Christians are still struggling in the stranglehold of sin despite the victory given by Jesus Christ through the new birth. As devastating and wide spread as this problem is, there is a single, simple reason why we are not living the victory that is spiritually ours.

The reason reveals why Christians show up at the altar again and again, confessing the same sins, and why believers are still wrestling with the same problems that were dealt with at the cross and the new birth. This reason also shows why the church continues to display the same statistics as the world in helping—or failing to help—individuals who are in bondage to sin.

This is not a denominational issue: orthodox, evangelical, and charismatic Christians alike seem just as powerless as victims against sin. Individuals from every kind of Christian background attend group therapy such as crisis counseling or Alcoholic's Anonymous. In these groups, non-believers sit across the circle from these Christians and ask themselves, "Why should I become a Christian if these people have no more power or answers than me?"

Something must be wrong at the foundation of our belief system, especially since all these atrocities can be traced to the same root cause: We have either not known, or have not practiced the foundational truth of the new birth from Romans chapter 6—the "Old Man" is dead.

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  Romans 6:6

Yes, we (the Christian church) are still picking the fruit of sin because we have not laid the ax to the root and reckoned the Old Man sin nature dead. We have the solution to the problem if we do what John the Baptist said in Matthew 3:10. We must lay the ax to the root and reckon the Old Man sin nature dead.

If you are a Christian believer and are experiencing recurring sins, let me, in proxy for all Christian leaders, ask for your forgiveness for not teaching you this truth. This truth will liberate you from the tentacles of sin. Jesus paid for your freedom and gave gifts to the church to lead captivity captive. We, as your ministers and helpers in the faith, should have taught you Romans 6:6 the day after you were saved. Please forgive us!

As Christian leaders, we must re-examine our approach if the people under our care are continually repeating the same sin. Are we picking fruit or chopping roots? God will require us to give account for the stewardship of His people and how we lead them. The old adage applies: "If we do nothing different, nothing will change," and if we continue teaching the same stale "bread" rather than the words of God from the table of shewbread, His people will starve. Shall we continue to pretend that everything is okay?

No one, whether leader or believer, has to continue in the bondage of sin if we know this—that the Old Man was crucified with Christ.

Knowing This

Our thesis verse from Romans 6:6 says knowing this. If we know that the Old Man is dead, we will not be slaves to sin.

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  Romans 6:6

The book of Romans is the Magna Carta of Christianity. It is the Believer's Bill of Rights. It is the Christian Constitution that specifies your freedom from the world and shows how to cut the shackles off of your past. You must know the book of Romans and stand in the light of its revelation. Romans begins with revealing an invisible God to a rebellious people. It shows that it is His goodness that leads you to repentance and that by the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, you were ransomed from the curse of sin and given the gift of righteousness. You were justified by faith and have peace with God. God loves you and He has made you one with Him through Jesus Christ.¹

God does not stop there and say, "Okay, I've saved you but you must still stay in bondage to sin and the past and show me how truly dedicated you are to struggle with pain." No! God has paid the price for you to be liberated from the bondage of sin.

No one likes to be in bondage. God knew this and He is not only your Liberator but is also your Father who loves you and wants you to be free. Romans chapter 6 explains that when you were born again the old life (man) died and a new life (man) in Christ Jesus began. The context around verse 6 discloses great detail about your new life and the death of the old one. You were baptized unto death with Jesus so that you could be resurrected in life with Him. Don't you know this?

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.  Romans 6:3–5 KJV

The discourse of Romans continues its deliverance message with these two extremely powerful words: "knowing this." "Knowing this" tells you exactly what you need to know in order to not be a slave to sin. You must know that the Old Man was crucified with Christ. Axiomatically, if you are still in bondage to recurring and life-plaguing sins, it is because you have not known this: The Old Man was crucified with Christ; he is dead.

For he that is dead is freed from sin.  Romans 6:7 KJV

You must know that the Old Man is dead. The problem is that Christians have not known or have not reckoned the Old Man dead and, therefore, have lived as though they still have a sin nature. Most Christians have never figured this out; consequently, they are strapped to a decaying, rancid, dead carcass, and they have even built a monument to the lifeless, executed rebel. As bad as that is, then they try to resurrect him by claiming that the Old Man "raised" his head.

