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COLLECTIONS
Commentaries,
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AND THAT YOU BE RENEWED IN THE
SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND: ananeousthai (PPN) de to pneumati tou noos humon: (2:10;
Psalms 51:10;
Ezekiel 11:19;
18:31;
36:26;
Romans 12:2;
Colossians 3:10;
Titus 3:5)
(Romans
8:6;
1 Peter 1:13)
Renewed (365)
(ananeoo from aná = again + neóo = renew)
is derived from the root word
neos
which signifies new in respect to time in contrast to
kainos
which means new in respect to quality (a quality that never existed
before). Neos describes that which has recently come into
existence but for a relatively short time means to cause something to
become new and different with the implication of becoming superior.
The distinction between neos and is difficult to
perceive in our English translations because the same English word is
usually used to translate both Greek words. Furthermore, neos
and
kainos
are used several times in the NT to modify the same word (new self,
new man, new covenant, new wine), but there is
often a difference in the author's intended meaning.
Ananeoo is
used frequently in secular writings. For example, Josephus has this
use...
This desolation happened to the
temple in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of
the month Apelleus, and on the hundred and fifty-third olympiad: but it
was dedicated anew, (Ant 12.321).
Paul in using
ananeoo is saying "Be renewed insofar as spiritual vitality is
concerned".
TDNT writes
that...
so ananeoo can denote a
renewing activity which replaces an earlier state, i.e., “to renew what
is old,” “to refresh or reinvigorate a tired being.” ananeoo (cf.
recentare) is to be distinguished from
anakainoo
(cf. renovare) as
neos
is from
kainos.
It involves a new beginning in time as distinct from qualitative
renewal.
The
present tense
indicates that the spirit of their mind is continually being renewed. The
passive voice
indicates that the subject is acted upon by outside force (cp 2Co 4:16,
see note
Colossians 3:10)
and in context this "force" or "source" is the Spirit of God not from
within ourselves. The idea then would be to let oneself be renewed (see
TDNT entry)
This renewal
points to a complete about-face in their thinking, a change from mental
impurity to holiness. The Spirit of God influences the thought processes
of believers so that they begin more and more to reason from God’s
viewpoint.
How is your
mind renewed?
Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed (metamorphoo
) by the renewing (anakainosis) of your mind, that you may
prove (dokimazo) what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and
perfect. (see note
Romans 12:2)
Colossians 3:10
and have put on the new self who is
being renewed (anakainoo) to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who
created him (see notes
Colossians 3:10).
(Comment: Here
anakainoo
is used which refers to
a qualitative renewal that is ongoing.)
The renewal is not
that of the mind itself in its natural powers of memory, judgment and
perception, but the spirit of the mind, which, under the
controlling power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, directs its bent and
energies Godward in the enjoyment of fellowship with the Father and with
His Son, Jesus Christ, and of the fulfillment of the will of God.
How else can man be
daily renewed in the spirit of his mind? It seems logical that we
must feed the mind sound (healthy, "hygienic") doctrine taught and
illuminated by His Spirit (see notes
2 Timothy 1:13,
2 Timothy 4:3,
Titus 1:9,
Titus 2:1,
1Ti 1:10; 6:3;)
Spirit of your
mind - Vincent has a lengthy note writing that...
The spirit is the human
spirit, having its seat in and directing the mind. In the New Testament
the Holy Spirit is never designated so as that man appears as the
subject of the Spirit. We have Spirit of adoption, of holiness, of God,
but never Holy Spirit of man. Furthermore, the apostle’s object is to
set forth the moral self-activity of the Christian life.
Hence pneuma, spirit, is here
the higher life-principle in man by which the human reason, viewed on
its moral side — the organ of moral thinking and knowing is informed.
The renewal takes place, not in the mind, but in the spirit of it.
