“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:9-10).
God has brought you out of darkness into the Kingdom of light; the Kingdom of His dear Son (Colossians 1:13). Therefore, you must let go of any attitude that’s of similitude with the kingdom of darkness. In 1 Corinthians 6:5-9, the apostle Paul rebuked the Corinthian church because their way of life didn’t portray the new nature of righteousness that they had received. As a Christian, it’s important you recognize that you’ve been completely delivered from the worldly lifestyle. You’re not the same man who existed before you were born again. Your old of sin was supplanted with God’s nature of righteousness.
The Bible says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have disappeared, and-look!-all things have become new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 ISV). The old lifestyle, old ways of thinking and of doing things are gone—nonexistent. This is why as a new creation, you have to be tempted to do wrong. People may still call you a smoker, a drunk, a liar or any other name you were called before you received Christ, however the Bible says, “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:11).
Notice it didn’t say “and such are some of you…”, rather it says, and such were some of you, because now, you’ve been cleansed of all the mess you used to be in before you were born again! You’ve been separated from sin unto God, and declared righteous, in the Name of the Lord, and by the Spirit of our God! God wants you to recognize your new identity—see the picture of the new you and live that way.
You don’t know what you really look like until you look into the mirror of God—His Word. This mirror shows your real picture in Christ Jesus. It shows that the old life with which you were born by your parents doesn’t matter now, for things have changed! You’re now a new creation. Thus your conduct as a Christian must now reflect your new personality in Christ Jesus—your new nature, which is the nature of righteousness.
Prayer
Father I thank you, for I have put on the new nature of righteousness. The old life, with which I was born by my parents, is completely gone, and a new life—the incorruptible life of God has begun. This new life is in every cell of my blood, every fiber of my being, and today, I walk in the reality of the new life of righteousness which I’ve received in Christ, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Further Study: Ephesians 4:24: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; [23] And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; [24] And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
(Taken by permission from Christ Embassy Church , aka Believer’s LoveWorld Ministries , Lagos, Nigeria. www.ChristEmbassy.org )
