I.　In Colossians 3:10 are the creation of the new man and the renewal of the new man; the creation of the new man was completed on the cross, but the renewal of the new man is still going on.

II.　The new man was created by Christ, but the believers need to partake of this creation—Eph. 2:15; Col. 3:10:

A.　To bring forth the new man, first Christ's creating work on the cross was needed, and this has been accomplished—Eph. 2:15.

B.　In order to partake of this creation, every day we need to put off the old man and put on the new man through the renewing—4:22-24; Col. 3:10.

III.　Ephesians 2:15 says that the new man was created, but Colossians 3:10 says that the new man is "being renewed unto full knowledge":

A.　Because the new man was created with us who belong to the old creation, he needs to be renewed; this renewing takes place mainly in our mind, as indicated by the phrase "unto full knowledge"—v. 10.

B.　When the new creation took place in our spirit through regeneration, the Holy Spirit with the divine life was added into our being—2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15:

1.　This addition of the Spirit and the divine life produced a new being, a new man.

2.　The regeneration of the spirit (John 3:6) is actually the creation of the new man; for this reason, we can say that in our spirit the new man has already been created.

C.　There is the need for renewing in our soul and even in our body—Rom. 12:2; Phil. 3:21:

1.　Although our spirit has been regenerated, our soul with its faculties of mind, emotion, and will remains in the old creation and still needs to be renewed—Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:23.

2.　Through this process of renewing, the new man spreads from our spirit into our soul and actually increases within us.

IV.　Ephesians 4:24 indicates that the new man was created according to God directly, but Colossians 3:10 reveals that the new man is being renewed unto full knowledge "according to the image of Him who created him"— Christ, as the image of God—1:15; Heb. 1:3:

A.　Because the new man was created according to God, in a very real sense the new man is the same as God—Eph. 4:24.

B.　The creation of the new man according to God has already been completed, but in our experience the new man is being renewed unto full knowledge little by little:

1.　In this way the new man experienced by us becomes the expression of God.

2.　The more we put on the new man, the more we are renewed according to what God is, and the more we bear His image, the expression of what He is—Col. 3:10.

V.　To be renewed is to have God's element added into our being to replace and discharge our old element—Rev. 21:5a; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 4:16:

A.　Newness is God; therefore, to become new is to become God—Rom. 6:4; 7:6:

1.　God is forever new, and He infuses His ever-new essence into our being to renew our entire being—12:2; Col. 3:10.

2.　The Spirit of God renews us by infusing our inward parts with God's attributes, which are forever new, can never become old, and are ever-lasting and unchanging—Rev. 21:5a.

B.　The renewing Spirit imparts the divine essence of the new man into our being to make us a new creation—Titus 3:5.

C.　God arranges our environment so that little by little and day by day our outer man will be consumed and our inner man will be renewed—2 Cor. 4:16.

D.　We are renewed by the renewing capacity of the divine life in resurrection— John 11:25; 2 Cor. 1:9; 4:14; Phil. 3:10.

E.　We, the regenerated believers, as parts of the new man, should walk in newness of the divine life in resurrection—Rom. 6:4:

1.　The resurrection of Christ is the expression of something new; therefore, to live in the resurrection life of Christ is to live in the newness of life.

2.　Our salvation in our daily life is a walk in newness of life, and to walk in newness of life is to live a life in resurrection.

VI.　The renewing of the new man depends on our seeking the things which are above—Col. 3:1-2:

A.　In a very practical sense, the one new man comes into existence through our seeking the things which are above—vv. 1, 10.

B.　The more we set our mind on the things above—on Christ and His heavenly ministry—the more the divine elements in our spirit will saturate and renew our soul.

C.　If we turn to the heavenly Christ with all His activities and set our mind on these things, the renewing of the new man will take place spontaneously— Heb. 8:1-2; Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:2.

VII.　In order to put off the old man and to put on the new man, we need to open our spirit and allow the Spirit of Christ to fill, saturate, and permeate our spirit until the Spirit overflows into our mind, emotion, and will; it is by this overflowing Spirit that we can be renewed for the one new man—Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 5:18; 4:22-24; 3:16-19.