A couple of years ago, I had a profound conversation with a great saint and tremendous man of God, John Kellogg. John and I found each other while bouncing over dusty roads in the mission field of Nigeria. Through deep conversations about our ministries, we discovered that we had some amazing similarities. While discussing Romans 6:6 and Galatians 2:20, John said, "Dale, I have wondered if I am weird because I do not wrestle with sin the way other Christians do." I replied to him, "Brother, you have no idea how thankful I am to have found another weird person who has that same freedom."

John and I discovered the key to freedom from sin. It is not hidden in some obscure chapter in the "Book of Hesitations." Neither he nor I are in bondage to sin. Conversely, many Christians still wrestle with the same sins and problems that they had before they were saved. Do you know why? The answer is that they do not know this—the Old Man is dead. When you know this, you will not be a slave to sin either.

Who is the Old Man?

No, the Old Man is not your dad or your husband. Actually, when you see who the Old Man is, you will realize that it is a trick of Satan to refer to anyone by this name. You actually curse someone when you call him by this name. The Old Man, whoever he is, is so corrupt and rebellious that God executed him with no hope of reprieve.

The Old Man is the old nature of your spirit that you had before you were born again. The Bible calls him by name. (Pardon my literary license of putting "Old Man" in capital letters; I want you to realize that he is a real person.)

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;  Ephesians 4:22 KJV

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.  Colossians 3:9 KJV

This is the old spirit that lived in you before you were born again. This is the old nature of sinfulness, rebellion, and disobedience. It is also the nature of lust and selfishness.

In which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Ephesians 2:2–3

For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.  Titus 3:3

The Old Testament prophesied that when you entered into the New Covenant with God, your old spirit, or your Old Man, would die.

And I will [in the New Covenant] give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit [the New Man] within you; and I will take the stony heart [the Old Man] out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.  Ezekiel 11:19 KJV

This was also prophesied in Ezekiel 36:26 and Jeremiah 31:33. This is the reason why Jesus marveled when Nicodemus did not understand when He talked about being born again. He was talking about being born again of the Spirit.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [of man]. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?  John 3: 6–10 KJV

The Old Man is your old spirit; it is the heart of stone and rebellion that was once your nature and the life that ruled you.

Among whom [the children of disobedience] also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.  Ephesians 2:3

The purpose of this article is not just to know that the Old Man is dead, but to show how to reckon yourself to be dead indeed to sin and alive unto God (Romans 6:11). Ultimately, the goal is to live free from the bondage of sin, claiming your divine nature and spiritual rights of freedom and destiny.

To reckon the Old Man dead you must more fully understand who he is. You must dig deep to understand who the Old Man is (or was) and in so doing, you will dig his grave deep enough so that he can be buried—never again to be raised by guilt, theology, or demons trying to beguile you of your righteousness. This necessitates that we study the spirit of man, both old and new, and also to divide spirit, soul, and body.

Spirit, Soul, and Body

To grasp the fullness of this discussion, we must understand the makeup of mankind: spirit, soul, and body. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 asserts that mankind has three parts.

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and pray I God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  1 Thessalonians 5:23 KJV

Mankind is a spirit that lives in a body and possesses a soul. This statement is commonplace throughout Christian writings, but it is documented in scriptures such as Luke 21:19 and 1 Corinthians 9:27. Furthermore, Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God can divide spirit from soul, so they cannot be the same entity.

Your spirit is the very essence of who you are. You were created in the likeness and image of God (Genesis 1:26) and since God is spirit, (John 4:24) you are a spirit. When the outward house of your being is dissolved (2 Corinthians 5:1), your spirit will return to God Who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7). You are a spirit just as God the Father, Jesus the Resurrected Messiah, the Holy Spirit, angels, the devil, demons, principalities, and powers are. However, of all spirit beings, you have the privilege of living in a physical body so that you can co-inhabit both the spirit and the physical realms. The fact that you inhabit both realms makes dividing spirit, soul, and body a crucial issue of correctly identifying your true nature.

