Colossians 3.10b-The New Man Desires to be Replenished For an Experiential Knowledge
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Sunday July 10, 2016
Colossians: Colossians 3:10b-The New Man Desires to Be Replenished For the Purpose of an Experiential Knowledge
Lesson # 79
Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices 10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him. (NASB95)
“To a true knowledge” is composed of the following: (1) preposition eis (εἰς), “to” (2) noun epignōsis (ἐπίγνωσις), “the knowledge.”
The noun epignōsis refers to an “experiential knowledge” of Jesus Christ in the sense of personally encountering Jesus Christ through the process of experiential sanctification or fellowship as He is revealed by the Holy Spirit in a prayerful study of the gospel.
It also refers to being affected by this encounter with Jesus Christ which in turn will result in the gaining of practical spiritual wisdom and more of the character of Christ.
There is no adjunct to identify specifically what type of experiential knowledge Paul is referring to.
Is it of the Father’s will as was the case in Colossians 1:9 or simply of the Father as was the case in Colossians 1:10?
The last time this word appeared in Colossians, it was in Colossians 2:2, it was used explicitly of an experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ.
This would appear to be the case here in Colossians 3:10 since this new man is the nature of Christ who is the head of the new creation.
This noun epignōsis is the object of the preposition eis which functions as a marker of purpose expressing the purpose for which the new man desired to be replenished.
Therefore, this prepositional phrase indicates that an experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ is the purpose for which the new man desires to be nourished.
“Who is being renewed” is composed of the verb anakainoō (ἀνακαινόω), which means “to replenish, renew, to refresh, to change into something new and different implying superiority.”
Here the word is used in relation to the new man which is the nature of Christ which the Colossians received at justification through the regeneration and the baptism of the Spirit.
This word appears also in the same sense in 2 Corinthians 4:16.
Its cognate is the noun anakainosis (ἀνακαινόω), which appears in Romans 12:2 and Titus 3:5.
Both the noun and the verb are derived from kainos, “new in nature, essence and character.”
Here in Colossians 3:10, the meaning of this verb anakainoō is “to replenish” rather than “to renew” which implies restoring from a former state and to change into something new.
To renew implies a restoration of what had become faded or disintegrated so that it seems like new.
The Christian has already been changed into something new at the moment of their justification when they were regenerated and identified with Christ.
Also, the action of this verb is taking place in the context of the Colossians’ experiencing their sanctification and salvation since it is used with noun epignōsis which speaks of an experiential knowledge that is the direct result of experiencing sanctification or fellowship with God.
By exercising faith in God’s Word which results in obeying God’s Word, the Colossians would experience their sanctification and salvation or deliverance from sin and Satan.
Therefore, this verb anakainoō means “to replenish” in the sense of filling the new man with power so as to gain greater dominance over the believer.
This empowerment of the new man involves the intake of God’s Word.
Specifically, it involves the Colossians learning God’s Word, then exercising faith in God’s Word and which faith results in obedience to God’s Word.
This replenishing of the new man by the Word of God is related to the command in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the Spirit and the command in Colossians 3:16 to let the Word of Christ richly dwell in you.
When the Christian exercises faith resulting in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s teaching in the Word of God, the new man is replenished in the sense that it is filled with power for the purpose of enabling the Colossians to have an experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ.
The present tense of this verb anakainoō is a voluntative present which portrays the subject as desiring do something indicating that the new man desires to be replenished to an experiential knowledge.
This interpretation would obviously indicate that Paul is personifying the new man.
The present tense can be viewed as a gnomic present which is used of a general, timeless fact indicating an eternal spiritual truth.
This would mean that the new man “as an eternal spiritual truth” desires to be replenished to an experiential knowledge.
The present tense can also be interpreted as a customary or stative present signaling an ongoing state indicating that the new man exists in the state of desiring to be replenished for an experiential knowledge.
All of these ideas appear to be in view.
The passive voice of this verb anakainoō means that the subject receives the action of the verb from either an expressed or unexpressed agency.
Therefore, the passive voice means that the new man desires to receive the action of being replenished for an experiential knowledge by the unexpressed agency of the Holy Spirit.
He replenishes the new man when the Colossians exercise faith in His teaching in the Word of God which He has inspired.
This faith replenishes the new man in the sense that it empowers the new man since it appropriates the power of the Spirit.
This replenishing of the new man is for the purpose of enabling the Colossians to have an experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:9 Each and every one of you continue making it your habit of not lying to one another because each and every one of you for your own benefit have stripped off the old man with its practices. 10 Likewise, each and every one of you have clothed yourselves with the new man which is, as an eternal spiritual truth existing in the state of desiring to be replenished for the purpose of an experiential knowledge in conformity with the image produced by the One who created him. (My translation)
Paul asserts that this new man, as an eternal spiritual truth exists in the state of desiring to be replenished for the purpose of an experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ.
This experiential knowledge involves personally encountering Jesus Christ through the process of experiential sanctification or fellowship as He is revealed by the Holy Spirit in a prayerful study of the gospel.
It also refers to being affected by this encounter with Jesus Christ which in turn will result in the gaining of practical spiritual wisdom and more of the character of Christ.
This replenishing of the new man speaks of filling the new man with power so that the new man gains greater dominance over the believer.
This empowerment of the new man involves the intake of God’s Word.
Specifically, it involves the Colossians learning God’s Word, then exercising faith in God’s Word and which faith results in obedience to God’s Word.
The action of being replenished for an experiential knowledge is accomplished by the Holy Spirit who replenishes the new man when the Colossians exercise faith in His teaching in the Word of God which He has inspired.
This faith replenishes the new man in the sense that it empowers the new man since this faith appropriates the power of the Spirit.
This replenishing of the new man is for the purpose of enabling the Colossians to have an experiential knowledge of Jesus Christ.
This experiential knowledge enables the Christian to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ who created the Christian a new man or a part of the new creation.