New (2537) (kainos probably from root ken [qen] = freshly come, or begun) is an adjective which refers to that which is new kind (unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of). It relates to being not previously present. Compare the related noun kainotes translated newness (Freiberg defines it as "depicting something not only recent and different but extraordinary"!) in Ro 6:4-note and Ro 7:6-note. Believers now have a brand new life with a brand new source of power (the Spirit) to live out that life to the full (cp Jesus' desire for all believers - Jn 10:10b)! Beloved in Christ, may this (His) "extraordinary" life be a genuine reality in our day to day experience in Christ. Amen! R. C. Trench distinguishes neos and kainos as follows Contemplate the new under aspects of time, as that which has recently come into existence, and this is neos... . But contemplate the new, not now under aspects of time, but of quality, the new, as set over against that which has seen service, the outworn, the effete or marred through age, and this is kainos Vine adds that kainos denotes “new,” of that which is unaccustomed or unused, not “new” in time, recent (Greek = "neos"), but “new” as to form or quality, of different nature from what is contrasted as old. As Vincent says in his discussion of kainos... All the elements of festivity in the heavenly kingdom will be of a new and higher quality. The Open Bible notes that kainos... can be used with reference to something that has not been used before (Mt 9:17). Kainos is also used with the connotation of “remarkable” as a designation of something that is “new” and not known previously (Mk 1:27; Jn 13:34). The same word qualifies something as “new” in the sense of a replacement for something that is old and obsolete—as in the “new covenant” (Heb 8:8). Converts are “new persons” (2Co 5:17-note; Ep 4:24). Kainos is used in an eschatological sense to describe the “new” heaven and earth (2Pe 3:13; Rev 21:1). (The Open Bible : New King James Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers) Kainos signifies qualitatively new in contrast to neos which indicates temporally new or new with respect to age. In Mark 1:27 we read the reaction to Jesus' teaching... And they were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new (kainos) teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." Wuest comments that "There are two words for “new,” neos, referring to that which is new as to the matter of time, namely, that which has just come into existence, and kainos, which contemplates the new, not under the aspect of time, but of quality, the new as set over against that which has seen service, the outworn, the effete or marred through age. Compared to the stilted, staid, dry as dust rabbinical droning, this teaching of Jesus (in Mk 1:27) was like the fragrance of a field of clover in the springtime. It was fresh with the dew of heaven upon it.- (Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans) Kainos is used in 55 verses in the Septuagint (LXX) (Deut. 20:5; 22:8; 32:17; Jos. 9:13; Jdg. 5:8; 15:13; 16:11f; 1 Sam. 6:7; 2 Sam. 6:3; 1Ki. 11:29f; 12:24; 2 Ki. 2:20; 1 Chr. 13:7; 2 Chr. 20:5; Job 29:20; Ps. 33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Eccl. 1:10; Isa. 8:1; 41:15; 42:9f; 43:19; 48:6; 62:2; 65:15, 17; 66:22; Jer. 26:10; 31:22, 31; 36:10; Ezek. 11:19; 18:31; 36:26) Kainos - 42x in 36v in the NT (Seven times in the Revelation when God will make all things new!) - Mt 9:17; 13:52; 26:29; 27:60; Mk. 1:27; 2:21, 22; 14:25; 16:17; Lk. 5:36, 38; 22:20; Jn. 13:34; 19:41; Acts 17:19, 21; 1Co. 11:25; 2Co. 3:6; 2Co 5:17-note; Gal. 6:15; Ep 2:15; 4:24; Heb. 8:8, 13; 9:15; 2Pe 3:13; 1Jn. 2:7, 8; 2Jn. 1:5; Re 2:17; 3:12; 5:9; 14:3; 21:1, 2, 5. NAS = fresh(3), new(37), new things(1), things new(1). Neos is new simply in point of time and is thought by some (TDNT) to be an Indo-European word that is derived from the adverb nu meaning “now, of the moment.” In other words, neos describes something which has come into existence recently, but there may well have been thousands of the same thing in existence before. A pencil produced in the factory this week is neos, but there already exist millions exactly like it. Kainos on the other hand is new in nature or quality. Continuing the former analogy, while a pencil might be neos, a ballpoint pen would be kainos when it was first invented, because such a unique writing instrument had not previously existed. Kainos then is new in the sense that it brings