New Self Old Self - What to Put On, and What to Put Off

As we are starting off this new year, we recall the things that need to be put on (and stay on) and the things that need to be put off (and stay off).

When we first came to God, we put off our “old man” of sin. The “old man” is our old sinful nature. We did this when we repented of our sins. We were sorrowful for the sin in our life and made a commitment to Jesus to turn our heart and life completely to Him.

We buried our old sinful nature in a watery grave of baptism “in the name of Jesus.” Through the name of Jesus, our sins were washed away by His blood. (Acts 2:38, Acts 22:16, Acts 10:43 NLT).

We then put on the “new man,” which is our new nature. (Romans 13:14). By our baptism of water and of the Spirit, we put on Christ. (Galatians 3:27). By our water baptism in Jesus name, we took on the name of Jesus and applied His blood to our life. (James 2:7, Exodus 12:23, 1 Corinthians 5:7). By our baptism of the Holy Ghost, we were filled with the Spirit of Jesus. (John 14:17-18). We are renewed in the Spirit, and daily walk in the Spirit, learning to become more like Jesus. (Galatians 5:24-25, Romans 8:1, 4, Galatians 5:16, 25, Colossians 3:10).

These are some sins we put off when we put off our old nature:

"But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath [rage], malice [malicious behavior], blasphemy [slander], filthy communication out of your mouth [dirty language]. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: [as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.]" - Colossians 3:8-10 KJV

By our transformation by His Spirit, we become more and more the image of our Creator.

Knowing what to take off, what do we put on?

"Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies [tenderhearted mercy], kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness [gentleness], longsuffering [patience]; forbearing one another [making allowance for each other’s faults], and forgiving one another [forgive anyone that offends you], if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye [remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others]. And above all these things put on charity [love], which is the bond of perfectness [which binds us all together in perfect harmony]." - Colossians 3:12-14

"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