Download God`s Image in Man Put Against Christ, the Primal Image: Paul`s

 Encounter: Journal for Pentecostal Ministry, Summer 2014, Vol. 11
God’s Image in Man Put Against Christ, the Primal Image: Paul’s
Foundation for the Believers’ Renewal in Colossians 3:10
and Ephesians 4:23-24
Third Lecture December 5, 2013
Dr. Joseph Dimitrov
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary
2013-2014 J. Philip Hogan Professor of World Missions
Dr. Joseph Dimitrov served as the seventh J. Philip Hogan Professor of World Missions (2013-­‐2014). This annual appointment brings to the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) the finest missionaries and global leaders who exemplify the “Knowledge on Fire” motif of AGTS. Introduction
In the ‘experience of the risen Jesus in
majesty’ and the ‘experience of the
presence and power of the Spirit among
them corporately and individually,’ the
disciples of Jesus ‘considered
themselves transferred and set within a
new world, the age of life, new birth
and new creation.’3
Paul’s epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians
provide additional valuable doctrinal
statements concerning this spiritual
transformation. The high degree of
resemblance between these two books,4 which
cannot be coincidental, has led many
theologians into numerous discussions.
However, this discussion remains outside the
limits of this lecture.
The New Testament books provide sufficient
proof that “from the beginning, early Christians
spoke of Christ’s death and resurrection in
relation to their experience of the presence and
power of the Spirit, an experience they
interpreted in relation to expectations found in
Scripture and tradition.”1 To this spiritual
experience, marked by major events like the
Day of Pentecost or Jesus’ breathing on the
disciples soon after His resurrection (John
20:22), the New Testament writers added other
definitions that described the overall change
that occurred in their life. Due to the
relationship between the Holy Spirit and their
experience, they were called a “new creation”
(2 Cor. 5:17), went through a “new birth” (1
Pet. 1:3) and were supposed to be “born from
above” (John 3:3, 7). Additionally, “Paul
speaks of Christians as walking in ‘newness of
life’ (Rom. 6:4), receiving ‘life’ from the Spirit
(Rom. 8:11), and being justified and sanctified
in the Spirit (1 Cor. 6:11).”2 These Scriptures
testify that,
Without involving ourselves in the complex
hypotheses for the influence of Ephesians on
Colossians or vice versa, our considerations
will be based on one important similarity
found in Colossians 3:9-10 and Ephesians
4:23-24, namely the “putting off of the old
man” and the “putting on of the new one”.
This gives us a glimpse into the renewal
process that takes place in the life of the
Christian, resulting in the acquisition of a
new identity. Of great significance for this
research is the fact that the Christian living
described in this similarity is essentially
linked with the renewal of the image of God
in man with conformity to Jesus Christ,
1 whom Emil Brunner calls “the Primal
Image.”5
great collectively unredeemed
Man—and his ‘resurrection’ into
another. 7
The two scriptures, however, do not lead us
into this common direction by simply
reduplicating the same phraseology even
though at first glance they might look quite
similar. On the contrary, they present
different aspects of this new identity that
people receive when they accept the lordship
of Christ into their life.
Following this second line of thought, our
research will be based on the fact that the
old man was objectively put to death when
Christ died on the cross and, as a result, it
has no more lordship over the ones who are
in Christ. Thus, Christ’s death and
resurrection transfer the believer into a new
order of life, called “the new man.”8
An important remark that would give a
clarification to two basic terms in our
biblical texts must be done before the
elaboration of the subject. Approaching the
terms “old man” and “new man,” in an
individual sense, would bring us to the
consideration of the period before and after
one’s conversion. Consequently, the whole
matter of the believer’s fighting against the
power of sin would be defined by terms like
“crucifying” and “putting off” of the old
man. If, however, the phrases, “the old man”
and “the new man,” were regarded as
corporate expressions that signify the old
and new order of existence, then this would
imply that they should be interpreted in the
light of the gospel presented by the AdamChrist parallel. They are both universal
personalities as A. Oepke remarks, “The
first and the second Adam are progenitors
initiating two races of men. Each implies a
whole world, an order of life or death. Each
includes his adherents in and under
himself.”6 In line with this view, C.F.D.
Moule comments that these two terms
This lecture will also have another boundary
of investigation. Since the research on our
two Scriptures will involve terms like
knowledge, holiness, righteousness, and
baptism, my intention is not to list their
different aspects and set a complete
theological explanation of their meanings.
This study is rather an attempt to present
their general meaning applied and integrated
in the ethical side of the Christian life as it is
found in the text. The major areas in which
this pattern of analysis will occur are: (1) the
context of the believers’ renewal as
presented by the two passages, (2) the
appeal for renewal, and (3) the qualitative
effects of the renewal.
The Context of the Believer’s Renewal
The identity of a person is best revealed not
when its characteristics are listed on one’s
identity papers and documents, but when that
person is involved in relationships with
other people. It is in dealing with people that
one’s character, with its negative or positive
traits, is completely manifested. Evidently,
this general principle is fully applicable
when the Christian identity falls under the
scrutiny of the Scripture.
derive their force not simply from
some individual change of character,
but from a corporate recreation of
humanity; and what enables the
individual to become transformed
from selfishness to a growing
effectiveness as a useful member of a
group is precisely his ‘death’ in
regard to one type of humanity—the
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Colossians: Removal of Carnal Qualities
and Results for the Christian
Community Life
(Col. 3:9-10)
prohibition against lying, which, in its
present middle imperative form, rather
implies “stop lying.” It is probably worth
mentioning that
the sin of falsehood is singled out for
special mention because in it more
frequently than in anything else we
manifest ill-will toward our
fellowmen. At any rate the fact that
the sin of lying is given separate
treatment makes the condemnation
of it more emphatic.10
In Colossians, the context in which Paul
describes the renewal process in the life of
the Christian is one’s regular contact with
fellow-believers. These contacts, expressed
in v. 9 by the phrase “to one another” (εἰς
ἀλλήλους), certainly imply that relationships
within the body of Christ should be
characterized by full honesty. Obviously,
this should also be the case when talking to
people outside the Christian community.