into the world a new quality of some thing which did not exist before. Kainos denotes the new and miraculous condition that is emphasized especially in the church age. Thus we see kainos as a key term in eschatological statements -- the new heaven and earth in Rev 21:1-note. The new heavens and earth will be far more than merely new in time or chronology, for they will also be new in character -- a realm in which righteousness dwells = 2Pe 3:13-note. New Jerusalem = Rev 3:12-note; Re 21:2-note, new wine = Mk 14:25, the new name = Rev 2:17-note; Re 3:12-note, the new song = Rev 5:9-note, the new creation, unlike anything previously known = Rev 21:5-note. The idea of new creation is also used to describe the life of a sinner who has become a saint (a believer) and is now a new creation/creature in Christ (2Co 5:17-note). The new age has dawned with Christ's first coming and His provision of salvation, so that in this new age Jews and Gentiles are now one new man in Christ (Ep 2:15-note, Ga 6:15). Believers now charged to put on their new nature (Ep 4:24-note). God’s saving will is worked out in the promised new covenant that Jesus has established (Lk 22:20; 1Cor 11:25; 2Co 3:6, Heb 8:8-note, He 8:13-note; He 9:15-note). This covenant is new in several ways -- It is a better covenant (He 7:22-note), an infallible (faultless) covenant (He 8:7-note), an everlasting/eternal covenant (He 13:20-note), a covenant grounded on better promises (He 8:6-note). The fact that the old and the new cannot be mixed is repeated in all 3 synoptic gospels to emphasize the distinctive, unique nature of the new covenant (Mt 9:17 Mk 2:21, 22, Lk. 5:36, 37, 38). The new commandment of love has its basis in Christ’s own love (Jn 13:34, 1Jn 2:7, 8; 2Jn 1:5). MacArthur notes that... Everyone who is in Christ becomes a new creature (cf. Ga 6:15). Kainos (new) means new in quality, not just in sequence; believers’ “old self was crucified with Him” (Ro 6:6-note); they have therefore laid “aside the old self … and put on the new self” (Ep 4:22-note, Ep 4:24-note; Col. 3:9-note, Col 3:10-note). (MacArthur, J. 2Corinthians. Chicago: Moody Publishers) Steven Cole emphasizes that... The main source of conflicts is our old man (old nature). Some Bible teachers insist that believers do not have an old nature, but just a new nature, and that our propensity toward sin comes from the flesh (John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Ephesians [Moody Press], p. 164). I fail to see any biblical distinction between the old nature and the flesh. Whatever you call it, there is, even in the believer, a strong, indwelling disposition to do what we want rather than what God wants: “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way ...” (Isa 53:6). “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?” (Jas 4:1). That old sin nature (Old Man, flesh--I’m using these terms interchangeably) pits us against one another and results in conflicts. A number of other factors also, when coupled with our sin nature, lead to conflicts: We come from different backgrounds and experiences (type of family, where we’re from, income levels, etc.); we have different habit patterns; different convictions and values; different perspectives and ways of thinking as men and women; different goals; etc. But with all these factors, the underlying reason for conflicts is our “old man” which is self-seeking, living to gratify its own desires. But when you came to faith in Jesus Christ, a radical change took place: You became a new person in Christ. Your bent toward sin was not eradicated, but God made you a new person, created in righteousness and holiness of the truth (Eph 4:24). The power of the old man has been broken (cp Ro 6:6-note, Ro 6:11-note). When you were saved, you took it off like dirty clothes (Ep 4:22-note) and put on the new man like a suit of clean clothes (Ep 4:24). And you are involved in the ongoing process of renewing your mind (Ep 4:23). That process continues as you count as true in your experience and behavior the reality of the change spiritually that took place at salvation. You must believe what God says--that you are a new person in Christ; and you must act upon that truth in your behavior. As you learn to believe what God says about you in Christ and to act upon it daily, you will learn to get along with other people, whether your mate or others, because you are daily dying to the old self. (Ephesians 4:17-32: Solving Conflicts by Steven Cole) (Note: The links added to Pastor