Being Renewed

Jesus was God veiled in flesh. When the flesh of Jesus was pierced and torn on the cross, the veil was parted.

In this present age, Christ is revealed in the believer; He lives in the believer but He is still veiled by the flesh. The book of Colossians gives us another aspect of this truth. In speaking about the new man—that is, who we are in Christ, members of the new race—Paul said to the believers:

“You have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.” (Colossians 3:9–10)

I prefer to make it more literal: “who is being renewed.” Renewal is a continuous process that takes place in the present. We are going through a process in order to be renewed.

Then, it says, literally, “into the acknowledgment of the Creator.” It is not just knowing Jesus intellectually, but also acknowledging Him in every area of our lives, that brings His image into us.

The end purpose of the process of renewal is for us to reproduce His image. I believe this is a perfectly justifiable paraphrase. Let’s repeat it: “Being renewed into the acknowledgment of the Creator so as to reproduce His image.” In other words, the end purpose is to restore the image that was marred by the fall. Of course, the consummation of this purpose will come at the resurrection, when even the physical body of the believer will be transformed into the likeness of Christ’s resurrection body.