“The change is not in mind
psychologically, either in its essence or in its operation; and neither
is it in the mind as if it were a superficial change of opinion either
on points of doctrine or practice: but it is in the spirit of the mind;
in that which gives mind both its bent and its materials of thought. It
is not simply in the spirit as if it lay there in dim and mystic
quietude; but it is in the spirit of the mind; in the power which, when
changed itself, radically alters the entire sphere and business of the
inner mechanism” (Eadie). (Ephesians 4)
Mind (3663)
(nous) refers to reflective intelligence. Nous is the seat of
understanding, the thinking faculty. It is the mind as the organ of
mental perception and apprehension, the organ of conscious life, and the
organ of the consciousness preceding actions or recognizing and judging
them. In Scripture the unbelieving mind is disqualified, worthless,
rejected and fails the test (See notes
Romans 1:28)
Why would Satan
want to attack the believer's new mind? Because your mind is
the part of the image of God where God communicates with you and reveals
His will to you. It is unfortunate that some Christians have minimized
the significance of the mind, because the Bible emphasizes its
importance. God renews our lives by renewing our minds, (see note
Romans 12:2)
and he renews our minds through his truth. This truth is the Word of
God. Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. (John 17:17). If
Satan can get you to believe "the lie", then he has established a
foothold (cf
Ephesians 4:27)
to begin to work in your life to lead you into greater and greater
rebellion against God. This is why the Deceiver attacks our mind, and
this is why we must put on the Lord Jesus Christ (see notes
Romans 13:14,
Ephesians 6:11)
(positionally or potentially we have been given the "mind of Christ"
-1Cor 2:16) to resist his fiery missiles (see note
Ephesians 6:16)
and to stand fast against his schemes and so to protect our minds from
the attacks of the wicked one. When the lie comes into your eye gate or
ear gate, quickly take up the shield of faith and put on the helmet of
salvation to protect your mind. Assess all that you hear and see by
whether or not it is "according to Christ" (see note
Colossians 2:8)
or whether it meets the criteria of (see
Philippians 4:8).
Remember
Our adversary is relentless,
But we are not defenseless!
Hold fast to the end.
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AND PUT ON THE NEW SELF: kai
endusasthai (AMN) ton kainon anthropon: (Eph
6:11;
Job 29:14;
Isaiah 52:1;
59:17;
Romans 13:12,14;
1 Corinthians 15:53;
Galatians 3:27;
Colossians 3:10-14)
(2:15;
Romans 6:4;
2 Corinthians 4:16;
5:17;
1 Peter 2:2)
See related
resource:
Covenant: The Exchange of Robes -
Putting Off the Old Man, Putting on the New Man
And put on the
new self - As with "lay aside the old self", there are two
approaches to the interpretation of this verse. One sees it as a past
completed action (and thus as a "positional" truth), whereas the other
sees it as something the believer is to do. These differences are
reflected in the translations.
For example, below
are translations that render "put on" as a past completed act
that occurred at the time of salvation...
Wuest: and that you have
put on once for all the new self who after God was created in
righteousness and holiness of truth.
In contrast, the
versions below render "put on" as something the believer is to
perform...
NASB: and put on the new
self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness
and holiness of the truth.
Amplified: And put on the new
nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true
righteousness and holiness.
Put on (1746)
(enduo
from en = in + dúo = to sink, go in or under, to
put on) (Click
word study on
enduo) means to put on as a garment, to
cause to get into a garment, to clothe or to dress. In the
passive voice
it means to be clothed. The
uses of enduo by Paul all have a figurative meaning. In other
words he uses enduo not to refer to the putting on of literal
garments but of putting on "ethical, moral or spiritual" garments like
Christ Himself, like the armor of light, like the new self, like the
breastplate of faith and love, or like those garments which are
imperishable and immortal. What a "wardrobe" God has made available for
believers! We're the "best dressed" folks in the world and most of us
don't even know it!
In the
middle voice
as in this verse enduo means to clothe oneself. The
aorist tense
conveys the sense of "Do this now!" (if one interprets this as
action the believer is to carry out rather than one which has already
occurred in the past at salvation). The aorist tense means that in each new situation we encounter
we are presented with
an opportunity to put the new man on ourselves and conduct ourselves accordingly.
Ray Stedman gives the
following illustration:
"When I get up in the morning I put
on my clothes, intending them to be part of me all day, to go where I go
and do what I do. They cover me and make me presentable to others. That
is the purpose of clothes. In the same way, the apostle is saying to us
(see notes
Romans 13:12,13:13,
13:14),
“Put on Jesus Christ when you get up in the morning. Make Him a
part of your life that day. Intend that He go with you everywhere you
go, and that He act through you in everything you do. Call upon His
resources. Live your life IN CHRIST.” (Stedman, Ray C. From Guilt to
Glory. Vol 2. p136. Waco, TX: Word, 1978) (Bolding added)
Wayne Barber writes...
