What Does It Really Mean to Put On the New Man?

This is our fourth program and we'll get this one done and we'll be ready to go. Again we like to invite our television audience into our classroom effect and we love to get your letters and your financial help, of course, which is so necessary. We have to pay for TV time and we certainly don't have any oil wells pumping in our pasture, so we have to have some help for you, the viewers, but whatever. We always tell people if they call, we just say, you give as the Lord leads. We don't pressure anybody and certainly if you're in limited funds we don't expect you to give to Lesfeldic Ministries, but whatever. Just understand that we're not underwritten by any group, we're not associated with any particular group and we're just teaching an informal situation where we trust we can get people to study the Word on their own. All the past programs, of course, are available on videotape as well as the audio cassette package and then the little book which is the same thing, just transcribed word for word. All right, I think that's all we have to do for now. We're going to pick right up where we left off and I think maybe since we have a lot of mundane things here listed in Colossians, we can probably finish the book. Iris and I were talking the way up, it'd be nice so far as our video format is if we could finish Colossians here and that would complete number 41, wouldn't it Jerry? Then we can start with the next book, Colossians chapter 3. We had just made comment about verse 5 where Paul again lists the things that were indicative of a life in the flesh. And of course you want to remember, I've said this all the way up through Paul's epistles. He lived in the midst of the pagan Roman Empire, and with the exception of those little isolated pockets of Jews and their synagogue worship, the rest of the Roman Empire knew nothing of the God of Scripture. They were pagan, and they were either worshiping the mythological gods and goddesses, or even the emperor of Rome was their god, but they knew nothing of the God of Scripture. And so naturally it follows that their lifestyle was rank, it was immoral, it was filthy. And into the midst of that filthy, immoral world comes this one little man, and turns the Roman Empire upside down. My goodness, I think if any one of us could do just part of what Paul did, we'd see a different country. But nevertheless, he went into that kind of a thing, and this is why he's always mentioning it. This is what you were. You were in fornication, you were in idolatry, you were unclean, you were evil. And in verse 6 Paul says, "...for which things the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience." Now I always have to qualify. Remember that all the things that have taken place over the last thousands of years of human history are not the wrath of God. That is still future. The wrath of God will be poured out when the tribulation begins, or at least the last half of it. So the world really hasn't tasted the wrath of God. Now of course for people that are lost, and they immediately enter into their lost estate, I guess you can say the wrath of God is already evident. But as we normally think of it, the wrath of God which is coming, is on that future period of time. Now again I've said it before on the program, and I think it bears repeating. People have asked me, why should this final generation suffer such horrific events as we know are going to come to pass in the last three and a half years. It's numbers. There are more people living on the planet right now, and we're multiplying. Oh my goodness what is it? I read again the other day, something like a million a day, but whatever. It's numbers, and there are more people living on the planet today than lived in total, going at least back to Noah's flood. So when God pours His wrath on this generation, He will be judging the vast majority of people who have ever lived previously. So that's why the world is rushing to judgment. That's why we're seeing a population explosion, is because the wrath of God is going to be poured out on these multitudes of Christ rejecting people. And as I saw, and hopefully you saw in our closing moments in the last program, God brought down His judgment on those tribes of Canaan because of their immoral practices, and He called them an abomination. Well now listen, we're not under the law of Leviticus, but the God that designated those things as abominable has not changed. And those things are still an abomination, and don't you ever forget it. And God is not going to put up with it forever. The day is coming when He's finally going to say, I've had enough. And the age of grace of course will come to an end, and then His wrath will be poured out. Now let's move on quickly then to verse 7. In the witch, in that horrific lifestyle, you also walked. Isn't it amazing? So where did these people come from? Out of that wicked lifestyle. We had a tremendous testimony the other night in one of our classes, and I'm sure the gentleman won't mind my sharing it. We had a gentleman who was a football player with one of the large universities here in the country. And like he says, when you're in that kind of a situation, a big man on campus, you can just about do as you please. And he says, I did, I did it all. Well a few weeks ago he went back home to visit some