Put On The New Man预览

Adam’s Clothes And Jesus’ Clothes 

In Adam, our garments are: sin, condemnation, the works of the flesh, being far from the Father, ignorance, pride, evil, anger, impatience, unbelief, among others. On the other hand, in Christ, our garments are: holiness, justification, the works of God, closeness to the Father, wisdom, humility, kindness, gentleness, patience, and faith. This is what Paul meant when he wrote to the Colossians, emphasizing the phrase, “you must clothe yourselves.” As we decide to leave our old man, or self, behind and walk with Christ, we begin to put on these new characteristics. What you put on determines your personality—who you are, what you do, where you go, your actions; that is why you should put on what is appropriate for every occasion. 

What you put on determines your mentality. When you go to a party, you do not wear the same thing you would wear for meeting someone in their back yard or to go to the lake or the sea. Each of these occasions determines a choice you have to make on what to wear. In the same way, we should choose to wear the proper clothes for the kind of life we want to lead. We are not talking about our physical clothes, but what we put on to have the right attitude in life, to have a healthy marriage, to succeed in everything we do, and what we are going to put on in life for the things we want. 

God wants us to make the right decisions, that is why He emphasizes in His Word, “Put on the new self.” Even though He gave us these new garments, he will not force us to put them on. In the same passage of Scripture, He talks about clothing ourselves with tenderhearted mercy, which is contrary to being unmerciful. Those who are merciful will sow and reap mercy. To clothe ourselves with tenderhearted mercy is to put on God. Why? Because God is merciful.

 

The Gospel is God’s mercy to mankind. This is shown to us through the cross of Jesus Christ. That is why we should clothe ourselves with tenderhearted mercy; it is our decision to do so since we have already received it. If we do not clothe ourselves with mercy, we are always going to judge other people. We are not going to believe that people can change; we will never believe what God can do in the lives of others. We will always focus on what is lacking: all the flaws, limitations, and mistakes other people make. Why? Because we are not clothed with mercy. 

I made the decision to clothe myself with extreme mercy. I would rather be taken for a fool when I believe that a person can change by the power of God than to say that they will never change. I would rather clothe myself and see that person with mercy, and see what God can do.