“And have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”

“and have put on the new man”

This verse moves on from the negative (“put off,” v.9) to the positive (“put on”). Since we have put away the old man from ourselves and engaged in fellowship with Christ, this action should arm us against sin. Fellowship with God rests on constructing an edifice of maturity in Christ.

Principle:

God wants the Christian to “put on” His new way of life.

Application:

Our conduct needs to conform to our new status in Christ. Every believer is a “new” man (2 Cor. 5:17). We are “new” because we hold the same status that Jesus does before God. We are new because we possess the life of Christ. We are new because of our position before God.

As of the moment of salvation, we became new regardless of our maturity. Yet this passage goes beyond our newness in Christ. Colossians three deals with the development of the character of Christ (Gal. 4:19). This is the application of the Word of God to experience by faith.

The first step in experiencing maturity in Christ is the confession of known sin. Christ has already judged our sins on the cross. Our sins can no longer hinder us from advancing toward maturity. Two essential dimensions are involved here: 1) principle — we understand what Christ did for our sins as Christians, and 2) applying that principle (1 John 1:9). When we do this, we engage with the new man. When we judge the “old man” by the cross, we make the “new man” operative.

When we put on the “new man,” there is constant renewal based on confession and appropriation of God’s Word to experience. The idea is that God spiritually refreshes our souls. We constantly renew ourselves like drinking a cool drink of water when very thirsty. We must continuously drink to refresh our spirituality (Eph 5:26; John 7:37-39).