We have been talking about (putting on) this new garment and being
strengthened in the inner man by the Spirit of God. You know, it is not
as easy as we preach it. We have Christ living in us. We know we are to
be strengthened with power in the inner man. We know we have a new
garment. But I tell you what, sometimes it is just difficult to put that
garment on, isn’t it? We are still human. Nobody has arrived. If you
have struggles in putting it on at times, I just wanted you to know that
I am in there with you. Those of you that have gone a little further
than us, would you please help us out because there are difficult
situations in making that choice to put on that new garment. No feelings
go along with this. It is just a choice to put on the new garment of
Christ.
The apostle Paul has been talking about the normal Christian life. I
want to go back to chapter 3 briefly. In 3:14-21 we find that Paul says
that living the normal Christian is experiencing God on a daily basis.
Now understand what I am saying, this is the normal Christian life. This
is not the deeper life. This is the normal Christian life, experiencing
God on a daily basis. Verse 16-17 says we get to experience His power in
the inner man as He strengthens us daily. How do you do that? By
accommodating His presence. How do you make Jesus feel at home in your
heart? Verse 17 says you do it by your faith. What does that mean? It
means that I obey Him in His Word and as I am willing to obey Him, then
He strengthens me in the inner man. You see, I am not going to be
strengthened with power and experience His power until I am surrendered
and accommodating His presence.
Secondly, He moves me into that higher ground and to experiencing His
passion. That is in the last part of verse 17 on down through verse 19.
We get to comprehend the love of Christ, but not only comprehend it, we
get to experience it for ourselves. He says, "and to know the love of
Christ." The word "know" means to know by experience, to experience it
for yourself. His love for us and His love through us constrains us to
love a world that is around us.
Then thirdly he moves us into the last part of verse 19 through 21. We
need to experience His potential. Paul said "in order that." That
phrase, "in order that" is used twice in that verse. In other words it
moves us up to a different level. In order that we might be filled to
the fullness of God. What does that mean? It means to the point that all
of God fills all of us. Folks, when you get to that level of life, you
begin to live being filled to the fullness of God. The word "filled"
means controlled. What fills a man controls a man. When you are filled
to the fullness of God, you begin to walk into the potential of God. You
begin to experience for yourself that which is the exceeding abundantly
beyond all the things we could ask or even think.
New (2537)
(kainos)
refers to that which is new kind (unprecedented, novel,
uncommon, unheard of). It relates to being not previously present.
Kainos signifies qualitatively new in
contrast to néos which indicates temporally new or new with respect to
age.
In Mark 1:27 we
read the reaction to Jesus' teaching...
And they were all amazed, so that
they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new
(kainos) teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits,
and they obey Him." (Wuest comments that "There are two words for
“new,” neos, referring to that which is new as to the matter of time,
namely, that which has just come into existence, and kainos, which
contemplates the new, not under the aspect of time, but of quality, the
new as set over against that which has seen service, the outworn, the
effete or marred through age. Compared to the stilted, staid, dry as
dust rabbinical droning, this teaching of Jesus was like the fragrance
of a field of clover in the springtime. It was fresh with the dew of
heaven upon it.- from
Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New
Testament: Eerdmans)
Kainos is
used in 55 verses in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(Deut. 20:5; 22:8; 32:17; Jos. 9:13; Jdg. 5:8; 15:13; 16:11f; 1 Sam.
6:7; 2 Sam. 6:3; 1 Ki. 11:29f; 12:24; 2 Ki. 2:20; 1 Chr. 13:7; 2 Chr.
20:5; Job 29:20; Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Eccl. 1:10;
Isa. 8:1; 41:15; 42:9f; 43:19; 48:6; 62:2; 65:15, 17; 66:22; Jer. 26:10;
31:22, 31; 36:10; Ezek. 11:19; 18:31; 36:26)
There are 36 uses
in the NT (Matt. 9:17; 13:52; 26:29; 27:60; Mk. 1:27; 2:21f; 14:25;
16:17; Lk. 5:36, 38; 22:20; Jn. 13:34; 19:41; Acts 17:19, 21; 1 Co.
11:25; 2 Co. 3:6; 5:17; Gal. 6:15; Eph. 2:15; 4:24; Heb. 8:8, 13; 9:15;
2 Pet. 3:13; 1 Jn. 2:7f; 2 Jn. 1:5; Rev. 2:17; 3:12; 5:9; 14:3; 21:1f,
5)
Neos is new simply in point of time; a thing which is neos
has come into existence recently, but there may well have been thousands
of the same thing in existence before. A pencil produced in the factory
this week is neos, but there already exist millions exactly like
it. Kainos on the other hand is new in point of quality, new in
sense that it brings into the world a new quality of thing which did not
exist before.