Understanding the Nature of Man

I received my Bachelor of Science from North Carolina State University in Natural Resource Management (that is just a glorified degree in hunting and fishing), so at least from an educational point of view I should have known the definition of nature. Unfortunately, educated fools are still in abundance and it was not until I studied "nature" from the Word of God that I understood it—and consequently, "the nature" of the spirit of man. In essence, nature means "without any additions, changes, or alterations." When someone walks in nature, it means that it has not been changed with skyscrapers or sidewalks. When someone says, "He is just naturally good-hearted," it means that he came from the factory as a good-ole guy. The nature of the word "nature" means the pure essence with nothing added. We just "naturally" understand this.

With the understanding of "nature," you know that your nature is not changed by adding to your intellect, or adapting your living skills, or altering where you live. As the old saying goes, "you can take the boy out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of the boy." Your essence is your spirit and the only way to change your essence is to change your spirit.

Your spirit is your nature. Behavior, which can be modified through education, is not your nature but the effects of how you have been taught or trained. Behavior modification occurs through education and inputting benefit/consequence or reward/punishment motivation, but your nature is the true essence of who and what you really are.

The usage of the heart of stone in Ezekiel 11:19 and 36:26 shows the old nature of the spirit. It was hard, rebellious, and disobedient. This spirit was insensitive to God, so God put a new heart and spirit in His creation. Then old things passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17) and the new heart was created to be tender and very sensitive to God. When the old spirit died, the nature to sin died too. This is not the mind or the flesh, but the nature of the old spirit. Ephesians 2:3 shows the old spirit and nature before it was executed.

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.  Ephesians 2:3 KJV

Since your spirit is the actual essence of who you are, then you must understand what the soul is and how it differs from the spirit. The word "soul," like other important words, often gets tossed around and hardly ever defined. In the case of spirit and soul, usages of the word "soul" show that you are required to control your own soul—showing that you, as a spirit, are greater than your soul.

In your patience possess ye your souls.  Luke 21:19 KJV

If you can possess and control your soul, it is obvious that you are greater than your soul. You are greater because you are a spirit. Likewise, the Word of God testifies "what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Mark 8:36).

We have almost deified the usage of soul, but it is really nothing more than your mind. Inclusive within your mind is the intellect, imaginations, and emotions, which combines to form your belief system. Therefore, you can control, possess, gain, win, lose, or forfeit your mind or soul. It is not your nature: it is your thinking apparatus. You can control or renew your mind, yet only changing your mind does not change you. You may even think differently, but why you think the way you do cannot be altered by education alone—that takes a change of the spirit or nature. Just because you think something does not mean you have to do it. Your spirit is dominant over your mind.

This presents a real problem with current practices of rehabilitation. People cannot be rehabilitated with education alone. Because behavior modification takes place in the soul, people may appear to be changed on the surface and even convinced that they have changed, but if their nature is still the same, the statistics show that they will be back—either to jail, rehab centers, or even the altar at the church. Current statistics reveal that, depending upon which survey you use, 66% to 80% of all institutionalized patrons will return. It is like my Dad would say of his boys, "You can dress them up, but you still cannot take them out." The nature of the spirit must be changed and behavior modification is just a learned activity.

Likewise, your body or flesh is not your nature either. Your flesh certainly has desires but they must be abated or you will be nothing short of a brute beast. Like your soul, fleshly desires are not you or else you could not control your passions. You do not have to carry out what you feel or desire because your spirit can dominate your flesh. This brings up a mandatory point of discussion.

The New International Version (NIV) of the Bible has translated the word "flesh" very poorly. The translators took the unfounded liberty of translating "flesh" as "sinful nature." This is deplorable handling of the Word of God. It is an interpretation, not a translation. There is a perfectly good word for sin in the Bible: harmartia. There is also a good word for nature: it is phusis. A good word for flesh is sarx. Millions of Christians are in slavery to sin because the NIV translators took the liberty of translating flesh as "sinful nature."

