Colossians 3:9-11 (NKJV) Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
In the above passage, the Apostle Paul was writing about a new way of living by making a comparison between the old man and the new man. We will continue to live in the old man, its identity and lifestyle until we renew our minds with the Word of God regarding who we are in Christ.
In those days, both the Greeks and the Jews were considerably proud people. The Greeks tended to identify themselves as being more superior than others due to their intellectual and philosophical background, while the Jews took pride in being the chosen people of God and having the law. Being the circumcised ones, they considered the Greeks as gentiles. Then there were those who identified themselves as business people who owned slaves, thus having a much higher social standing in society, while females in those days tended to have less significant roles in society. However, all these differences in social standing, family background and perceived superiority were hindrances to walking in love and acceptance among church members during the time of the Apostle Paul. Unfortunately, it is also happening in the church today. While they needed to make many adjustments after their salvation, the same applies to all believers today.
Our self-perception will affect how we carry ourselves, either with confidence or lack of confidence. We will tend to be rude, insensitive with our word and action if we think that we are one-up against the others, because our behaviour is very much tied to our identity. If we identify with the old man, our attitudes and lifestyle will be no different from the people of the world. However, there is a big difference between the two identities of the old man and the new man. The former identifies itself in the doing, while the new man identifies itself in being in Christ.
Jesus came to give us the right identity and self-worth. We will only begin to enjoy the abundant life meant for us when we have the right identity in Christ. There is nothing for us to prove because we no longer look to earthly cheerleaders to cheer us on. Instead, we only look to God as our cheerleader because we have chosen to live our lives for Him. Once we know that there is nothing to prove because we are already accepted in Christ, we won’t be easily offended by others’ opinions or comments, so let go of the identity of the old man and put on the new man!
Sermon Series: A New Identity after His Resurrection
除旧换新
歌罗西书3:9-11 不要彼此说谎；因你们已经脱去旧人和旧人的行为， 穿上了新人。这新人在知识上渐渐更新，正如造他主的形象。 在此并不分希腊人、犹太人，受割礼的、未受割礼的，化外人、西古提人，为奴的、自主的，惟有基督是包括一切，又住在各人之内。
在上面的经文中，使徒保罗通过对比旧人和新人描述了一种新的生活方式。直到我们用神的话语更新我们的心怀意念，并了解我们在基督里的身份，不然我们将继续以旧人的身份和生活方式生活。
在那个时代，希腊人和犹太人都是相当骄傲的民族。希腊人因着自身的知识和哲学背景而认为他们比其他人更优越，而犹太人则因为是上帝的选民和拥有律法而自豪。犹太人是受割礼的民，就把希腊人视为外邦人。还有一些人认为自己是拥有奴隶的商人，所以在社会中地位较高，而当时的女性在社会中的角色较为不重要。然而，所有这些社会地位、家庭背景和优越感的差异都成为了使徒保罗时代教会成员之间彼此相爱和接纳的阻碍。不幸的是，这在今天的教会中仍然存在。上面的情况与今天所有的信徒一样，现今的信徒们在得救后仍需要做许多调整，。
我们的自我认知将影响我们的行为，要么是自信或是缺乏自信。如果我们认为自己比别人强，我们的言行就会变得粗鲁，不敏感于我们说话和行事的方式，因为我们的行为与我们的身份是紧密相连的。如果我们认同旧人的身份，我们的态度和生活方式与世人是没有区别的。然而，旧人和新人之间的身份是有很大的区别的。前者把自己的身份建立在行为上，而新人把自己的身份建立在基督里。
耶稣来是为了给我们正确的身份和自我价值。只有当我们在基督里有正确的身份时，我们才能开始享受为我们预备的丰盛生命。我们无需证明任何事情，因为我们不再寻求属世的啦啦队为我们加油。相反的，我们只把神当做我们的啦啦队长，因为我们已经选择为祂而活。一旦我们知道我们无需证明任何事情，因为我们已经在基督里被接纳，我们就不会轻易被他人的意见或评论所冒犯，所以要脱去旧人的身份，穿上新人！
讲章系列：祂复活后给你的新身份
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