Dressed for the New Life

Are you dressed in grave clothes or wedding garments?

Now that we have been saved by grace how then shall we live? How are we to walk in this new life?

The apostle Paul uses an illustration in terms of taking off one set of clothes and putting on another in Colossians 3:9-10. “Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 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.”

The verbs in this passage are in the past tense. “You have taken off your old self . . . and have put on the new.” The aorist tense indicates something that has already taken place. It has already happened, and not something to be done.

The action is to take off completely; to strip off one’s self. If the old self really has been put off, one must not at a critical moment revert to the way one acted before his conversion. The plural describes the deeds, which characterized the former life.

In Colossians 3:10, the idea of “new” is the newness in quality, and it is the continual action “which is ever being renewed.”

We are to take off once for all, definite concluding action. Stripping off is to be done at once, and for good. The old manner of life is to be done with.

“In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self (Lit. man), which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

The “old man” is your manner of life which Paul described in 2:3. Westcott said, “The whole character representing the former self was not only corrupt but ever growing more and more corrupt.” Every aspect of the old man’s behavior is putrid, crumbling, or bloated like rotting waste or cadavers, stinking, ripe for being buried and forgotten.

The other action is to “put on” one’s self, to cloth one’s self. It is newness in quality that is put on. Paul is not suggesting the restoration of the original state. The old and new is contrasted.

The present tense in Ephesians 4:23 emphasizes the continual renewing. We are to put on in the sense of putting on a garment (v. 24). Thus, the believer puts on, or fulfills the divine demands God places upon men. This is the habitual action that is to characterize the life of the Christian (v. 25).

The “renewing in the spirit of the mind” of which Paul speaks in Eph. 4:23 is to make new again, or to renew. It is also found in Rom. 12:2 when he speaks of “the renewing of the mind.” This renewal is kin to make new, different. It is an adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God. The stress in Rom. 12:2 is on the continual operation of the indwelling Spirit and the willing response of the believer. “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Paul is speaking of a radical change, “being transformed” which is the same word for “transfiguration” of Jesus in Matthew 17:2. It is “to change into another form,” which is an inner change, a radical renovation. We are changed from the inside out.

Our practical everyday sanctification is the restrained and obedient powers of the personality brought into subjection and submission to God’s will by the Holy Spirit.

Are you responding to the appeal of the Holy Spirit to put off all conduct associated with your former life apart from Christ and put on a new pattern of behavior that looks like Christ? We are to follow Christian standards because God has already made us new creatures in Christ Jesus. The apostle is demanding a high form of behavior on our part because something decisive has already taken place in our lives. We have already been made new in Christ by the new birth. Because that has already taken place, we must live like it.

Old grave clothes are ok for a corpse, but they are completely inappropriate for wedding garments in preparation for the wedding supper of the Lamb. If you are the Bride then dress like one.Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

Do You See What I See?

“Christ in you the hope of glory,” wrote the apostle Paul. It is one of the greatest blessings of the Christian life that we share the image of Jesus Christ and go “from glory to glory.”

“We all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NET).

Every believer has the privilege of entering into the holy of holies and enjoying an intimate communion with God.

“Glory” as used in the Bible is a quality belonging to God.  The word “glory” suggests something which radiates from the one who has it, leaving an indelible impression behind.

In the Old Testament “glory” is seldom used for the honor shown to men, but it is frequently used for the honor brought or given to God. His glory and power is manifest or shown forth.

“Lift up your heads, O gates, And be lifted up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is the King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, And lift them up, O ancient doors, That the King of glory may come in! Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah” (Psalm 24:7-10).

We are constantly reminded in the Scriptures that the LORD God will not share His glory with another (Isa. 42:8; 48:11).

The Hebrew word kabod brings out the luminous, manifestation of God’s person, and His glorious revelation of Himself (Isa. 6:3; Ex. 33:17-23; 34:29-35; Num. 14:10, 21ff; Hab. 2:14; Psa. 72:18-19).

The Lord Jesus Christ shares in this same glory that the Father enjoys. Jesus said, “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5). It appears above all in His work of salvation on the cross, His resurrection and ascension into glory. Jesus possessed the glory continually, but not in open demonstration except on various occasions (Matt. 17:1ff; John 1:1-3, 14, 18, 2:11, etc).  Jesus will be revealed in His glory and power for all men to see at His Second Coming (Matt. 19:28; Lk. 22:30; 24:30; 1 Thess. 4:13-18). We will see Him as He is now (Rev. 21:22-23; 4:8-14; 5:9-17; Phil. 3:21; 1 Thess. 2:12; Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 5:1, 4, 10; 1 Cor. 15:48-53; Rom. 8:17, 29; Col. 3:4; 1 Jn. 3:2).

Moreover, Christians are to be like mirrors that brightly reflect the glory of God wherever and in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves.

The glory of God with its transforming power is operative even now among believers through the risen Christ and our fellowship with Him (Rom. 8:29-30). The believer shares this divine glory now as it is reflected in the person of Jesus Christ and will in complete perfect manifestation of that glory in the great consummation when Christ returns. The Christian’s confidence is in “the hope of glory” in Christ (Col. 1:27; Eph. 1:18; 2 Thess. 2:14; 2 Tim. 2:10).

The highest obligation of man is to glorify and praise the LORD God in worship. The only way this can happen is through an intimate personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s power is demonstrated and operates in “salvation history.” The supreme manifestation of the power and glory of God appears in His work of salvation (Matt. 17:2-5; Jn. 1:14; 2:11; 2 Cor. 4:4, 6, etc).