If the NIV translators were going to be consistent with their translation of flesh and sinful nature, then why did they not translate "flesh" in John 1:14 as "sinful nature"? Their illogic and perverse translation hangs them because if they had been consistent, they would have had to make Jesus "sinful nature" when He came into the flesh. The NIV has some reasonably good translation in it, but this work alone makes it a questionable choice for a good Bible standard. If you choose to use it as a standard, this should be clearly spelled out. (There are other reasons that cause it to be in question too.) Regardless of your translation choice, the flesh is not sinful nature. Let the texts stand for themselves. Flesh is flesh, sin is sin, and nature is nature.

Your spirit is your nature. Your soul or mind may be changed but it does not affect your nature. Likewise, your body or flesh has passions, but they are not your nature. Your spirit is your nature and when you are born again, your spirit changes; therefore, your nature changes too. Your very essence changes from being sinful in the Old Man to being holy in the New Man.

Years ago I read a book that confused me for a long time. It was written by a wonderful Bible scholar, E.W. Bullinger, entitled Two Natures in the Child of God. Oh how I wish Brother Bullinger were alive. I would love to thank him for teaching me so much. Then, using the same principles of biblical research that he taught me in his other works, I would like to teach him the truth of spirit, soul, and body and that it is impossible for two natures to exist in the same person.

There cannot be two natures in the child of God. First, the Bible says that the Old Man is dead. Next, by sheer definition of the word "nature," it is impossible to have two natures. Remember, nature means "without any additions, changes, or alterations." It is either one way or the other. The fact remains that the Bible says that the Old Man is dead—and if God executed him, then only a fool would try to raise him up.

Now you will see what happens when the Old Man dies. The root of sin is cut; therefore, the production of sinful fruit will cease if you do not allow "someone" else to seed the garden plot. These are very important issues in discovering the nature of man. Remember, your nature is your spiritual essence. If your spirit is not pure then you will not be pure. You must chop the root of sin to kill the fruit of sin.

Chop the Root and Destroy the Fruit

I mentioned earlier that John the Baptist said that the ax is laid to the root. He related the root and the fruit in the same verse.

And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.  Matthew 3:10 KJV

He also said that if the tree is not bringing forth good fruit, then you need to lay the ax to the root. Question: What kind of fruit is being produced in your life? Is it good? If so, praise the Lord and help others lay the ax to the root of their "sin tree." If not, then it is time to chop out the root and cast the tree in the fire. If you chop out the root, you will not have to keep picking sinful fruit.

When Jesus introduced the topic of being born again to Nicodemus, God was not through with the subject. God took what Jesus taught and then began to further teach the Apostle Paul. Paul accepted the new birth, literally believed what Jesus said, and applied the truth to his own life. Paul said:

I [meaning the spirit of man] have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  Galatians 2:20

I must point out the verb tenses in Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6, and also Ephesians 2:3. They are all in the past tense. Galatians says I have been crucified with Christ. Romans testifies that the old man was crucified and Ephesians qualifies that you were by nature children of wrath. This is a past tense reality and if we would learn to put the Old Man in the past, we would do well too.

This is not a figurative coverage of a minor point; this is a literal truth of a major point. Paul literally interpreted what Jesus said about the new birth to the end that he said his Old Man had been crucified with Christ. He was dead to sin and alive to God. Paul literally believed that his old nature of sin was dead and that he lived by faith in the Son of God. So can you.

When you, like Paul, lay the ax to the root of sin, the foundation of sin in your life will be cut out. This is not talking about habit patterns, but motives and inward urges that literally die. All of this happens when you actually accept that you receive a new spirit and a new life from God.

Romans 6:3 says that you were baptized into Christ's death, and verse 4 says that when Christ was raised from the dead, you were raised too. When you realize and accept that the Old Man, meaning the old spirit within you, was crucified with Christ, the root that was producing sinful fruit in your life dies.

Romans 7:4–6 tells of the same literal acceptance.

Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, even to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. For when we were in the flesh, the passions of sins which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.  Romans 7:4–6

Colossians 3 says that you died with Christ.

