Category: Walking in the New Nature

Last time, I ended our discussion with this question.  Is the action of laying aside the old self and putting on the new self a once and done event as easily accomplished as flipping a switch?  Can we simply set the old man aside, and fully step out in the new man forever from this day forward?  The short answer, confirmed by Scripture and our own experience, is no.  But our heart is not the problem.

The word “heart” is the most common description of man’s essence in the Bible.  The heart is the center of our motives, understanding, choices, and actions.  Familiar passages such as Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?” describe the unregenerate heart.  And this lost heart, prior to Christ, controls our unregenerate actions.  The New Testament identifies our former heart as the home of our sinful nature and describes the lost as “children of wrath, controlled by their sinful nature” (Eph 2:3).

But that all changed when you accepted Christ’s gift of deliverance.  When you embraced the gospel message of Jesus Christ, you received a new heart and a new nature.  “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ez 36:26).  “Heart of flesh” does not refer to a fleshly heart in the spirit vs. flesh sense.  The term describes a soft warm beating heart in place of our old stone-cold dead heart.  As Watchman Nee wrote in The Normal Christian Life, “The heart, God says, is ‘desperately sick’ and He must do something more fundamental than cleanse it.  He must give us a new one.”

And a new heart we have.  Our old heart, our old self, our old nature were crucified with Christ on the cross (II Cor 5:14, Rom 6:6).  Our old heart was not cleaned up.  It was replaced by a new one, a heart no longer deceitful and wicked, but a heart with the law of God written upon it (Jer 31:33, Heb 10:16).  And is it is just one of the “new” we received and celebrate in this list; a new identity, a new nature, a new Spirit, a new heart, a new life, a new self, a new purity, a new birth, a new disposition, and a new power over sin.

The one “new” missing from this list is our mind.  And this is where the problem lies.  Often in the New Testament, right beside the promise of our new self is the instruction to renew our minds.  “In reference to your former manner of life, lay aside the old self…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:22-24).

Our old minds have not been replaced.  Our old minds do need cleaned up.  Our minds need to be made aware and enlightened to the ongoing truth and promise of the gospel.  Our minds need to be renewed, made fresh, changed in our way of thinking.  But there is hope and help in this process.  Our old mind has now become what I call “Christ-compatible” (I Cor 2:16).  What this means for the “renewing the mind” process will be the theme next time.

As we continue in Ephesians chapter 4, the apostle Paul comes back to the word picture of our “walk” to illustrate living the Christian life.  And he starts with the negative.  “This I say therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, darkened in their understanding, alienated from God” (Eph 4:17-18).  (Here “Gentile” refers to those separated from God, not a specific race.)  Paul goes on to explain that although this is how you once lived, “you did not learn Christ in this way” (Eph 4:20).

Paul begins with a contrast.  A sinful lifestyle or “walk” is how you once lived prior to your introduction to Christ.  It is not how you continue to live once you have “learned” Christ; once Christ has entered your life; once you have received all the “new” that changed inside you when you embraced His gospel message.  That sinful past is to reside just there – in your past.

Remember, grace says, “Come as you are to our community of faith.”  There are no rungs on the ladder of righteousness that you have to climb before you are accepted by God or by us, His children.  The only work that God requires to be approved and accepted by Him is the work of faith.  That is, to come with empty hands and accept His gift, His death in your place, for eternal life.

Though you are welcome – and even encouraged – to come as you are, you are not welcome to stay that way.  Your sinful past, marked by a futile mind and a darkness in your understanding is meant to be just that – in the past.  And God’s call to move forward, to break free from the sin of your past, could not be more clear.

“In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit…” (Eph 4:22).  Your old self, your former way of life, your sinful direction…STOP.  Lay them aside.  No longer walk in them.

How is STOP possible or is it even possible?  Let’s continue, “And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind…” (Eph 4:23).  Somehow your mind, formed and informed by your past practice of sin, is to be changed; to be transformed; to be renewed; to be made new.  But how does this happen?  We continue.

“And put on the new self…” (Eph 4:24).  Ah, here is some action to take on our part, putting on the new self.  What does this new self look like?  “Put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in you in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:24).

You have a new man inside.  A righteous man, a holy man, a man created in the likeness of God.  And it may sound simple to say, but living the Christian life is simply living according to the new man inside.  So with all this righteousness, and holiness, and likeness of God now – yes now, even this minute – living inside of you, is living the Christian life as simple as flipping the switch from the old man to the new?  We will talk about it next time.

We stopped last time at Ephesians 4:13 with a focus on unity and maturity; a plea for growing in Christ together.  The apostle Paul continues in verse 14, “As a result [a result of growing together], we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Eph 4:14).

One picture of a “growing in Christ” community is a community of conviction and balance.  Conviction is an unwavering adherence to the primary doctrines of Christ.  Our community faith is grounded in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is built on the foundation of Jesus and the apostles’ teaching.  And this foundation protects us from being “carried away by every wind of doctrine and the trickery of men.”

Our convictions, held in community, are also balanced.  Left to our own whims, personalities, inclinations, and extremes, we can easily go off into doctrinal fads.  We can jump off and on both theological and practical living bandwagons according to what seems most popular or interesting at the time.  But in community, we find a balance that keeps us on a straight path.

So instead of straying in belief or practice, “We, speaking the truth in love, are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Eph 4:15-16).

Wow!  What a summary of growing up together!  Christ is the head.  We are the body; in Christ and empowered by Christ in us.  The whole body is “fitted and held together” – fully functioning as it should – “by that which every joint [every believer] supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part.”

