Paul reminds the Colossians that true believers have
put off the old man and put on the new man (vv. 9-10). What does he mean by old
man and new man? One answer often given is that by the old man he means sinful
tendencies and by new man he means godly tendencies. The problem with this
suggestion is that Paul does not indicate that putting off the old man and
putting on the new man are gradual activities. Instead he says that they are
decisive.
What is wrong with this answer is that it is based on
Christian experience rather than on doctrine. Every Christian is aware of
continual changes is his spiritual life, of inner conflict with indwelling sin,
of desires after holiness. They then assume that here indwelling sin is the old
man and desires after holiness are the new man. The consequence is that they
fail to realise the radical transformation that occurs at regeneration.
The contrast between the old man and the new man is
that between what is earthly and heavenly. Paul describes the earthly in verse
11: ‘Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,
free, ’ and he does so in words that describe groups of people. He mentions
ethnic, religious and status distinctions that mark the way people live, and
which are very important in their self-perceptions as well as being the cause
of troubles in life.
Yet Paul does not regard them as significant for
Christian living. I suppose he is saying that earthly privileges and earthly
restrictions are of no consequence in living the Christian life. It was not any
easier for a circumcised Jew to live the Christian life than it was for an
uncircumcised Scythian; nor was it any easier for a free Gentile to advance in
holiness than it was for an enslaved Gentile. Instead the Colossians had to
realise that a more radical change had happened when they became Christians. At
their conversions, each of them became new creatures in a new community, and
this new community is the new man.
The old man is life lived in union with Adam and the
consequences of his actions when he rebelled against God. If Adam had not
rebelled, then the various groupings mentioned in verse 11 would not exist and
the sinful lifestyles of each group would not have happened. When a sinner
trusts in Jesus, he ceases to be united to Adam, he has new power in his life
through being now united to Christ, he becomes a member of a new humanity, and
therefore he should live a heavenly life on earth.
What does life look like for those who belong to new man?
Paul goes on to tell his readers in verses 10 and 11 and we will think about
his description tomorrow.
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