Understanding the new man

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. I can do all things: I am limitless. I can live a limitless life. We all know that God can do all things. The focus here now is what I am capable of doing. The emphasis now is the ‘I’.  Who is the […]

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. I can do all things: I am limitless. I can live a limitless life. We all know that God can do all things. The focus here now is what I am capable of doing. The emphasis now is the ‘I’. 

Who is the ‘I’ the Bible is referring to? 

Colossians 3:10, “And have put on THE NEW MAN, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.”

There is a NEW MAN in every believer. This new man is renewed in knowledge after the image of the Creator. It has the attributes of the Maker according to God’s original intention in the book of Genesis. 

Genesis 1:26, “And God said, LET US MAKE MAN in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.”

Because this new man is made in the image of God, it is capable of doing the impossible and can therefore live a limitless life.

To live a limitless life therefore, you have to understand the new man. It is the new man that is designed and anointed to live a limitless life.

2Cor 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Eph 2:15, “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace…”

Eph 2:24, 24And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” The spiritual DNA for righteousness is in the believer. 1John 3:9

He gave me a brand new life. He did not patch up my messed up old life or try to reform it. No, he replaced it with a new one. He took the old one that was completely messed up with sin, guilt and condemnation and riddled with fear, sickness and disease and gave me something completely free of sin, guilt and condemnation; full of life and joy. I am a new man! I now have to learn who this new man is and live accordingly. I have to learn to put on the new man.

The character of the new man

1. The new man is a spirit. It is different from your flesh. You flesh is not you. The real you is a spirit. You are a spirit, you have a soul and you live in a physical body. The Bible recognises your tripartite nature. 1Th 5:23, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole SPIRIT and SOUL and BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The real you is invisible. It has eyes and ears. It responds to the Holy Spirit. 

Body

Your material body is what enables you to make contact with the material world. Your body is the seat of the five senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch. It is the gateway to your soul.

Soul 

The soul is man’s self-consciousness. He is made conscious of his existence by the work of his soul. It is the seat of our personality. The elements which make us human belong to the soul. Intellect, thought, ideals, love, emotion, discernment, choice, decision, etc., are various experiences of the soul.

The spirit and body are merged in the soul which, in turn, forms the organ of our personality. This is why the Bible sometimes calls man “soul” as though man has only this element. The power of the soul is quite substantial.

That which constitutes man’s personality are the three main faculties of volition, mind and emotion. 

i) Volition or will is the instrument for our decisions, revealing our power to choose. It expresses our willingness or unwillingness: “we will” or “we won’t”. Without it, man is reduced to an automation. Man has full sovereign power to decide for himself. 

ii) Mind, the instrument of our thoughts, manifests our intellectual power. Out of this arise wisdom, knowledge and reasoning. Lack of it makes a man foolish and dull. 

iii) The instrument for our likes and dislikes is the faculty of emotion. Through it we are able to express love or hate and to feel joyful, angry, sad or happy. Any shortage of it will render man as insensitive as wood or stone. In the faculty of emotion we have (a) emotions of affection, (b) emotions of desire, and (c) feeling and sensing.

Your soul is what resulted when God breathed into the body he created. It is your conscious level of existence housing your volition or will, emotions, feelings, intellect, memory, and imagination. It is what defines your personality and makes you a unique individual. It is your soul that expresses your sovereign nature and will. This is where you make decisions good or bad. It is the link between the visible and the invisible. It is here you decide the direction of your life. It is the seat of your thought life which decides your destiny. It is unique to you. It is your command and control centre. You see, men are not zombies. God, Satan, and man cannot impose on you. You are made a living soul with sovereignty. You are in charge.

Your soul is fed through your body or your spirit. It can also be controlled by your spirit or your body (through the five senses). No thought is native to your mind; every thought comes either from within or without. But ultimate decisions rest with the soul.

A carnal mind is that which is ruled by the senses.

Human spirit

Your spirit is made in the image and likeness of God. It possesses three major functions or characteristics: intuition, conscience and communion (worship). 

In many individuals, the spirit has been suppressed and literally shut down. But God’s original intention was for the spirit to rule your life and not your body or your soul. 

The New Man is your human spirit that is indwelt by the Spirit of God. It has the life of God and therefore very powerful and capable of incredible things.

Why does this power not manifest?

Because of failure to renew the mind according to the word of God and submit the soul to the authority of the spirit!

2. Created in righteousness and true holiness. Eph 4:24, “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” The new man is pure and perfect. It has the nature and character of God. It is made in the image and likeness of God and is flawless. The believer does not work to be righteous, he is made righteous. If you are born again, you are born righteous. A lion is not born as a goat then grows to become a lion. A lion is born a lion with full genetic compliments of a lion. You don’t pray for righteousness, you have already received it when you gave your life to Christ. You simply live it out. When you do unrighteous things, you are not an unrighteous person doing an unrighteous thing; you are a righteous person doing an unrighteous thing. Unlike the sinner; he is an unrighteous person manifesting his nature. A white man can speak a language of the blacks but he is still a white man. 

(To be continued…)

Bishop Dr. Charles Olowojoba is the General Overseer of Dayspring Bible Church Worldwide with HQ in Abuja, Nigeria & President, Dayspring Christian Ministries Int’l. Website: www.dayspringcmi.org e.mail: [email protected]  Help lines 08035150515, 08054224779, 08036387989