When a person is born on this earth, the person is born in the flesh and contains a body and soul. Every person is born of the (corrupted) seed of Adam and is born in a fallen state. Everyone is born as a sinner and belongs to the adulterous and sinful generation of the old man (old creation). What does the Bible say about the old man? What did Jesus say about the nature and the works of the old man?
Who is the old man (old creation)?
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (Mazmur 51:5)
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38)
But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Korintus 2:14)
The old man is not born again, but is still a sinner and lives in a fallen state. The old man belongs to the adulterous and sinful generation and is carnal.
The sinful flesh reigns in the old man, whereby the old man walks after the flesh (body and soul) and is led by his or her senses, will, fikiran duniawi, feelings, emosi, Nafsu, desires, dan lain-lain..
Since the old man is carnal and sense ruled, the old man operates in (from) the visible realm (the natural realm).
The old man is unspiritual and can’t see nor comprehend the spiritual realm nor understand the things of the Spirit.
The spirit of the old man is dead (under the authority of the death). Itu, the old man is separated from God.
What does the bible say about the old man (old creation)?
In the Old Testamen and the four gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Lukas, dan John), we read about the generation of the old man, who is carnal and lives after the flesh. The people were sense-ruled and led by their will, fikiran duniawi, Nafsu, and desires.
Although there were some exceptions and the Holy Spirit came upon the prophets, priests and other elects of God, the people were unrenewed and remained the old creation, whose spirit is dead.
For that reason, Jesus came to the earth, to restore the position of the fallen man and reconcile the old man back to God.
Through Jesus’ sacrifce and His redemptive work, God created through- and in Jesus Christ a new creation; a new man (Baca juga: What does the resurrection life in Christ mean?).
The new man is not born of the corrupted seed of man, but is born of water and Spirit.
When you believe in Jesus Christ and you become again in Him (born of water and Spirit), you become a new creation (new man).
If you have become a new creation, you can’t compare yourself to the old creation, whom you were before your repentance and before you became born again. This means that you can’t compare yourself to any person, who lived in the Old Testament and the four gospels, including the disciples, before they were were dilahirkan semula.
The only Person, who lived in the Old Covenant, you can compare yourself with is Jesus Christ, Who is the Firstborn of the new creation; born of water and Spirit. Jesus showed us, how to live as the new creation on earth. (Baca juga: The whole creation is created in Jesus Christ).
Why is the Bible difficult to read and understand?
Terdapat ramai orang Kristian, who find the Bible boring and difficult to read. They don’t understand and comprehend the Bible and say that the Bible contradicts itself. Although the world becomes smarter every day, it seems like Christians become dumber every day.
The higher the IQ of people, the more difficult the Bible becomes. Because the people don’t understand the Bible anymore, they need new Bible translations that are easier to read.
Why do Christians don’t understand the Bible or interpret the Bible in a wrong manner? Why do Christians need easier Bible translations?
The answer to this question is quite simple. They are not truly born again and have not become spiritual.
They are still the old man, who is carnal and lives in darkness. The mind of the old man is darkened. Therefore the old man is not able to understand nor comprehend the words and the spiritual things of God and His Kingdom.
The words of Jesus are spirit and life
The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life (John 6:63)
Yesus berkata, that His words are spirit and life. If your spirit has not been raised from the dead, you will not be able to understand the Bible. You shall not be able to live after the Word and the will of God. No matter how hard you try.
If someone says, that the Bible is difficult to understand and/or that the Bible contradicts itself, then in most cases the person is not born again (born of water and Spirit). The person tries to understand and comprehend the Bible with his carnal mind (his own intellect), but that won’t work.
That’s why in the Old Covenant, the people of God always needed scribes, priests, prophets, Dll. to reveal the will of God and translate to them the spiritual things of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)
God’s people were not able to understand the spiritual things, because they had a vail before their eyes, ears, and mind (Oh. Mark 8:17-18, John 12:40, 2 Korintus 3:14). This vail will only be taken away, when someone becomes born again in Jesus Christ and becomes a new creation; a new man, who is born of water and Spirit.
Jesus spoke in parables to the old man
The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (1 Korintus 2:14)
Jesus walked in the flesh after the Spirit. He revealed the things of God and the Kingdom of God to the people by the means of parables. Why? Because the spirit of the old man is dead, whereby the old man is is unspiritual and not able to see nor comprehend the spiritual Kingdom of God.
Therefore Jesus ‘translated’ from the Spirit (the spiritual things of the unseen realm) to the flesh (earthly things of the visible realm).
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand (Matthew 13:13)
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world (Matthew 13:34-35)
Jesus spoke only in parables to the people, yang tergolong dalam bani Israel, kerana Yesus tahu, that if He spoke directly to the people about the Kingdom of God they wouldn’t be able to understand His words.
Only when Jesus opened the understanding of His disciples, they were able to understand the Scriptures.
Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures (Lukas 24:45).