This is clearly stated by the imperative “do
not lie” (µὴ ψεύδεσθε), which together with
the imperatives stated before in this chapter
“put to death” and “put away” (νεκρϖσατη
and apoqedqe) forms a whole series of
imperatives that give a practical realization
to the exhortations, “seek the things above”
(v. 1) and “set your mind on the things
above” (v. 2). But as Peter O’Brien says,
Stop lying and speaking only truth with the
others belongs to the putting off of “the old
man,” which, in reality, is the putting aside
of all the carnal or fleshly qualities.11 The
believer’s relationship with others is the test
of the “renewal process.” This is also visible
in the verses that follow the “renewal text.”
Only the ones who have put on the “new
man” could develop and exhibit
characteristics like “compassionate heart,
kindness, humility, gentleness, patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving”
(vv.12, 13). They all pertain to the “new
man” and, F. F. Bruce rightly remarks, that
“those qualities, as one considers them, are
seen to be those which were preeminently
displayed in the life of Jesus; no wonder,
then, that when Paul in another place wishes
to commend the whole body of Christian
graces, he sums them up by saying, “put on
the Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 13:14).”12
Being heavenly minded does not
mean living in the clouds! The
believer who obeys the apostolic
injunction to aim at the things above
will be involved in an ongoing
spiritual warfare here below as he or
she puts to death sinful propensities
and pursuits and allows the new
nature to find outward expression in
a godly life. Because they are new
persons in Christ they are to live like
new persons.9
If these Christian virtues are found to be
present in the believers community, they
will surely “eliminate, or at least reduce,
frictions.”13 In the preceding to the “renewal
text” verses (vv. 5-8), the author urged the
Christians as they put off the old man to put
away vices like anger, rage, malice, slander,
and filthy language. They are “detrimental
to personal relationships, and ... could easily
develop in the life of the Christian
community.”14 Now, having a new,
It is obvious that making the analyses of the
Christian renewal in verses 9 and 10 brings
us to the clarification of the link between the
mortification of the sins that deal with
impurity and covetousness (vv. 5-7) and
putting aside of the sins that deal with bad
attitude and speech (v. 8). Such analysis also
shows us the grammatical connection
between the renewal itself and the strong
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regenerate nature and being heavenly
minded, the believers should know how to
behave with one another, helped by the
positive Christian aspects of character listed
above. This is where the renewal is mainly
manifested. It is “in the fellowship of the
redeemed,” as described by Sinclair B.
Ferguson, “there must be a consistent refusal
to yield to elements in our own hearts which
will engender disruption and strife within
the fellowship.”15 The sense of urgency
implied in the act of clothing oneself with
these positive virtues is expressed by the
aorist imperative ἐνδυsάsqe, which
undoubtedly signifies “a decisive initial act
which introduces a settled attitude.”16 Such
should be the attitude of those “chosen, holy
and beloved” (v. 12) people who belong to
God’s New Covenant in which racial,
religious, cultural, and social differences do
not turn into barriers for fellowship, but
merge in Christ.17
“perfection”: “until we all attain to
the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, to
mature manhood (av,ndra te,leion),
to the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ” (4:13). In their
maturity the members of the body of
Christ are no longer children, “tossed
to and from and carried about by
every wind of doctrine” (4:14)….
This growth toward maturity is
accelerated by “truthing it (… living
the truth) in love” (4:15)…. The
consequence of putting on the new
man is putting off the “old man,”
(4:22-24).18
The “renewal text” in Ephesians is placed
within a section that “defines a community
by marking it off from other groups.”19 The
readers of the epistle were surrounded by
paganism and the majority of them were
brought up in it before their conversion to
Christ. Describing the essence of the pagan
way of life, which very much resembles the
description made in Romans 1:18-32, the
author urges the recipients of the letter to
remember the way they learned Christ (v.
20). The writer very skillfully points out that
“between them and their former Gentile
lifestyle stands the teaching which can be
summed up in Christ, the instruction in the
tradition through which the risen Christ
shapes the character and lives of
believers.”20 Paul links their Christian
conduct as being parts of the body of Christ
with the apostolic tradition that once was
delivered to them. It is mainly in that link
that he would introduce the Christian
renewal and new identity. The idea of the
importance of the Christian tradition
included directly in the Ephesians’ renewal
text is something that adds a new aspect to
the Colossians’ parallel in which Christian
behavior is presented in the light of being
heavenly minded (Col. 3:1, 2).
Ephesians: Learning Christ Means
Appropriation of Christ (Ephesians 4:23-24)
One should note that the previous
conclusion concerning the Christian’s
renewal in Colossians could be made with
the same force as far as the Ephesians’
context is concerned. The whole epistle is
full of descriptions concerning relationships
between believers in the context of the body
image having Christ as its head. McDowell,
treating the subject of the new man in Christ
presented in Ephesians, neatly summarizes
the preceding context:
In abolishing “the dividing wall of
hostility” between Jew and Gentile
Christ created “in himself one new
man in place of the two” (2:15). Both
are reconciled in one body (that is
the church) through the cross (2:16).
