New Cloth, New Wine

“Lie not to one another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” Colossians 3:9,10

Scripture is very clear concerning God’s attitude of judgment upon all that is of sin, self, the world, and Satan.  Concerning sin and the sin nature, God has revealed to us by the crucifixion of Christ, that sin and the sinner are worthy of nothing else than to be put to death, and buried forever out of His sight.  As sinners who are so accustomed to sin and selfishness, we have a very small concept of God’s disposition towards us.  It takes the cross, and the sacrifice of the Son of God on that cross, bearing our sin and judgment, to begin to understand something of sin’s awfulness, wretchedness, and repulsiveness, in the eyes of a Holy God.  Only the incomprehensible love of God would ever go to the length that God the Father has gone to, and the Son’s acceptance and embracing of it, to stretch forth His hand of mercy, plunging it into this world of sin, in order to safe the sinner from a most severe judgment he has so little concept of.  It is for this reason that Christ’s crucifixion on Calvary was both a picture of the awfulness of sin in the eyes of God, but also, the unveiling of how God in Christ has dealt totally with sin, the sin nature, and all that pertains to the sinner outside of Christ.  The miraculous event on Calvary was the declaration to all mankind that as Christ died, so we, sinners died in Him.  Judgment was served that day, not only by terrible suffering of the Son of God, but by God the Father taking mankind’s sin in its totality, laying it upon the Son, and judging it.  He did this by putting it to death  Christ, by His death, took the sin and the sinner with Him to Calvary, there to die.  How can this be?

Isaiah clearly states how Christ took our sin upon Himself.  He was, “…wounded for our transgressions,….bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes, we are healed…The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:5,6)  Paul writes:  “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5:21)

With regard to sin’s effects, fruits, roots and essence, … everything that characterized the life of a person “in Adam,” outside of Christ, he is called, “the old man.”  This is that “person” in the eyes of God who is unclean, unholy, a subject of judgment, bearing about and declaring by his existence, that he defies God in nature and expression in life.  There is but one form of judgment for such a person.  It is crucifixion and death.  On the other hand, when by the grace of God, a lost, helpless sinner, repents and believes Christ alone as his Savior from sin and death, and is born again of the Spirit, he is declared to be a NEW creation IN  Christ.  The Lord through the apostle Paul puts it like this: “If any man be IN CHRIST, he is a new creature: old things are past away; behold all things are become new.” (2 Cor. 5:17)  God in Christ has done the saving work, whereby the old man, under judgment, has been crucified and buried with him. This is why Paul writes: “…for ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” ( Col. 3:3)

In Jesus’ illustration of new cloth which cannot be put on an old garment, and new wine which cannot be put in new wine bottles (wineskins), He makes it very clear that the new man has no affinity with the old man. for he is dead and buried.  All that pertains to the old man is like the old garment and wineskins.  The new creation in Christ is the new cloth and wine.

Dear Father, Give us abundant grace today to put on the new man.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.