In verse 8 Paul speaks of putting away evil psychological things: “But now, you also, put away all these things: wrath, anger, malice, blasphemy, foul abusive language out of your mouth.” If you compare this verse with the foregoing verses, you will see that Paul classified the things of the flesh in one category and the things of the fallen soul in another category. All negative things, whether of the flesh or of the fallen soul, must be put aside. We do this, not by our own energy, but by the power of the all-inclusive Spirit.
In verse 9 Paul goes on to say, “Do not lie to one another, having put off the old man with his practices.” This verse indicates that the totality of the old man, the entire being of the old man, is to be put off as if we were putting off an old garment. The total person of the old man must be put away. In this verse Paul speaks of “having put off the old man” because we put off the old man in baptism. Our old man was crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6) and was buried in baptism (Rom. 6:4).
In verse 10 Paul declares, “And having put on the new man, who is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.” To put on the new man is like putting on a new garment. The Greek word for new in this verse means young, new in time. This is different from the word used in Ephesians 4:24, which means new in nature, quality, or form.
The new man is of Christ. It is His Body, created in Him on the cross (Eph. 2:15-16). It is not individual, but corporate. According to the clear vision in Ephesians 2:15, the new man is a corporate entity. This is proved by the fact that it is created out of two peoples, the Jews and the Gentiles. Furthermore, Ephesians 2:16 indicates that the new man created out of these collective peoples is the Body of Christ. Hence, the new man and the Body are synonymous terms and may be used interchangeably.
The fact that the new man is the Body and that the Body is the new man is a strong indication that the new man is not an individual entity, but a corporate entity. Therefore, it is a serious mistake for some versions of the Bible to speak of putting on the new self. The New American Standard Version makes this very error in Colossians 3:10 by adopting the rendering, “have put on the new self.” This is a very serious error. It goes beyond interpreting the Bible to actually changing it. The Greek word means man, not self. Thus, it is altogether wrong to talk about putting on the new self. According to Colossians 3:10, what we have put on is the new man, not the new self.
In Ephesians 2 we are told that the new man was created, but in Colossians 3:10 we are told that the new man is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. 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 is created and that, on the other hand, the new man is renewed? Because we who belong to the old creation were involved in the creation of the new man, 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 at the time 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, the 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.