The destiny of the New Man in
Christ, as a member of the body of
Christ, is maturity, adulthood,
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apostles.”24 The conclusion we could make
after comparing the two contexts is that in
Ephesians, a letter that “does not live from
polemics”25 and is different from
Colossians, Paul explains the Christian
renewal as being the essence and contents of
the apostolic instruction. They have received
a body of teaching in which they not only
learned about Christ, but they also
appropriated Christ. This is where the
transforming power of God became active in
their lives and “whatever had been their
degree of advance in learning, they had
definitely not learned Christ as an advocate
of sin and selfishness, of lewdness and
licentiousness. No longer were their minds
futile, no longer was their understanding
dark.”26 Therefore, they should be able to
understand the renewal process that began in
them from the moment of their contact with
Christ.
Having said this, we should keep in mind
that in Colossians Paul also used the concept
of Christian tradition, but mainly for a
different purpose. Colossians 2:6-7 says:
“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,
continue to live in him strengthened in the
faith as you were taught.” Paul introduced
the basis for his warning against the
adoption of false philosophies through the
use of two important verbs: paralambanō,
which for Siede represents the receiving of
mental and spiritual benefits, and in that
case refers to “the actual acceptance to . . .
Christ Jesus,”21 and διδασκω, which
Wegenast does not necessarily take to mean,
“to hear the message in a concrete
situation,” but “to receive and keep the
teaching handed down.”22 This is
reminiscent of the teaching methods
employed by the rabbis.
On the other side, the teaching and learning
tradition in Ephesians is directed toward the
contrast between the old and the new man.
Markus Barth defines it in the following
way:
The Renewal’s ‘Put Off-Put On’
Form of Appeal
It is very common in the Pauline epistles to
meet the contrast between the old manner of
life with all of its negative aspects and the
way of life lived according to the standards
of Christlikeness. Very often the phrase, “no
longer ... but now” stands as a reminder to
the readers of the great change that has
occurred in their lives and an appeal for
practical implementation of different
Christian virtues. In our case, the “‘put off ...
put on’ form of appeal ... has an obvious,
pointed application to Christian conduct
which exemplifies the new life imparted by
the living Christ to His people.”27
The basis of this teaching is the
recent revelation of God through the
Spirit (Eph. 1:9-14; 3:1-12), the
unification of Jews and Gentiles
through the resurrection and the
death of Jesus Christ (1:19-22; 2:1112), and the foundation and growth
of the church. That, which was
delivered to the Ephesians, is
according to 1:13-14 ‘the word of
truth, the gospel of salvation;’ this
tradition has been received by faith,
and it is ‘sealed by the Spirit.’23
The two examples of Paul’s instruction to
the two communities in the time of their
foundation clearly show that “even for
Gentile congregations proof from Scripture
was an indispensable weapon against the
attacks ... and it had thus to be given by the
5
Colossians: Baptized Into the New Covenant
In Christ’s Death (Col. 3:9-10)
would be especially apt if circumcision were
one feature of the syncretism which was
being incubated in the church of
Colossae.”31
One of the key questions for proper
understanding of the phrase “you have taken
off the old self … and have put on the new
self” is finding out if there is any link
between it and some historical material, and
second, to clarify its grammatical
relationship within the context.
Circumcision is known in the Old Testament
not only as a covenantal sign, but it also has
some sacrificial associations. In Leviticus
19:23, the fruit of any kind of fruit tree
should be regarded as a foreskin and is not
allowed to be eaten for the first three years.
As for the fourth year, that fruit should be
offered to God as an offering of praise. The
circumcision of the newborn boy to Moses
and Zipporah in Exodus 4:24 confirms its
redemptive aspect. Centuries later, the
prophet Jeremiah would tell the people with
whom he is in conflict, “Circumcise yourself
for me and take away the foreskins of your
heart” (Jer. 4:4). Thus, circumcision is
introduced as reaching the inward man and
helping him improve his relationship with
God or, simply put, to attain a certain kind
of favor before him.32 Later, the rabbinical
exegesis also implies certain sacrificial
aspects to circumcision since as a “Jewish
rite it involved the shedding of blood.”33
Jews during the New Testament era knew
and understood such a figurative and
spiritualized meaning of circumcision.
Consequently, Paul would have simply
continued the line of thought of Jeremiah,
but to such an extent that he would go over
the limits of Judaism. Expanding on this,
Meyer says that for Paul
It should be first noted that there is a great
probability that by this phrase Paul urges his
readers to remember “what they were
declared to be in their baptism.”28 In fact, we
could see in this phrase the practical side of
the Christian transformation already
discussed by Paul in chapter 2:11-12, which
is a passage of a particular interest because
of its reference first to circumcision and then
to baptism. The apostle describes the
Colossian believers as circumcised in Christ
“by putting off the body of flesh” (2:11).
Having in mind the polemical background of
the letter, we could view the term
“circumcision” in that verse as implying
Jewish elements in the Colossian heresy.
Even though no complete agreement has
been achieved about the nature of this
heresy, since the teaching is not explicitly
stated in the letter but only its rebuttal, the
understanding, which most of the scholars
come to, is that the heresy was a kind of a
mixture between Jewish and Hellenistic
teachings.29 We do not find any proof in the
epistle that circumcision was imposed upon
the believers as necessity or as a means of
attaining some kind of perfection. T. K.
Abbot even concludes that “there is nothing
in the Epistle even remotely resembling the
energetic protest against such teaching
which we have in the Epistle to the
Galatians.”30 It looks like Paul is using the
Jewish rite of circumcision as a technical
term in the light of the deceitful philosophy
of the Colossians’ false teachers. Bruce
remarks: “Paul’s choice of language here
the only true Jew is the one who is a
Jew in secret, and the only true
circumcision is that of the heart
(peritomh. kardiaς), Rom. 2:28f. This
circumcision of the heart is, of
course, the work of the Spirit, not of
man, v. 29. This means that the
circumcision of the heart is for Paul
identical with redemption by Christ,
and in Col. 2:11f he can even call
baptism the peritomh. Cristou.
