Identity in Christ: The Old, New, and False Self

I have this really old long sleeve shirt; it’s from my earlier years when I ran cross country for Chamberlain High School. I was an eighth grader and placed 19th at the State Meet. Our team actually won the State Title that year because I was one of many stud runners on the team (insert wink face).

My teammates and I bought a state XC long sleeve shirt with the year written on the front, 2003. I ran in that t-shirt for years. I wore it so much that it had holes in the armpits, and the wrists were dirty and stained from all the sweat it had endured. I concealed the holes pretty well, but that didn’t make them go away. My mom kept telling me to retire the old shirt, but I would not relent. In college, my friends teased me about it, so I finally gave in and left it at home in my bedroom dresser.

My old shirt reminds me of my spiritual journey, specifically my identity in Christ. Often times, I want to hold onto my old ways, my sin, my old self. That old shirt was comfortable. My old self and my sin can feel comfortable. But comfort isn't always the goal.

Paul instructs us to put off the old self and live in the new self, which is life with Christ.

Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:22-44 (ESV)

Identity: The Old, The False, The NEW

The Old Self

You see, the old self is what we create apart from God. It is the self that existed before Christ came into our lives. The old self is what we hold onto because it’s all we’ve ever known, and it is a result of the Fall.

In Colossians 3:5-7, Paul tells us to put off the old self. He is calling us to do away with all our idolatries, the practices and attitudes of our old life.  Put simply, the old self is the sinful nature.  Sin, no matter if it is an outward manifestation or an inner idolatry, is the driving force of the old self. Before we knew God, we lived for the pleasures and enticements of the world; we were imprisoned to sin, Satan, and death. In the old self, we fought and rebelled against His character and His love.

This business of "putting off" that Paul commands implies that we no longer are in need of it. We can toss it.

The False Self

What’s important to note is that the very nature of the old self has no claim on us like it used to because it is regarded as dead. Romans 6:11 says that in Christ, we are dead to sin and alive to righteousness. The old self is gone. However, the false self is the posture we take when we fall back into our old ways and when we find new ways of sinning.

When we live in the false self rather than the new nature given to us in Christ, we miss out on life with God. We can become performance-driven, constantly seek people’s approval, and live in fear. The false self is how we seek to find worth on our own after Christ has redeemed us. Positioning our identity in anything other than the Trinity is a deed of the false self.  However, God wants us to find our value and worth in Him.

The New Self

If we continue reading in Colossians chapter 3, we find that Paul is calling us to put on the new self. So what is the new self? It is our truest self, made in His image before the creation of the world.  Our new self is the love of God.  He is what gives us value, worth, meaning, and purpose.

Most importantly, He gives us His love.  We see His love for us in Christ's death, resurrection, and ascension.

In the new self, we are becoming more and more of who we were created to be and more and more like Christ. This is not a paradox. The more we become like Christ, the more we are becoming our true, most authentic selves.

Putting Off the Old and Putting on the New

This is important, friends. I could easily go into a performance-driven mindset, where I want to achieve this. But is this what it’s about? Do we simply just stop sinning and adopt new sets of behaviors? Do I make sure I have everything on the "new self list" down?! Do we simply do all these “good” things until Jesus comes back?

I think not.

In Colossians 3:5, Paul says “put to death therefore what is earthly in you.” Put to death is an imperative statement, meaning it is done and complete. We are not called to “put off” because it has already been done by our Savior Jesus Christ. Paul invites us to respond and cooperate with the transformative power that is working within us, the Holy Spirit. This is a matter of us acknowledging the old self’s deadness, abandoning it, and replacing it with the truth. We have been given a new nature through Christ!

Just as we are not the ones who are in charge of putting off the old self, we cannot be the ones who put on the new self. This is God’s doing and not our own.

The growth and sanctification in our lives is Holy Spirit work and rooted in God's love for us. Colossians 3:10 says we put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator. We live into the new self by spending time with God and receiving His grace. The Holy Spirit transforms our hearts when we orient our lives towards Him. It comes about by spending time with God in His Word, conversing and listening to Him in prayer, growing in awareness of His presence, and loving and serving others.

Rooted in Christ & Becoming Like Christ

We put off the old self because Christ has done it, and He has invited us into new life with Him. We were once not a people, but now we are God’s people (1 Peter 2:10). We are the Beloved.

For us as believers, our identity is in Christ. That is never going to change or go away. We are rooted. The frustrating thing is that we still sin. However, that doesn't mean God is not at work in our lives.  The Holy Spirit continues to redeem and restore us back to the image of God, and we participate in that by seeking the Lord. We are still becoming who He made us to be, and it will come to completion when Christ returns.

Rooted and becoming. What a beautiful thing.

About the Author

Jackie grew up along the banks of the Missouri River in South Dakota.  In college, Jesus changed Jackie’s heart and reoriented her life for His glory. She met her handsome husband at school, and they moved to Denver after graduating and getting married.  She is pursuing her master’s degree in Christian Formation & Soul Care at Denver Seminary and expects to graduate in December 2015.