Kainos
denotes the new and miraculous condition that is emphasized especially
in the church age. Thus we see kainos as a key term in eschatological
statements -- the new heaven and earth in Rev 21:1;
2 Peter 3:13,
new Jerusalem in Rev 3:12; 21:2, new wine in Mk 14:25, the
new name in Rev 2:17; 3:12, the new song in Rev 5:9, the
new creation in Rev 21:5. This new creation, which is the goal of
hope, finds expression in Christian life (2Co 5:17). The new aeon has
come with Christ. In him Jews and Gentiles are one new man,
referring to the body of Christ (Ephesians
2:15). Believers are to put on the new nature that they are given (Eph.
4:24). God’s saving will is worked out in the promised new
covenant that Jesus has established (Lk 22:20; 1Cor 11:25; Heb 8:8ff.;
9:15). This is a better covenant (Hebrews
7:22), infallible (Hebrews
8:7),
everlasting (Heb 13:20), grounded on higher promises (Hebrews
8:6). The fact
that the old and the new cannot be mixed (Mk. 2:21-22) stresses the
element of distinctiveness. The new commandment of love has its
basis in Christ’s own love (Jn 13:34).
Self
(444)
(anthropos) means man and refers to humanity in general.
Qualitatively new.
The brand "new man" is a truly new creation (2Cor 5:17), a miracle of
regeneration performed by the Holy Spirit on a heart and mind receiving
Christ by faith as personal Savior and Lord.
Kent Hughes explains this
passage this way
"The fact is, we have this new
self if we are Christians. We received the old man at birth,
and we were given the new man in our heavenly birth. The new
man is not our work — it is God’s creation and gift. Our task is
not to weave it, but to wear it. Paul is commanding a daily
appropriation of that which we already possess...We have our part to
do in dressing ourselves with the divine wardrobe, for here clothes do
make the man — and the woman! We must daily set aside the rotting
garments of the old man. We must formally reject sensuality and selfish
pride and materialism and bitterness. We must read the Word and ask God
to to renew our minds through the Spirit. We must work out our salvation
by doing those things that will develop a Biblical mind. We must put on
our new, shining garments of light. We must put on what we are!"
(Bolding added) (Hughes, R. K. Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of
Christ. Preaching the Word. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1990)
THE NEW MAN
The "New Self"
is the essence of what believers now are in covenant with Christ. This
term describes our new position in Christ which gives us new
potential to practice daily the putting off of filthy rags of
darkness and putting on of righteous deeds of light by the power of the
indwelling Holy Spirit. Our practice should also include a
continual reckoning that the "Old Self" is dead and thus we are
dead to the power of Sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Before we
were saved, Sin was our Master and we had no power to say "No". Now as
those who possess a "New Self", we have the power of a choice and
can choose not to sin. Now as we practice saying "Yes" to Jesus,
it becomes more natural (really supernatural) to say "No" to the
flesh (see above discussion) and its strong desires to satisfy
self. To reiterate, because the "Old Self" died in Christ, and
the "New Self" lives in Christ, believers must put off remaining
sinful deeds and be being continually renewed into the Christlikeness to
which they were called.
Old self = "WHO" we were was
what was important
New self = "WHOSE" we are is what is important
John MacArthur
explains the "New Self" as follows...
"The word new (kainos) does
not mean renovated but entirely new—new in species or
character. The NEW SELF is new because it has been created in the
likeness of God. The Greek is literally, “according to what God is”—a
staggering statement expressing the wondrous reality of salvation. Those
who confess Jesus Christ as Lord are made like God! Peter says we become
“partakers of the divine nature” (see notes
2 Peter 1:4). Many rescue missions have
a delousing room, where derelicts who have not had a bath in months
discard all their old clothes and are thoroughly bathed and disinfected.
The unsalvageable old clothes are burned and new clothes are issued. The
clean man is provided clean clothes. That is a picture of salvation,
except that in salvation the new believer is not simply given a bath but
a completely new nature. The continuing need of the Christian life is to
keep discarding and burning the remnants of the old sinful clothing. The
many therefore's and wherefores in the New Testament usually introduce
appeals for believers to live like the new creatures they are in Christ.
Because of our new life, our new Lord, our new nature, and our new
power, we are therefore called to live a correspondingly new life–style.