6
Inasmuch as einai en Cristw| means
peritomh. kardiaς, he can go on to
say that both akrobustia and
peritomh are done away. … If to be
en Cristw| means that one is neither
Jew nor Greek, this implies that the
physical sign of the covenant is quite
unimportant.34
Colossians 2:11, 12 is aptly summarized by
Hendriksen:
You, believers, have no need of
external circumcision. You have
received a far better circumcision,
that of heart and life. That
circumcision is yours by virtue of
your union with Christ. When he was
buried, you—that is, your former,
wicked selves—were buried with
him. When he was raised you—as
new creatures—were raised with
him. In the experience of baptism
you received the sign and seal of this
marvelous Spirit-wrought
transformation.39
Consequently, the spiritual meaning of the
circumcision finds its full realization in what
Christ has accomplished. The true
circumcision is presented as eschatological
fulfillment and then linked directly with
baptism, which is not found elsewhere in the
New Testament.35 The circumcision of
Christ, taken in subjective genitive, would
mean that it belongs to Christ, is effected by
him, and “is brought about by union with
Him in contrast to the circumcision of
Moses and of the patriarchs.”36 In a very
similar description to the one in Romans 6:6,
the “putting off of the body of flesh” is then
related to the Christian baptism and appeals
to the believer to count the evil desires of
the past as dead. Having baptism as its
spiritual counterpart, the true meaning of
circumcision would imply that “Christians
do not need to submit to circumcision
because baptism has replaced it.”37 The
objective genitive on the other side would
imply a circumcision undergone by Christ
and, as such, is understood to refer to
Christ’s death. This is strongly supported by
2:15 in the use of the participle
apekdusamenoς, referring to the dying on
the cross. It is the death of Christ that “has
effected the inward cleansing which the
prophets associated with the new covenant
and of this Christian baptism is the visible
sign.”38 Since the believer fully shares not
only in Christ’s death and burial, but also in
His resurrection demonstrated and implied
in the act of baptism, it is then possible for
him to live ethically in a new way. The
whole meaning of the interpretation of
The believers come into this new life
provided for them objectively by faith and
baptismal experience. This new life,
however, is correctly defined as a life of
“tension between the indicative and the
imperative.”40 As a new creation, the
believer has gone through this circumcision
of the heart by “putting off the body of
flesh” (2:11). However, the imperative
requires what has been done in principle to
be also manifested in practice. In the light of
the last conclusion, the renewal text in
Colossians 3:10 is, therefore, referring to
what has already been accomplished in
Christ in principle. The passage continues
the same image of “putting off’ and “putting
on” using the aorist participles ἀπεκδυσάµενοι and ἐνδυσάµενοι, which
have become an object of different
interpretations. They have been interpreted
as imperatives and, as such, continuing
Paul’s appeal in the beginning of v. 9,
“Don’t lie.” The other view considers them
as true participles and by this interpreting
the putting off of the old nature and putting
on of the new one as past events.41
Scholars who see the imperative in the two
participles interpret the phrase as a
7
command to the readers to give up the old
nature and to put on the new man instead.
Their support comes from the imperative use
of the participle in the Hellenistic and the
rabbinical literature. The New Testament
also has such examples like Romans 13:12,
Ephesians 6:11, 14, and 1 Thessalonians
5:8.42 The “putting on” in the parallel
passage of Ephesians 4:24 is imperative. In
the same way, the following Christian
virtues in v. 12 are introduced with the
command to be put on. All of this eliminates
any grammatical difficulty in accepting the
two aorist participles as standing in
agreement with imperatives. In the light of
this interpretation, the “renewal text” would
mean that the Colossians have to begin to
work out the ethical implications of being
baptized into the new covenant in Christ’s
death.
Taking into account that according to
Colossians 2:11-22, the baptism of the
Colossians was not just a removal of a small
insignificant bodily tissue, as it was in the
Jewish circumcision, but putting off of the
whole “body of flesh”, which is “the
renunciation of the sinful nature in its
entirety,”44 and the Galatians’ teaching that
the putting on of Christ is seen in the same
act of baptism (Gal. 3:27), we can conclude
that the act of renewal is done in principle.
The baptism, as Paul describes it, is “the
entrance of the order of life represented by
Christ and at the same time ... the
incorporation into his body.”45 Therefore,
The old man ... has once been
crucified with Christ (Rom. 6:6), and
the laying aside of the old man in
baptism signifies above all
participation in that unique event. At
the same time it is not restricted to
that, but this putting off in baptism
also signifies an actual departure
from this old mode of existence, a
departure that goes on after baptism
in the continuing “mortification of
the members that are upon the earth”
(Col. 3:5; cf. Gal. 5:24). And the
same applies to putting on the new
man. It can be linked with baptism
(cf. Col. 3:10) because in baptism
believers are raised together with
Christ in the unique redemptivehistorical sense of the word (Col.
2:12).46
For scholars who reject the imperative sense
in the aorist participles, the putting off of the
old man and the putting on of the new man
have already happened in baptism. What
Paul is doing here through this participial
expression equals to an appeal for an act of
faithfulness to their baptismal confession. In
fact, the apostle reminds the Colossians of
their “decisive, life-changing entry into
God’s Kingdom (1:3) when they shared in
Christ’s stripping off from himself the alien
tyranny of demonic powers (2:11, 25). This
event was their baptism (2:12, 13, 20) which
inaugurated in union with Christ the Lord
their Christian standing (3:1, 3).”43
Thus, the participles become a reason and
motive for the command, “Don’t lie” (3:9).
Then the exhortation in v.12 to put on the
Christian virtues as “God’s chosen people,
holy and dearly loved,” is based on the point
that the putting on of the new man is already
a fact and this gives a good reason for the
introduction of the imperative in that verse
by οὖν (“therefore”). Verse 11 also fits
much better in this type of interpretation.
