CIP
The Christian Institute of Philosophy
The Key to Spiritual Growth
(The Old and New Man concept.)
Summary of Article
One of the most important issues in the Christian life is Spiritual growth. When we are born again in Spirit, we are babes in Christ, but we were never meant to stay that way. The Apostle Paul admonished the Church at Corinth that they were still "babes in Christ" and they must grow and develope in their lives with Christ. This growth process is called sanctification.
"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." (1 Corinthians 3:1)
The Difference Between Justification and Sanctification.
Justification is when we are saved by the death of Christ on the cross. In justification we ask God to apply the blood of Christ on the cross over the door post of our lives - and when God sees the blood of Christ covering our life - our sins are forgiven and His wrath passes over us. This picture of God's salvation (justification) goes all the way back to the deliverance of the Isrealites out of Eygpt.
"And when I see the blood I will pass over you, no destructive plague will touch you ..."
Exodus 12:13
So Justification is about the forgiveness of our sins in the eyes of God. Because of the blood of Christ given for us on the cross, God sees the blood forgives us of our sins and His wrath passes over us. In Justification we are saved from the wrath God because of what Christ did on the cross.
Sanctifiction is something totally different. Sanctification is not about being delivered from God's jugement and wrath because of sin, it is about being delivered from sin itself.
What many Christians do not realize, is sin by its very nature creats corruption, destruction and death. This is not God punishing us for sin, but rather the destruction sin causes on its own - by nature. As fire intrinsically has the nature to burn you, so sin intrinsically has the nature to corrupt and destroy your life. As a virus carries with it the nature to make you sick, likewise, sin carries with it the ability to sicken you - physically, psychologically, and spiritually.
You can be completely forgiven of all your sins in the eyes of God, and sin can still absolutely devastate your life, because it is the nature of sin to destroy life and produce death.
Sanctification is the process by which Christians are continually decreasing in sin and steadily increasing in Spiritual maturity. The results of this process is a dramatic reduction of the corruption and sorrow in life - caused by sin, and a dramatic increase in the blessing and freedom of Spiritual life found in Christ.
CIP proposes that the best process for sanctification is found in the Biblical concept of the Old and New Man.
The Old Man is that part of you (your life structures) built by the Old Nature. The scripture also calls this Old Nature the Adamic Nature. According to scripture, this Old Nature (the Sin Nature) is not nurtral toward God, but in fact has a natural hostility toward God.
So if you are living by the life structures built by the Old Nature, you will find yourself a slave to sin - unable to make much progress toward a mature Spiritual life with God.
The New Man is that part of you formed by the life structures built by the New Nature (the Holy Spirit) which dwells in you if you are saved.
CIP proposes that sanctification is a process of the Holy Spirit where by the life structures of the Old Man are continually being replaced with the life sturctures of the New Man. The paradox of this process is that you cannot do this by will power. It can only be done by the work of the Holy Spirit in you. The Spirit of God will - continually take you into a deeper death of the Old Man and a greater (daily) construction of the New Man. The Holy Spirit builds this new man through the knowledge of scripture, the experience of circumstances, and the life of Christ in you. This New Man will be built with new life structures that will naturally pursue the ways of God. Therefore, the Christian life lived in the New Man is much more free and natural than the Christian life lived in the Old Man.
If you are young and have grown up in the internet age, you may have a problem with the gender terminology of Old and New Man.
Side Notes