Being Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind
Ephesians 4:22-24
In this passage we are told to put off the old man (the flesh) and put on the new man that is created in righteousness. From this and other scriptures we see that after salvation there will be a constant war between the old man and the new man. But what is often overlooked in the war is the role that the spirit of man plays in this battle. Note in verse 23 there is a step between putting of the old man and putting on the new man, it is being renewed in the spirit of your mind.
In this sermon we will look at the role the spirit plays in driving the flesh and how we can be renewed in the spirit of our mind which will allow us to put off the old man and put on the new man.
How important is the spirit of man? (Proverbs 16:32 ; Proverbs 25:28)
From these two verses we see that ruling our spirit is going to be the key to having control over the flesh. You will either be the one who takes the city, or you will be the one taken.
The effects of the spirit of man on our flesh:
- The spirit of man can sustain our infirmities (Proverbs 18:14)
- The spirit of man can be faithful (Proverbs 11:13)
- The spirit of man can have a breech (Proverbs 15:4)
- The spirit of man can be broken (Proverbs 15:13)
- The spirit of man can be haughty (Proverbs 16:18)
How to renew the spirit of our mind:
1) Prayer (Psalm 51:10)
- Note in David’s prayer that he says, “renew in me a right spirit”.
- Many times, it is our spirit that is wrong and that is what is causing our flesh to react.
2) The knowledge of God (Colossians 3:10 ; 2 Corinthians 10:5)
- The more knowledge we receive of God from his word the easier it will be to change the way we think.
3) Transformation (Romans 12:1-2)
- The goal is to not be conformed to the world but to be transformed. When we by prayer and the knowledge of God change the way we think we can then put on the new man and have a true and lasting transformation.