Colossians 3:10-11
~17 min read
TRANSCRIPT
If you have your bibles, please turn with me to the book of Colossians. We will be reading Colossians chapter 3:10–11. “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.” The Lord bless the reading of His holy and sacred Word.
In the society we live in, the clothes we wear can tell a lot about us. It is sort of a representation of who we are. Like the soccer team would wear a certain set of jerseys. The policemen, doctors and nurses would wear a particular set of uniforms. And the companies would require their employees to wear t-shirts with the company logos. Failing to wear the right dress code will lead to being rejected, fired, and can bring serious consequences.
Sometime ago, I watched a documentary about a boss who turned up in his own corporate company with shabby clothes. And he was promptly kicked out by the security who did not recognise him even though he owned the entire building.
In a sense, Christians must dress themselves spiritually in accordance to their new identity in Christ. They have died, buried, and risen with Christ to the new life. This salvation involves a two-sided obligation for them. There is a putting off of the old garment, the old sinful lifestyle, and a putting on of the new garment, the new man clothed with the righteousness of Christ.
The title of our message is: Put on the new man.
I. The Position
Firstly, we want to consider the position of the new man. In the preceding verse 9, the apostle Paul said, “Seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” The word “seeing” means since and it indicates an accomplished fact. In other words, the old man with all his sinful evil practices had already been put away. And Paul continued to say in verse 10, “And have put on the new man”, which also indicates an accomplished fact.
We need to have a right understanding about the old and new man. Many people have this misconception that at salvation when we are saved, the believer receives the new man but still keeps the old man. Therefore, he now has two men, both old and new, living in him. Salvation then becomes an addition, not transformation.
They argue that the struggle of the Christian life comes from the battle between these two natures. If this is the case, then the believer would have two natures, both old and new. And this would mean that his inner man, his soul, is half regenerate and half unregenerate.
There’s no such thing as a half spiritually saved person. Either a person is saved or he is unsaved. A believer or an unbeliever, bound for heaven or bound for hell. There’s no halfway house, so to speak. Scripture clearly said, “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)
Romans 6:6 said, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” To be crucified is to be dead and buried.
This is exactly what Paul is saying here: “Seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” (Colossians 3:9). It is an accomplished fact. Your old man had already been put off and have put on the new man. Again, it is an accomplished fact. Your new man had been put on. This is the transforming work of salvation. The old man is gone and replaced by the new man.
Now the question then arises as to why as believers we still sin if the old man is gone. You see, we still sin and are capable of sinning because the new man lives in this old body known as the flesh. The flesh has been used by sin. It is dominated by sin. It dwells in sin. It carries with it all the memories of past sins and continues to have sexual desires and evil passions with all the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.
The new man is a new creature, not a perfected creature. But salvation will bring about a radical change in the nature of the believer by virtue of his union with Christ.
Listen to how the Apostle Paul described the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:9. In the past, some of you were fornicators, adulterers, abusers of yourselves, thieves, covetous, drunkards, and so forth. But today 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.
What happened? What was the thing that so powerfully changed them? In the past, they were sinful and wretched. Then all of a sudden they change. Well, Galatians 2:20 explains it very well. “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.”
Only Christ can totally change a person from the inside out. The moment a person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ, the old man is crucified and buried with him. It is a divine work. And then the new man is raised with him to a new life. The new man is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. So he walks differently from the world in divine love, in the light of God's word and His wisdom. Loves God and his son, hates sin, and pursues righteousness.
But remember, the new man lives in this old body, the flesh, and is constantly tempted with sin and is capable of sinning. So the battle is on. It is not a battle between the new man and the old man. It is a battle between the new man and the flesh. That is why Galatians 5:16 commands us: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”
Before our conversion, we are in the old man. After conversion, we are in the new man. There's always only one man. Before conversion, the old man is dominated by sin. After conversion, the new man is no longer under sin's control. Through Christ, the power of sin has been broken. The believer is freed from the dominion of sin. Sin is no longer his master. His master is Jesus Christ.
Again, it does not mean that we will never sin. As long as we live in this body, the flesh, we will still be tormented by sin. But the difference is that sin is no longer the dominating force in our lives.
I believe I've given the illustration of Martin Lloyd Jones multiple times, but it is important that I repeat it again to describe the believers’ old man and new man.
It is a picture of two fields with a road dividing them. Throughout his life before Christ, Martin Lloyd Jones lived in the field where Satan is king. Satan always told him what to do and his human nature simply responded in sin.
The field on the other side of the road is controlled by Christ. By the grace of God, he crossed over the road into the new field by placing his faith in Christ. The field is under the dominion of Christ and controlled by His righteousness and holiness. Christ is the new master of Martin's life.
