Christian Living

Put On the New Man: We Shall Be Like Him

by Cecil Maner
05/08/26
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

The Apostle Paul expresses a deep human struggle in Romans 7:24 with the words, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” This honest cry connects with many believers. It describes the inner conflict felt by those who desire to live rightly yet repeatedly encounter the pull of sin. Paul’s open admission of this tension brings clear encouragement: even a committed servant of God faces such a battle, yet the struggle is not the final reality.

Right after this cry, Paul gives the answer in Romans 7:25: “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” He points out that deliverance comes not through personal effort, but through Jesus Christ. Paul notes the difference between the renewed mind that serves the law of God and the flesh that remains drawn to the law of sin. This honest view offers realism instead of despair. The believer’s life includes both conflict and certain victory, based not on perfect performance but on the work of Christ.

This truth continues directly in Romans 8. In reference to Romans 8, the number eight carries the prophetic idea of new beginnings. In biblical symbolism, the number seven often represents completion or perfection, while eight signifies what follows—the start of a fresh cycle, regeneration, and a new order. This pattern appears throughout Scripture: Noah and his family, eight in number, marked a new beginning for humanity after the flood; male children in Israel were circumcised on the eighth day as a sign of covenant and new life; and Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, the eighth day following the Sabbath, establishing the ultimate new beginning through resurrection.

Thus, Romans 8 fittingly opens with hope and renewal: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2, KJV). The word “therefore” links back to the struggle and the thanks that came before it. Because of Christ’s completed work, the weight of condemnation is removed. The law of sin and death, which once ruled, has been overcome by the stronger law of the Spirit of life.

This freedom provides strong encouragement and marks a new beginning for every believer. Those who are in Christ are no longer defined by past failures or held captive by the old power of sin. They now walk according to the Spirit, strengthened by the same life that raised Jesus from the dead. Daily choice matters—aligning with the Spirit instead of following the flesh. This path brings liberty and peace.

Believers today may sometimes repeat Paul’s cry when facing personal weaknesses or ongoing temptations. At those times, Scripture directs attention away from self and toward the Deliverer. Thanksgiving arises when one recalls that condemnation has been taken away and freedom has been given. Christ Jesus has done what no fleshy resolve could accomplish.

Cease dwelling in the past or the fleeting present. Jesus Christ calls us forward into our perfect future in Him. Put on the new man and live each day in this sure hope. As the Apostle John declares, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2, KJV).

Take heart, therefore. The same grace that helped Paul is available to every believer. In Christ, there is no condemnation. In Christ, the law of the Spirit of life rules over the law of sin and death, ushering in a new beginning. Walk steadily in this freedom, serve God with a renewed mind, and give thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Praise God for the full deliverance found in Him.