The Dynamics of the New
Man
In the third century, Cyprian, the Bishop of Carthage, wrote to his friend Donatus: "It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians . . . and I am one of them."
If you have repented of your sins and have received Christ as Saviour, then you, too are one of them.
Forgiven and Justified
The moment you were converted to Christ, several dramatic things happened, whether you were aware of them or not. First, your sin was forgiven. "In whom we have redemption, through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:14). "Your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake: (1 John 2:12). Throughout the New Testament we are told that the one who receives Christ as Saviour also receives immediately, as a gift from God, the forgiveness of sin. The Bible says: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103: 12). The only reason our sins can be forgiven is, of course, because Jesus Christ
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paid the full penalty for our sins on the cross. He was "delivered for our offences" (Romans 4:25). However, God's forgiveness goes much farther than the forgiveness of sin. God not only forgives, He justifies. This means that man is actually without guilt in God's sight. As someone has said: "I am justified, and it is just-as-if-I'd-never-sinned." My secretary often uses an erasable bond, a chemically treated paper from which errors can be erased without blemish. God treats our hearts with the chemistry of His grace and erases the errors so that we are without spot and without blemish in His sight.
Every person who puts his trust in Jesus Christ stands guiltless before God. He is cleared of every charge. It is not a matter of feeling; it is a fact. You can apply Galatians 2:16 to yourself: "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ." Justification and forgiveness are God's free gifts. They involve absolutely no merit on man's part; all is of God. They are His unmerited favor. Forgiveness and justification are transmitted to us through faith.
In these days of guilt complexes, perhaps the most glorious word in the English language is "forgiveness."
A man serving a life sentence for murder escaped from the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. The warden offered the fugitive 1,500 dollars to present himself at the gate of the prison, but there was a catch to the offer. The reward was to be earned and saved by the escaped prisoner through his working in the prison. "If he comes, we will see that he does not get out again," said the warden. "Justice must prevail."
How different is the offer God makes to all fugitives from divine justice. There is no catch to His offer. "Let the wicked forsake his way . . . and let him return unto the Lord . . . for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:7). Civil justice seeks to catch the criminal. Divine justice is intent on setting him free.
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Justice has been satisfied by the death of Christ. All who present themselves to God in faith and repentance will be received not as fugitives, but as sons of God "justified from all things" (Acts 13: 39).
Adopted
Second, the new man is adopted. "To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Galatians 4: 5). The moment we receive Christ as Saviour, we receive the divine nature of the sons of God. We are now placed in the position of a joint heir with Jesus Christ. "Having predestined us unto adoption as his children" (Ephesians 1:5). We have now all the rights of a son. All things in the Kingdom are now ours to enjoy.
My friends, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, have adopted several children. Once I asked them if they gave the same rights and privileges to their adopted children as they gave to their real children. They were shocked by my question and said: "Of course, we do. They are ours as much as the ones who were born to us. They have all the rights and privileges of our own flesh and blood." We, too, have been adopted into the family of God, with all the rights and privileges of sonship.
The Holy Spirit
Third, the new man is indwelt by the Spirit of God. Before He ascended into Heaven, Jesus Christ said: "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth . . . you know him; for he dwells with you,
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and will be in you" (John 14:16, 17). During His lifetime on earth, Christ's presence could be experienced only by a small group of men at any given time. Now Christ dwells through the Spirit in the hearts of all those who have received Him as Saviour. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Romans: "But you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God dwells in you" (Romans 8:9). Later he wrote to the Corinthians: "Don't you know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16).
The Holy Spirit is given to every believer — not for a limited time but forever. Were He to leave us for one moment, we would be in deep trouble.
With some disdain and contempt a lady said to a clergyman to whom she had listened: "You are not abreast of the spirit of the age." The minister replied: "You are quite right, I am not abreast of the spirit of the age. But I do have within me the Holy Spirit of this age."
