God's Best-Kept SecretMuestra

The New You

I remember hearing as a young Christian that I had two natures—the “old self” and the “new self”—living inside of me. The “old self” is the spiritual identity we were born with because of Adam’s original sin. The “new self” is the new spiritual identity we get from Jesus Christ. 

I once thought these two “selves” existed side by side, like two opposite “Marks” inside of me—a good Mark and a bad Mark. It sort of sounded right, but it was also very confusing. Many Christians have the same misconception. Let’s clear up the confusion once and for all.

The Bible tells us we have only one self. For example, Romans 6:4–5 tells us that, when we were buried with Christ, our old self was buried with Christ. When Jesus rose from the grave, he left our old self in that grave.

Jesus will never die on a cross again, so your old self will never die on a cross in him again. It’s a done deal. The old self is not going to rise up out of the tomb where it was buried with Jesus. It’s been left there forever. 

Let me be clear. Once we are saved, we definitely do not have the old self living in us. That old “you” is gone forever! He or she is not ever going to rise from the grave like so many are often told. When you became a Christ follower, something amazing happened that goes all the way back to when Jesus died on the cross. You also died with Christ. In other words, your old self died along with Jesus on the cross.

When Jesus was raised from the dead, God created a brand-new self, a new you that was resurrected with him. He replaced your old identity from Adam with your new identity in Christ. This resurrected new self is clarified in a familiar verse, 2 Corinthians 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (NIV).

Do you see the difference? Do you see what God has already finished? The old self is gone and there is only one self—the new you in Christ!

Spend some time today thinking of yourself as being a 100-percent “new self”—and praising God for what he has done for you in Christ.