If we study the teaching of the apostle Paul we will realize that his main focus was the revelation of the created new man in us who is Christ Jesus.
Many a times, we will see that Paul does not use the word order Jesus Christ, but Christ Jesus. Christ, or the anointed one, preceding the name Jesus, depicts the Lord in His resurrected self as this new man. This new man is the one whom has already been created in us at the moment of our salvation. However, as how all functions in the kingdom of God, He must be revealed.
Its imperative that we put off our old man who was already nailed to the cross of Christ.
Rom 6:6 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.
The “old” man is the Greek word “palaios”. Palaios is something that is old by virtue of age, constant use, something that is worn out, broken down, sickly and at the point of death. Look at a 100 year old person. This is the “palaios” man. That is our old man. Yet we embrace him and protect and love him and reject Christ beacuse of him. Woe to man, deceived by sin! Only Christ can destroy the 100 year old man in us.
At the moment that we accepted Christ, we were co- crucified with Him on the cross. Our “palaios” sinful man was crucified with Christ. Paul tells us in Rom 6:6 that the purpose of this crucifixion was that the the body of sin might be destroyed. Destroyed, is the word to render obsolete, non functional, and a total inability to cause any type of harmful effects on us...in other words, it is something which is totally broken down.
The crucifixion of Christ was so complete in what it accomplished, that the old 100 year old man can be totally freed from our lives. Paul describes the old man in Romans 7:24 as the body of this death.
The catch lies however in the word “might” in Romans 6:6....that the body of sin might be destroyed.
“Might” is in the Greek subjunctive mood which describes completion of an action, not as something automatic, but as an act of our will. The old 100 year man, the body of this death, though crucified on the cross, can be only be freed from us as an act of our will as we cooperate together with Christ in spiritual obedience. It does not automatically come off from us. This is why so many believers remain in bondage.
Lets look now at Eph 4:22-24.
Eph 4:22 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.
Here we see Paul talking again about the “palaios” 100 year old man which has been corrupted, aged and diseased by sin. Paul tells us that we must free ourselves from this “palaios' man, who is the source of all disease, malady, hatred and sickness.
Similar to the subjunctive mood in Romans 6:6, Paul here implements the middle voice, which talks about joint cooperation between us and the Lord. The middle voice depicts us performing the action back upon ourselves; kind of like a revolving action. Its not only the Lord who sets us free, but we perform the action of freeing ourselves from the old man through prayer, knowledge of the Word of God , faith, and obedience, in cooperation with the grace of God which is always working in us.
The verbal tense of the “putting off' is in the Greek aorist which is defined as something completely executed or done. We must completely set ourselves free from this, “palaios” man if we are to be totally effective for Christ.
It will cost us everything...but it is so worth it. This is the metamorphosis of the believer which Paul talks about in Romans 12:2
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (metamorphosis) by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
The news gets better though.
Right here, we see what separates Christianity from every other religion. Only Christ has performed what we are about to see next; not Buddha , Mohammed, Ron Hubbard, Krishna, or anyone else.
Verse 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
The word renewed comes from the word “neos” which is the total opposite to “palaios”.
“Neos” is the word “new' as somebody who is very young in age...just like a baby! Something which brand, spanking, new!
Lets now go to verse 24.
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
In verse 24m the word “new” is not neos, but “kainos”. Kainos is not something which is new by virtue of age, but by virtue of its novelty. It can be something that is old, but what was never seen before. Its like a new world order, or a new paradigm.
Look at what Paul says.
Free yourself from with the help of Christ completely from the old cancerous man. Renew your mind until it becomes youthful in its thinking; so that the new man in you who has already been created and who is Christ, can be revealed, as a human being who operates in a totally new order and paradigm of the kingdom of God.
There is so much more , but I have to leave.
Lets finish with another play on Greek words by Paul in Colossians 3, who was not only a tremendous man of God, but a mental genius.
Col 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Here Paul tells us to put off the “palaios” man as in Ephesians 4. However the new man in verse ten is now the “neos” man.
This is the brand new baby, the totally energetic, healthy and growing kid on the block. This is the new man who lives in us!
Paul then says that this youthful man "neos" is renewed ( kainos) in knowledge using the“kainos” mind or one who thinks in the new paradigms or the new order of things of the kingdom of God.
Piecing it all together we can see that the new man Christ already created in us, but in need of revelation, is brand spanking new in age, and energy, and health. He is put on as our mind is renewed to think in the new kingdom order and paradigms of God.
The new man secondly, is new in the way that it behaves and follows totally different paradigms than the ones found in this old word order, and is put on as we renew our minds with the thinking of a believing and trusting young and new child.
More later,I have to go.