Walter Knight tells the story about a little boy who had recently received Christ. "Daddy, how can I believe in the Holy Spirit when I have never seen Him?" asked Jim. "I'll show you how," said his father, who was an electrician. Later Jim went with his father to the power plant where he was shown the generators. "This is where the power comes from to heat our stove and to give us light. We cannot see the power, but it is in that machine and in the power lines," said the father.
"I believe in electricity," said Jim.
"Of course, you do," said his father, "but you don't believe in it because you see it. You believe in it because you see what it can do. Likewise you can believe in the Holy Spirit because you see what He does in people's lives when they are surrendered to Christ and possess His power."
Thus, by faith you accept the fact that you are indwelt by the Spirit of God. He is there to give you special power to
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work for Christ. He is there to give you strength in the moment of temptation. He is there to produce the supernatural fruit of the Spirit, such as "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance" (Galatians 5:22, 23). He is there to guide you over all the difficult terrain you must cross as a Christian.
Sometimes when I go to Europe to preach I like to go by sea, and I enjoy the five days on the ship. On one of my voyages Captain Anderson of the United States took me down to see the ship's gyroscope. He said: "When the sea is rough, the gyroscope helps to keep the ship on an even keel. Though the waves may reach tremendous proportions, the gyroscope helps to stabilize the vessel and maintain a high degree of equilibrium." As I listened, I thought how like the gyroscope is the Holy Spirit. Let the storms of life break over our heads. Let the enemy Satan come in like a flood. Let the waves of sorrow, suffering, temptation, and testing be unleashed upon us. Our souls will be kept on an even keel and in perfect peace when the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.
Strength to Resist Temptation
Fourth, the new man has the possibility of victory over temptation and sin."No temptation has come upon you but that which is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able; but will with the temptation also provide a way of escape, that you will be be able to endure it" (1 Cor. 10:13).
The Bible teaches that the new man is to "abhor that which is evil" (Romans 12:9) and to "put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts" (Eph. 4:22). We are told also to "make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" (Romans 13:14).
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However, the great problem is How do we do it? Where do we get such a capacity and such strength?
This new capacity and this new strength come from the Holy Spirit, who lives within every true believer. It is not the result of our own struggling against temptation. It is the life of God within us. He lives in our hearts to help us to resist sin. It is our job to believe and to yield to Him. The Christian life from this point on is to be lived through the activity of faith. Faith is the shield of our defense against Satan (Eph. 6:16) and this faith enables us to overcome the evil world around us (1 John 5:4).
The Bible teaches us that as Christians we can become "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37). The strength for our conquering and our victory is drawn continually from Christ. The Bible does not teach that sin is completely eradicated from the Christian in this life, but it does teach that sin shall no longer reign over you. The strength and power of sin have been broken. The Christian now has resources available to live above and beyond this world. The Bible teaches that whosoever is born of God does not practice sin (1 John 3: 6-9). It is like the little girl who said that when the devil came knocking with a temptation, she just sent Jesus to the door.
Thus in Jesus Christ the new man is actually a new man. What does it mean to be a new creature or a new person? Let it be said at once that the new man is not the old man improved or made over. He is not even the old man reformed or remodeled, for God does not make the new out of the old nor put new wine in old bottles. The new man is Christ formed in us. As in the creation, we were created in the image of God. In the new creation, we are re-created in the image of Christ. Paul said: "For whom he did foreknow, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). This new man is not the product of
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psychological change. According to psychiatrist Ernest White, Christian conversion "has permanent results in the depths of the personality and sets a man forward on the path of sanctity. Psychological treatment can bring about a rearrangement of the mental and emotional pattern, but it does not introduce a new power into the life."
The new man is actually Christ in the heart, and Christ in the heart means that He is in the center of our being. The Biblical use of the word "heart" symbolizes the whole realm of the affections. Into this area Christ comes to transform our affections, with the result that the things for which we formerly had affection pass way, and the things for which we now have affection are new and of God. If Christ dwells in the heart, it means that He dwells also in the mind with its varied function of thinking and self-determination. In the process of change into a new creature when Christ indwells the heart, the human personality is neither absorbed nor destroyed. Instead it is enriched and empowered by this union with Christ.