The amount of head knowledge doesn’t prove if a person is born again
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God (orang Rom 8:6-8)
There are many people, who have a lot of head knowledge about the Bible and know the Scriptures by heart. Some people went to a Bible college or Theological Seminary and earned a degree and have a lot of head knowledge about the Bible. But many of them (theologians, pastors, elders, Dll. ) are still the unregenerated old man, whose spirit is dead.
While they do possess a lot of head knowledge (soulish knowledge), they lack heart knowledge. They do know the letter, but they don’t know the Word; Jesus Christ.
They know the written letter and know about God, but they are not born of God and don’t belong to the Kingdom of God and don’t have an experiential relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Who abides in the new man.
Knowledge about the Bible shall not save any person nor change any person. A person will not be able to please God with a lot of head knowledge about the Bible. Because everything that is done out of the flesh, in this case, the carnal mind (soul), can’t please God.
The flesh can’t please God
Ada orang, who have been raised in a Christian family and have been a Christian all of their lives. They’re friendly and go to church. They read their Bible, pray, tithe, give alms to the poor, do charity works, care for the sick and elderly and maybe even volunteer at the church, but stay the carnal man; the unchanged old man.
They think that by doing these ‘good works’ and by going to church, they serve God and are saved. But doing these things, don’t save anyone. They don’t give anyone access to the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life.
There are a lot of unbelievers, who are friendly and humanistic and do charity works and maybe even give more to charity organizations than Christians, but they are not saved.
The only way to eternal life and to enter the Kingdom of God is through Jesus Christ, by His blood.
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5)
Only through Jesus Christ, by His blood and by becoming born again, by water (baptism) and Spirit (baptism with the Holy Spirit) you will become a new creation and receive eternal life.
As long as the spirit of a person has not been raised from the dead, a person remains the old creation; the old man and is not saved.
What did Jesus say about the old man?
When Jesus walked upon this earth, Jesus walked among the generation of the natural fallen man.
Jesus wasn’t surrounded by new creations but old creations. What did Jesus say about the old man and the generation of the old creation, who is born of the seed of Adam?
The old man always wants a sign of God
The generation of Adam; the old man, always wants a sign from God to get some kind of confirmation or approval about a matter. But what does Jesus say about a sign?
An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign (Matthew 12:39, 16:4)
And Jesus sighed deeply in His spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? (Mark 8:12)
And when the people were gathered thick together, Jesus began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign (Lukas 11:29)
The devil works in the flesh and also works through signs and wonders. When a person asks for a sign, the devil is more than willing to give a sign to the person. T
his way the devil can deceive a person and cause the person to do his will instead of God’s will. (Baca juga: ‘The will of God vs the will of the devil‘).
Terdapat ramai orang Kristian, who make decisions on the basis of a sign, a word, a feeling, a revelation, a dream, dan lain-lain., instead of making a decision on the basis of the Word of God.
How many Christians made a wrong commitment on the basis of a so-called sign of God?
Terdapat ramai orang Kristian, who married an unbeliever on the basis of a so-called sign of God? This so-called sign of God would have given them permission to marry an unbeliever. But during their marriage, they found out that the unbeliever wasn’t the right partner for them. And now they are having a hard time and live in sorrow and misery. Or they even made their mistake worse, by getting a divorce, which is not the will of God. (Baca juga: ‘May a Christian divorce?).
The new man knows the will of the father
Itu, who are born again and belong to the generation of the new creation don’t need a sign. Because they know the will of the Father, through His Word and Holy Spirit. They discern the spirits and have knowledge of good and evil.
They’re born of God and have the nature of God and walk after the Spirit and the Word. They are constantly led by the Spirit in all wisdom and truth.
Therefore it is important after you become born again in Christ, kepada renew your mind with the Word of God and do the Word of God, so that you grow up into the sonship of God. Train your spiritual senses, so that you will be able to discern what is from God and what isn’t.
The old man is led by a feeling
The old man makes decisions based on feelings and emotions. Itu, the old man always needs some kind of feeling to be led or to do something. The old man assumes that this feeling is the Holy Spirit. Without this ‘feeling’, the old man will not do anything. But when you are led by a feeling, you are led by your flesh and not by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not a feeling, but a Person.
But the new man, who is the new creation, knows that the Holy Spirit abides in him or her and acts without being led by feelings or emotions. Because the new man knows the will of God and knows that feelings and emotions belong to the flesh and can be deceiving.
The new creation knows, that as long as he or she walks after the Word and the Spirit in obedience to the words of God that (s)he shall be continuously led by the Holy Spirit. As long as the new creation walks and acts according to the Word, the Holy Spirit shall empower the words and actions.
Jesus wasn’t led by feelings and didn’t need ‘a feeling’ before He acted. Feelings are part of the flesh. Jesus knew that if He would be led by His feelings, He would walk according to what His flesh tells Him. But Jesus knew the will of His Father and only did what His Father told Him to do.
Jesus walked after the Spirit. When He was moved, He was moved in the Spirit. Especially, when He saw the multitudes wondering about like sheep without a shepherd. A fallen generation, who have no clue and are full of unbelief.
