Theological term
The New Man
2 sermons · All terms
The Corporate Conduct of the Believer
Colossians 3:12–17 calls the church not merely to private piety but to a corporate conduct befitting those who are elect, holy, and beloved in Christ. This sermon works through the character of the new man — tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, and above all love — before turning to the three governing realities of the gathered church: the peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and the name of Christ. The peace that rules in the assembly flows from the prior vertical peace established in justification; the word of Christ must saturate the heart both in public preaching and private study; and every word and deed is to be done in concert with the nature and character of the Lord Jesus. The cumulative application is that sovereign grace is not the enemy of ethical seriousness but its very foundation and motive.
True Doctrine, Proper Conduct
Colossians 3:1–11 establishes that right belief and right conduct are inseparable: orthodoxy produces orthopraxy. Working through Paul's commands to seek the things above and to mortify sin, this exposition demonstrates that the theological incentives of union with Christ — past death to the old man, present hiddenness in God, and future appearance in glory — are the only sufficient foundation for holy living. The vice lists of verses 5–11, covering both sins of the flesh and sins of the tongue, are shown to flow from a disordered mind rather than a regenerate one, and behavior modification apart from the new birth is exposed as an inadequate remedy. The sermon closes with a call to look to Christ crucified as the only ground for both justification and transformed conduct.