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  Colossians 3:3

You must lay the ax to the root by accepting the literal truth of the Word of God that your Old Man nature of sin died with Christ. You do not have a sin nature living in you anymore. The life in you is the life of God. It prompts you to holiness and obedience, not sin and disobedience. This new nature living in you must be put on in your mind by reading and applying the Scriptures, but there is a new life in you and it must be allowed to reign. You must reckon the Old Man dead and yourself alive to God.

Since you have learned that the Old Man is the old nature of the spirit of man, this leaves three possibilities of where sinful thoughts that emerge out of you come from. Number one is from your mind; two is from your flesh; or three is from the suggestion of a demon.

Origins of Sinful Thoughts

It is perfectly reasonable to ask the question: If the Old Man is dead, then why do I continually have these old thoughts? The answer is very revealing and since spirit, soul, and body have been discussed, you can clearly see the possibilities.

First, when the Old Man was alive and dominated your life, he programmed your thought life. But even now after he is dead, his memory lives and the habits he taught you are still active. It is amazing to realize that the Greek text of the Bible does not tell you to "put off the old man." It tells you to quit acting like him (Ephesians 4:22), or since you have put him off to quit acting like him (Colossians 3:9).

To illustrate thoughts coming out of your own mind, here is an example of a dead man still affecting you. Suppose you're boss was mean, overbearing, and just genuinely a jerk. He would yell at you, call you names, and threaten to fire you daily. Then, praise the Lord, he fell down dead. Secretly, you would rejoice that he was gone, but you would probably still carry the habits of working the way you did before he died. To top this off, your new boss is wonderful. He is gracious, helpful, and very understanding. Work should be a great place to go now but, remembering how you were treated, you would still be afraid when you punched the time clock, or if you came back from break 15 seconds late. You would have to re-educate yourself after the new boss (New Man) came to take the place of the old boss (Old Man). In other words, sinful thoughts come from your old habit patterns of thinking. The Old Man is dead. Now you must remember or reckon (Romans 6:11) him dead.

Next, the flesh can certainly give you impulses and cause you to think that the Old Man is still alive. No. The flesh is not the Old Man; the Old Man is the old nature of the spirit of man. The flesh has desires (Ephesians 2:3; James 1:15; 1 John 2:16) and it must be controlled. Left unbridled, the flesh will destroy you, but the flesh is not your nature. As previously mentioned, some Bible translations call the flesh your "lower nature." That is not a translation but an erroneous interpretation. The flesh is not your nature; it is the house in which you live.

Next, thoughts contrary to your new nature could come from a demon. Not realizing that you are a spirit being has put you in a precarious position. For example, by not understanding that you are a spirit, you do not realize that you are in touch with the spirit realm and that evil spirits speak to you. By not understanding this, you dismiss the possibility that you could be hearing from the spirit realm. Evil spirits speak to you. They have a will and will perpetrate deception to cause you to commit an act sufficient enough to give them a right to come into you.

As morbid as this analogy is, here is a very vivid mind picture of how demons communicate with you and try to force a way into you. A demon, being a familiar spirit and knowing your past and your sins, will go the graveyard of spirits and dig up the carcass of your Old Man. He then eats the rotten carcass, full of maggots, puss, and filth. Then he comes to you and vomits the regurgitated lies into your spirit. Clever huh? He makes you think that you thought it by saying "I." Demons, speaking in the first person, will say, "I am worried," or "I want a drink," or "I hate him." If you do not know that you are in contact with the spirit realm, you may think that you are thinking this and attribute these thoughts to yourself or even to the old nature that you thought was still in you. When you recognize the spirit realm, you will realize that you have not been thinking, you have been listening—not to the Old Man but to a demon who has been feeding on the stinking carcass of the Old Man.

Whether you are listening to old habit patterns, the flesh, or a demon, the Bible still testifies that the Old Man is dead. You need to reckon him dead.

Reckoning the Old Man Dead

Romans 6:11 is the clarion verse of instruction that tells you how to reckon the Old Man dead.

Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:11

"Reckon" is the Greek word logizomai from which we get the word "logic." There is a logic to see and follow in order to reckon the Old Man dead. It begins by confessing that the Old Man is dead and refusing to believe anything else. Say this, right now, out loud: "The Old Man is dead. I am a holy spirit." It not only feels good to say this but it feels right too. Say it again. This is the first step in reckoning him dead. Do what the Bible says: Confess it. Say it again, "the Old Man is dead. I have a holy nature."

Next, you must realize that the spirit in you is a viable, real entity. God said that He would replace the old spirit with one that would be sensitive to Him. When Jesus died, He paid the price for the Old Man to be crucified and executed. When you accepted Him as your Savior and Lord, the Holy Spirit came into you.

God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"  Galatians 4:6b

When the Holy Spirit came into you, He brought a new life. At that moment, the Old Man was executed and new life was re-created in you. When the New Man was electrified unto life, the Old Man was electrocuted unto death. The innermost part of your being was changed from corruption and disobedience into eternal life and holiness.

Now the logic of this is reasonable. If you were crucified, then it is Christ living in you. You are not a sinner; you are holy. Your nature is to be like Christ. Your nature is to be in harmony with God. It is normal for you to pray. It is your nature to want to read the Bible. You have really changed. Christ changed you. The Old Man is dead and you are alive to God

It is a principle: without fail, any time the Bible talks about the Old Man dying, it also talks about the New Man being put on within the same context. That is because it is part of the "logic plan" to put on the New Man. You do not just want to be dead to sin, but you want to be alive to God too. You have a new nature and a new spirit. This is the New Man who was created in righteousness and true holiness.

Who is the New Man?

The New Man is the born again spirit of man. He is a new creation in Christ Jesus. He is begotten of God and is truly righteous and holy.

...the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.  Ephesians 4:24b

This is you—the new you—in your spirit. You are truly righteous and truly holy. Your nature has changed and you have become a new creation by the Holy Spirit coming into your spirit.

The creation of the New Man is perhaps the most amazing miracle of your life. You were dead in sins and trespasses, without God, without hope, and with a nature of disobedience. But God, Who is rich in mercy, saved you.

Among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).  Ephesians 2:3–5

By God's grace, He created the New Man in you and changed your nature. The action whereby this took place is described in detail in Titus 3:4–5.

But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.  Titus 3:4–5

The word "through" is the Greek word dia and serves as the causative agent whereby the new birth and the creation of the New Man took place. This says that the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit is how you were saved.

(Also notice the past tense descriptions of these actions. Ephesians 2:4 says that God loved us and verse 5 says He saved you. Ephesians 4:24 says was created and Titus 3:5 says God saved us. These all communicate the same thing—we have the New Man; he has already been created in us. This is not something we are going to get. We already have it. Hallelujah!)

It is amazing that evangelists work so hard to get people saved and then teachers do such a poor job of telling people what they received. When you got saved you were regenerated and renewed. This is the creation of the New Man and what you received at the moment of salvation.

The phrases "washing of regeneration" and "renewing of the Holy Spirit" are fantastic because they tell you who you are. Renewing of the Holy Spirit is a renewing action because it was first made new in Adam. When the first Adam lost the Holy Spirit as an abiding presence, the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45) paid for the renewal. Your spirit was re-created in true righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24). You have a renewed spirit.

Washing of regeneration is an amazing truth. Your spirit was washed by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. The word "regeneration" communicates a truth that will forever impact and change your perspective about yourself. The root word of regeneration, with the prefix and verbal ending removed, is the word "gene." You were re-GENE-erated at the time of the new birth. You received a new spiritual gene package. Where you were once by nature unholy and rebellious, now by nature and a new spiritual gene code, you are holy and obedient. This is the work of God and you bear the thumbprint of God in your spirit. You truly are holy and to act any other way is contrary to your true nature.

The New Nature

The Greek word for "nature" is phusis (Strongs #5449). Its root phuo (Strong's #5453) means "to be born." In other words, the only way your nature can be changed is for your birth to be altered. This is how you know that the only true rehabilitation must begin in the spirit and not just with behavior modification in the soul.