It is always useful that Christians are
reminded that their standards must come from
Christ. They do have a new life and should
never be as the ones who do not have the
power of God within them.
8
Ephesians: Faithfulness to Baptismal
Confessionas Obligation (Eph. 4:23-24)
appropriated so that its distinctive ethical
qualities will become evident.”49
This appropriation of the new identity is
clearly described by the “putting off’ and
“putting on” language in vv. 22-24. This
process is expressed by the three infinitives
“to put away (ἀποθέσθαι—v. 22), “to
renew” (ἀνανεοῦσθαι—v. 23), and “to put
on” (ἐνδύσασθαι—v. 24), which like other
infinitives in the New Testament (Rom.
12:15; Phil. 3:16) carry an imperative sense
and introduce obligations instead of just
describing a fact. J. Behm rightly remarks
that the change occurring in the believers’
lives takes place not through them but on
them and this “means that they are
constantly set in the miraculous and
mysterious magnetic field of this renewal
which is effected in them. It is an inner
‘being renewed’ or ‘letting themselves to be
renewed’ which takes place in the center of
personal life.”50
Being instructed in the apostolic tradition
and having a personal knowledge of Christ,
the Ephesians are exhorted by the apostle to
walk in the newness of life. Talking about
God’s blueprint for making Christians,
Wilber Dayton makes an interesting
observation:
To become a Christian involved a
negative human act, a positive divine
act, and a positive human act. The
old man, with his corrupt practices,
is put off. God makes new the spirit
of the mind and grants life. The new
man, thus created after the pattern of
the righteous and holy God, takes the
place of the old.47
The old person, guided by evil desires,
which are born because of illusion
concerning life, is in the process of
constantly moving toward final ruin. When
man becomes enslaved to the evil desires
then his total being yields under their
control. The decisions of his will and even
the best positive impulses in him are
controlled by them. The believer must leave
the old person and live in a manner of life
that suits the new identity ascribed to him at
baptism. It is only when man turns to God
and surrenders to Him his desires that his
life takes another direction and identity. This
new life, however, “does not exist on or
derive from the natural plane; it is hidden
with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). Those who
enter upon it need the apostolic exhortation
to hold fast to their new life and to put on
the new man . . . .”48 The believer must
allow himself to be renewed in his inner
being, and specially his mind. This, in turn,
will lead to a right way of thinking bringing
the right behavior and “the new identity,
already achieved for believers, has to be
Making a comparison with the renewal text
of Colossians where the believers had
already cut the link with their past life and
their baptismal experience demonstrated the
putting off of the old man, we now see in
Ephesians a people of God already made
new who are exhorted to become in practice
what they are already in principle. They
have to be resolute to refuse the invasion of
the old way of life. The tension “between
the indicative and the imperative, between
the “already” and “not yet,” is common in
the Pauline letters; it is summed up in the
admonition: “Be what you are!” Be in
practice what the calling of God has made
you.”51
Continual Actualization of
the New Person
The command in Ephesians 4:23-24 could
be fulfilled because the renewal of
Colossians 3:10 has been done in principle
9
in Christ. Moule calls this process, “a
continual actualization of an already existing
new creation.”52 This actualization is not
theoretical and theologically vague, but is
presented by these two biblical passages in
concrete terms.
alone, can be nothing other than the
gift of God.55
The renewal presented in Colossians as
occurring according to the image of the
Creator leads to knowledge, which is given
an ethical sense. On the other side, there are
clear statements of Paul that it is Christ who
is the “image of the invisible God” (2 Cor.
4:4; Col. 1:15). There is also a clear
distinction of the image of the earthly man
from that of the heavenly, who has been
actualized in the risen Christ (1 Cor. 15:49).
The removal of the racial, religious, cultural,
and social barriers in the following verses
(v. 11; cf. Gal. 3:27) could happen only in
Christ, and this provides an argument for
accepting the image of God in v. 10 as
reference to Christ.56 Thus, one can be
renewed in the true knowledge, which is the
knowledge of God, only when he is in union
with Christ. The knowledge, then, is a gift of
God given to the believer through Christ.
This progressive increase of the true
knowledge presented by the present
participle “being renewed”
(ἀνακαινούµενον) implies a constant
renewal of Christ’s power and life within us
by which a growth into Christlikeness is
being accomplished. It is worth observing
that in other references, like Romans 8:29
and 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul spoke of
conforming the believers into the image of
Christ. We agree with Donald Guthrie that,
“at no time does Paul suggest that Christ
needed the image of God to be restored to
him. He already was that image.”57 As far as
the renewal of the believers is concerned,
“the role of Christ is to be the perpetual
model.”58 In the light of all this, we come to
the conclusion that Paul’s understanding of
putting on Christ is that it signifies the
beginning of sharing Christ’s nature.59
The Image that Leads Back to
the True Knowledge
The reception and affirmation of a biblical
truth, followed by discernment and
acknowledgment of its implications, results
in spiritual renewal. Thus, Paul strongly
emphasized the importance of knowledge in
the process of renewal. We should also
notice that the terms “knowledge” and
“image” are both reason and goal for this
renewal, which produces a new creation.
This is a “culmination of the process in
perfect acknowledgment and awareness of
God.”53 It is true that knowledge was in the
center of man’s Fall (Gen. 2:17; 3:5, 7).
Man, who was created after God’s image
(Gen. 1:26), failed to act according to the
knowledge of God he already had. This
subject is strongly emphasized in Paul’s
letters where he confirms that failure “to
know and acknowledge God is at the root of
human sin (Rom. 1:21).”54 E.D. Schmitz and
E. Schütz expand this idea:
Such recognition of God, where it is
found, is a gift of God and not
something natural. It is based on his
revelation and therefore remains
dependent on revelation (1 Cor. 13:8;
14:6; cf. 2 Cor. 8:7; 2 Pet. 1:5).