of his family, and one of his brothers took him into a sports bar. And he said, all I could think of, this is what I used to be. And he said, the language and the smell of the cigarette smoke, and the booze, and he said it was just wickedness. And he said, I couldn't wait to get out of there. And he said, when I got back out on the street, I had to stop and think, that's what I was. And he says, thanks to God and you who opened my eyes, he said, now I'm clean. That's the word he used. Now I'm clean. Well, that's exactly what Paul was telling these people. This is what you were, but now they had been washed, they were clean. And so now he says, you no longer walk in those things. And along with the ones he listed in 6, he lists some more in verse 8. Now also put over all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another. See, that's typical of the unsaved world. They don't mind lying. They never worry about getting caught. And even if they do, they're just going to lie some more to get themselves out of it. But Paul said, that's not for us. We don't lie. We tell the truth. And so this is all admonition for the Christian lifestyle. Don't lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man or the old Adamic nature with his deeds. And what does the Lord Jesus say concerning Satan? He was a liar since when? From the beginning. And he is the God of this world. So it naturally follows that the out there are going to be liars. But Paul says, you're not like the world. All right, verse 10. We've put off the old man with all of his old nature deeds, which are all the things listed here. And he says, you have put on the new man, the new Adam, the new divine nature. In fact, come back with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 2 Corinthians 5. It's been a long time since we've been back in those earlier epistles. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, and let's drop in at verse 14. 2 Corinthians 5, dropping in at verse 14, where Paul writes, "...the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge or conclude that if one died for all, then we're all dead." Now what does he mean by that? Romans 3.23, "...for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Not a man has ever lived other than Christ, who was not a sinner short of the glory of God." And so here he repeats it. Now if one died for all, and remember we saw in Hebrews program or two back, how many did he taste death for? Every man. See, same connotation. He died for all. Well if that's the case, then they were all dead. That is spiritually. "...and that he died for all, that they who live should not henceforth from the time of their new birth, from the time of their salvation, from henceforth they should not live unto themselves." Remember what the verse was in the last program? Seek those things which are where? Above, and not the things here on earth. Same connotation, "...and henceforth we know no man after the flesh, yea though we have known Christ after the flesh, that is his earthly ministry. Yet now henceforth we know him no more, because we're tied to his resurrection. Therefore if any man be in Christ..." There's that preposition again. If we're in the Body of Christ, as I put it on the board last time. If we're hid in Christ, in God. If that has happened, then we're a new creation. We're a new person. We're different. "...and old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." And I guess most of us have experienced that haven't we? The things that used to appeal to us, now we wonder how in the world we put up with it. And the things that we used to hate, now becomes our whole life. We just can't get enough of it. Well that's as it's supposed to be. See? "...and so all things are become new." And verse 18, "...and all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself by Jesus the Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." Well this is all that concept that comes from the pen of the Apostle Paul, with regard to our new nature as against the old Adamic. All right, back to Colossians chapter 3. And so verse 10 again. So we've put on the new man. As a result of our salvation, we are a new person. We have a new nature. And it's a God oriented nature, whereas the Adamic nature was flesh oriented. And it is renewed in knowledge. Now the word knowledge here, and I'm not a Greek scholar, I've said that often enough, but the word knowledge here is epinosis. The word gnosis is knowledge, but epi means full. And so this word is in the Greek, you are renewed in full knowledge after the image of him who created him. In other words, Christ becomes our goal. He becomes our pattern. He becomes everything that we hope for. Now then verse 11. See again, "...in the body of Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew." Now we're living in a time where there are some groups that are trying to put back the Jew in a separate place from the Gentile. But the Scripture, as Paul puts it out, says there is no difference. A Jew has to be saved today just like a Gentile. And his keeping the feasts, his keeping the Sabbath, won't do him any good any more than it will anybody else. And so we have to understand that the Jewish people today have to consider themselves lost sinners in the same boat with lost Gentiles. But when they become a believer, they come into the same body of