On the one hand, Paul speaks of the creation of the new man (Eph. 4:24); on the other hand, he refers to the renewing of the new man (Col. 3:10). Since the new man has already been created, why is there still the need for the new man to be renewed? How can the new man be both created and renewed? The creation of the new man took place in our spirit. When our spirit was regenerated, the new man was created. Hence, the regeneration of the spirit is actually the creation of the new man. However, as far as the soul is concerned, the new man still needs to be renewed. It is crucial that this renewing takes place especially in our mind, the leading part of the soul, as indicated by the phrase unto full knowledge in verse 10. Before we were regenerated, our human spirit was part of the old creation. Then at the time of our regeneration, God the Spirit came into our spirit with the divine life and divine nature. This means that the Spirit of God regenerated our spirit with the elements of the divine life and divine nature. In other words, when we were regenerated, God the Spirit brought the divine life and nature into our spirit. Before regeneration we did not have anything divine. But at the time of regeneration something divine—the life and nature of God—was added into our spirit. This addition of the Spirit and the divine life to our spirit produced a new being—the new man. By receiving the life and nature of God, we were born of God and became sons of God.
Because the divine life and nature have been added to our spirit, our regenerated spirit has become part of the new creation. The difference between the old creation and the new creation is that the old creation has nothing of God in it, but the new creation does have something of God added to it. The reason the regenerated spirit is part of the new creation and of the new man is that the life and nature of God have come into it. In our spirit we have something divine—God’s life and nature.
At the time of regeneration the life and nature of God were added into our spirit, making it the new creation. Nevertheless, the soul with its faculties of mind, emotion, and will remains in the old creation. Thus, there is the need for the divine life and nature to spread from our spirit into our soul and to saturate the soul. This process of spreading and saturating is what we call transformation. In Romans 12:2 Paul charges us to “be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Since the mind is the leading part of the soul, the renewing of the soul depends on the renewing of the mind. As the divine life and nature spread from our regenerated spirit into the mind, emotion, and will, our soul will be renewed. This renewing of the soul is actually the renewing of the new man.
Even though we have been regenerated, we are often inclined to live according to the old man, that is, to live according to the old creation. However, deep in our spirit we have the aspiration, the desire, to live in newness of life (6:4; 7:6). This desire comes from the new man in our spirit, seeking to spread the divine life and nature into our soul. This spreading is the renewing of the new man.
What we think about day by day indicates where our mind is set. Our mind should be set not on religion, philosophy, or culture but on Christ and His heavenly ministry. The more we set our mind on the things above—on Christ and His heavenly ministry—the more the divine elements in our spirit will saturate our soul and renew our soul. All that is in our spirit will have free course to spread throughout our inner being. Through this saturating and spreading, the soul is renewed. Eventually, when our body is transfigured, it also will be renewed (Phil. 3:21). 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 (1:15; Heb. 1:3). It was God the Creator who created the new man in Christ (Eph. 2:15).
It is significant that the new man is being renewed according to the image of God. This means that the renewing of the new man results in full knowledge and that this full knowledge is according to the image of God. The image of God in Colossians 1:15 refers to the expression of God and the fullness of God, that is, Christ Himself.
The new man has been created in our spirit, but our mind has not yet been renewed unto full knowledge. We need to be renewed in our mind unto full knowledge according to the expression of God, that is, according to Christ as God’s image. This means that we need a renewal in our mind according to what Christ is. This can take place only as we are renewed unto full knowledge.
Concerning the new man, our mind needs to be renewed unto such a full knowledge, according to the all-inclusive Christ who is the image of God, the expression of the invisible God. Our mind needs to be renewed to such an extent that we have a clear view of Christ as the image of God. When our mind is filled with the knowledge of the all-inclusive Christ, our emotion will be influenced. This will cause us to have a greater appreciation of the Lord Jesus. Love is a matter of the emotion, and the emotion is related to the understanding that we have in the mind. When the mind is renewed, the emotion is spontaneously renewed as well. Both in spiritual experience and in human experience, the mind affects the emotion, and the emotion affects the will.
We need to be renewed in our mind in order to have a proper love for the Lord in our emotion. Many saints are cold toward the Lord because in their minds they do not have much knowledge of Him. The more we have the knowledge of the all-inclusive Christ, the more we will appreciate Him and love Him. Although we still need a great deal more renewing, we nevertheless have a certain amount of knowledge of the Lord Jesus. This knowledge of Him causes us to love Him. Out of our love and appreciation for the Lord, we exercise our will to decide to be for Him, to follow Him, and to live Him, grow Him, and produce Him. We decide to live for Him and for His testimony. This decision comes out of the emotion, and the emotion is in turn influenced by the proper knowledge of Christ.
The central point of Paul’s word to the Colossians concerns the renewing of the mind unto the full knowledge of Christ. The Colossians needed a full knowledge, not according to philosophy, Gnosticism, Judaistic observances, or heathen ordinances but a full knowledge according to the image of God, which image is the wonderful, glorious, all-inclusive Christ. We need a renewing that results in full knowledge according to such a Christ.
We need to be captured by the dear Lord Jesus. The more our mind is renewed unto the proper knowledge of Him, the more we love Him. The renewing that takes place in our mind unto full knowledge according to the image of God creates appreciation within us for the Lord. This appreciation causes us to love Him. When we have such a love for the Lord, we will say, “Lord Jesus, I want to follow You at any cost. I am willing to pay any price, even the price of my life, to be one with You and be for You. Lord, I want to take You as my life and as my person. I want to live You, grow You, and produce You. Lord Jesus, I am here for You and for You alone.”
The renewing of the new man is according to Christ, who is the image and expression of God. When we set our mind on the things above, the way is open for the new man to spread the divine element from our spirit into our soul. This spreading of the divine element 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 will be able to express God. In other words, the more renewing we experience in the soul, the more we will have of the image of Christ. Although we have been regenerated, we may have very little of the image of Christ in our mind, emotion, and will. Instead, we may cling to the image of the old Adam. But if we set our mind on the things above, the divine element in our spirit will spread into our soul. As a result of the spreading of the divine element, we will have the image of God and become His expression.