(MacArthur,
J: Commentary on Ephesians, Moody Press)
Ruth Paxson explains the new self is...
the new creation in Christ; the saint possessing a new spiritual divine
nature, from which a pure river of life flows into every part of his
being; the human personality with Christ at its centre, crowned as its
Lord, and indwelt as its Life; the "I in you" of John 15:4 ("Abide in
Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it
abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me.");
the "Christ in you" of
Colossians 1:27 (see note)
("Christ in you, the hope of glory").
(Paxson, Ruth: The Wealth, the
Walk and the Warfare of the Christian. 1939. Revell)
Wayne Barber explains the laying aside the
old man and putting on the new man...
When we received Christ, we
got a brand new garment. Once Christ comes in, that garment is present.
Christ is the very fabric of that garment. When I choose to let Jesus be
Jesus in my life, when I choose against my
flesh, when I choose to
say "yes" to Him, strengthened in the inner man by the Spirit of God,
then I begin to live a brand new way.
When you receive Christ, you have the garment to wear that identifies
you wherever you are. It is a brand new lifestyle. But how many
Christians are still trying to go back and put on those old clothes,
still trying to dress the way they want to dress? What an indictment
Paul gives to us. He warns them in
Ephesians 4:17;
4:18;
4:19 not to go back and
live like they used to live. It says in
Ephesians 4:22:
"in reference to your former
manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in
accordance with the lusts of deceit." ( see
note)
In other words, the more you choose the old
flesh
rather than Jesus, choosing what you want, the more you begin to
be caught up in that downward spiral which is constantly being
corrupted.
That verse talks about the lust of deceit. Did you know that all of the
lusts that we have to contend with are deceitful? They make you think
that you want something and pull you out of your walk with God. The
moment you get whatever you were lusting for, you realize that it is not
what you thought it really was! Now you are caught once again in the
current of that putrid stream which is constantly being corrupted.
Point number one: We started off by saying that we must put on the new
man. Living the brand new life is like putting on a brand new garment.
Point number two: Before I can put on the new, I have to take off the
old. In both of these situations, I have already put on the new man and
taken off the old. However, we must appropriate this now and bring
positional truth down to experiential truth. The Christian life is a
walk. It is moment by moment making that constant choice to make sure I
am dressed properly in the garment of the Lord Jesus being Jesus in my
life. It is a brand new way of living.
Point number three: Ephesians 4:23. We have to be, first of all, renewed
in our minds. We are not going to put on these new clothes until we
start thinking differently. Remember the lost world is darkened in its
understanding. We have been enlightened in ours. We can understand what
is right and what is wrong. We understand now what God requires. The
more we get into His Word, the more we allow our minds to be renewed,
and the more we are going to "dress properly" and live properly. The
world looks at us and sees the witness of Jesus as a living reality in
us.
Let’s look at verse 23:
"and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind."
That word "renewed" caught my attention. It is not the same word as
Romans 12:1 (note)
or
Romans 12:2.
Certainly your mind goes there. Romans says,
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind." (note)
There are two words that are used in that little word "renewing": ana,
which means again and
kainos,
which means renew. In other words, it is a qualitatively brand new mind.
He is telling the Romans,
"You are going to have to completely change your way of thinking."
Perhaps he is saying something else here to the Ephesians. It’s almost
the same thing. The Ephesians are already changing their minds. They are
already faithful servants as
Ephesians 1:1 (note)
tells us.
Paul uses another word for renew
in Ephesians 4:23 which comes from ana and
neos.
Neos,
means new, not so much qualitatively new, but thinking in other ways. In
other words, you continually let your mind be changed. It has already
started with this qualitative, brand new way of thinking. (cf
Romans 12:2)
Now you continue to let God rebuild and renovate your mind.
You see, the problem with us is the way we have been trained to think.
If we don’t think God’s way, then obviously we are going to live wrong.
Proverbs says, "As a man thinks, so is he." Certainly my heart is to be
surrendered, but I need to get into God’s Word and let God’s thoughts
replace my thoughts, qualitatively and otherwise. I continually grow as
the Holy Spirit of God begins to teach me how to wear my new garment.
