Not What We Used to Be

God has from the beginning been about the cause of bringing himself glory through a cosmic reconciliation.

​ ESVas a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Ephesians 1:10 ESV

as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

A master-plan to exalt his son and align everything under his Lordship, and thereby bringing peace! This is being brought about right here and now by individual conversions.

God does this through a creative act! He is not seeking to reform or fix the old world, but he is making a new one.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:15 ESV

by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,

This text reveal the true nature of a person who is a Christian. He is a New Self, or man. He has a New Existence.

Ephesians: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary Commentary

Therefore the new man is the new existence in the inaugurated new creation, which was pioneered by the resurrected Mediator as firstfruits

Each person who has run to Christ has entered into a new experience, he’s not what he used to be. “In Christ, believers have “shed,” stripped off and discarded their old man” EEC

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

This new existence is the foretaste or what’s to come.

The Church is the collective manifestation of this existence.

How Did We Change?

We Had A Definitive Break With Sin

Repentance is the Beginning

It Is Not an Repair

We Put Off the Old Man

-Meaning Put off as a garment.

Not merely the old deeds, but the old man, the root person, your nature is done, he’s been put away.

-We Cannot clean up the Old Man, we must put him away.

We are to shed the old-creation man. (This mean we need more than a cleanup, but we need to completely shed ourselves of the old-man, he must die.

Romans 6:6 ESV

We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

Why? He’s corrupt.

The Old man is corrupt and “is being corrupted” through deceitful desires.

Corrupt can mean to destroy or ruin, or perish. “is perishing”

The drunk is perishing through his deceitful desires, the homosexual is destroying himself through deceitful desires, and so it is with every person. They are corrupt through deceitful desires.

We Now Continue the Process of Putting off Our Old Man Daily

Application

“This is why the GLC logo is 2 Crosses.” There are two in Christianity yet they are linked. Christ’s death, and mine.

We Became New

must be born again

John 3:3 ESV

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

-Renewed in the Inner man by the word

The Spirit of you mind is not psychologically a change merely, but in the inner most part of your being. This is not merely a change of opinions, but a change of nature.

1 Peter 1:23–25 ESV

since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

We now continue the process of renewing our minds daily.

2 Corinthians 4:16 ESV

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.

So we have been given a new nature.

-We have put on a new man!

Created in True...: The true Christian has a knowledge of Christ that transforms his life. It’s a true holiness, sincere and actual, while puffed up knowledge of Jesus is presumptuous and lacks a true understanding and true Change of life.

Righteous: state of being right, acceptable to God

Holiness: or piety, devotion to God.

These are instructing us, and they are the opposite of what the unsaved naturally know and learn.

Jesus teaches us holiness.

If you don’t walk after holiness, you haven’t been taught by Jesus.

How Does This Happen

It’s Called Learning of Christ

By Hearing of Him in the Gospel.

This is the content of the teaching of Jesus.

Something in me begins to change, I no longer view sin the way I used to, I now see Christ in greater light.

By being taught in him.

To learn Christ is to know him.

Jesus Christ is the subject of the Christian life. His person, his voice, his teachings are the course.

Hearing Christ in the Word

Applications

1. This is what we look for to be baptized, this is what we proclaim when baptized.

2. This is the basis for all our Christian walk. “We are not trying to become new, we are trying to live like we really are.”