The only problem Martin said he experienced was sometimes he could hear Satan from across the road, still barking orders at him. Satan had a clever way of making him interested in what he was ordering him to do even though he was no longer under Satan's dominion. But that is the most Satan could do. He could only bark from the other side of the road.
That is what Satan would do to us. He would bark and continue to bark to use our flesh against us. The flesh will try to dangle the old garment of sin before the new man in us and urge us to put it on. Look, see, you should try this thing. It is so pleasurable and exciting. It will satisfy you fully. Everyone is doing it. You don't want to be left out, do you?
Thus the battle is on. Not between the old man and the new man, because there's only one man, but between the new man and the flesh. Throughout our entire lives this battle is on.
So what must we do? Remember positionally we are a new creature in Christ, a new man in him. And the old man had been put away. But the flesh will still tempt us. And we must resist the flesh. And the only way to resist the flesh is through the spirit. Walk in the spirit. Let the spirit guide and lead us through God's word that we will not fulfil the lust of the flesh. That is the only way.
This new man does not become mature instantly. There's a growing process. There is the capacity for growth. Like the seed sown into the ground, it does not become a tree overnight. It needs water and mineral to nourish it. Then the shoot will sprout and grow to be a plant and finally become a tree. So there is this process of growth. Just like the believer, we will grow and continue to grow.
II. The Progression
This brings us to our second point: The progression. Look at the second part of verse 10: " The new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”
There's no growth apart from knowledge. And the source of knowledge is the Bible. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 said, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” The word of God is the food that provides the nourishment for the new man to grow.
If we are a true believer, we are a new creature, a new man. And this new man needs to grow. How fast the believer grows depends on how much knowledge he knows and how much of that knowledge is applied into his life. You can have all the knowledge, but they may just remain in your head. Unless they are applied into your life, you will never grow.
The word “renewed” is to make new or change. And the word “knowledge” is a deep, thorough knowledge. Not just scratching the surface which is superficial, but to dig deep.
In the past, the Bible made no sense to us, for we do not believe it is the word of God. But after conversion, the Bible not only makes sense to us, it becomes our life. And the decisions we make, the places we go to, the work we do, the relationships we make or break, the way we respond to the situations of life are all guided by the knowledge we gain from the Bible. The more we know the Bible, the more we apply biblical truth into our lives, the more we will grow.
So we must read and study the Bible to be exposed to the word of God and allow the spirit of God to guide and lead our lives so that we will not conform to this world, be transform, manifest the fruit of the spirit and develop spiritual qualities, and the result is we will grow to be more and more like Christ. That is what it means “after the image of him that created him.”
This is in line with the teaching of 2 Corinthians 3:18. Maybe you can turn with me to this verse, 2 Corinthians 3:18: " But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” Take note of the phrase, we “are changed into the same image from glory to glory.” We will come back to it shortly.
The word “image” means figure, picture or likeness. We will never attain a perfect image of Christ, but we will grow to be like him.
To help us to understand how we can grow into the image of Christ and what it means, some theologians have divided the attributes of God into two parts: the communicable and non-communicable attributes.
We use these two terms more commonly to talk about diseases. A communicable attribute like measles or chickenpox or even COVID-19 is something you can get from someone else. A non-communicable attribute like cancer is something that cannot be passed on from one person to another through normal contact. I understand that there may be more medical details than that, but this is just a brief explanation to illustrate the point.
So a non-communicable attribute is something that no man, no creature of God, even the new man in Christ, can ever get.
Some of the noncommunicable attributes of God are: God is omnipotent. He's all powerful. We can never be all powerful. God is omniscient. He's all knowing. He knows everything. We can never be all knowing. God is omnipresent. He's everywhere at all times. We are limited by time and space. God is immutable. His nature will never change. Oh, we change all the time. God is eternal. He has no beginning or end. Yes, we have eternal life, but we do have a beginning.
To grow into the image of Christ does not mean acquiring any one of these attributes. That is impossible. Becoming like Jesus actually means acquiring his communicable attributes. Those attributes that Jesus manifested while He lived on the face of this earth, like the fruit of the Spirit.
Remember Galatians 5:22–23 said, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.” These are the communicable attributes of God, which means believers can have these qualities as he or she is controlled by the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus lived on this earth, these were his characteristics. Even on the cross, even in the worst situations of life, they could not change those godly characteristics. For he is perfect, and he wants us to follow him, to be like him. Not in a perfect sense. We can never be like him in a perfect sense, but we can be more and more like him, manifesting those godly qualities. That is what it means.
