Ephesians 4:24 says that we “have put on the new man, which according to God was created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” The old man was created according to the image of God outwardly without God’s life and nature (Gen. 1:26-27). But the new man was created according to God Himself inwardly, with God’s life and nature.
Because the new man has been created in Christ and with Christ according to God, the new man bears the image of God. Eventually, the new man will bear the image of God in holiness and righteousness of the reality.
Ephesians 4:24 tells us that the new man was created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Righteousness is being right with God and with man according to God’s righteous way, whereas holiness is being separated unto God from anything common and being saturated with God’s holy nature. Outwardly everything related to the new man is righteous, and inwardly everything related to the new man is holy.
In 4:24 righteousness signifies God’s deeds, and holiness signifies His being. Whatever God does is righteous, and whatever God is, is holy. The new man is created according to God in both of these respects.
The righteousness and holiness of the new man are of “the truth.” The article before “truth” in verse 24 is emphatic. As the deceit in verse 22, related to the old man, is the personification of Satan, so truth here, related to the new man, is the personification of God. This truth was exhibited in the life of Jesus, as mentioned in verse 21. In the life of Jesus righteousness and holiness of truth were always being manifested. It was in the righteousness and holiness of this truth, which is God realized and expressed, that the new man was created.
Dean Alford says that in 4:24 truth denotes the very essence of God, for God is truth. This is in contrast to the lusts of the deceit mentioned in verse 22. Deceit is the essence of Satan, who is a liar, but truth is the essence of God, who is truth. Thus, the lusts are of Satan, who is the deceit, whereas righteousness and holiness are of God, who is the truth. M. R. Vincent points out that in these verses deceit and truth should be personified. The new man is created according to God in righteousness and holiness, two aspects of God’s essence.
Colossians 3:10 says that the new man “is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.” The image here refers to Christ, God’s Beloved, as the expression of God (Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:3a). It was God the Creator who created the new man in Christ (Eph. 2:15).
Whereas Ephesians 4:24 says that the new man was created according to God in righteousness and holiness of the truth, Colossians 3:10 says that the new man is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. The image of God in Colossians 3:10 is the righteousness and holiness of the truth in Ephesians 4:24. Christ is the image of God and the embodiment of God (Col. 1:15; 2:9). When He was on earth, He was a man who was righteous and holy and full of love and light. This was God’s image expressed in a man. Today the church as the new man bears the image of God; that is, the new man bears God’s righteousness and holiness and also His love and light.
Ephesians 4:24 indicates that the new man was created according to God directly. But Colossians 3:10 reveals that the new man is being renewed unto full knowledge, which is according to the image of God. Because the new man was created according to God, in a very real sense it is the same as God. Nevertheless, in our experience the new man must be renewed unto the full knowledge, that is according to the image, the expression, of God who created him. The creation of the new man according to God has already been completed, but in our experience the new man is renewed unto full knowledge little by little. In this way the new man experienced by us becomes the expression of God.
The more we are renewed in the spirit of our mind, the more the new man with the divine element will spread from our spirit into our soul. This spreading within us is according to Christ, who is the image of God, God’s expression. The more renewing that takes place in our soul, the more we shall be able to express God. In other words, the more renewing we experience in the soul, the more we shall have of the image of Christ.
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