Since the blame cannot be laid on temptation (I Cor. 10:13), and since God is ever ready to help us over come (Phil. 2:13), the guilt lies en tirely with us and our lack of back bone. We are to renounce the old man and his actions. Here old man refers to the human pre-Christian nature, the flesh (2:11), the members (3:5). What we are is reflected by words, actions, and desires. “Out of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:33-37). Verse 10. “Having put on” is to “clothe one’s self” (Matt. 22:11). Here we have the completion of the alteration of our personality and na ture. We have to put on the new man, for we have become new per sons in Christ (II Cor. 5:17). I t’s one thing to receive new life, and quite another to put it on and live it (Rom. 6:4). This new man is cre ated in righteousness and holiness (v. 12; Eph. 4:24). “Who is renewed.” The verb means to renovate, to recreate strength. Is it a constant process? The present tense of the verb indicates that it is (II Cor. 4:16). The goal is that each might arrive unto full knowledge of the possibilities in Christ. Each of us can know completely the program God has for us (1:6, 10). It’s not just a question of knowing, but of living (John 14:21) according to the image of him that created him. Im possible? Yet we are called to just such a high calling. Christ had with in Himself the attributes of Deity (1:19; 2 :9). Now it is by the meas ure of the Son of God that we must live (I John 2:6) and by which we will be judged (Eph. 4:13). The tre mendous height of the star for which we must reach is seen in that it is not Jesus the Man, but Christ the Creator, who is our standard. Nat urally, this is impossible in our own strength, but by His help we are able (1:29; Phil. 4:13). Verse 11. "Where there is nei ther,” that is, in which state there
does not exist the differences listed in this verse. What state? The march toward perfection. “Greek nor Jew.” Sturz states: “These were as tounding words written in a period of tremendous race, religious, and class consciousness. The Gospel has been a great leveler. In the New Testament, Greek often stands for Gentile (Rom. 1:16), for the best of the heathen production. That the Jew had tremendous advantages or disadvantages did not count. Reli gious differences were also annulled.” “Circumcision n o r un c irc um c i sion.” This sign of the old covenant was taken away by Christ’s sacri fice (2:11; Rom. 2:25-29). He broke down this wall of separation and made one new spiritual family with out distinctions (2:14; Eph. 2:11- 20 ). “Barbarian” to the Greek, like Gentile to the Jew, meant all other peoples. Both are roughly equivalent to our “foreigner.” Since foreigners generally don’t speak well, if a t all, the word barbarían came to mean ignorant and uncultured. “Scythi an” : the climax of barbarity, of roughness. The slave had little or no opportunity to direct his own life. Even so, he was not to seek freedom, but rather to serve God wherever he found himself (Eph. 6:5-8; I Cor. 7:20-24). He who was free, on the other hand, was unrestrained in his movements (I Cor. 12:13). Slave and free take in everybody. Since neither heredity nor environment (nor God Himself) can be blamed for our fail ure to outgrow racial and class prej udice ; the guilt lies at our own door, in our own hearts and wills. ‘‘Rather Christ is all and in all”— not in the pantheistic sense. He is everything to us and for u s : Creator, Saviour, Brother, Intercessor, Goal. We have no need to seek anyone else. In fact, we must not, for no other will do. Just as 1:16 expresses His omnipotence, and 2:3 His omnisci ence, so this verse declares His omni presence.
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