THE NEW BIRTH IS REAL -- Monday:
"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is CREATED in righteousness and true holiness." KJV (Ephesians 4:24)
The new birth is a marvelous thing! We should know this from the words of our Lord who associating seeing and entering the Kingdom of God with being "born again" (John 3:3-6). The new birth is accomplished through seed that is "incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (1 Pet 1:23). The Holy Spirit Himself is active in the new birth: i.e., we are "born of the Spirit" (John 3:6,8).
The new birth is not a metaphor of speech, as some have conjectured – i.e., a nice way of saying we are trying to do things differently. If a person is in Christ, he is a "NEW creation." The transaction is so effective that old things pass away, and everything becomes new (2 Cor 5:17). This is something GOD does – a spiritual entity He CREATES. It is even more real than the creation of the heavens and the earth, which will pass away. It is a prelude to the time when the Lord will "make all things new" (Rev 21:5).
Our text refers to this "new creation" as "the new man," or "new self" (NASB,NIV). The promises of God are fulfilled in this "new man." The laws of God are put into his mind and written upon his heart (Heb 10:10). He has a propensity toward the law, loves God's law, and thrives upon His Word. He is in agreement with what God says. This "new man" has a "new heart" and a "new spirit," according to the promise of God (Ezek 36:126). He is tender toward the Lord and thinks differently – in accord with the thoughts and ways of God. He has the capacity to hear God, having received "ears to hear" (Deut 29:4; Mk 7:16). The "new man" has the "love of the truth" (2 Thess 2:10), loves righteousness, and hates iniquity (Heb 1:9). He is created so he will NOT to fit into this world, but to be gloriously harmonious with the one to come.
This new man is to be "put on." This is the same thing as being "renewed in the spirit of our mind" (Rom 12:1-2). It is yielding to the cry of the "new man" for dominance in our thinking, purposing, and deeds. Putting on the new man is to spiritual life what standing up and walking was to the impotent man by the gate Beautiful (Acts 3:6). It is the response of faith. It is walking "in the light" (1 John 1:7), living "by faith" (Heb 10:38), and living "in the Spirit" (Gal 5:25). Although created by God "in righteousness and true holiness," the "new man" must be put on by the consent and preference of the believer.
If the "new man" is ever put on, there has to be a conviction that he really exists – that there is something about you that is newly created by God – something with new capacities and longing. Many a professed disciple lives so close to the world they never are aware of the presence of the "new man." They have cultured an ear for other voices, and an eye for other things.
What a glorious day it is when the person is able to truthfully say, "For He that is mighty hath done to ME great things; and holy is His name" (Lk 1:49). The persons who know they "have eternal life" (1 John 5:13) can walk in the power of that life. But such a walk is well nigh impossible for those who have no knowledge of the "new man." Our preaching and teaching should assist those who are born again to know what they have and who they are in Jesus Christ.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for not leaving me the way I was. I praise Your name for the "new man," and now seek for grace and strength to put Him on, and put off everything about me that is "old."