Last week, Dr. Greg Gifford spoke on the second step of the process of change: Being Renewed. Today, he finishes highlighting what it means to be renewed and moves on to the third step of the sanctification process: Putting on the New Self.
Who Renews?
After putting off the old nature, through the sanctification process, a believer is now renewed. But who does the renewing? Ephesians 4:23 is written in the passive voice, meaning that we, as believers, are being acted upon. You and I are not the ones renewing ourselves. God does everything, from salvation to sanctification. While he uses our acts of obedience, He is ultimately the one who brings the renewal. The truth is that if God is not the one renewing us, we will not change. This cultivates a level of dependency on the LORD, knowing that there is nothing that we can do in our own power that can bring about true biblical change apart from God.
Step Three: Put On the New Self
Ephesians 4:24 states, “And to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (LSB). This is the third and final step of the process of sanctification–putting on the new self. Since the moment of conversion, we are now our new selves. The old man has been put to death, and we are alive in Christ. Therefore, when it comes to putting on the new self, the key is this: Live out who you already are in Christ. Actively put on who you have been renewed to be.
Dual Aspect of Change
When it comes to sanctification, we tend to be good at identifying all of the things that we need to be putting off, but we tend not to focus on all of the things that we should be putting on. It is good to have the conviction of sensing right and wrong. In fact, seeing what we need to put off is a driving force toward repentance. But change does not stop with the putting off. When that is all that we focus on, it leads to a constant feeling of guilt, as we always feel like we are doing something that we know we shouldn’t be doing. As an example in verse 25, Paul not only tells the Ephesians to lay aside falsehood, but also to replace falsehood with truth. When you both put off and begin putting on, the process for change is not only taking place, but it is starting to be complete. The putting on leads to total change and repentance from our old person, so that we may live out our new person fully.
This blog post captures the essence of Dr. Greg Gifford’s series on the process of change. You may click on the video above to hear more insightful details about not just how we change, but the process of that change. Dr. Gifford is the Chair of the Undergraduate School of Biblical Counseling as well as a Biblical Counseling Professor for The Master’s University traditional on-campus program.
