New Life New Wayናሙና

Understand the Old Man and the New Man

We need to understand the old and the new man. All of us are born in sin; all of us are born with our own desires. The old man, or old self, means walking on my strength, on my path, for my glory. There is no room left for anyone else but me. The new man is completely different. Living life as a new man, as a new person, means walking on God’s strength, on His path, to His glory. It is living our lives for God, completely surrendered to Him. It is leaving sin behind and following in Jesus’ footsteps.

There is an old man, a natural man of Adam, and a new man, a spirit man of Christ. The difference between the two is faith in the cross and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is not just going to church or doing what is right. It is not getting shined up. It is understanding that once we were lost and now we are found. Once we were blind and now we see. Once we were in the dark, on the broad road of destruction, and now we are on the narrow road of life. Once we were without God and now we are indwelled by God and that is all through Jesus Christ. Do you see that?

We might believe that it is enough to just stop cursing to live life as new men and women in Christ. Yet we can have the purest of language and not know God. There is a difference between the old self and the new. We are not just the same person with a different coat and a new pair of boots. We are no longer who we were. We talk differently, we walk differently, we treat people differently. We understand the sacrifice on the cross and start living our lives with a different mindset. We walk as Jesus walked.

It is when we really know God and understand the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that we start living new lives. It is through faith and through having a real, honest relationship with God that we begin to walk in a new way, leaving our old way of life behind.

Understanding the difference between the old and new man will help us grow as believers in Christ and in our relationship with God.