “the old man” because he was not born into sin. His spirit man was alive from conception and he was able to live a life on earth as a man in uninterrupted communion with God. As a man, he was tempted in every way (Heb 4:15), yet was without sin. His death on the cross-provided us with the opportunity to become new creatures in Christ, and to live our lives on earth the same way he was able to model His life yielded to the spirit of God.

As believers we have become new creatures in Christ, but Paul speaks in Romans 5-8 that we must “crucify” the old man, and appropriate a life lead by the Holy Spirit. Yielding to the Spirit, which has now been made alive in us as believer’s results in our Born Again identity becoming evident in our lives. Galatians and Ephesians refer to the fruit of the Spirit, which is a product of a Spirit-filled life. The power of God’s grace in our lives is the catalyst for our Born Again Identity. It is important that we understand what this identity looks like, but we in our own human working cannot make it evident in our lives. Instead we must surrender our old man to the new man and allow the Holy Spirit to direct our lives in a manner that, through that surrender, brings about the fruit of our Born Again Identity. To be successful at this, we have to turn away our focus from ourselves and give our complete attention to God. As we do this, the Holy Spirit works within us to make the changes, transforming us into saints, which live the Born Again Identity just as Christ had done during His ministry on the earth.

Discover Your True Identity!

We have just finished our first week of our summer series and the teaching was fantastic. As promised, I have setup a blog site for everyone to communicate on. I am sure Renee' will get the link you you all in time for tomorrow night's meeting.

I pray that everyone will be blessed as they embark on discovering their "born again" identity.