The New Man Not Perfect
There is one problem that Christians face immediately upon conversion. Some people get the idea that they become perfect right away, and then they find themselves tempted, in conflict, and even on occasion yielding to temptation. Many of them become filled with confusion, frustration, and discouragement. They say the Christian life is not what they thought it was going to be. The Bible does teach that we can become mature, but that does not mean that we are ever flawless. Ernest F. Kevan says: "The perfect Christian is the one who, having a sense of his own failure to attain, is minded to press toward the mark" (Philippians 3:14).1
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The Bible teaches: "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary to each other: so that you cannot do the things that you would" (Galatians 5:17). It teaches that there is a spiritual conflict in the heart of every true believer. It is true that the Christian possesses a new nature, but the old nature is still there. It is now up to us, day by day, to yield to the reign and control of the new nature, which is dominated by Christ. Because we are a new creation for whom all old things have passed away and all things have become new, we no longer practice sin.
We may fall into sin, but we hate it. The new nature commits no sin, but when the Christian sins, it is because the old nature has been yielded to for a moment. And when the Christian sins he is miserable until the sin is confessed and fellowship with God is restored. This is the difference between the believer and the unbeliever. The unbeliever makes sin a practice, and the believer does not make a practice of sin. He abhors it and rather than live in the former lawlessness, he seeks to abide by the commands of God. Thus Paul says: "Who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:4). It means that we are to be submissive to the new nature, to the Holy Spirit who indwells us. "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness" (Romans 6:13).
New Standards
We are to feed the new nature on the Word of God constantly, and we are to starve the old nature, which craves the world and the flesh. We are told to "make no provision for the flesh" (Romans 13:14). We are told to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God" (Romans 12:1).
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From now on our choices are made from a new perspective and a new dimension. When we are living up to the full privileges and powers of our new life in Christ, sin loses its control over these choices and dispositions. The Christian is under the domination of Christ and consequently lives according to new standards with a new power.
In London, England, an alcoholic was placed under the care of a psychiatrist who soon gave up because the alcoholic was getting no better. During our meetings at the Harringay Arena, the alcoholic was invited to attend. He listened in wonderment to the Gospel messages. "Maybe there is some hope for me," he thought. One night when the invitation was given, he went forward with several others. He was converted, and a new power came into his life. That night before he went to sleep, he reached as usual for the nearby bottle of liquor; but something — or rather, Someone — restrained his hand. Getting out of bed, he took the bottle and emptied it down the drain. When he awakened in the morning, through habit he reached again for his usual morning bracer. It was not there, but there was no sense of disappointment.
The man called his psychiatrist and said: "You have lost a patient. Christ has saved me from drink. I am now a new man." The psychiatrist said: "That sounds fine. Maybe I can find help where you found it. I am not an alcoholic, but I have my own needs and problems." The psychiatrist began, too, to attend the meetings, and he, too, accepted Christ as his Saviour.
One year later in the lobby of a fashionable London hotel both the psychiatrist and the former alcoholic testified to the saving power of Jesus Christ. Christ had kept them both.
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To be a new creature in Christ does not mean that there has been a change in the personality elements of the person. It means that a new principle of life has been introduced at the center of his being, the heart, directing the will to new motives and new conduct and new ideals.
It often happens, as Dr. White says, that after conversion a man's tastes alter completely, not from any conscious effort of the will or of choice, but because of the change that has occurred at the deeper level. The Christian no longer wants to do some of the things he wanted to do before, and he develops an urge to do things that previously he would have shunned. Sometimes this change comes in a sudden cyclonic way, as when an alcoholic gives up his drinking or when a gossip gives up gossiping. In other cases it is a gradual change permeating the whole life and outlook transforming the individual more and more into the likeness of Christ.
