In a message dated 4/1/2005 8:30:06 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
John wrote:
>... the conflict of the old and the new continues.
I think we agree on this, but there is an intensity of conflict that arises
when the old man is resurrected which is completely unnecessary and not part
of God's immediate will for the believer. Of course. That seems to be the very point of Eph 4:20-24.
John wrote:
>One is decreasing and the other is increasing.
This statement is where you begin to depart from the truth. The old man is
not decreasing. It is to be reckoned dead. As Barth said, this is to be
done at once. The old man, in this text, is alive and functioning. I say "decreasing" because of Pauls contrast of the old and the new (v v 22,23). The issue between the two natures is, in the Ephesian text, a current problem. These are those who have received the truth, the Spirit and the accomendating association of Christ, Himself. It expresses the circumstance presented in romans 7:25 - 8:1. That the old man is to be "reckoned dead" is precisely correct !! His (the old man) is a consideration of the mind of the believer. That does not mean that it does not continue to be a problem ! We just do not give it the acclaim it once had. Certainly, that is the case for those in Ephesus.
The new man, however, is increasing, and continues to increase until the
resurrection. Spiritually we grow just like a newborn baby grows and
develops. Couldn't agree more.
David Miller.
