Putting off the old man
We all need to get rid of the old man. The worst liar is not the one who lies to people, but the one who lies to himself, who says that he is fine, that he doesn’t need it, but deep in his heart, in the most intimate part, he knows that it is not so.
In the book of Colossians 3:9,10, it is written like this:
“Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds…”
The old man referred to is not the male gender, but the human being, whether male or female. We need, as the Sacred Text says, to strip ourselves of the old man: customs, habits, thoughts, and ideas that are harmful to our soul, our faith, and our life with God. Similar to the people of Israel, who, in Egypt, only knew slavery, oppression, idolatry, orgies, etc.
You need to look inside. If others don’t want to change, be patient! You recognize that you need to change because you want to be happy and you know that, through the Word of God, by giving yourself to Him, you can receive His Spirit.
So, get rid of this old man, this old creature, this way of being. Stop resisting change. If you don’t want to change, recognize that you need to change your behaviour, your way of speaking, being, reacting, and dealing with your partner, your family, and your work colleagues. I don’t know which old man you need to leave behind, but everyone knows for themselves.
And He makes it very clear in verse 10:
“and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge…”
Putting on the new man is putting on the image of God, old things pass away and are renewed for true knowledge, intelligence, and intellect. It’s not about religion, emotion, fanaticism, hypocrisy, deceit, no! But it is reason, knowledge, and intelligence, which you carry out a self-evaluation and recognize what you need to change. You need to undergo this self-examination to change…
“…according to the image of Him who created him.”
God wants us to have His Spirit because He created the human being in His Image and Likeness, to be His Temple, so that He may then be Glorified through the human being filled with His Presence, stripping away the old man and renewing every day, thus placing true knowledge and the new man according to the image of the one who created him.
They created a golden calf and worshipped it as a god, an animal that eats grass, now imagine, if their god eats grass, what will those who worship him eat? Therefore, the lives of many are in this state.
I’m not here to offend you, but to tell you the truth, so that you can be free from religiosity, from unbelief, from whatever you have held on to say “No, I believe this way and I will continue like this”, but then don’t blame the Creator, He does not eat grass and also does not give grass to His children, He gives His Spirit, Peace, Joy, Love… meditate on this.
Think about what we read, because certainly God has spoken to you and will speak, and when you go to the Altar of the Universal Church and touch it, the Holy Spirit will reveal what to sacrifice so that, when you go up to the Altar, you will be possessed by the Holy Spirit.
See you at UCKG or in the Clouds
Bishop Júlio Freitas