Both are important. And, obviously, we have to put off before we can put on. We need to rid ourselves of our secular/carnal approaches and rid ourselves of past baggage as we become the new. It’s important to realize that we are engaged as both subject and actor in becoming the new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Colossians 3:8 tells us that we are to put off the old . This fruit is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleman: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language, lying as we put on the new.
In putting on the new, we need to be aware that the new is more of Him and less of ‘I’. That can be difficult. We are so use to being ‘in charge’ that even when we read and understand who the new man is we still have difficulty in relinquishing our control. It’s not impossible, just difficult. And it really isn’t a matter of trusting the Lord, it’s more a matter of our decisions, our determination, our control. The interesting part in all this is that we still do retain the decisions, control but we have a different standard by which to make those decisions.
Just who and what is the ‘new’? First thing we learn is that it is a renewal but it is also a brand new – something that didn’t exist before. One of the ‘new’ is that now we have the fruit of the Spirit operating in our lives: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit may exist but it is up to us to exercise it. We still are the actor, the subject. It will not manifest if we don’t allow it to work.
One of the difficulties in understanding is that we still are the one who chooses to act in a particular fashion. We aren’t robots and we will make mistakes. Putting on the new is a process. It takes time and it takes our choosing to learn and grow what the new is and can do. No one will wave a magic wand and suddenly you are all ‘good’ and safe and happy and nothing bad will happen. We are still in the world. But how we choose to share ourselves and act is still our decision. Put off … Put on …