New Orientation
The reason we as new creatures experience the passing away of old things and the beginning of new things is five-fold. First, the new man has a new orientation. Before conversion, he was oriented to the world and its materialistic secular pursuits. Now he is oriented to Jesus Christ with the higher ideals of the Christian life.
New Motivation
Second, the new man has a new motivation. Before conversion the motives for life were centered around his wills and appetites. He wanted what he wanted to do, to get, and to be.
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It was sometimes good and sometimes bad, but it was usually away from God. Now his motivation is God's will. This is the highest possible motive of life, and as long as we are inspired and activated by this motivation we act in the character of the new creatures we are.
New Direction
Third, the new man has a new direction. Before conversion the direction of life was away from God. It was easy for him to do wrong. It was natural for him to sin. Now his life takes on a new direction. "All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved" (Ephesians 2:3-5).
We now move in the direction of God's will. New and different emotions flood our hearts. We find sinful practices unattractive and even abhorrent. We move in the direction of righteousness and godliness. We think God's thoughts after Him. We move with the mind of Christ, and we are free from the enslavements of the natural mind. We are free from envy and resentments, and become more gracious and kind as He was.
New Growth
Fourth, the new man will experience a new growth spiritually and morally. One can imitate the Christian life by religious effort, but one can always detect an artificial flower. There is a difference between a spiritually natural growth of Christian principle and a moral copy of it. One is growth; the other accretion.
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Jesus said: "Consider the lilies how they grow" (Luke 12:27). How do they grow? They grow organically and spontaneously, automatically, without trying or struggling or fretting, just as we grow physically without conscious effort.
One of my sons said once: "I am going to be big like Daddy," and he stretched himself up. But his effort did not make him a fraction taller.
The moment you receive Christ you start out as a spiritual baby. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow up in your salvation" (1 Peter 2:2). A child may be born into a wealthy home and thus become the possessor of good parents, brothers and sisters, houses and lands; but at the time of his birth, the main point is not that he be informed of all these wonderful things. There are other important matters that must be taken care of first. He must be fed because he has been born into a world of many enemies. In the hospital room he is handled with sterilized gloves and kept from outsiders, so that he will not fall victim to any of the myriads of germs waiting to attack.
A European friend was converted to Christ when he read Peace With God. There he learned that the believer is a new creation, that old things have passed away and all things have become new (2 Cor. 5:7). He said: "If this be so, I shall make no effort to reform or to do good lest it appear that I am changing myself. I shall test this promise of God to see what change He makes in me as the result of my believing." He decided only to nourish the "new man" by reading his Bible, by praying, and by going to church. The transformation in him came, not by his personal efforts, but by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
You have become a child of God. You have been born into His family as a baby. This is a strategic moment in your life,
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and there are two or three things that will help to strengthen you for the battle ahead and to keep you safe from the wiles of Satan, the enemy of your soul.
1. It is important that you build up your soul by reading the Scriptures. If you do not have a Bible, get one as quickly as possible and begin reading the New Testament. "How shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed according to thy word" (Psalm 119:9). "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Psalm 119:11). So I challenge you to read and to memorize portions of the Word of God.
Satan will do everything in his power to keep you from reading the Bible and to defeat you in your new-found Christian life. In the past you may not have been attacked viciously by Satan, but now he has seen you take the step that angers him more than any other. You have renounced him and joined the ranks of those who believe in the Son of God. You are no longer Satan's property; you belong to the One who has bought and paid for you with a price — the price of His blood on the cross. You may be sure that Satan will attempt to trouble you. His attacks assume many forms, and you can overcome them only as you use the weapon that God has provided. "Take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God " (Eph. 6:17). Not only is the Word of God an offensive sword; it is a defensive shield to ward off the darts of the enemy (Romans 10:17; Ephesians 6:16).
Therefore, it is vitally important for you to study the Scriptures. When Christ in the wilderness was tempted three times by the devil, He met each temptation with Scriptures, how much more you need this mighty weapon.
