The New Man

[Editor’s Note: I’m calling this the Summer of Ted, as we’ll be posting articles every Wednesday morning by our dear brother Ted Fellows! I’m posting this one today, because it’s totally epic. PTL! -Joel]

There is a wonderful truth taught by the apostle Paul that when a sinner believes the gospel of salvation, they literally become a new creature. We are not just forgiven, but we also receive new life! The Bible’s term to describe this is regeneration. “Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

God actually performs another act of creation!

When we trust Christ, we are given His very life, and we receive the Holy Spirit. We are told in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” It is “not I, but Christ!” He now lives in me! We are given a new standing and new identity as a new creature, no longer in Adam, but now “in Christ!” I am not the person I used to be! Living the Christian life is not hard, it’s impossible! Our goodness was totally insufficient to save us for we had to trust what He did for us on the cross. It is not our efforts now to live the Christian life, we must have Him live through us.

We are taught in Ephesians 4:22, “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” We have a new freedom from the old nature because of the new life imparted. We still possess the old nature for he must be “put off.” We are to reckon ourselves dead to sin. I’m free! I don’t have to let sin dominate and run my life. Jesus Christ has not just paid for our sins at Calvary, but our old man and the fallen nature has also been crucified with Christ! God sees the sins paid for, and the sinner judged as well! We are now also raised with Him to walk in newness of life, His life! There is no victory in wrestling with old man. When we get down in the dumps and discouraged because of our failures and shortcomings, we are focusing on the wrong thing, our past identity and its’ fruit. God sees our sins and our fallen nature totally dealt with at Calvary, and we should too!

We put off the focus on the old man: “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” (Ephesians 4:23,24) We do this by faith, seeing ourselves as He does, as a new creature, in Christ!  We stand before God in grace, with all sins forgiven, and “made the [very] righteousness of God, in Him!” (II Corinthians 5:21) We then are to walk by faith, renewing our mind by letting his word to us dwell in us richly! The Holy Spirit then produces fruit through His life! It’s replacement! Victory comes with realizing God considers us a new creature, created in righteousness and true holiness! Now we are to go live as a new creature in our new identity! This new man is “his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works!”