Other passages are Phil. 1:9; Col.
1:9f (which contains a prayer for a
growth in love with knowledge or in
knowledge of the will of God; cf.
Eph. 1:17) ... Consequently, this
knowledge of God, which comes
about through the acceptance of
salvation in the forgiveness of sins
10
The Image that Leads Back to True
Holiness and Righteousness
time, however, Paul introduces two more
elements of that original image, namely “the
righteousness” and “true holiness.” These
last two characteristics, along with the
“knowledge” presented in Colossians 3:10,
are known to be the ingredients of the
original righteousness, which constitutes the
original image. Accepting these three
characteristics as chief parts of God’s image
in man, John Calvin makes the following
declaration:
The Ephesians’ renewal is presented to
happen “in the spirit of your mind” (τῷ
πνεύµατι τοῦ νοὸς ὑµῶν), which phrase
being under discussion is thought of by the
majority of the commentators to refer to the
Holy Spirit as the agent of the renewal
process. Looking closer at the word “spirit,”
Houlden defends this view stating that “in
all other uses of pneuma in Ephesians
(except 2:2) the reference is to the Holy
Spirit of God, and presumably the same is
true here.”60 If, on the other side, we take
into account that the Holy Spirit is not
spoken of as being a part of one’s human
being and, therefore, pneuma is referred to
the human spirit which, in our case, would
become part of the pleonastic use of
synonyms in the epistle, then together with
the “mind” the terms will both point to the
“person’s inmost being.”61 Following our
previous discussion on the essence of the
Ephesians’ renewal, we realize that the
continual actualization of the new person is
accomplished by constant surrender (this is
implied by the use of the present passive
participle, ἀνανεοῦσθαι), which will bring
positive changes in the perception. It seems
that in Ephesians, Paul inserts more
precision to what is happening in the
renewal of the already new person, namely
that “this spiritual renewal will find its point
of application in man’s intelligence; this
renewal will be one of his mental
faculties.”62 Such interpretation gives us
good reason to conclude with Henry B.
Swete that, “the spirit of the mind, where the
great change is taking place, is not the
divine Spirit, but it is the sphere of the
operations of the Holy Spirit and his renewal
and recreation are their work.”63
Since the image of God has been
destroyed in us by the fall, we may
judge from its restoration what it
originally had been. Paul says that
we are transformed into the image of
God by the gospel. And according to
him, spiritual regeneration is nothing
else than the restoration of the same
image.64
We have to remark that there is a difference
between the original righteousness in the
first man and the righteousness of character
that is being built through moral actions.
The first one is a righteousness of nature,
which implies sinlessness. Adam and Eve
stood before God as creatures of sinless
nature. As long as this righteousness of
nature was not challenged by any need of
making a moral choice because of the
personal freedom, they both retained this
characteristic. This was an untested nature.
The righteousness that the believer is
bestowed because of his union with Christ,
however, is something different. What he
receives in Christ is not only a righteousness
of nature, but also a righteousness of
character. The believer obtains the first one
because of his or her status as being “in
Christ” and the second one is being worked
in the believer because of the activity of the
Holy Spirit and one’s own surrender to His
work. It is a tested one, but also victorious.65
This is how the life of the new creation is
patterned after God and since “holiness” and
Similarly to Colossians, the renewal is again
linked with the image of God, which serves
as another reminder of Genesis 1:26. This
11
“righteousness” are God’s qualities, the new
children of God should manifest them.
Later, Paul would again remind believers to
“be imitators of God” (Eph. 5:1).
“What Christians ought to do depends on
what they are.”68
Paul achieves the full presentation of the
above truth by using the importance of the
believers’ involvement in horizontal and
vertical relationship. Their renewal is best
manifested when it has to be applied toward
their fellow brothers in the Christian
community, as John Stott remarks: “You
cannot be good in a vacuum, but only in the
real world of people.”69 The newness of life,
on one side, is reflected in the individual
but, on the other side, it is reflected in the
community as well. A great help in this
direction has been the instruction given by
Christian teachers. They helped believers
understand that it is Christ who made the
new creation possible, and this was declared
in their baptismal experience. However, that
was not all. They also taught them to realize
that this new creation is an on-going event
and it implies daily implementation of new
motives, thoughts, decisions, and conduct.
The end of all this is Christlikeness.
Believers should see themselves as the
image of God restored because of their
position in Christ. The understanding of the
importance of this vertical relationship is
essential in the renewal process. The new
man has to be what Christ made him. It is
not in man’s natural abilities to become
such. This is achieved only through being
renewed in Christ and living out this new
life.
Because of classical Greek usage,
suggestions have been made to take
holiness, (ὁσιότης) as doing what is right in
relation to God and righteousness
(δικαιοσύνῃ) as doing what is right in
relation to humanity. However, each of these
two terms could imply moral or religious
senses in their New Testament usage and
that is why the above sharp distinction could
be an overstatement. A better solution would
probably be to take these two ethical
qualities as denoting a Christian ethical
virtue.66 Thus, the Ephesians’ renewal
aspect compliments the one of Colossians in
the conclusion that the knowledge of God
should never be treated as something
separate from walking in God’s ways or, as
Bruce states, “To know him is to be like
him, righteous as he is righteous, holy as he
is holy.”67
Concluding Observations
Great is the biblical truth that the believers
are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus” in order “to do good works” (Eph.
2:10). Being a new creation, they are not the
same as what they were before. By the
power of God’s creative work, they have
been changed and this should be clearly seen
in their new lifestyle. Reading Paul’s
thoughts in the discussed passages, we could
summarize his ethical teaching in the phrase,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abbott, T. K. Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians and to the
Colossians. Edinburgh, England: T & T Clark, 1968.
