A Tale Of Two Selves

Feature 1 – July/August 2023 – Grace & Truth Magazine

A Tale Of Two Selves

The world seems to be crumbling all around us. Injustice, social unrest, wars, violence and moral decay abound, while environmental concerns deepen and natural disasters intensify. The sorrows of living in a fallen world are never far from any of us.

But it is going to be an amazing time when God makes all things new! This groaning world will be replaced. As Peter wrote: “We, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13 NKJV). Although sin continues to leave its ruinous mark upon this present creation, it will never darken that new creation. Righteousness will be at home there, and the “former things” will be gone forever (Rev. 21:4).

What would it be like if we could get a preview of that world? Wouldn’t it be great to have a little foretaste of what that will be? Well, we can! God has already started His work of new creation – in fact, He has done so in your very own life if you are a Christian. Here is a verse to remember: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). As some Bible translations indicate, the original Greek text in that verse does not include the words “he is.” Therefore it would not be out of place to read the passage this way: “If anyone is in Christ – new creation!” It is a thrilling statement! An instant and permanent change has taken place whenever anyone comes to faith in Christ Jesus the Savior.

The Old Self
The New Testament letter to the Ephesians is one place to learn more about that work of new creation in our lives. The epistle first tells us about “the hope of His calling” (1:18) and later exhorts us to walk in a manner that would be worthy of such a calling by displaying the lowly, gentle character of Christ (4:1-5).

If that character is to be displayed, though, we can “no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them” (vv.17-18). We were once just like those unbelievers, living in unrighteousness, but now we have learned Christ (vv.19-20).

We are therefore given three essential steps for displaying that Christ-like manner of life. First, we must “put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (v.22).

The exhortation to put off that “old man,” or old self, is very direct. In fact, the command is generalized, not personalized – that is, we are not told, “Put off your old self” but rather, “Put off the old self.” True, we are all individuals with our own histories of selfishness, doubt, greed and sin; and in that sense one person might mostly have lived in a single type of sin while another person might have found a different aspect of sin more attractive. Despite any such differences, we all have the same “old man” – the old self which demands its own way and refuses to obey God. The character of that old self is the same for every one of us, men and women alike; and therefore we are simply and directly commanded, “Put off the old self.”

The Renewed Mind
Then we are told to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (v.23). This little phrase is sometimes overlooked. Just as unbelievers live in the “futility of their mind” (v.17, quoted above), so believers must live with renewed minds. What we think is very significant! There is much scriptural evidence for this. For example, Philippians 4:8 tells us to think about things that are “true … noble … just … pure … lovely … of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy.” If our thoughts rest upon who God is and what He has done for us through Christ, we will be “spiritually minded” as Romans 8:6 tells us. By contrast, if we think incorrectly about people, we will soon become divisive; if we think incorrectly about ourselves, we will soon fall; and if we think incorrectly about God, we will start to believe that our ways are just as valid as His (consider 1 Cor. 4:6, 10:12; Acts 17:29). It’s certain that our thoughts affect our behavior.

It is worthwhile to note here how many Scriptures engage our minds. The phrase “we know” is emphatically declared dozens of times in the New Testament, presenting what believers can study, understand and claim with certainty to be true. A Christian man who spoke often with troubled believers said it was not always necessary to ask, “How are you feeling today?” but it was always good to ask, “How are you thinking today?”

The well-loved passage in Romans 12:1-2 also emphasizes our minds. If we would desire to present our bodies to God as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to Him, we must be completely transformed by the renewing of our minds. Otherwise, we will find ourselves adopting the world’s framework for understanding life instead of understanding God’s viewpoint.

The work of renewing our minds is constant and ongoing. When Ephesians 4:22 instructed us to “put off” the old self, the command was given in the past tense. This implies that we are to behave as if it has already been done. However, the directive to “be renewed” in the spirit of our minds (v.23) is a present-tense action – meaning we must continually be renewed. Yesterday we required renewed minds, but this morning we needed to be renewed again. Tomorrow it will be the same.