Cole's message are to notes on preceptaustin) Self (man) (444) (anthropos) means man and refers to humanity in general. The word is not aner, a male individual, but anthropos, the generic, racial term, speaking of an individual. Paul is speaking here of a man who is qualitatively new. The brand "new man" is a truly new creation (2Cor 5:17-note), a miracle of regeneration performed by the Holy Spirit (cp Jn 3:8, Titus 3:5-note, Titus 3:6-note) on a heart and mind which receives Christ (Jn 1:12, 13) by faith (Ep 2:8, 9-note) as personal Savior and Lord (cp Ro 10:9, 10-note) Kent Hughes explains this passage this way The fact is, we have this new self if we are Christians. We received the old man at birth, and we were given the new man in our heavenly birth. The new man is not our work — it is God’s creation and gift. Our task is not to weave it, but to wear it. Paul is commanding a daily appropriation of that which we already possess...We have our part to do in dressing ourselves with the divine wardrobe, for here "clothes do make the man" — and the woman! We must daily set aside the rotting garments of the old man. We must formally reject sensuality and selfish pride and materialism and bitterness (Ed: cp Ep 4:31-note). We must read the Word (Ed: cp Jn 17:17, Col 3:16-note, 1Pe 2:2-note, et al) and ask God to to renew our minds through the Spirit (Ed: cp Php 2:13-note). We must work out our salvation (Php 2:12-note) by doing those things that will develop a Biblical mind (Ed: Josh 1:8-note); Ps 119:9, 10-note, Ps 119:11-note). We must put on our new, shining garments of light (Ed: Ep 5:8-note, Ep 5:9-note, Ep 5:13-note, Ro 13:12-note, Ro 13:13, 13:14-note, 1Th 5:4, 5-note; 1Th 5:8-note). We must put on what we are!" (Hughes, R. K.: Ephesians: The Mystery of the Body of Christ. Crossway Books or Computer Version) (Bolding added) THE NEW MAN The "New Self" is the essence of what believers now are in the new covenant with Christ (See The Oneness of Covenant). This term describes our new position in Christ which gives us new potential to practice daily the putting off of filthy rags of darkness and putting on of righteous deeds of light by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Our practice should also include a continual reckoning that the "Old Self" is dead (Ro 6:11-note is a command in the present imperative!) and thus we are dead to the power of Sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Before we were saved, Sin was our Master and we had no power to say "No". Now as those who possess a "New Self" in Christ, we have been granted the power of righteous choice and can choose not to commit sin (NB: We are however NOT sinless as some falsely teach - 1Jn 1:8). Now as we practice saying "Yes" to Jesus, it becomes more natural (better stated "supernatural") to say "No" to the flesh (see above discussion) and its strong desires to gratify self (Gal 5:17-note). To reiterate, because the "Old Self" died in Christ, and the "New Self" lives in Christ, believers must put off remaining sinful deeds and be being continually renewed into the Christlikeness to which they were called. Old self = "WHO" we were was what was important New self = "WHOSE" we are is what is important! John MacArthur explains the "New Self" as follows... The word new (kainos) does not mean renovated but entirely new—new in species or character. The NEW SELF is new because it has been created in the likeness of God. The Greek is literally, “according to what God is”—a staggering statement expressing the wondrous reality of salvation. Those who confess Jesus Christ as Lord are made like God! Peter says we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2Pe 1:4-note). Many rescue missions have a delousing room, where derelicts who have not had a bath in months discard all their old clothes and are thoroughly bathed and disinfected. The unsalvageable old clothes are burned and new clothes are issued. The clean man is provided clean clothes. That is a picture of salvation, except that in salvation the new believer is not simply given a bath but a completely new nature. The continuing need of the Christian life is to keep discarding and burning the remnants of the old sinful clothing. The many therefore's and wherefores in the New Testament usually introduce appeals for believers to live like the new creatures they are in Christ. Because of our new life, our new Lord, our new nature, and our new power, we are therefore called to live a correspondingly new life—style. (MacArthur, J: Commentary on Ephesians, Moody Press) Ruth Paxson explains the new self is... the new creation in Christ; the saint possessing a new spiritual divine nature, from which a pure river of life flows into every part of his being; the human personality with Christ at its centre, crowned as its Lord, and indwelt as its Life; the "I in you" of John 15:4 ("Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me."); the "Christ in you" of Colossians 1:27 (see note) ("Christ in you, the hope of glory"). (Paxson, Ruth: The Wealth, the Walk and the Warfare of the Christian. 