Anderson, Ray S. On Being Human: Essays in Theological Anthropology. Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1982.
12
Barth, Markus. “Traditions in Ephesians.” New Testament Studies 30 (1984): 3-25.
Brown, Colin. Spirit, Holy Spirit.” In New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology.
Vol. 3. Edited by Colin Brown. 689-709. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1986.
Brown, Colin, ed. New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. 4 vols. Edited by
Colin Brown. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1986.
Bruce, F. F. The Epistles to the Colossians to Philemon and to the Ephesians: The New
International Commentary of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984.
Calvin, John. Commentary on Genesis. 2 Vols. Reprint in 1 Vol. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1981.
Quoted in Leroy S. Capper. “Imago Dei and Church Order.” Evangelical Review of Theology
10, no. 3 (July 1986): 214-227.
Dayton, Wilbert. “Ephesians,” in The Biblical Expositor. Edited by Carl F. H. Henry. 1087-1096.
Philadelphia, PA: A. J. Holman Company, 1973.
Dunn, James D. G. The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon. The New International
Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996.
Ferguson, Sinclair B. The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction. Edinburgh: The Banner of
Truth Trust, 1981.
Foulkes, Francis. Ephesians. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Leicester, UK:
InterVarsity Press, 1989.
Gaebelein, Frank, E., ed. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 11. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1978.
Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Theology. Leicester, UK: InterVarsity Press, 1981.
Hendriksen, William. Colossians: New Testament Commentary. London: The Banner of Truth
Trust, 1964.
———. Ephesians: New Testament Commentary. London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1972.
Houlden, J. L. Paul’s Letters from Prison: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians.
Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1977.
Hugede, Norbert. L’Epître aux Colossiens. Genève: Labor et fides, 1968.
———. L’Epître aux Ephesiens. Genève: Labor et Fides, 1973.
Hultgren, Arland. Christ and His Benefits: Christology and Redemption in the New Testament.
Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1987. Quoted in Lois Malcolm, “Jesus and the Trinity,” Word
and World 29, no. 2 (Spring 2009): 143-151.
Kittel, Gerhard, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament.
Translated by Geoffrey W. Bromley. 10 vols. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964-1976.
Ladd, Eldon George. A Theology of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1993.
Lincoln, Andrew T. Ephesians. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 42. Dallas, TX: Word Books,
1990.
Malcolm, Lois. “Jesus and the Trinity.” Word and World 29, no. 2 (Spring 2009), 143-151.
13 Martin, Ralph P. Colossians and Philemon. The New Century Bible Commentary. Grand Rapids,
MI: Eerdmans, 1973.
_________. “Ephesians,” in The New Bible Commentary: Revised. Edited by D. Guthrie and J.
A. Motyer. 1105-1124. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970.
McDowell, Edward A. “The Doctrine of the Church in the Epistle to the Ephesians.”
Southwestern Journal of Theology 6, no. 1 (October 1963): 46-59.
Moule, C. F. D. The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon. The Cambridge Greek
Testament Commentary. Series edited by C.F.D. Moule. Cambridge, England: University
Press, 1968.
O’Brien, Peter, T. Colossians, Philemon. Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 44. Waco, TX: Word
Books, 1982.
O’Donovan, Joan E. “Man in the Image of God: The Disagreement between Barth and Brunner
Reconsidered.” Scottish Journal of Theology 39 (1986): 433-459.
Parsons, Michael. “The New Creation.” The Expository Times 99 (October 1987-September
1988): 3-4.
Ridderbos, Herman. Paul: An Outline of His Theology. Translated by John Richard De Witt.
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1975.
Schweizer, Eduard. The Letter to the Colossians. London: SPCK, 1982.
Stott, John. Essential Fellowship: The Message of Ephesians. Leicester, UK: InterVarsity Press,
1979.
Swete, Henry B. The Holy Spirit in the New Testament. London, Macmillan and company, 1909.
Quoted in Norbert Hugede. L’Epître aux Ephesiens. Genève: Labor et Fides, 1973.
Vaughan, Curtis. “Colossians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. vol. 11. Edited by Frank
E. Gaebelein 161-226. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978.
Yates, Roy. “Colossians 2.15: Christ Triumphant.” New Testament Studies 37 (1991): 573-591.
———. “The Christian Way of Life: The Paraenetic Material in Colossians 3:1-4:6.” The
Evangelical Quarterly 63, no. 3 (July 1991): 241-251.
1
Lois Malcolm, “Jesus and the Trinity,” Word and World 29, no. 2 (Spring 2009): 144.
2
Ibid.
3
Arland Hultgren, Christ and His Benefits: Christology and Redemption in the New Testament (Philadelphia,
PA: Fortress, 1987), 31-39, quoted in Lois Malcolm, “Jesus and the Trinity,” Word and World 29, no. 2 (Spring
2009): 144.
4
Francis Foulkes, Ephesians, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Leicester, UK: InterVarsity Press, 1989),
25-26. Foulkes states that “75 of the 155 verses of Ephesians are found in Colossians.”
5
Joan E. O’Donovan, “Man in the Image of God: The Disagreement between Barth and Brunner
Reconsidered,” Scottish Journal of Theology 39 (1986): 444.
14 6
A. Oepke, “εv,” in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, (hereafter TDNT), edited by Gerhard Kittel,
translated and edited by Geoffrey W. Bromley (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 1968), 2: 542 (537-543).
7
C. F. D. Moule, ed., The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, The Cambridge Greek Testament
Commentary (Cambridge, UK: University Press, 1968), 119.
8
Herman Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology, trans. John Richard De Witt (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1975), 63.
9
Peter T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 44 (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1982),
175-176.
10
Curtis Vaughan, “Colossians,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 11, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1978), 213.