Jesus gives His glory to those who believe in Him (Jn. 17:15, 22). The veil of unbelief is removed in Christ. “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

The mirror is God’s Word (James 1:22-25). As we look into God’s Word and see the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of God. It is important in this process of sanctification that we be honest, open and transparent with God and do not wear a veil. We are changed on the outside because of the change that comes about on the inside. We radiate the glory of God because He has placed it within us through the new birth, justification and sanctification. We meditate on God’s Word and look into the face of Jesus and the Holy Spirit transforms us. As we grow in the knowledge of Him and His grace, we continually grow from glory to glory in His likeness. The glory of God’s grace continues to increase in the yielded believer. Only the grace of God can make us like Jesus.

The glory of the Christian does not fade away like Moses’ did, but is an ever-increasing glory, i.e., from one stage of glory to another. A believer’s glory is eternal because of God’s abiding presence through the Holy Spirit. This glory is the work of the Holy Spirit in our regeneration and sanctification. We are being progressively transformed into the likeness of Christ. Christ-likeness is the goal of the Christian life (Eph. 4:23-24; Col. 3:10).

The veil of unbelief was lifted, and remains lifted, as we behold the glorious face of the Lord Jesus. It is like looking into a mirror or contemplating something glorious. We reflect in our person that same glory of the Lord. We are being continuously transformed. Our inward reality is being changed because we are being transformed into the likeness of Christ.

Christians seeing in Jesus the image of God, are not deified, but are transformed into the same image. The glory that we share with Christ ever increases from one stage of glory to a higher stage of glory. This is our grand inheritance now in Christ. Can you find a better picture of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the Scriptures?

The veils, once lifted, remain lifted. All of us Christians without any veils over our faces continuously reflect like mirrors the glorious splendor of the Lord if we keep on beholding Him in the Word of God. We are being transformed into the same likeness of Him, in an ever increasing splendor from one degree of His splendor to another, since this change of outward experience comes from the Lord who is the Spirit working in our hearts (Pounds’ Paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 3:18).Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Do You Have the Mind of Christ?

Do I see the beauty of a holy life as Jesus saw it? Do I see lost people through His eyes? Do I understand the eternal purpose of God with the same conviction that Jesus had?

The apostle Paul said, “We have the mind of Christ” (I Corinthians 2:16). What are the implications of having that mind?

In contrast to the pagan false “wisdom” Paul sets forth the wisdom from God, “That is found in the righteousness and sanctification and wisdom of God in Christ. God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise.”  Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 

In God’s magnificent wisdom, He has been “well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe,” and the message preached is “Christ crucified.”

The unregenerate, sensual person who lives his life as if there is nothing beyond the physical “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised” (I Cor. 2:14).

In contrast Paul says the believer in Christ has “received” not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely give to us by God” (v. 12).

We have the mind of Christ because we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us.  Therefore, since we are new creatures in Christ, our habit of mental activity needs to be like that of Christ.

The apostle Paul uses the word “mind” signifying the exercise of the mind, including our emotional and spiritual responses creating activity.  It refers to understanding, intelligence, and mental presence.  It is the whole knowledge of Christ including emotions and volitions based on thought.

Perhaps John 17 reveals the mind of Christ in its rare beauty.  “Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life’” (John 17:1-2).  That is the passion of God incarnate.  He came to reveal the Father and give eternal life to all who will believe on Him.  In the mind of Christ, we understand the cross.  Only then will the passion our preaching be “Christ crucified.”  “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).

The mind of Christ is revealed in the cross.  In the mind of Christ we see “the beauty of holiness.” Christ came to reveal the holiness of the Father and the sinfulness of sin.  The cross of Jesus exposes our sins, and we stand condemned before a righteous God.  The cross reveals the mind of our Savior who knew no sin and became so identified with us that He gave Himself as the substitutionary sacrifice on our behalf.  The mind of Christ reveals an attitude of self-emptying and humility so profound that He would empty Himself “taking the form of a bond-servant and being made in the likeness of men” and give Himself a ransom for sin.  “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

Jesus saw everything in perpetual relationship to His Father.  He saw the whole universe related to the Father and for that reason He gave His life in obedience to Him.  The master passion of Christ Jesus was to glorify His Father in saving sinful man.

“We have the mind of Christ” when we see the Father in all of His holiness.  “We have the mind of Christ” when we sin as it breaks the heart of a holy and righteous God.  We have the mind of the Savior when we understand the penalty for sin must be paid in full by a divine, sinless substitute.  “We have the mind of Christ” when we feel the passion of His soul in submission to the will of God, even unto death.

If I have the mind of Christ, I can see the infinite beauty of holiness as He saw it when He clothed me in the robes of His perfect righteousness.  “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Do I have that same passion to see lost people as He saw them?  If I have the mind of Christ, I will pour out my life in obedient sacrifice and believe and trust in Him.

Hear my prayer, oh God. I give my mind to you; let me think the way Christ thinks.  Help me make the choices the way You would choose.  I want to do what You would do and feel as you feel. Help me to obey You—even unto death!Selah!

Message by Wil Pounds (c) 2006

Anyone is free to use this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold under any circumstances whatsoever without the author’s written consent.

It Was Full Of

I am grateful the rain stopped.

It was supposed to rain all day and it stopped about an hour before I left for the garden center.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have talked with the owner of a local garden center. We are both the same age so we could tease each other without being concerned about offending any snowflakes feelings

I am grateful The Holy Spirit suggested using skids for the corn. The planks will be weed suppressors while the space between the planks will be where the corn stalks grow.

I am grateful an old friend took an old mattress to the dump. When he threw it out he told us it was full of mice.