You have had a new nature created in you and to live any other way is contrary to who you really are. Romans 11:24 says that to be grafted into another tree is contrary to nature. Now, if you live any other way than godly, it will grate against your true nature.

To illustrate your true nature, fold your hands with your fingers interlocking. Now, is the right or left thumb on top? Whichever way it is, now unfold your hands and fold them together with the other thumb on top. It just feels weird, doesn't it? Another example is to try writing your name by using the opposite hand of your penmanship. This is how you feel in your spirit when you live contrary to your new nature. After being born again, it feels weird to sin and to not be godly.

In doing research a number of years ago, I discovered a disturbing fact. Approximately 75% of individuals in mental institutions in America are Christians. This disturbed me because these individuals have been re-created and now the Holy Spirit in them. What puzzled me was why the statistics of Christians were so high. Now I know the answer. They were born again and had a new nature, but they did not put on the New Man in their mind and live according to their new nature; consequently, they were driven insane by living contrary to their new, true nature.

By which [the principles of the Word of God] have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers [full sharers] of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.  2 Peter 1:4

You have a new nature in the New Man and the Word of God tells you how to live according to this new life.

Living the New Way

You have already seen from 2 Peter 1:4 that if you put on the principles of the Word of God you can become a partaker of the divine nature. As you reckon the Old Man dead, you must put on the New Man in your mind. This is done by putting the Word of God in your mind, which will agree with the spirit you already have within you.

Colossians 3:10 tells you exactly what to do since you have this New Man created within you.

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:  Colossians 3:10 KJV

This verse is paragon of truth. The previous verse says that you have put off the Old Man, now you need to put on the new one. The New Man is renewed, or as the present participle should be translated, "is being renewed according to the knowledge of him (Him) that created the New Man." The New Man must be renewed according to the knowledge that he is truly righteous and holy, just as He (God) who created him (the New Man).

And that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.  Ephesians 4:24

You are required to put on the New Man in your mind by the standard of God's righteousness and holiness. The first place you start is by saying and resolutely affirming that the Old Man is dead. Then, you put on the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Romans 13:14) by receiving the Word of God and living by its standards. This will get your soul or mind to agree with the re-created spirit within you.

Colossians 3:12–14 is very specific about what we are to put on.

Therefore, as the elect [born again] of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Colossians 3:12–14

Conclusion

The Old Man is dead. The Bible says it and now it is up to you to believe it.

You reckon the Old Man dead by refusing to believe that he is alive. You refuse to listen to the lies of old habits, your flesh, or demons. Now, you will build your logic by reckoning him dead and the New Man alive.

The New Man is created in righteousness and true holiness in the image of God. He was re-GENE-erated into life and renewed in your spirit. To live according to this new life, you must not only reckon the Old Man dead, but yourself alive to God.

2 Corinthians 5:17 summarizes it for you.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV

The Old Man is absolutely dead. You can no longer tolerate religious jargon dominating your thinking and clouding your true identity. There is no "lower" or "sinful nature" in you. You were created in righteousness and true holiness. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus.

God electrocuted the Old Man simultaneously when He electrified the New Man. Old things are passed away and behold, all things have become new. You have one nature in you—it is to be like your Creator and Father.

The Holy Spirit will bear witness with your spirit when you are living contrary to your new nature. When you put the Word of God on in your mind and live accordingly, you will be living the new life in Christ Jesus.

Say this: "The Old Man is dead and I am a holy spirit. I have one nature in me and that is to be like my True Father. I am holy, pure, dedicated to God, and alive in the spirit realm. The Old Man is dead and I am a holy spirit."

The Old Man is dead. You are alive unto God. Eternal life has already begun for you. You will live forever as a regenerated spirit being, alive unto God in righteousness and true holiness.

To not be slaves to sin, you must know this:

...that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  Romans 6:6

Notes

1. Romans 1:20–32; 2:4; 3:22,24–25; 5:1,8,11

©2002 Liberating Ministries for Christ International, Inc.