Notice also that this renewal takes place in the spirit of our minds. This is a unique expression and deserves some consideration. It is not a reference to the Holy Spirit; and it does not exactly seem to refer to our own spirits either. Instead, when the word “spirit” is paired with another noun, the meaning appears to be something like an attitude or mindset. For example, we read about the “spirit of gentleness,” the “spirit of fear” and other similar expressions (Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 1:7).

As Christians we have not received the “spirit of the world,” so if we try to operate by that mindset we will never understand the things which God has given to us (1 Cor. 2:12). Rather, God’s truth comes to us by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, our passage in Ephesians 4 shows God does not turn the believer into some sort of Christian robot. Although His truth is surely made available to us by the Spirit, we also need to receive this constant renewal in the spirit of our minds.

Since the spirit of the world continually tries to influence our thinking, we regularly need to compare our thoughts with what we know to be true from God’s Word. Perhaps one morning we realize, by the help of the Holy Spirit, that one of our attitudes or beliefs has somehow become crooked or misaligned with biblical principles. If so, let us not resist correction! If we claim that our thoughts are right and God is wrong, we will have nothing to stand on. Instead, if we allow the Word of God and the Spirit of God to straighten and renew our thoughts, we will always be on safe ground.

The New Self
Finally, having put off the old self and having developed the daily habit of being renewed in the spirit of our minds, we can “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). This new self is not some sort of patched-up, better version of our old selves. It is a completely new creation from God.

Naturally speaking, there are some ways for human beings to improve themselves. People can lose weight, eat better, exercise, quit smoking, read classic literature, learn new skills and so on. These things are not inherently sinful, and they are fine as far as they go. But they cannot improve that unrighteous old self, nor can they bring in the new self that has been created according to God. That new self is really the life of Christ, now reproduced within the believer. It is a display of the truth as it is in Jesus (v.21), which means we will live and love like Christ (4:25–5:2). A parallel passage in Colossians 3:9-17 declares that when the new self is present, “Christ is all in all” (v.11).

The character of Christ will always glorify God. In this new self, then, we will walk in righteousness and holiness; we will be kind, humble, meek, patient, forgiving, loving and thankful. We will have an appetite for the Scriptures, and we will have a song of grace in our hearts and on our lips. If in any aspect we are lacking these beauties of Christlikeness, let us ask God to give a renewal of our minds in that area. We can be certain that He has been waiting to help us!

We noticed earlier that putting off the old self is a past-tense verb while the renewing of our minds is a present, ongoing action. As we consider this third command to put on the new self, we again have a past-tense verb. We ought to behave as if the new self has already been put on. This is a very significant point. We don’t have to reach a certain stage of spiritual progress in order for us to level up and receive the new self. Instead, God has already given us that new self! We just have to live in the knowledge that He has done so, once and forever.

Old And New
Christians sometimes speak about having an “old nature” and a “new nature.” Although we may understand what is meant, it is worth noticing that those phrases are not found in the Bible. The scriptural expression about us before we were saved is the declaration that we were “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). We were disobedient to God and deserved His judgment. But then, after salvation, we became “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). This does not mean that we are divine. Instead, we are now associated with the Lord Jesus through God’s promises.

Although those terms “old nature” and “new nature” are not strictly biblical phrases, the idea of something old and something new links well with our subject. Our old self is corrupt and selfish, and it continually trends more and more in that direction (Eph. 4:22). The new self, however, is made in the image of God (Col. 3:10).

Therefore, could we ever claim that our new self might sin? Will it ever tell a lie, steal, become impatient, lose its temper, feel envious, look lustfully at another person, or give in to pride? Clearly such things would be impossible! That which is born of God cannot commit sin (1 Jn. 3:7-9).

Thus, as Christians, we literally have no excuse. When we come to God through faith in His Son, the Savior Jesus Christ, He empowers us to act as if our old self has been set aside – for indeed it has. He then provides us with the resources necessary for daily renewal in the spirit of our minds. Further, He provides us, once and for all, with a new self.

In the new creation to come, everything will be set right; but already now, if we continue to walk in newness of life, everything will be in order spiritually for us as well. What a privilege to display this new-creation life in Christ to the world!

By Stephen Campbell