2. It is important that you learn to pray. Jesus said: "Men ought always to pray" (Luke 18:1). Again He said: "Hitherto
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you have asked nothing in my name: ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24). The Apostle Paul went so far as to say: "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17). Since you have made your decision for Christ, you may now address God as Father. In the beginning you will not be able to pray very fluently, yet it is important that you begin immediately. The first prayer you pray may be something like this: "O Father, thank you for saving my soul. I love You. In Christ's name, Amen." It may be just that simple, but you will find that soon you will be praying about everything. Soon your prayers will be constantly in your subconscious. This is when you begin to "pray without ceasing."
George Washington Carver used to rise every morning at four o'clock to pray. Commenting on the blessings of those early morning hours, he said: "At no other time have I so sharp an understanding of what God means to do with me, as those hours when other folks are still asleep. Then I hear God best and learn His plan."
3. It is important for you to have fellowship with other Christians. God does not intend for you to live the Christian life alone. You need to be in the fellowship of a church. "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:25). If you separate a live coal from the others, it will soon die out. However, if you put a live coal in with other live coals, it will be a glow that will last for hours. There may be a Bible class or prayer group in your community that you know nothing about. You can soon find your way into all kinds of Christian fellowship that will give you new friendships and will strengthen your faith.
You are now a member of a worldwide brotherhood that spans every national, racial, and linguistic barrier. I have walked down jungle trails in Africa where I met fellow Christians; and immediately we were brothers even though we were separated by language, race, and culture. One of the
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great joys of my life has been to travel around the world and meet thousands of Christians in every country. Once when I was in Russia I attended the Moscow circus. Russia is one place where I would not be recognized by anyone — or so I thought. As we sat watching the circus, a very distinguished gentleman came up and sat beside me for a moment. He said: "Aren't you Billy Graham, the American evangelist?" With a look of surprise on my face, I told him I was. Then he said: "I am a Hungarian government official visiting Moscow on business. I wanted you to know that I am a believer in our Lord Jesus Christ." That was all. You can imagine the joy that leaped in my heart to find a brother in Christ in Moscow! I have found that God has His own people everywhere. As there were saints in Caesar's household, so there are saints in the palaces of kings and dictators.
New Social Concern
Fifth, the new man should have a new social concern. This will affect your family relationships, your business relationships, your attitude toward your work, and your attitude toward your neighbor.
The whole difference between the Christian and the moralist lies right here. The Christian works from the center, the moralist from the circumference. One is an organism in the center of which is a living germ planted by the living God. The other is crystal, very beautiful it may be, but only a crystal. It lacks the vital principle of growth.
You will understand that God is interested in the great social issues of our day, such as immorality, destitution, racial problems, and crime. The Apostle James said: "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:20). Our good works testify that we have received Christ. We are to visit the sick, to visit the
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prisoners, to give friendship to the lonely, and to try to get those who are estranged back together again. We will try to point wasted lives to new values. We will go out of our way to show kindness, courtesy, and love to persons of another race. We will be willing to suffer, to be persecuted, to take abuse and ridicule from a hostile world, which does not understand our motives.
It is an exhilarating experience to live the new life with Christ within me enabling me to live it. As a man was riding along in his Ford, suddenly something went wrong. He got out and looked at the engine, but he could find nothing wrong. As he stood there another car came in sight, and he waved it down to ask for help. Out of a brand-new Lincoln stepped a tall friendly man who asked: "Well, what's the trouble?" "I cannot get this Ford to move," was the reply. The stranger made a few adjustments under the hood and then said: "Now start the car." When the motor started, its grateful owner introduced himself and said: "What is your name, sir?" "My name," answered the stranger, "is Henry Ford."
The one who made the Ford knew how to make it run. God made you and me, and He alone knows how to run your life and mine. We could make a complete wreck of our lives without Christ. When He is at the controls, all goes well. Without Him we can do nothing.
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1. Ernest F. Kevan, Salvation (Grand Rapids, Mich., Baker Book House, 1963.