I think there are some steps there. First of all, we have to take off
the old. Then we put on the new. Then thirdly, before we are ever going
to consistently do that, we have to be renewed in the spirit of our
mind. The word "spirit" there tends to refer to the rational part
of the mind. So I think what Paul is saying here is that in the area
where you decide, in the area where you make decisions, in that area of
your mind, you need to be consistently renewed so that you will
continually put on the new garment of the brand new behavior. (Ephesians 4:22-27: A Brand New Way of Life
- 3)
WHICH IN THE LIKENESS OF GOD HAS BEEN CREATED IN
RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS OF THE TRUTH: ton kata theon ktisthenta (APPMSA) en
dikaiosune kai hosioteti tes aletheias:
(Genesis
1:26,27;
2 Corinthians 3:18;
Colossians 3:10;
1 John 3:2)
(2:10;
Galatians 6:15)
(Psalms
45:6,7;
Romans 8:29;
Titus 2:14;
Hebrews 1:8;
12:14;
1 John 3:3)
(John
17:17)
God
(2316)
(theos) refers to the supreme Divine Being, the true and living
personal God.
The
new
man is
what a believer has been created to be in Christ. It is the new
creation, in which old things have passed away and all things have
become new (2Cor 5:17). This new kind of man is according to God, that
is, created in His likeness. And it manifests itself in true
righteousness and holiness.
Created
(2936)
(ktizo) means to bring
something into existence or of calling into being, used in the NT only
of God's creativity. The Greeks used ktizo to describe the
founding of a place, a city or colony.
Ktizo points to saved sinners as new creations in Christ, having
formerly been dead and by His Spirit now called into an existence of
eternal life! The
aorist tense
points to a specific
act having taken place in the past
In a parallel
passage in Colossians Paul reminded the saints that they...
have put on the new self (at the time
of salvation) who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the
image of the One Who created (ktizo) him. (See note
Colossians 3:10)
(Comment: "Being renewed” is
present tense
= “constantly being renewed.” The crisis of salvation leads to
the process of sanctification, daily becoming more like Jesus Christ,
Who is to be our life-long goal taking priority over all other goals.)
KJV Bible Commentary notes that created does not refer
to...
the reformation or renovation of the old man; this is the product of the
new birth and results in a new creation. The new man is created after
God and in the family likeness of God. The brand new man is known by the
Christlikeness exhibited day by day in living out the new life.
Righteousness refers to his new conduct toward his fellowmen.
Holiness refers to his new conduct towards God. These two are the
essential qualities and the evidence of the new man in Christ. (Dobson,
E G, Charles Feinberg, E Hindson, Woodrow Kroll, H L. Wilmington: KJV
Bible Commentary: Nelson)
Paxson writes that...
If created,
then something not already existent. It is not a spark of divine life
just waiting to be fanned into a flame. No man is born the possessor of
this divine nature. "The new man" is not the product of physical but of
spiritual birth. Again, what is created is not evolved. "The new man" is
not the product of self-culture, but is an outright creation of God.
(Paxson, Ruth: The Wealth, the Walk and the Warfare of the
Christian. 1939. Revell)
Righteousness
(1343)
(dikaiosune from díkaios = just, righteous = root idea of
conforming to a standard or norm) is derived from a root word that means
“straightness.” It refers to a state that conforms to an authoritative
standard or norm and so is in keeping with what God is in His holy
character. Righteousness is a moral concept. God’s character is
the definition and source of all righteousness. God is totally righteous
because He is totally as He should be. The righteousness of human beings
is defined in terms of God’s.
Righteousness
in Biblical terms describes the righteousness acceptable to God and thus
which is in keeping with what God is in His holy character. Rightness
means to be as something or someone should be.
In short, the
righteousness of God is all that God is, all that He commands, all
that He demands, all that He approves and all that He provides (through
the gospel of Jesus Christ, the perfectly Righteous One.)
In the present
context righteousness describes right conduct toward others.
Holiness
(3742)
(hosiotes from hósios = sacred, holy) is piety and
indicates fulfilling the divine demands which God places upon men. It
describes that disposition of a person which acts out of regard for the
moral law of God. In other words, it is the state of proper attitude
toward God as exhibited in action (devoutness, piety, holiness). Plato,
in true Greek fashion, defines hosiotes as a knowledge of right conduct
toward the gods, the NT regards it as a consequence of the new birth.
F W Grant says
that holiness is “piety towards God, which puts Him in His
place.”
Holiness of
truth - Young's Literal Translation reads "and to put on the new
man, which, according to God, was created in righteousness and kindness
of the truth." The NET Bible reads "in righteousness and holiness
that comes from truth". Although several other translations invert the
literal Greek order (E.g., NIV "true righteousness and
holiness"), there is another way this phrase can be translated and one
which seems to be a more accurate reflecti | | |