1939. Revell) Wayne Barber explains the laying aside the old man and putting on the new man... When we received Christ, we got a brand new garment. Once Christ comes in, that garment is present. Christ is the very fabric of that garment. When I choose to let Jesus be Jesus in my life, when I choose against my flesh, when I choose to say "yes" to Him, strengthened in the inner man by the Spirit of God, then I begin to live a brand new way. When you receive Christ, you have the garment to wear that identifies you wherever you are. It is a brand new lifestyle. But how many Christians are still trying to go back and put on those old clothes, still trying to dress the way they want to dress? What an indictment Paul gives to us. He warns them in Ep 4:17, 18, 19-note not to go back and live like they used to live. It says in Ep 4:22-note: in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted (present tense = pictures a continuous process. Passive voice = this corruption is the result of an outside "force", in this case the "lusts of deceit") in accordance with the lusts of deceit." (see note) (Ed: See related discussion: The Deceitfulness of Sin) In other words, the more you choose the old flesh rather than Jesus, choosing what you want, the more you begin to be caught up in that downward spiral which is constantly being corrupted. That verse talks about the lusts (epithumia [word study]) of deceit (apate [word study]). Did you know that all of the lusts that we have to contend with are deceitful? They make you think that you want something and pull you out of your walk with God. The moment you get whatever you were lusting for, you realize that it is not what you thought it really was! Now you are caught once again in the current of that putrid stream which is continually being corrupted by the deceitful desires! Point number one: We started off by saying that we must put on the new man. Living the brand new life is like putting on a brand new garment. Point number two: Before I can put on the new, I have to take off the old. In both of these situations, I have already put on the new man and taken off the old. However, we must appropriate this now and bring positional truth down to experiential truth. The Christian life is a walk. It is us moment by moment continually making the choice to make sure I am "dressed properly" in the garment of the Lord Jesus, by allowing Jesus to be Jesus in my life. And this all describes a brand new way of living. Point number three: Ephesians 4:23. We have to be, first of all, renewed in our minds. We are not going to put on these new clothes until we start thinking differently. Remember the lost world is darkened in its understanding (Ep 4:18-note). We have been enlightened in our mind (cp Paul's prayer Ep 1:18-note). We can now appreciate what is right and what is wrong (Ed: Contrast Isa 5:20, 21-note, Hos 4:6). We understand now what God requires. The more we get into His Word, the more we allow our minds to be renewed, and the more we are going to "dress properly" and live properly. The world looks at us and sees the witness of Jesus as a living reality in us. Let’s look at Ep 4:23: "and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind." That word "renewed" caught my attention. It is not the same word as Romans 12:1 (note) or Romans 12:2. Certainly your mind goes there. Romans says, Do not be conformed (present imperative = with negative means stop letting this happen!) to this world, but be ye transformed (present imperative = command to make this our continual aim) by the renewing of your mind." (note) There are two words that are used in that little word "renewing": ana, which means again and kainos, which means renew. In other words, it is a qualitatively brand new mind. He is telling the Romans, "You are going to have to completely change your way of thinking." Perhaps he is saying something else here to the Ephesians. It’s almost the