It is impossible to go out in the world today and not be surrounded by companies “displaying” what they have to offer for sale. And (don’t we) spend a lot of time looking at their displays; in person, on TV or the Internet? And that begs the question… what are we displaying?
Eph 4:22-24 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Paul summed a lot up in these 3 verses concerning “putting off” and “putting on.” Let’s take a brief look at the point he was making here in reference to the scripture that has come to underline the message of Walk With God Ministries… Romans 8:29
The “old man” is what the bride used to be, just like the a dead corpse that is decaying and capable of nothing more than producing awful odors. There is nothing attractive about the old man but we still feel some attraction, even though those desires lead to past feelings and inclinations. The “new man,” on the other hand, is the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit who brings the mind of Christ into our personality, giving us a new “thought life” (renewed in the spirit of your mind).
Paul sums that up by telling us that we are to “put off the old” and “put on the new.” And that directly relates to what we are displaying to the world around us… to those who are “window shopping” our life. Do they see the old tattered clothes worn by the old man or do they see the righteousness and holiness worn by the new man? We inherited the old man at birth from Adam, but we inherited the new man (Jesus nature; image) by the new birth. Paul challenges us to deliberately “put on” the new nature of righteousness and holiness (which we have been given in our spirit) so that it will be seen by a non-believing world to the glory of God. People will see us for what “we are” and not what “we used to be.”
The bride is to display the life and loveliness of Jesus… carnal Christians still wear the rags of the old man. When we look in the mirror, what is the reflection of the display we are presenting to the world around us?
Righteousness or Rags?