(Updated 2023/08/22)
The New Man is revealed by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians and Colossians.
Eph. 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near.
(NKJV. Italicized words added by translators for clarity.)
I used the full title as The One New Man because in verse 14 he says "who has made both one", and then in verse 15 "so as to create in himself one new man from the two". There is only one new man in all of time and creation. This one new man was created by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
But we should not think that since He created the one new man on the cross nearly two thousand years ago, that therefore we are automatically included even as believers. Because Paul continues writing to the believers in this same letter a couple of chapters later in Eph 4:24 to "put on the new man."
He is clearly speaking to born anew beleivers because in the begining of his letter he says, "To the saints..., and faithful in Christ Jesus:" So we see those he is writing to are even faithful and in Christ Jesus.
So what is the old man? And what is the new man? Some translations read "put off the old self... and put on the new self." At first appearance this seems to make things clear, for we know from Romans that even as believers, we still have this ongoing battle between the flesh and the spirit. So, while this is all very true, it is not what Paul is saying here in Ephesians or in Colossians. To use the word as "self" in these verses is not just a bad translation, it is not a translation at all. It is rather a bad interpritation. The Greek word is "anthropos" from which we derive the word anthropology which is the study of man. So the correct translation is "man". And in Eph 2:15 the same word anthropos is translated "man", even by those who translate it "self" in 4:22,24 and Col 3:9-10.
So, what's the big difference? If we think of ourselves individually, then it doesn't much matter if you use the words "old self", "new self" or "old man", "new man". and indeed Paul does seem to use the words "old man" in that sense in Romans 6:6; "knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin." But in Ephesians and Colossians, the concept and context are very different. Ephesians 2:13-16 gives the introduction to his use of the words in this letter:
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,
15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,
16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
Here, "so as to create in Himself one new man from the two", cannot be understood as an individual "self". That makes no sense. The new man is created from two peoples, who had been divided prior to the cross, into "Jews" and "Gentiles", or "those in Judaism" and "the rest of the nations". So this is the One New Man. There is only one. This New Man is comprised of all believers of all time and space, built up, and assembled together into the body of Christ.
So, when Paul says in Ephesians and Colossians to put on the new man, he is not just saying for you to live by your new nature, individually, he is saying a whole lot more than that. We are to put on this whole reallity that exists, called the body of Christ. But first we must do two other things, assuming we are already born anew believers in Christ. We must "put off,... the old man... and be renewed in the spirit of our mind." then "put on the new man". You cannot "put on" until you have "put off" what you were wearing before. Central to this process is the renewing of your mind.
So, what is the old man? How can we "put off the old man" if we don't know what it is? The old man is the man that is at enmity. It is the divided man. "For as in Adam all die". Adam is the old man. We were all born "in Adam". In the old man we are all divided from God and from each other. It is the man in which is "anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language", as in Col 3:8. We must "put off all these." "9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds". All these descriptions have to do with relationships within the old man. The old man is divided into races, classes, religions, status, opinions, political views, differing laws, morals and judgments. Remember that Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It was a divided tree that was forbidden. That tree was divided between good and evil. The other tree was not divided; it was simply the tree of life. The primary word describing the old man is division.
Now let us turn to first Corinthians. The church in Corinth is well known among Christians today for it's many problems and their misuse of the spiritual gifts. But how many of us have really seen their primary problem--the problem which was the root of so many other problems? Paul opens, as he so graciously does in all his letters, with nine verses of praise and thanks to God for the glorious standing of the saints in Christ Jesus. He thanks God for their high standing in verses 5 through 7:
5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge,
6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you,
7 so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Paul's heart of love pours out to them for nine verses before he comes to the subject of their much needed correction in verse ten. There is, though, even in these first nine verses a small hint, which will be mentioned in a moment. What is the problem that Paul first addresses?
10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
Division was their primary problem, and it is seen in its many manifestations through the rest of the letter.
11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you.
12 Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ."
Paul even in the first nine verses of praise and thanks reminds them in verse 2; "To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:". He reminds them that they are "called saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:". Their unity should be "with all who in every place call..."
In two thousand years, has anything changed? I started out as a "Mennonite", a group who followed the teachings of Menno Simon. Please don't misunderstand. I believe Menno Simon to be a true servant of God, and a gift to the body of Christ. But to say "I am of Menno", ie. "Mennonite", is what we need to guard against. There were four divisions in Corinth as listed in Paul's letter. Today there are so many, many thousands. This is the old man.
The Lord Jesus taught his disciples to pray this way "Our father... thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." Is this present state our Father's will? Is it His kingdom? Jesus said "a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand". This kingdom will fall.
What we call "The Lord's Prayer" is really the disciples' prayer, or our prayer, but the Lord's prayer is in John 17. He first prays about the work He has done on the earth, then He prays for His disciples that were there with Him, then in verse twenty He begins praying for all future believers, "those who will believe in Me (Jesus) through their word":
20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 "And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 "I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
24 "Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25 "O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me.
26 "And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
Do we think that our present condition, which we are content to maintain as normal, is in accord with Jesus' prayer? When we recite the "Lord's prayer", do we make it our own? Do we mean what we pray; "thy will be done on earth"? Do we actually expect Him to answer that prayer "on earth"? Do we believe that the Heavenly Father will in fact answer the prayer of His Son, "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me."
Are we content to live as though He didn't really mean that?
Let us come to Him with boldness and confidence when we pray for His will to be done on earth and that He would make us into one new man.
O Father in Heaven, Creator of all things,
renew our minds so that we may put off the old man
and put on the one new man ...
"till we all come to the unity of the faith
and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
to a perfect, complete man,
to the measure of the stature
of the fullness of
Christ"
Amen