This article is the 2nd in the series titled The Old Man.
In a recent online discussion about Christian spirituality, the discussion turned to the Old Man, a biblical term used by the Apostle Paul to describe our pre-salvation way of life. One of the listeners, Ed, was new to the term and so in a follow up e-mail he asked the following question:
Question
I hope that you brethren can help me with the term “old man”. I don’t think I have ever heard it used with reference to an unbeliever having an old man. From implication of the term itself it seems to imply that there is such a thing as a “new man”. We know that a believer receives his “new man” at rebirth, but we also know that there are myriads of unbelievers that will perish because they never will have a “new man” because they have never exercised saving faith in Jesus Christ. I ask that you help clarify the term “old man” as referenced to an unbeliever.
The following is an answer to Ed’s question written by Dr. Jim Brettell. Dr. Jim’s excellent response is a great place to start our discussion of the Old Man.
Answer
Definition #1: The term OM is a personification. OM is the term used to personify the human soul when it is under the influence of the old-sin-nature.
Definition #2: The term NM is a personification. NM is the term used to personify the human soul when it is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Since every human being is under the influence of the old-sin-nature from the moment of physical birth, every human being has an OM from the moment of physical birth.
Since every human being born into this life has a genetically prepared old-sin-nature in every cell of his/her body, and the very fact that God the Father imputes Adam’s original sin to his/her genetically prepared old-sin-nature renders every human being born into this life totally depraved, lost without Christ, in need of spiritual salvation, all characterizing the UNBELIEVER – which he/ she is.
Since the NM concept is not decreed for creation or function in the plan of God UNTIL the Church Age, everything man did in previous dispensations unless temporarily endued with power was default function from his/her old-sin-nature. This included obedience to Inherent Law and Mosaic Law during their respective dispensation. This means that obedience to Inherent Law and Mosaic Law was carried out by the OM (remember definition #1).
The only reason for the NM concept is that during the Church Age God the Father has placed the standard for obedience out of reach of the OM who functions under the influence of the old-sin-nature, and He has given to Christians the proper mechanic (tool) for reaching that standard, namely, Christ-likeness by NM function.
The fact that the OM is not even mentioned in Scripture until referencing the born-again Christian in the Church Age epistles should not lead to the conclusion that an unbeliever does not possess an OM, and it should not lead to the conclusion that the OM was non-existent in the OT or the Gospels. The OM has been present in the life of every human being, except Jesus Christ, since the first procreation outside the Garden of Eden.
Since salvation does not purge the OM from the newly born-again Christian’s life, the OM comes into the Christian way of life with him/her.
In the progression of human history from the time of the Garden of Eden right up to today, the resolution of the angelic conflict in the two prior dispensations of time did not require obedience from any other source than OM function under the influence of the old-sin-nature; therefore, although every human being, believer and unbeliever has an OM under the influence of the old-sin-nature, there is no need to mention the OM in either the OT or the Gospels. It’s not until the resolution of the angelic conflict requires a higher standard that the NM becomes an issue. Hence, we learn of both the NM and the OM.
Again, it’s imperative to our understanding that just because the OM is not mentioned in the OT or Gospels, this does not imply that human beings do not have an OM. In fact, the opposite is true. By physical birth, every human being has an OM, including the unbeliever because he is a human being, BUT no human being has a NM until he/she becomes born-again.
Conclusion: Yes, even the unbeliever has an OM, but it was not worthy of mention or distinction UNTIL the Church Age standard for believer resolution of the angelic conflict required function beyond OM capacity.
As you can see, Dr. Jim gives Ed an excellent and complete answer to his question. In the following articles we will discuss the Old Man beginning with the Old Sin Nature and its resulant way of life the bible calls the Old Man.
Stay tuned for the next article to be posted soon.
