The Churchman's 'New Clothes'

Aim: To reject our old selves, and embrace our new ones (in Christ).

Doctrine: Regeneration leads us to intentional acts of shedding sin, and donning Christ. This flows from the church's hearing of the gospel, which results in ever-increasing Christlikeness.

Exegesis: How believers are to manage their spiritual wardrobes: first, faith frees our will—so that we may make sanctified choices (vv. 20-21); then, we consciously scrap our flesh-shells—leading us to fresh thinking (vv. 22-23); finally, we adorn our souls with our true selves—which are clothed in Christ's righteousness (v. 24).

Further application: Practical principles surrounding the churchman's ''new clothes'': it means we must make sanctified judgments about all things; this will govern the way we act.

Key verse: v. 24 ''...And that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.''