Yesterday we looked at the old self - not a pretty picture. Today we look at the new self - a beautiful creation. Believing what God says about our new selves is sometimes hard for us, but if we continue growing in knowledge and in our relationship with God, we can and will come to believe what He says and marvel at His love.
Lesson Six Day Three
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Sorry I have been absent...I'm all caught up now, though. And yea, I get to answer about the positive qualities!!
1. About this "new man":
-he is renewed in knowledge (so we need to keep learning about him)
-this knowledge is "according to" the image of the Creator (that's the pattern)
2. 2 Cor. 5:17 tells us that our new self is in Christ, and also that "all things" become new... every part of us
2 Cor. 3:18 says that our new man is transformed (continual, gradual) into the image of Christ, so that it's like looking in a mirror and seeing Him instead of ourselves.
3. The barriers that Paul says are broken down are all social, national, and religious barriers that had kept people hating and mistrusting each other, seeing themselves as better than others.
4. I think people today contend with exactly the same kinds of barriers (other than physical slavery). We all have some kind of prejudice against different groups of people, but when a person obeys the gospel from the heart we have to put aside all preconceived ideas about them and accept them as a fellow heir. They are now as much a part of Christ as the rest.
5a. We are the elect of God (chosen) and we are all holy and beloved
5b. Just as in the Old Testament, God has chosen a special people to love and shower blessings on. We are those people now, through the gospel of Christ...but to have those blessings (just like back then), we must love HIM and obey his will.
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