This is you and me!  We are the “individual working parts”.  No part is insignificant.  Every part has value.  No part is allowed to languish on the sidelines.  The body needs you.  The body needs us all!

I love the phrase “fitted and held together by that which every [believer] supplies”.  We just returned from our daughter’s wedding outside Houston Texas.  Prior to the event, there was a lot of “fitting and held together”.  A bride in a perfectly fitted wedding dress.  Parents in suits and dresses specific to the occasion.  Grandchildren in matching flower girl dresses, dresses for a special music appearance, and young ring bearers looking dapper in matching bowties and suspenders.  A pastor, a groom, groomsmen, and bridesmaids all beautifully dressed for their part.  And a sharply dressed grandson escorting his Nana down the aisle.

All that fitting together presented a snapshot of a completed picture.  If any of the 30 folks referred to above had shown up in a tee shirt and jeans, something would have been off in the picture.  Each had a “uniform” that was fitting and supplied what was needed to complete the picture.

You have a “uniform”.  Your uniform of good works, your uniform of exercising your gifts for the benefit of the body, your uniform of encouraging fellow believers all contribute to “the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.”  Not only do they contribute, but your gifts and participation are desperately needed.

The passage ends with the simple words “in love”.  Love is, of course, the driver behind this whole growing together enterprise, and a topic for another time.

Our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ is a clear picture of how we are walking in our new identity.  It is one of the over-arching messages of Ephesians chapter 4 as Paul begins to describe what a “new identity” life or walk looks like.

Since we are “one body, one Spirit, one calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all” (Eph 4:4-6), let’s “be diligent to preserve that unity” (Eph 4:3).  Let’s do that by practicing our spiritual gifts for the benefit of the entire body.  In that way, we will “build up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man or woman” (Eph 4:12-13).

What Paul is saying here is, “Let’s grow up together.  Let’s press on to maturity together.  What does this look like in a church setting; in a community of believers?

Arrogant and self-righteous believers – who are not practicing the humility and unity of Ephesians chapter 4 – will look down on those who are less mature.  They will state, or at least imply, that once you reach some righteous standard, once you reach some level of adherence to our rules, you can be accepted as equals; you can be part of our tribe.  This kind of thinking is exclusive, divisive, and the opposite of grace.

And it rejects what God has already called and created.  He called all of us who embrace the gospel message into His family.  In Him, by Him, and through Him, we are equals in the family God created.  As the hymn says, “We all stand on level ground at the foot of the cross.”

So what does a more inclusive, grace-oriented, and accepting unity look like?  As purveyors of grace, we humbly say, “Come as you are.  All are welcome here.  There is no rule-adherence or righteous standard for joining our group and being part of our lives.”  Does that mean we have no standard such that we welcome sinful practices?  No, not at all.  There are righteous standards aplenty in the teachings of Jesus and the apostles.  But how can we benefit the whole body if we use the standards to block relationships from growing?

Grace does not say there is no standard for obedience.  Grace says, “Let’s proceed to the standard together!  Let’s grow together!”  We are back to the word “together”.  And we will investigate more of what this “together” looks like next time.

In Ephesians 4 verse 1, Paul crosses the bridge between our identity and our behavior.  “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called…”  With that launch, the remainder of the book (chapters 4-6) describes how to live the Christian life.

Paul takes us from our identity (“our calling”) to our behavior (“our walk”).  And he starts right off with a foundational picture of what that walk should look like, given who we are in Christ, when he continues in chapter 4, “…with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:2-3).

Our aspiration to humility, gentleness, patience, love, and peace are not related to a self-help formula or a “how-to” recipe.  No, the formula to success to live in a certain way is already inside us and the power to do it is inside us as well.  It is located in the “inner man” (Eph 3:16).  It is located in the “new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:24).

This “likeness of God has been created” is just that; a brand new creation.  When we dissect Paul’s reference to us as a “new creation” (I Cor 5:17), the Greek language is very clear that this is something brand new, never seen before.  This is not a remodel, not an improvement on the old you.  Your new righteous self is exactly that; someone brand new.

Do you see how this sets us free from the prison of our past?  God is not out to clean up and improve the efforts of your dead spiritual self that you lived in before Christ.  God is making something brand new in you.  And so in the remainder of Ephesians chapters four, five, and six, the apostle spurs us on to “lay aside the old self” (Eph 4:22) and “live into your righteous self” (Eph 4:24).

Laying aside the old self and putting on the new self is the foundation for obeying every command that follows.  Why?  Because we only have the power to obey if we are putting on the new man.  The old man cannot do it.  Our flesh cannot do it.  There is not enough willpower in your old man to accomplish the righteous life.  The Christian life can only be lived by your new man; a new self that is really Christ living His life through you.

There are many descriptors the New Testament uses to say essentially the same thing about living this life.  Christ living His life though us (Gal 2:20), walking in the Spirit (Gal 5:16), putting on Jesus Christ (Rom 13:14) are all various ways to describe our walk.  When we do these things, obedience flows; and the joy of obedient living grows.

Now, is it too much of a stretch to say that this obedience flows naturally from our new self, an almost unstoppable force?  You tell me.  Because when we walk this way, obedience flows.  Life-giving abundance flows.  Service to others flows.  Giving ourselves away flows.  We feel the power of a river flowing just as Jesus promised in John chapter seven.

“On the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, … ‘He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, “From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” ‘  But this He spoke of the Spirit, who those who believed in Him were to receive” (Jn 7:37-39).  May this promise come true by the Spirit in you today!