same thing. The Ephesians are already changing their minds. They are already faithful servants as Ep 1:1 (note) tells us. Paul uses another word for renew in Ephesians 4:23 which comes from ana and neos. Neos, means new, not so much qualitatively new, but thinking in other ways. In other words, you continually let your mind be changed. It has already started with this qualitative, brand new way of thinking. (cf Ro 12:2-note) Now you continue to let God rebuild and renovate your mind. You see, the problem with us is the way we have been trained to think. If we don’t think God’s way, then obviously we are going to live wrong. Proverbs says, "As a man thinks, so is he." Certainly my heart is to be surrendered, but I need to get into God’s Word and let God’s thoughts replace my thoughts, qualitatively and otherwise. I continually grow as the Holy Spirit of God begins to teach me how to wear my new garment (cp 2Co 3:18) I think there are some steps. First, we have to take off the old. Then we put on the new. Then third, before we are ever going to consistently do that, we have to be renewed in the spirit of our mind. The word "spirit" there tends to refer to the rational part of the mind (See John Eadie's discussion above). So I think what Paul is saying here is that in the area where you decide, in the area where you make decisions, in that area of your mind, you need to be consistently renewed so that you will continually put on the new garment of the brand new behavior. (Ephesians 4:22-27: A Brand New Way of Life - 3) WHICH IN THE LIKENESS OF GOD HAS BEEN CREATED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS OF THE TRUTH: ton kata theon ktisthenta (APPMSA) en dikaiosune kai hosioteti tes aletheias: (Genesis 1:26,27; 2Corinthians 3:18; Colossians 3:10; 1John 3:2) (Ep 2:10; Galatians 6:15) (Ps 45:6,7; Ro 8:29; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 1:8; 12:14; 1Jn 3:3) (John 17:17) Which in the likeness of God has been created - The new man is what a believer has been created to be in Christ. It is the new creation, in which old things have passed away and all things have become new (2Co 5:17-note). This new kind of man is according to God, that is, created in His likeness. And this new man manifests or shows itself to be a "brand new" man in Christ by living (as it were) in the atmosphere of righteousness (right conduct before God and man) and holiness (this is the state of a proper attitude toward God which is exhibited in action, specifically in a lifestyle set apart from the profane, set apart from the godless, even anti-God world system ruled by Satan [1Jn 5:19, Lk 4:6], and instead oriented toward God, toward what pleases Him [cp Col 1:9-note, Col 1:10-note, 2Co 5:9-note, He 11:6-note]). God (2316) (theos) refers to the supreme Divine Being, the true and living personal God. John Eadie has some interesting thoughts about the phrase in the likeness of God has been created... What the apostle affirms is not that creation is God's work and prerogative and His alone, but that as the first man bore His image, so does the new man, for he is created “according to God,” or in the likeness of God; or, as the apostle writes in Col. 3:10-note, "according to the image of the One who created him"... The allusion is to Ge 1:27. What God created, man assumes. The newness of this man is no absolute novelty, for it is the recovery of original holiness. As the Creator stamps an image of Himself on all His workmanship, so the first man was made in His similitude, and this new man, the result also of His plastic energy, bears upon him the same test and token of his Divine origin; for the moral image of God reproduces itself in him (cp 2Pe 1:4-note). It is no part of our present task to inquire what were the features of that Divine image which Adam enjoyed. (Recommended Resource - You have to dig through Eadie's prodigious comments but the nuggets of gold are priceless! - Ephesians 4 Commentary -Enter page 340 OR [Pdf-47MB] OR [Text-1.3MB]) "Copy and paste the address below into your web browser in order to go to the original page which will allow you to access live links related to the material on this page - these links include Scriptures (which can be read in context), Scripture pop-ups on mouse over, and a variety of related resources such as Bible dictionary articles, commentaries, sermon notes and theological journal articles related to the topic under discussion." http://www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_423-24.htm#New