Putting on the New Man

Ephesians 4:24-25

Intro: Last time we saw how the Christian is to deal with the old corrupt nature known as the old man. He is to take off the old man like a garment.

Let me review the basics of what was said last week. This will help us see the connection of this passage, and continue the continuity of thought regarding the entire passage.

1. The old man is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.

2. The believer has the power to rid himself of the old man.

3. The believer is to do it with purpose.

4. It is a matter of the mind.

But now, if we end with the ridding of the old man we will have a problem.

There is a principal taught by the Lord in Matthew 12 and Luke 11, that says if one is emptied of evil and doesn’t replace it with something good, the end result will be that more evil will eventually occupy that being then before.

So then, we come to the point of today’s message…

I. THE NEW MAN IS A REFRESHING CHANGE.

A. He is created after God in righteousness, and true holiness.

Because the new man does not come from us, nor our hard hearts, but from the life found only in Christ, which we as the engrafted branches draw from Him who is the true vine.

B. He is unlike the old man who is corrupt.

II. THE NEW MAN IS THE PERFECT REPLACEMENT.

As the believer removes the old corrupt ways of the past from his life, He finds this new man full of life in righteousness. And as he as a true disciple of Christ desires change in his life, he makes constant provision for the wearing of this new man.

III. THAT WITH THE SAME PURPOSE, POWER, AND MIND, THAT YOU TAKE OFF THE OLD MAN, YOU PUT ON THE NEW. VS.24

IV. THAT THE NEW MAN IS THE EVIDENCE OF SANCTIFICATION IN THE BELIEVERS’ LIFE.

He is not sanctified by this process but proves what the essence of true sanctification is.

A. Current suspect doctrines place the emphasis on the work as a form of practical sanctification.

B. The proper understanding has always associated sanctification, with the work of the Holy Spirit.

Thus we see the importance of putting on the new man as a response of the work of the Spirit within us.

We are converted, new creatures, born again, changed, and so we are responding in the only natural way that we can, according to our new desires.

V. THAT THE EXAMPLE HERE DEMONSTRATES THE FREQUENCY OF THE PROCESS. VS.25

We must do it over and over again.

And many times it is the same garment.

Just because you successfully remove the coat of lying and put on the coat of honesty, doesn’t mean you won’t have to do it again.

VI. THE PURPOSE OF WHY IS FOUND IN OUR IDENTITY WITH CHRIST.

Not because of guilt or obligation, but because we are members of Christ. In other words, this is what is!