11
H. Weigelt, “clothe,” in New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (hereafter NIDNTT),
edited by Colin Brown (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1986), 1: 312-317.
12
F. F. Bruce, The Epistles to the Colossians to Philemon and to the Ephesians, The New International
Commentary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1984), 152.
13
Vaughan, 213.
14
Roy Yates, “The Christian Way of Life: The Paraenetic Material in Colossians 3:1-4:6,” The Evangelical
Quarterly 63, no. 3 (July 1991): 243.
15
Sinclair B. Ferguson, The Christian Life: A Doctrinal Introduction (Edinburgh, UK: The Banner of Truth
Trust, 1981), 164.
16
O’Brien, Colossians, 175-176.
17
This classification of the various groups (Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and
Scythian, slave and free) in Col. 3:11 is based on F. F. Bruce’s comment in The Epistles to the Colossians to
Philemon and to the Ephesians, The New International Commentary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1984), 148.
18
Edward A. McDowell, “The Doctrine of the Church in the Epistle to the Ephesians,” Southwestern Journal of
Theology 6, no. 1 (October 1963): 57.
19
Andrew T. Lincoln, Ephesians, Word Biblical Commentary, vol. 42 (Word Books: Dallas, TX, 1990), 271.
20
Ibid., 290.
21
B. Siede, “take,” NIDNTT 3: 750 (747-751).
22
K. Wegenast, “teach,” NIDNTT 3: 759-765.
23
Markus Barth, “Traditions in Ephesians,” New Testament Studies 30 (1984): 15.
24
K.H. Rengstorf, “διδασκω,” TDNT 2: 146 (135-165).
25
Barth, 19.
26
William Hendriksen, Ephesians: New Testament Commentary (London, UK: The Banner of Truth Trust,
1972), 212.
27
Ralph P. Martin, “Ephesians,” in The New Bible Commentary: Revised, edited by D. Guthrie and J. A.
Motyer (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), 1117.
28
Ralph P. Martin, Colossians and Philemon, The New Century Bible Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI:
Eerdmans, 1973), 106.
29
The so-called ‘Jewish Gnosticism’ is discussed by the scholars even though they recognize that there is a
slender evidence for that coming directly from the letter itself. Such a Gnostic heretical teaching would contain
some kind of syncretistic wisdom, consisted of ascetic, ritualistic worship of the ‘elemental spirits of the world’
15 (2:8), Jewish ritualism, and speculation about the angels (2:18). What gives more weight to the ‘Jewish Gnosticism’
interpretation of the Colossian heresy is the fact that it is at that period that Judaism, Jewish Christianity, and
Gnosticism could encounter each other since Phrygia was good soil for different teachings. For a summary on
‘Jewish Gnosticism’ see W. G. Kummel, Introduction to the New Testament: Study Edition (London: SCM Press,
1965), 239-240.
30
T. K. Abbott, Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians and to the Colossians
(Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1968), 48.
31
Bruce, 103.
32
R. Meyer, “περιτεµνω,” TDNT 6: 72-84.
33
Roy Yates, “Colossians 2.15: Christ Triumphant,” New Testament Studies 37 (1991): 587.
34
Meyer, “περιτεµνω,” TDNT 6: 83 (72-84).
35
Eduard Schweizer, The Letter to the Colossians (London: SPCK, 1982), 142-143.
36
Abbott, 251.
37
Yates, “Colossians 2:15,” 587.
38
Bruce, 104.
39
William Hendriksen, Colossians: New Testament Commentary (London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1964),
40
George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1993), 536.
41
Yates, “Colossians 2:15,” 588.
42
O’Brien, 188.
43
Martin, 106.
44
Bruce, 146
45
Ridderbos, 400.
46
Ibid., 404.
117.
47
Wilbert Dayton, “Ephesians,” in The Biblical Expositor, edited by Carl F. H. Henry (Philadelphia, PA: A. J.
Holman Company, 1973), 1093.
48
H. Haarbeck, H. G. Link, and C. Brown, “new,” in NIDNTT 2: 672 (669-676).
49
Lincoln, 290.
50
J. Behm, “ανανεοω,” TDNT 4: 901 (896-902).
51
Bruce, 357.
52
Moule, 120.
53
J. L. Houlden, Paul’s Letters from Prison: Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and Ephesians (Philadelphia,
PA: The Westminster Press, 1977), 206.
54
James D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, The New International Greek Testament
Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1996), 73.
55
E. D. Schmitz and E. Schütz, “knowledge, experience, ignorance” in NIDNTT 2: 400 (390-409).
56
Schweizer, 198.
57
Donald Guthrie, New Testament Theology (Leicester, UK: InterVarsity Press, 1981), 180.
58
Norbert Hugede, L’Epître aux Colossiens (Genève: Labor et fides, 1968), 177.
16 59
Weigelt, “clothe,” NIDNTT 1: 312-317.
60
Houlden, 319.
61
Lincoln, 287.
62
Harbert Hugede, L’Epître aux Ephesiens (Geneve: Labor et Fides, 1973), 184.
63
Henry B. Swete, The Holy Spirit in the New Testament (London: Macmillan and Company, 1909), 240,
quoted in Harbert Hugede, L’Epître aux Ephesiens, 184-185.
64
John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, 2 Vols., reprint in 1 vol. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1981), 1:94,
quoted in Leroy S. Capper, “Imago Dei and Church Order,” Evangelical Review of Theology 10, no. 3 (July 1986):
219.
65
Ray S. Anderson, On Being Human: Essays in Theological Anthropology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
1982), 28-29.
66
Lincoln, 288.
67
Bruce, 359.
68
Michael Parsons, “The New Creation,” The Expository Times 99 (October 1987-September 1988), 4.
69
John Stott, Essential Fellowship: The Message of Ephesians (Leicester, UK: InterVarsity Press, 1979), 184.
17