So when a believer lives a Spirit-filled life, manifesting the fruit of the Spirit, spiritual qualities, and the unbeliever or the world sees the believer with this kind of manifestation, usually they would say he or she is so Christ-like. Why do they say that? Because they know those are the characteristics of Jesus Christ.
Remember the phrase “from glory to glory” that we read in 2 Corinthians 3:18. It simply means from one level of glory to another glory. In other words, the believer will keep changing and transforming until ultimately it will culminate in the believer's glorification.
As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:51, “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,” - which means not all believers would die, some of them would be raptured - “but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”
Allow me to briefly explain the word “changed” there is a different word. It is to be changed to a different kind. That is a reference to the glorification — the ultimate glory when the body and soul are united together in a glorified state.
So what it means is that as believers, you and I are growing, changing and transforming every day of our lives from one level of godliness to another level of godliness, until one day we will be changed to a totally different body, the perfect glorified body. So we keep changing and transforming until one day this different kind of body would come. That is our glorification.
Dear friend, after we have been saved by the gospel, we are into the process of sanctification, growing into the image of Christ. One day we will be fully transformed in glory, both body and soul, in heaven.
If you are a true believer, the question you need to ask yourself is: how have you progressed in this transformation? Have you grown to be more and more like Christ in the way you speak, the way you think, the way you behave?
Let us apply this practically. If you take all the believers — from the most mature and godly believer you have ever known to the youngest and newest believer in the church, and everyone in between — where do you think you stand?
I'm not suggesting that you gauge yourself in a proud sense, but you want to know, don't you? After all these years of learning the Bible, worshipping the Lord, serving God, fellowshipping with the believers, you want to know where you stand.
Are you growing more and more like Christ? If we are true believers, there's no doubt we are in the process of transformation. We are growing until ultimately we will be glorified. If that is not the case, something is terribly wrong.
III. The Partnership
Our last point is: The partnership, as in our partnership with other believers.
Verse 11, " Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.”
Positionally, we are a new man in Christ. And progressively, we are growing every day of our lives. As a new man, God has placed us into the body of Christ, the church. And just as we are to put off our old sinful habits, we are to put off our barriers that separated us from the believers. There's no place for any form of discrimination, whether social, racial or cultural, in the church of Jesus Christ.
In those days, the greatest barrier to put off was that of the Greeks and Jews. One was circumcised and the other uncircumcised. They were separated by this overwhelming racial and religious barrier. And they had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
The Jewish people refused to enter Gentiles homes. They would not eat a meal cooked by Gentiles nor buy meat from Gentile butchers. Whenever they return to Israel, they would show their disdain for the Gentiles by shaking off the so‑called Gentile dust from their clothes and shoes or sanders. Needless to say, the Gentiles would also show their dislike for the Jews.
And on top of that, educated Greeks and Jews looked down on the barbarians and Scythians. The word “barbarian” was a demeaning term used to describe someone uneducated, uncultured or uncivilised. The Scythians were a nomadic and warlike people who were notorious for their brutality.
So a fellowship between the Greeks and Jews, and between them and the barbarians and Scythians, and those who are slaves and those who are free, was unthinkable if not impossible. Yet that was precisely what happened in the church. They all came together with no discrimination at all. All because of Christ.
But Christ “is all and in all”. In other words, Christ dwells in them all. And therefore, they were all equal. He breaks down all the racial, social, cultural and whatever barriers and makes the believers new creatures in him.
Here Paul was not saying that the Greeks became Jews or the Jews became Greeks, or barbarians and Scythians all of a sudden became educated and cultured. Just as he said in Galatians 3:28, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” He did not mean that the slaves became masters or masters became slaves, or males became females and females became males. God forbid; that would be impossible. They still retain their races, cultures, and genders.
He was simply speaking in terms of their standing before God. Based on their standing before God, there was no spiritual difference, because they all shared the same rights and privileges. Every one of them.
Well, in the eyes of the world, there will always be differences. Isn't it true? Some races are classified as the elite race. In some nations, they have different caste systems. Men would despise the women. The rich would not mingle with the poor.
This should never happen in the church of Jesus Christ. Because as believers, there's no difference between us. In the eyes of God, we are all equal. There's nothing to separate us or distinguish us based on our race, our culture, our social standing or our genders. My wife has all the rights of a child of God like I have. Someone who is rich has all the rights of a child of God as someone who is poor. There is no distinction.
Then we ask ourselves this question: if in God's eyes there's no distinction, are we better than him in that we put our own human differences and distinctions and separate ourselves? God forbid. May it never happen.
Dear friend, this is what it means to put on the new man. As believers, we are already the new man. There's only one man, either new or old. Remember, the battle is with the flesh. So what does it mean to put on the new man? To remember that our position is a new man, a new creature in Christ. That is who we are.
