Ephesians 2:15 says that the new man was created, but Colossians 3:10 says that the new man is “being renewed unto full knowledge.” Although Ephesians and Colossians are sister books, what they say concerning the new man is not exactly the same. How can we say that, on the one hand, the new man has been created and that, on the other hand, the new man is being renewed? Because the new man was created with us who belong to the old creation, he needs to be renewed. This renewing takes place mainly in our mind, as indicated by the phrase “unto full knowledge.” In our spirit the new man has already been created. Before the new man was created in our spirit in resurrection, we did not have the Spirit of God or the life of God within us. Although we had a spirit, our spirit did not contain the divine life. But when the new creation took place in our spirit in resurrection, the Holy Spirit with the divine life was added into our being. This addition of the Spirit and the divine life to our spirit produced a new being, a new man. For this reason, we can say that in our spirit the new man has been created.
However, there is still the need for renewing in our soul and even in our body. Our mind, which represents our soul, needs to be renewed. Eventually, when our body is transfigured, it also will be renewed. Therefore, our spirit has been regenerated, but our soul is being renewed. On the one hand, in our spirit the new man was created with new elements, the elements of the divine life and the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, in our soul the new man is being renewed.
In Colossians 3:10 Paul 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. 1:3). It was God the Creator who created the new man in Christ (Eph. 2:15).
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 the new man 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 put on the new man, the more we are renewed according to what God is, and the more we bear His image, the expression of what He is.
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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