Each Born Again Christian has two natures that he must contend with or decide between each and every day of his life.
- The Old Man
II Corinthians 5:17: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Note that the man that is new is the man that is “in Christ.” The old man, the “flesh,” is still under sin and corruption. Galatians explains that this is not a physical issue, but a spiritual one:
Galatians 6:15: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
As we discussed before, when we are born, we are born with a fleshly nature that seeks only to gratify itself. The flesh, the old man as Paul calls it, is a part of us that will always be with us: we cannot live without the flesh, as it is the physical part of our being. Without the flesh, we die.
Romans 6:6: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Ephesians 4:22: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Colossians 3:9: Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
Paul admonishes them to “put off the old man,” and later, talking to the Colossians, tells them that they have put off the old man. He is clearly speaking to a more mature group than in his letter to the Ephesians.
Colossians 2:11: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
We talked about the spiritual circumcision last time: it’s the work of God in us at salvation, separating our Soul from our Flesh, so that we can walk in the Spirit.
Colossians 2:12: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Paul goes into great length in Romans chapter 7, explaining the struggle that he faced trying to do right. Even he, probably the greatest Christian in history, struggled with his flesh.
Romans 7:7-25
- The New Man
At salvation, God creates in us a new creature, by cutting away the body of our flesh, and fills us with the Spirit, making us a new man.
Ephesians 4:24: And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Colossians 3:10: And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
Galatians 6:15: For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
You’ll not find this doctrine outside of the Church Age, because no one before Christ was circumcised without hands nor baptized by the spirit.
Conclusion
Ephesians 3:16: That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;