Christ that a Gentile does. And we become one in Christ when we become then a member of the body of Christ. So there's neither Greek nor Jew, no circumcision nor uncircumcision. There's no difference between a barbarian or a Scythian, a slave or a free man. But Christ is all in all. He is the great field leveler. We like to talk about a level playing field. Well, that's what Christ does. He levels the playing field. And there is no difference in any segment of society. Once we're in the body of Christ, we are all one with Him. Verse 12, "...put on therefore as a result of all that Christ has done, put on therefore as the elect of God, the ones that God has saved by His grace, holy, set apart, and beloved, because He has saved us, innermost beings of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering." Now verse 13, "...this is part of the Christian grace, forbearing one another." You know what I've always said? You don't have to like everybody, you've got to love everybody. But you don't necessarily have to like everybody. I mean there are some people that we just like to be with, maybe more than the others, and that's perfectly normal. But whether we like them or not, we're to forbear them, and not get all angered and upset and have nothing to do with them, because every one of us have things that irritate us. I know I probably irritate people, but I thank God they forbear with me, and that's what we have to do with others. But the one thing that we can never compromise is our love. We love them regardless, and we forgive. I'm going to go rather quickly now, because I think we can finish Colossians, because these are all just plain, logical, common sense admonitions from the pen of the apostle as to how to walk and live as a child of God. All right, forbearing one another, verse 13 again, forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, and see we're going to. We're human. We're on this whole world. We're going to have differences of opinion. We're going to have some unhappy situations, but don't let it destroy your relationship. And if you have a quarrel, even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. Now see here's another one of those. What does it tell you? We're forgiven. We are totally forgiven. And I don't have to go back every day and say, Oh God forgive me. That's done. A lot of people can't quite agree with me on that, and that's all right. But forgiveness is a done deal. Now I know we have to still recognize our sin and see it as God does. And I think we have to ask God for cleansing. And my whole approach to that is was the day or the night that the Lord was washing Peter's feet. And he came to Peter and what did he say? Well, you're not going to wash my feet. And what did the Lord answer? Well, then Peter, if I can't wash your feet, then you can have no part with me. And what was Peter's foot in his mouth answer? Well, then give me a bath. See? And then he'd really be part and parcel. And the Lord said, No, Peter, you don't need a bath. You've had that. But by virtue of walking from that bathhouse to his home in the ancient and the streets were filthy, before he could even go in and enjoy his home, what would he have to do? Wash his feet. Well, now the picture, of course, is where we are. We've been saved. We're forgiven. We're cleansed, but we're still in this old world. And as we go through this world, our feet are getting dirty. And so what do we need? Cleansing. Don't need forgiveness. That's done, but we need cleansing. And how do we cleanse? I just told somebody on the phone yesterday. Now you women can help me here. How do you wash a strainer, a gravy strainer or a tea strainer? How do you wash it? Well, you certainly can't run a piece of cloth through every little opening. So how do you wash a strainer? Oh, you just swish it through the water. Isn't that right? And yeah, you just simply dip it and you cleanse it with the washing of water. All right, now that's what Paul uses in Ephesians. This is what we have to do. We get daily cleansing by the washing of water, like a strainer. But what's the water? The Word of God. See? And oh, isn't that beautiful? We don't have to come crawling to God every time and say, Oh, forgive me, I've sinned. Because He must get tired of that. He says, I've forgiven you. But we do need cleansing. We have to see our sin as He sees it, and then cleanse from it by the Word of God. All right, now let's move on. So we to forgive as Christ forgave us. And then in verse 14, above all, put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. And remember the word perfect in the New Testament means mature, complete. And so love then is the sign of our spiritual maturity. Verse 15, let the peace of God. A lot of people don't have that. A lot of Christians are in turmoil because they do not accept the fact that God has justified them from all things. He has forgiven them. And so consequently, they can't enjoy the peace that God wants them to have. And all they have to do is recognize where they are. God is full of grace. God is ready to cleanse, and there is no need for a Christian to go through life not having this peace of God. All right, and that's to which you are also called in the one body. See, there it is again, the body of Christ. Verse 16, I'm going to do these quickly now until we get to the end. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Now I've got to take you back to chapter 1. I could take you also to Ephesians, but I'll make it easy on you. You just turn back a page in Colossians chapter 1, verse 10. No, I've got to use verse 9. Sorry on behalf of the Colossi believers for this cause. Also, since the day we heard it, that they had become believers, we do not cease to pray for you and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all what wisdom, wisdom, discernment, to be able to search the scriptures and dig these things out and put them into daily practice. How many times have I said it? Christianity is the most practical thing on earth, and I mean that. Christianity is what makes people a good citizen. Christianity is what makes a person a good neighbor. Christianity makes a good parent. Christianity makes a person a good teenager. Christianity makes a person an honest businessman. And all the way through it's so practical. It's not pie in the sky. It's not some foolishness over here. It is just simple practical everyday living, and that's what God is looking for. That's what I think He means by His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Now verse 10 in chapter 1, that you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all, all the world around us, pleasing. See I think I mentioned it when we taught verse chapter 1. We're not to be irritants to the people around us. Now they've got to recognize that we're different, but we don't have to be an irritant. We don't have to be like sandpaper, I think is the word I use. And so we're to be pleasing to all, and fruitful in every good work, and again what's the admonition? Increasing in the knowledge of God. Oh listen, when I realize how ignorant so many so-called Christians are, how it must grieve the heart of God that they haven't learned. Now remember ignorance is not a lack of brain power. That has nothing to do with it. Ignorance is a lack of teaching. Now that may be of their own free will, they don't want to be taught. Many times it's just simply they've never thought about it. But to be willingly ignorant the Scripture says, that just simply says you don't want to learn. And it's not because you haven't got brain cells. So remember that. God wants you to increase in the knowledge of His Word and Himself. All right, let's come back to Colossians chapter 3, and now we come down to again, just practical admonitions. Colossians 3, verse 17. Whatsoever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. Now there's the process again, as he gave it also in Ephesians. Come back a minute, because I've had people ask, are we still supposed to pray in the name of Jesus? Absolutely. Come back to Ephesians chapter 5, verse 20, plain English, this is the process. Ephesians 5, verse 20. All got it? Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father, how? In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the Scriptural instruction. And he says the same thing back here in Colossians. Come back to Colossians now. And so he says, whatever you do, verse 17, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him, by the Lord Jesus. See? Because after all, He's the one that's at the right hand of the Father. He's the one that's the advocate. He is the intercessor, and it only makes common sense. In fact, another verse just comes to mind. Turn over to the right to Timothy. First Timothy chapter 2. First Timothy chapter 2. And again, it's a good admonition for all of us. Verse 1. I exhort therefore that first of all supplications and prayer, intercessions, giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings, our government, for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who would have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. See another verse says, He's not willing that any should perish. Now verse 5. For there is one God, one mediator, go between, between God and men, and who is it? The Man Christ Jesus. Oh aren't you glad you don't have to go through a priest, you don't have to go through a religious rigmarole, you have clear access into the throne room. Oh boy, one minute left. Move on quickly, we're still going to more or less wind up Colossians. I think I can tell folks to just read chapter 4, because it has a lot of greetings in it. But now he has one more strong admonition for the family. Verse 18. Wives submit yourselves to your own husband as it is fit in the Lord, and husbands love your wives, be not bitter against them. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing. Now back to the fathers again. We have to use common sense as fathers, and do not provoke your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. And then he comes down to employees with regard to their employers, and all of it is just plain practical common sense instruction for the child of God. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. Through the Bible is a partner supported ministry. If this program has been a help to your study of the scriptures, and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching, your support would be greatly appreciated. Write to us at Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma 74552, or call 1-800-369-7856. Remember, all programs are available in printed form, audio cassette, and videotape. Be sure to tune in next time to Through the Bible with Les Feldick.