The old man is surprised when a miracle takes place
When a miracle takes place, many times the old man can hardly believe it. But the new man is not surprised but will expect it. Jadi itu, Jesus is exalted and the Father glorified.
The old man wants to prove the authority of the Bible through science
The old man wants to prove the authority and liability of the Bible by science. But if the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes scientifically proved, how can you walk in faith? Because if you walk according to the visible, it’s no longer walking by faith .(Baca juga: Do the Bible and science go together?).
If scientists prove the Biblical truth through science then faith is no longer faith. Selain itu, it proves that people rely on science, which is human knowledge, and have more faith in science than faith in God and His Word.
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report (Hebrews 11:1)
Tuhan, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were (orang Rom 4:17)
Only by faith you can walk after the Spirit and call those things which are not, as though they were. That’s faith!
The old man is afraid and worries
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Matthew 6:25, 30)
Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? (Matthew 8:26)
The old man is afraid and worries about the daily affairs. The daily affairs controle his life. And so the old man worries about the circumstances, family, children, future, work, finances, health, things happening in the world, dan lain-lain., and carries daily this heavy burden. (Baca juga: The two ways to go through a storm).
The old man doubts and can’t walk by faith
The old man belongs to the faithless generation (unbelieving generation), and doubts. That’s why the old man is not able to walk in faith.
Jesus called His disciples ‘you of little faith’, after His disciples witnessed twice the feeling of the multitude.
Kali pertama, they witnessed that 5000 (women and children not counted) were fed. They even helped Jesus distributing the bread and the fish to the multitudes. (Baca juga: Did you know that the feeding of the multitude not only occurred in the New Testament?)
The second time, they witnessed how Jesus fed 4000 men (women and children not counted) with only seven loaves of bread and some fishes.
But one day, when the disciples forgot to bring bread, they didn’t think about these two miraculous occasions. Tidak, instead they worried about the fact, that they didn’t bring bread with them. But Jesus reminded them and said:
O you of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up? (Matthew 16:8-10)
Another example is the story about the father, who brought his son to Jesus. His son had a dumb spirit. But the disciples of Jesus were not able to cast this dumb spirit out of the boy and deliver him. Jesus said to them:
O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? (Mark 9:19)
The old man can’t understand the creation
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear (Hebrews 11:3)
Only by faith, you’ll be able to believe that God created the heavens and the earth and all there is within. By faith you will understand the creation.
That’s why many people, yang masih lelaki tua itu (the natural man) are not able to understand the creation. Instead they believe in the big bang theory and evolution, which is foolishness to God. (Baca juga: Did God create the heaven and the earth in six days or…).
The old man doesn’t know the will of God
When your fathers tempted me, proved Me, and saw My works forty years. Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, dan berkata, They do always err in their heart; and they have not known My ways. So I sware in My wrath, They shall not enter into My rest (Hebrews 3:9-11)
The spirit of the old man is dead. The old man doesn’t have the Holy Spirit of God and doesn’t walk after the Spirit and the Word in the will of God. But the old man is carnal and walks after the flesh and is controlled by his senses, emosi, feelings and thoughts, Dll.
The old man doesn’t’ know the will of God or rejects the will of God, because the will of God always strive against the will, lusts and desires of the flesh ((Oh. orang Rom 8:1-14, Galatia 5:13-26).
God had done so many signs and wonders during the exodus of His people and their stay in the wilderness. But despite the many miracles His people didn’t trust Him.
God revealed His nature and will by given His laws to Moses. Through the Law, God made His will known to His people, but the people refused to submit to the Law.
They were rebellious against God and instead of submitting to His will and walk in obedience to His words, they did their own will and walked in the lusts and desires of their carnal heart.
But the new man walks after the Spirit and the Word in the will of God and establish the law. Because His law; His will, is written upon the new heart of the new creation.
God has revealed the things, which God has prepared for them that love Him, by His Spirit
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God (1 Korintus 2:9-10)
Before you became born again in Christ, you weren’t able to see, nor understand the Kingdom of God. Your mind was darkened and the thoughts and will of God were unsearchable.
But by faith in Jesus Christ and regeneration in Christ and the resurrection of your spirit from the dead and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, you have become spiritual and have His nature.
The old man feeds his flesh, the new man feeds his spirit
You have God’s nature and by the renewing of your mind with the Word of God, the thoughts of God become your thoughts. His will becomes your will and His way becomes your way.
The more you feed your spirit and renew your mind and apply His words in your life, the faster you grow up into a mature son of God. The faster you grow up into a mature son of God the sooner you shall walk as Jesus walked upon this earth, Who was and is the reflection of God.
But as long as you keep feeding your flesh, instead of your spirit and your mind remain carnal, you shall stay a baby and walk after your flesh. The thoughts and the will of God remain unsearchable, because you don’t know God and don’t get to know God through the Word. Because of that you shall live with an imaginary Jesus, whom you have created in your mind.
Itu, it’s time to put off the old man and kenakan lelaki baru and walk in obedience to God in His will on earth.
'Jadilah garam bumi'