Our progression. Every day of our lives, we are growing in knowledge and becoming more and more like Christ. This is what we should be — changing, transforming, and growing from one level of godliness to another level of godliness, until ultimately we will be changed into a totally different body, the perfect glorified body.
And we must remember our partnership. We are not the only child in God's family. There are other spiritual children. And we ought not to separate ourselves but to put off all our differences. Anything that comes in between us must be put away, for we are all one in Christ Jesus.
Put on the new man. Be dressed spiritually in accordance to our new identity in Christ.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, as we study through this passage, Thou has taught us what it means to be the new man.
We who are believers are already the new man. But we ought to remember our position as new creatures in Christ, as a new man in Him. And there is this battle not against the old man, for there is only one man, the new man. It is a battle against the flesh. And the only way is to resist the temptation of the flesh, to walk in the Spirit and not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
And we remember our progression every day of our lives. We ought to be growing in knowledge, knowledge that cometh from Thy word, the Bible, and grow and become more and more like Christ until finally we'll be changed completely into a glorified body.
And we also remember our partnership, for we are not the only one who is in Christ. There are other spiritual children of Thee, and we ought not to separate ourselves but to be united as one, for we are all one in Christ.
So may Bethel BP church and all those who are attending this church be mindful of these important truths, remembering our position, our progression, and our partnership, all to the glory of Thee.
We pray all this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANSA Faith And Love That ShinesA Faith And Love That ShinesColossians 1:1-4
The Blessedness Of Our Christian HopeThe Blessedness Of Our Christian HopeColossians 1:5-6a
The Transforming Power Of The GospelThe Transforming Power Of The GospelColossians 1:6b-8
The Need For PrayersThe Need For PrayersColossians 1:9
Prayer for Spiritual ExcellencePrayer for Spiritual ExcellenceColossians 1:9-12
Walk Worthy Of The LordWalk Worthy Of The LordColossians 1:10-11
What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?Colossians 1:12a
What Does It Mean To Be Citizens Of God’s Kingdom?What Does It Mean To Be Citizens Of God’s Kingdom?Colossians 1:12b-13
I Am Redeemed And ForgivenI Am Redeemed And ForgivenColossians 1:14
Christ, The Invisible GodChrist, The Invisible GodColossians 1:15
Jesus Our Creator Loves Me, This I KnowJesus Our Creator Loves Me, This I KnowColossians 1:16-17; Romans 8:37-39
What Is Christ’s Relationship With The Church?What Is Christ’s Relationship With The Church?Colossians 1:18
What Does It Mean To Be Reconciled To God?What Does It Mean To Be Reconciled To God?Colossians 1:19-22
The Evidence Of Our SalvationThe Evidence Of Our SalvationColossians 1:23a
Are We Willing To Suffer For Christ?Are We Willing To Suffer For Christ?Colossians 1:23b-24
How Faithful Are We?How Faithful Are We?Colossians 1:25-27
What Does It Take To Be Faithful In The Ministry?What Does It Take To Be Faithful In The Ministry?Colossians 1:28-29
The Indispensable Component In Serving GodThe Indispensable Component In Serving GodColossians 2:1-2a
This Is What I Wish For You To Have And To BeThis Is What I Wish For You To Have And To BeColossians 2:2b-5
Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!Colossians 2:4-9, 19
The Evidence Of Our SalvationThe Evidence Of Our SalvationColossians 2:6-7
Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!Colossians 2:7
Our Spiritual Union With ChristOur Spiritual Union With ChristColossians 2:11-12
Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12
What It Means To Be ForgivenWhat It Means To Be ForgivenColossians 2:13-14
Faith In Christ Is The VictoryFaith In Christ Is The VictoryColossians 2:15
The Danger Of Being LegalisticThe Danger Of Being LegalisticColossians 2:16-17
The Danger Of Spiritual DeceptionThe Danger Of Spiritual DeceptionColossians 2:18-19
The Vanity Of Self-Denial To Achieve SpiritualityThe Vanity Of Self-Denial To Achieve SpiritualityColossians 2:20-23
Seek Those Things Which Are AboveSeek Those Things Which Are AboveColossians 3:1-2
What Does It Mean To Be In Christ?What Does It Mean To Be In Christ?Colossians 3:3-4
Mortification Of SinMortification Of SinColossians 3:5-7
Put Off All These ThingsPut Off All These ThingsColossians 3:8-9
Put On The New ManPut On The New ManColossians 3:10-11
Recipes For A God-Honouring ChurchRecipes For A God-Honouring ChurchColossians 3:12
Human Wisdom Versus God’s WisdomHuman Wisdom Versus God’s WisdomColossians 2:8-10
