Off with the Old, On with the New
Off With the Old, On With the New
Ephesians 4:17-24: Therefore this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you walk no longer
just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their mind,
alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the
hardness of their heart. And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to
sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn
Christ in this way— if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
to lay aside, in reference to your former conduct, the old man, which is being corrupted in
accordance with the lusts of deceit, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
The Apostle Paul tells the men in Ephesus to put off the old man and put on the new man. The old man reflects our former life of sin with the fallen nature we had received from Adam. The new man represents the new birth, the new life, the new man in Christ Jesus. When we heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and believed in him, scripture says that we were born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit. We still have the flesh and its fallen desires, but now in Christ we have been set free from slavery to sin, and now by the power of the Spirit we can live in the new man of the Spirit. Paul teaches this in Galatians chapter five. Galatians 5:16-25: But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things that you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in you to
be your helper. The Greek word for helper is paracletos, which means helper. This word is where we get the term para. A para provides the necessary help to people who cannot do for themselves. We want to walk in step with the Holy Spirit. Like a para helping a man walk, the man must walk in step with the para, or he will fall. Keep this illustration in your mind. It helps us understand how to walk in step with the Spirit. This requires humility, trust, and dependence. We are not good at any one of these three. We pride ourselves on our own abilities, trust very few people, and do not want to depend on anyone or anything. We cannot do this without the aid of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture declares that in Christ, we have become a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. We look the same, we may even feel the same, but we are not the same men and women we were before we encountered Christ. Something incredible has taken place in us. We were born again of the Holy Spirit. I can think of examples in Scripture when God changed a man’s name to match his new life and calling. There was Abram, which means high father. After God’s covenant with him, God changed his name to Abraham, which means father of multitudes. In ancient times, one’s name carried great meaning. God made a covenant with Abram, a fatherless man, with a barren wife. In Genesis chapter seventeen, God said, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” Not only was there a change in name, but a change in identity, purpose, and destiny. One cannot encounter the living God and leave unchanged. The same is true of each of us. We also, in Christ, have had a change in identity, purpose, and destiny. I have a good friend who has an incredible ministry to Muslims. His story of coming to faith in Christ is miraculous, just like yours and mine. When he came to faith in Christ, one of the first things he did was change his name. He no longer goes by his given name but now goes by the name Abraham. This change in name demonstrates a break with his old life and a step into his new life in Christ. This is a very common practice that demonstrates one’s new birth in Christ. They still look the same and sound the same, but they do not identify as the person they were before they came to Christ. You may be thinking, I did not change my name when I came to faith in Christ. Your new name is coming. The Apostle John writes about it in Revelation 2:17: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white
stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’
When we came to faith in Christ and were born again, we received a new Father, a new family, new citizenship, new life, new purpose, and a new destiny. One’s identity greatly influences how one lives.
There is a reason we identify as Christians. Acts chapter seventeen tells us that it was at Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. There was a time when calling yourself a Christian truly meant something, unlike today, where Christianity has become nothing more than a nominalized cultural buzzword. To be a Christian was to identify with Christ, to live for Christ. Paul wrote about this in Galatians chapter two. Galatians 2:20 ESV: I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. The man we were before we came to Christ is no longer our identity. The old man has been crucified with Christ. We have been born again. A new life has come. The life we now live we live unto Christ.
In Christ,
Pastor John
Ephesians 4:17-24: Therefore this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you walk no longer
just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their mind,
alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the
hardness of their heart. And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to
sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn
Christ in this way— if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
to lay aside, in reference to your former conduct, the old man, which is being corrupted in
accordance with the lusts of deceit, and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
The Apostle Paul tells the men in Ephesus to put off the old man and put on the new man. The old man reflects our former life of sin with the fallen nature we had received from Adam. The new man represents the new birth, the new life, the new man in Christ Jesus. When we heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and believed in him, scripture says that we were born again and sealed by the Holy Spirit. We still have the flesh and its fallen desires, but now in Christ we have been set free from slavery to sin, and now by the power of the Spirit we can live in the new man of the Spirit. Paul teaches this in Galatians chapter five. Galatians 5:16-25: But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things that you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in step with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in you to
be your helper. The Greek word for helper is paracletos, which means helper. This word is where we get the term para. A para provides the necessary help to people who cannot do for themselves. We want to walk in step with the Holy Spirit. Like a para helping a man walk, the man must walk in step with the para, or he will fall. Keep this illustration in your mind. It helps us understand how to walk in step with the Spirit. This requires humility, trust, and dependence. We are not good at any one of these three. We pride ourselves on our own abilities, trust very few people, and do not want to depend on anyone or anything. We cannot do this without the aid of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture declares that in Christ, we have become a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. We look the same, we may even feel the same, but we are not the same men and women we were before we encountered Christ. Something incredible has taken place in us. We were born again of the Holy Spirit. I can think of examples in Scripture when God changed a man’s name to match his new life and calling. There was Abram, which means high father. After God’s covenant with him, God changed his name to Abraham, which means father of multitudes. In ancient times, one’s name carried great meaning. God made a covenant with Abram, a fatherless man, with a barren wife. In Genesis chapter seventeen, God said, “Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.” Not only was there a change in name, but a change in identity, purpose, and destiny. One cannot encounter the living God and leave unchanged. The same is true of each of us. We also, in Christ, have had a change in identity, purpose, and destiny. I have a good friend who has an incredible ministry to Muslims. His story of coming to faith in Christ is miraculous, just like yours and mine. When he came to faith in Christ, one of the first things he did was change his name. He no longer goes by his given name but now goes by the name Abraham. This change in name demonstrates a break with his old life and a step into his new life in Christ. This is a very common practice that demonstrates one’s new birth in Christ. They still look the same and sound the same, but they do not identify as the person they were before they came to Christ. You may be thinking, I did not change my name when I came to faith in Christ. Your new name is coming. The Apostle John writes about it in Revelation 2:17: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white
stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’
When we came to faith in Christ and were born again, we received a new Father, a new family, new citizenship, new life, new purpose, and a new destiny. One’s identity greatly influences how one lives.
There is a reason we identify as Christians. Acts chapter seventeen tells us that it was at Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. There was a time when calling yourself a Christian truly meant something, unlike today, where Christianity has become nothing more than a nominalized cultural buzzword. To be a Christian was to identify with Christ, to live for Christ. Paul wrote about this in Galatians chapter two. Galatians 2:20 ESV: I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. The man we were before we came to Christ is no longer our identity. The old man has been crucified with Christ. We have been born again. A new life has come. The life we now live we live unto Christ.
In Christ,
Pastor John
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