Put On - Put Off - The Old - The New -

Was just doing a topical study on the old and the new man.

Just wanted to lay the bread on the table for anyone who cares to slice and serve .... [explain.]
Thank you & GOD Bless!!!

Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Rom 6:6,7

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rom 6:11

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: in the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him

Col 3:5-10

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil.
Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Eph 4:17-32

I was just thinking of this story of a Christian women that loved GOD, truly reverenced Him for Who He is, grew to love His Word and love good Christian books. Her IQ [as the world judges things] was in the 2 percentile range, but after becoming a Christian, she knew that that meant absolutely nothing to GOD, but couldn't quite understand how one was to depend solely on Him for everything - such as, "taking captive every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
Then she suffered a TBI [tramatic brain injury] and waking to this realization that her brain would no longer function as it did, that her mental capacity was cut far more than she ever thought she'd wake up to, she went into a deep depression for almost two years; grieving what was lost of her ability to multi-task, write a letter, etc. etc..
At some point during those two yrs, she found herself having to ask GOD everything because she didn't have the brain capacity to remember as she did - couldn't read as she once had, nor know what to do next in the day, because it was much easier to give into the feelings of lack or a host of other feelings such as the anxiety over the fact that her brain wasn't what it was and trying to 'think' only made her head hurt and the harder she tried to use her brain, the worse the pain would become. Everything that comes natural to thinking things out, had been taken from her, except the ability to read the bible. So from what she could remember of what she had read in the past, she began to ask GOD to tell her what to do or think or what to do next, etc., in order to live something of a productive life, despite not having what she used to depend on - her own thoughts, reasonings, memory and so forth from her former mind. Many military men are coming home with TBIs now, so the topic is coming out in the media more.
The testimony was, that she found she only had to remember one verse about the sheep knowing His voice and took that promise to heart. She began to trade her greiving over her loss with asking the Good Shepherd for the things that she needed to know and finding that He was faithful to direct, even when to sleep or eat and how to drive, etc.. It appeared to those who didn't know that she had the TBI that she was normal and actually living out a productive life in service to Him as a Christian. Only she and those who knew her before the brain injury knew how little she could do for herself before she started to learn to lean on His help - and knew the sad mistakes, regrets and depression whenever she tries to revert back to using her own mind for herself.

Listening as well, to an audio book that Brother VicZ put up, got me to thinking - what if suddenly tomorrow we had a car accident or a stroke or something like it? Something that hits that part of our brain, that leaves us only aware of a portion of the past but almost no capacity to figure out what to do next.
I think we'd only have two choices at that point. To only live by what the body and the miserable remains of our brains were demanding - or to cry out to GOD to help and direct - trusting that He is Faithful to His Word and by His Spirit that was promised, to guide us.

I thought, maybe that's what we all could use - a good kick in the head [:)] that makes us dependent on Him to tell us what to do, by continually depending on Him for everything that our minds can no longer do for us. Praying - "GOD, give me that Love for You and others. GOD, tell me what to do right now. Tell me what I've forgotten that You want me to remember. GOD, lead me in what to read from Your Word and help me to understand it. Father, tell me if there's anyone You want me to remember right now. LORD tell me where this thing is that I've misplaced, etc."
What would it be like to be totally dependent on Him for our thoughts?
The story of those two women came to mind because of that word "dependency" and I wondered if it could be compared to this "putting off the old man and putting on the new"?

I've been trying to put these thoughts together of how much our own 'minds/self/desires' get in our way where it comes to hearing and following Him, because we just don't see our need to depend entirely on Him nor to get our thoughts from Him?

Does this sound far fetched or is it because "we Don't trust Him enough and so we lean on our own understanding and in all our ways we don't acknowledge Him by dependency on Him to direct our paths"? - is that our problem? Is that what hinders that "exchanged life" that we hear about? Is that why we don't experience that, "it is no longer us that lives but Christ that lives and moves and has His being" within us? And why we spend so much time "thinking and composing" from and for ourselves, instead of leaning hard on Him as half-brain dead dependent humans, in order to get our thoughts from Him - because we're helpless unless He thinks 'for' us or 'fills our thoughts'.
Actually, the thought just came to mind, that compared to His Mind, we're all brain dead in comparison and that our thoughts are not His thoughts, as He's plainly stated.
Is it because the 'putting off of our old man that depends on itself' is so difficult to do - finding it easier to 'put on' some 'Christian image' that we want to project to others and ourselves as 'our new man'? Or do we just not care at all about these type scriptures that wind up bringing HIM all the Glory - as in, "no flesh shall glory in His presence"?

Just pondering and asking again - What think ye?

That's a beautiful answer Brother Mike. How truly, 'None of us and all of Him." This self-sufficientcy thus independence in thoughts and actions through intellect or self alone gets truly old. No 'riches' as you've written.

