Embracing Our New Identity in Christ

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The process of putting on the new man involves a comprehensive application of truth to our lives. It is not something that happens in compartments or only at certain times; it must permeate every aspect of our existence. We must remind ourselves daily of who we are in Christ, applying the truth of our new identity to every situation. This involves a conscious effort to live out the principles of the gospel, not just in theory but in practice. [00:13:44]

The whole essence of this matter of putting on the new man is really the application of truth to ourselves. I never tire of saying this because I value the opinion that it is the most important thing one can ever discover in the Christian life. The real secret of Christian living is to discover the art of talking to yourself. We've got to talk to ourselves, we've got to preach to ourselves. [00:18:27]

This is something that is not done for us; it is, I say again, something that we have to do ourselves. Now I'm emphasizing this once more because there is the familiar and the popular teaching which puts its whole emphasis upon the fact that the whole secret of this method, the whole secret of Christian living, is that we cease from our activities and that we just look to the Lord. [00:22:35]

The putting on of the new man is something that must be done completely. It must always be done as a whole, and it must apply to the whole of our life, and it must apply to the whole of our life continuously. What I mean by all that is this: that we must never do this in compartments. We must put on the new man not only in certain parts of our lives; it must be in the whole of our life. [00:13:44]

The Apostle never teaches anywhere just pray to the Lord to take that out of your life. He says stop doing it. You stop doing it. It is not something that is done for us; it is something that we have to do. Otherwise, as I pointed out, the whole of the practical sections of these New Testament epistles just become entirely meaningless and purposeless. [00:10:11]

The Spirit provides the power, and the Spirit is in us. So that being the case, we are exhorted to put off the old man and to put on the new man. Very well, there is just the first question. But now let us really descend to the practical details. What then, says someone, have I got to do? Here it seems to me the best way is to put it in the form first of all of some general principles. [00:12:16]

The real secret of Christian living is to discover the art of talking to yourself. We've got to talk to ourselves, we've got to preach to ourselves. That is putting on the new man. It is to take truth and to apply it to ourselves and to keep on doing so and to repeat it and repeat it until we've really got it. You've got to regard yourself as your own congregation. [00:18:27]

The new man must be put on as a whole, and he must be put on everywhere and to cover the whole of the life. This is an illustration you see that the Apostle uses, this putting on the new man, and it's an illustration that can be misunderstood. What he really is saying is, you see, that the new man must be the reigning and the governing principle of the whole of our life. [00:13:44]

The whole essence of this matter of putting on the new man is really the application of truth to ourselves. I never tire of saying this because I value the opinion that it is the most important thing one can ever discover in the Christian life. The real secret of Christian living is to discover the art of talking to yourself. We've got to talk to ourselves, we've got to preach to ourselves. [00:18:27]

The Spirit provides the power, and the Spirit is in us. So that being the case, we are exhorted to put off the old man and to put on the new man. Very well, there is just the first question. But now let us really descend to the practical details. What then, says someone, have I got to do? Here it seems to me the best way is to put it in the form first of all of some general principles. [00:12:16]

The Apostle never teaches anywhere just pray to the Lord to take that out of your life. He says stop doing it. You stop doing it. It is not something that is done for us; it is something that we have to do. Otherwise, as I pointed out, the whole of the practical sections of these New Testament epistles just become entirely meaningless and purposeless. [00:10:11]

The putting on of the new man is something that must be done completely. It must always be done as a whole, and it must apply to the whole of our life, and it must apply to the whole of our life continuously. What I mean by all that is this: that we must never do this in compartments. We must put on the new man not only in certain parts of our lives; it must be in the whole of our life. [00:13:44]

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