The Old and New Man

Text: Ro. 6:6

Introduction:

• One of the most difficult areas to come to grips with. It is an area that I have long had questions that no one seemed to address. In fact, no one has yet to fully address them to my satisfaction.
• Background on my study of this topic
• First, I have always wondered about the constitution of man and how the spiritual (immaterial) interacts with the physical. This interaction is made more complex by the fact that biology plays some role in the intellectual ability of the mind. There is some connection between the mind and the spirit (immaterial). How these inter-relate has always been a nagging question of mind that I have yet never heard discussed in detail.
• Second, Darryn’s mom over year ago asked me a question about the position of John MacArthur on the old self and new self. At first, I thought that her description of his position was either a misunderstanding on her part or that his position on the passage in question (not as a whole) was that the saved individual does not have a sinful nature and a godly nature.
• However, MacArthur’s position is that the unsaved person does not have “two natures” (I’ll give details later). This prompted Darryn to ask about that position two weeks ago.
• Third, I must admit that I am still working out the answers in my own mind. So, tonight, I am going to do something unusual. I am going to go through my thought processes “out loud” and let you in on my thinking processes. You are free to “discuss” with me and act as the “little boys” in my mind.

I. Characteristics of the Old man and New man (Eph. 4:20-24)

A. Old Man (kind of man, not the chronology of the man Ro. 6:6)

1. Corrupt according to deceitful lusts

2. Lying

3. Steals

B. New Man

1. Created in righteousness and true holiness

2. Truthful

3. Works

4. What we receive at salvation

a) New heart (Ez. 36:26)

b) New spirit (Ez. 18:31)

c) New song (Ps. 40:3)

d) New name (Rev. 2:17)

e) New creation (2 Co. 5:17)

f) New man (Eph. 4:24)

II. Things I know for sure about the old man and the new man

A. We are born in sin (Ps. 51)

1. This affects our total being

2. Q: What does spiritually dead mean in this since?

a) Adam died spiritually when he ate the fruit

b) Does just mean separation?

c) Does it mean non-existent? This was posed to me by a person who felt that God had to “quicken you” before you could be saved

d) Does it mean tainted?

B. The new nature given at salvation CANNOT sin

1. It comes from above

2. It is the same nature that Christ had

3. It is going to be in heaven where there is no sin

4. Note: Excellent argument for the eternal security of the believer

III. Possible positions

A. MacArthur’s position

1. Old man (self) is who an what you were prior to salvation

2. At salvation, the old man was crucified and you became a new man

3. You are NOT two men (old and new), only new

4. You can ACT LIKE the old man at times, but you are NOT that old man

“The believer’s putting off the old self is a fait accompli, something that has already and irreversibly been accomplished. “Do not lie to one another since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him” “Co. 3:9-10). It was not that every Colossian believer was fully mature and had managed to gain complete mastery over the residual old self. Paul was saying rather that every believer, at any level of maturity can claim that his old self already has been laid aside “with its evil practices.”

5. The reason you can act that way is because even though the old man is dead and gone (crucified), sin is still in your body (flesh) and will be until you are glorified

“A believer’s unredeemed humanness¾of which he uses his own as example¾remains with him until he is transformed to heavenly glory...His human weaknesses and instincts make him capable of succumbing to Satan’s temptations when he lives apart from the Spirit’s Word and power.”

“The only remaining beachhead where sin can attack a Christian is in his mortal body. One day that body will be glorified and forever be out of sin’s reach, but in the meanwhile it is still mortal, that is, subject to corruption and death. It still has sinful lusts¾because the brain and the thinking processes are part of the mortal body¾and Satan uses those lusts to lure God’s people back into sin in whatever ways he can.”

“He does not warn about sin reigning in our souls or our spirits, but only about its reigning in our bodies, because that is the only place in a Christian where sin can operate.”

Note: This is confusing. Here he seems to indicate that it is only in the body, not in the soul or spirit. In other places, he talks about sin in our “humanness” and refers to this being more than just the body.

6. Sin that remains “in the flesh” is not just present in the physical body, but in everything that makes you human¾your humanness

7. Verses on the flesh and body’s role in sin after salvation

a) Ro. 8:22-23

b) Phil. 3:20-21

c) 1 Co. 15:53

d) Ro. 12:1

e) 1 Co. 6:19-20

8. Verses on the new man

a) 1 John 1:6; 2:4; 3:9

b) Ro. 6:6

c) Eph. 4:20

B. Difficulty in his position

The difficulty in understanding his position was in his use of the term “flesh.” At first, I thought he meant sin remained in the body (and mind). Later, he said “humanness” which could entail more than the body, including a nature. Some of his language suggests he is talking about “human nature” while giving it a different term. However, he definitely does not mean two “selves” and he rejects the “dualistic nature” view.

“The dualistic view that a Christian has two natures uses unbiblical terminology and can lead to [the] perception that is extremely destructive of holy living.” Pp. 323-24

“The command to not follow the flesh would “be a command for us not to follow the remaining memories of its sinful ways.”

C. Dualistic position

1. Old self is what you were before salvation

2. New self is what you are after salvation

3. Old self was crucified by IDENTIFICATION with Christ on the cross

4. Just as one is positionally sanctified, but practically being sanctified, a person was crucified with Christ, but also must die daily

5. The person has a new, divine nature that cannot sin

6. He still has his old sinful nature that can sin

7. Verses

a) Ro. 7:15-21

b) 1 Co. 15:31

D. The difference in the views

1. It could almost seem semantic, though I think it goes a little deeper than words

2. MacArthur’s view seems to have sin only in the material part of man after salvation

3. The dualistic view sees the old dead nature as linked to the body and therefore still present even after salvation

IV. The Ultimate Results

A. Godly living

1. We are “in the flesh” but not “of the flesh” just as we are “in the world but not of the world.”

2. He. 12:2 “Author and perfecter of our faith.”

B.

V. Implications of Being Created in the Image of God

A. Man is contingent, not independent

B. Man is a part of creation

C. Man is unique, special

D. Man is responsible for his moral actions

E. Man has a higher purpose than himself

F. Man has a duty to others created in the image of God

VI. Constitution of Man

A. Trichotomous

1. Man is made up of a material (“body”) part and two immaterial parts (“soul” & “spirit”)

2. Physical is like in kind to the animal world, only more complex

3. Soul is like in kind to the animal world, only more advanced. Allows for communication and socialization.

4. Spirit is what separates man from the animals and allows communication and fellowship with God.

B. Dichotomous

1. Most widely held view of church history

2. Man is made up of two parts: material and immaterial

3. The various words used to designate the immaterial part of man describe different facets of the same immaterial part

4. The various words used to designate the immaterial part of man often describe a difference in function

5. The difference between man and animals is one of quality

6. The soul can be seen as a part of the physical nature