After posting, I thought about this part of what I left up there - "Praying - "GOD, give me that Love for You and others. GOD, tell me what to do right now. Tell me what I've forgotten that You want me to remember. GOD, lead me in what to read from Your Word and help me to understand it. Father, tell me if there's anyone You want me to remember right now. LORD tell me where this thing is that I've misplaced, etc."" - and thought, though it sounds like a lot of asking - is this what He meant by "pray without ceasing" - that coninuous dependence that makes for a Living Two-way relationship?

Unlike us human beings, He never tires of hearing us talk to Him.

I think you hit it well and was reminded, that what you wrote about "Blessed are the poor in spirit", of Martin Lloyd Jones' book on the Beatitudes - how he goes step by step, to show 'relationship' as well.

Yesterday I began to re-read this book by Nee - http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/nee/life_wins/lifewin.htm -- but I started at chpt 5 for some reason and will need to go back from the start - LORD willing.

Bless you for your post, Brother. Thank you.

Lylewise wrote: "Children of Almighty God, Saints, Brother, Friend, Priests, Bride of God. Just some of the names we are known by to our precious Lord and Savior. Not some small and insignificant titles when we consider Who originates them. How then can we not see ourselves armed and given power to overcome when that very power is bestowed by God He desires us to be so much more than we are. Yet not abandoning the good and healthy humility which was Christ.

Knowing this we should have the like mind of the little ruddy boy who did not fear the giant (s) but knew that his strength and wisdom was from a healthy fear of the Lord. As it should be."

We need to hear more of these type messages.
We're in a battle, regardless of who we are, because of who we are, as you've stated here.
Pray one for another. We all need it.

Thank you Brother!

Brother Murrcolr posted something beautiful on page one that I didn't want to get lost.

Amen and Thank you Brother.

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"Heart Talks on Holiness" by Samuel Brengle

Some people imagine that Paul tells his best religious experience in Romans vii. 24, when he cries out, 'O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' But the fact is, he is here describing his condition under the law, when, as a convicted sinner, the law showed him what he ought to do, but brought no power to deliver him from his guilty past and the corruptions of his own heart. However, in the eighth chapter he finds the secret of deliverance from the condemnation of the past and the Carnal mind, which prevent his doing the will of God on earth as the angels do it in heaven.

From that point he rises to such marvelous testimonies as, 'I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live -- I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me' (Gal. ii. 20). And through a consecration in which he counted all things loss for Christ and a faith by which he reckoned himself 'dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord' (Rom. vi. I t), he entered into an experience in which, as one has well said, he was 'free from a repining temper, for he had learned in every state therewith to be content. He was free from vanity, pride, and unsanctified ambitions, for he gloried only in the Cross of Christ. He was free from every feeling of resentment, for he was ready to die accursed by his enemies. He was free from selfishness, for he was ready to spend and be spent for those whose love diminished for him in proportion as his love abounded for them. He was free from covetousness, for he counted all things but dung and dross for Christ. He was free from unbelief, for he knew in Whom he had trusted, and was persuaded that nothing could separate him from the love of Christ. He was free from the fear of man, for stripes, imprisonment and martyrdom had no terrors -- being ready to be offered up. He was free from the love of the world having a desire to depart and to be with Christ. The absence of these corruptions implied the maturity of the graces of the Holy Spirit -- the fulness of love. Indeed, it was that love which constrained him, which cast out fear, and counteracted every tendency opposed to its hallowing influence.'

What a great salvation was this that Paul found through obeying the heavenly vision! It is ten million leagues beyond the poor little salvation from wrong doing which most people seek in order to escape hell. It is a salvation not only from sin, but from self; a divine union with God in Christ, so intimate
and so sacred that father and mother and wife and brother and sister and child, yea, and his own life, are all shut outside.

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"Samuel Brengle tells that Paul salvation was not only from sin, but from self; a divine union with God in Christ...

To Put off the Old man you have put off SELF and put on CHRIST.....

Paul reminds us that "love" is the only thing which can enable us to obey God. "Love is the fulfilling of the Law." Romans 13:10

The more excellent way is love because love fulfils the law.

"Love suffereth long" -- it drives away all impatience.

"Love is kind" -- it leaves room for no unkindness.

"Love envieth not" -- all jealousy is banished.

"Love vaunteth not itself" --boasting and self-assertion disappear.

"Is not puffed-up" -- pride finds no place in the heart.

"Does not behave itself unseemly"-- folly goes.

"Seeketh not its own" -- "self" is dead -- selfishness will be unknown.

"Is not provoked" -- anger and wrath will not be seen.

"Taketh no account of evil" --brooding over so-called "wrongs" will be
no more. Malice and all uncharitableness are not found in the heart.

"Beareth all things" --complainings will never be heard.

"Hopeth all things" -- despair, anxiety, despondency go.

"LOVE NEVER FAILETH."