Next Door To Heaven (Chapter 4)
Ron Bailey
Ron Bailey
Our Old Man
The exact phrase our old man is used only in Paul’s letter to the Romans, although the concept of the old man is to be found in Ephesians and Colossians. (1) Many modern translations opt for the phrase 'old self' (2), but this is more in the way of an interpretation than a translation; the original phrase is simply old man.
To lose the phrase old man is not only sad, but it spoils the inbuilt contrast with another biblical phrase the new man. This is not mere pedantry. The concept of 'the self' is from modern western philosophy/psychology. It is always dangerous to substitute a modern technical term for an ancient biblical technical term. It results in a theology which is based on the latest version of the dictionary rather than on the fixed biblical revelation.
This can be illustrated by a personal experiment. Before you read any further ask the question "'what do I understand by the concept of the self?" If you done that, now ask the question "is a new self likely to be an improvement on an old self?" The twentieth century concept of the self is not a biblical one. This is not to say we must never use the word, but only that when we do so we are sure that we are not confusing others... or ourselves.
Some other modem versions opt for phrases such as 'old nature' or 'old being'. This may be somewhat closer to the original sense but still does not do it full justice.
We may understand the theme better if we start from the beginning. The Bible is not a western book, and many western insights sit uncomfortably with its own insights. I will repeat what has already been stated in saying that man is dependent upon divine revelation. One on Job's friends asked the question Can you discover the deep things of God? (3) How can a creature discover the Creator? How can the finite comprehend the infinite? Man cannot examine God in laboratory conditions; he will discover only what God has permitted to be revealed. There are aspects of our human condition which are revealed and need to be received if we are to understand the true nature of things.
One of these revealed truths is the corporate-ness of the human race. An English poet has said that No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main, Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls,' it tolls for thee. (4) This glint of truth is one not often emphasized in the western world where the emphasis is more usually upon individual rights and responsibilities. In the east the concept is taken to the opposite extreme with blood feuds which last for generations and ancestor worship. In between these two extremes lies the biblical revelation of the corporate-ness of the human race.
There is an illustration of truth which the writer to the Hebrews uses which is strange logic to the western mind. The writer is declaring the superiority of Christ and the New Covenant to Moses and the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant's priesthood stemmed from Aaron, the brother of Moses, a descendent of Levi. In that covenant the people of Israel paid a tenth or their income to the priestly clan of Levi.
The writer argues that this priesthood was inferior to the King-Priesthood of Melchizedek because Levi paid his tenth to Melchizedek. When did this admission of “greater and lesser" occur? Before Levi was born; when he was still in the loins of his grandfather Abraham. Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Mechizedek met him. (5) This is either a weird logic or a revelation of key facts of spiritual life.
The fact is that I was in Adam, and so were you. In Abraham, Levi paid tithes; in Adam I sinned, and so did you. This truth is taught in Paul's letter to the Romans; through one man sin entered the world; and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (6) The tense of the verb sinned is very significant; it implies a completed action at a point in time. (7) If Paul had wanted to say because all do sin, or even all will sin he would have used a different form of the verb. We can capture the atmosphere of this tense if we translate Paul's phrase as death spread to all men because all did sin.
I cannot opt out from Adam's behaviour; I am involved as an integral part of the corporate entity which is the human race. Once the human race was just Adam, now it is more complex but viewed from one perspective it is still a single entity. This may not be the perspective we usually view things from, especially if we have had a western type of education, but it is a perfectly valid perspective. More importantly it is a vital God's-eye-view perspective and we shall miss much if we refuse the information that this revelation provides for us.
If I place a scrap of paper within the pages of this book the scrap of paper will share the experiences of the book. In I put the book on my shelf I have also put the scrap of paper on my shelf. If I give the book away I have also given the scrap of paper away. From the moment the scrap of paper was inserted into the book it has shared the book's history. As the tree is in the acorn so I was in Adam from the beginning. But within the tree which was in the acorn are more acorns, and so on.
Adam sinned, and I was in him when he sinned. I share his history, his guilt and the consequence of his sin. I share his separation from God and the separation from the unique spiritual life that is only possible if I am in right union with God. To quote Paul's inspired writing again, in Adam all die. (8) Whatever happened to Adam in spiritual terms also happened to me. Whatever he did is now my history too.
What Adam had become and the consequent states of the whole entity of the human race are referred to in the New Testament as our old man. It is not my old man as distinct to your old man, it is our old man. This is our old man; the common heritage of the whole race, irrespective of color or religion. This is one of the reasons that the phrase 'old self' is such an inadequate alternative for old man. Self focuses on the individual rather than the corporate experience of the race.
How then shall we describe our old man? It is mankind wrongly related to God; mankind spoiled and defaced. It is also mankind in a misalliance with another spirit; mankind under the wrong king. It is a mystical body under the wrong headship and it functions as one man.
It is important to understand just how wrong mankind has become in order to understand the impossibility of any do-it-yourself salvation. If this is what is really wrong with mankind it is clear that none of the usual suggested cures can ever provide the remedy. Education, philosophy, politics, legislation, personal discipline, religion; none of these, nor any combination of them, can ever provide a remedy for this ancient condition.
I use the word ancient purposely. The original word used for old in our phrase 'old man' is palaios (9), meaning not merely having grown old but ancient. This is mankind's ancient problem. Almost as old as man himself, and which has never known the slightest improvement in its inward condition.
Indeed, we are told that our old man is itself in a constant state of deterioration (10). It is in a constant state of being corrupted as a result of deceiving passions. There is no hope therefore of it outgrowing its strength or of it growing weary.
None of this is to say that man is any the less wonderful. It is not so to say that man is not capable of greatness or kindness, nor is it to indicate that God loves him the less. Mankind is wonderful but spoiled incurably. It is still the object of God's special favour and love, but if he is to be rescued from what he has become it will need an inward dynamic that is at least as powerful as that which caused his condition.
Notes:
1. Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:9
2. RSV, NRSV, NASB, NIV
3. Job 11:7
4. John Donne 1573-1631 – Devotions 17
5. Hebrews 7:1-10
6. Romans 5:12
7. Aorist
8. 1 Corinthians 15:22
9. as used in the word palaeontology. The knowledge or study of ancient things.
10. NASB is being corrupted [the present participle]
The exact phrase our old man is used only in Paul’s letter to the Romans, although the concept of the old man is to be found in Ephesians and Colossians. (1) Many modern translations opt for the phrase 'old self' (2), but this is more in the way of an interpretation than a translation; the original phrase is simply old man.
To lose the phrase old man is not only sad, but it spoils the inbuilt contrast with another biblical phrase the new man. This is not mere pedantry. The concept of 'the self' is from modern western philosophy/psychology. It is always dangerous to substitute a modern technical term for an ancient biblical technical term. It results in a theology which is based on the latest version of the dictionary rather than on the fixed biblical revelation.
This can be illustrated by a personal experiment. Before you read any further ask the question "'what do I understand by the concept of the self?" If you done that, now ask the question "is a new self likely to be an improvement on an old self?" The twentieth century concept of the self is not a biblical one. This is not to say we must never use the word, but only that when we do so we are sure that we are not confusing others... or ourselves.
Some other modem versions opt for phrases such as 'old nature' or 'old being'. This may be somewhat closer to the original sense but still does not do it full justice.
We may understand the theme better if we start from the beginning. The Bible is not a western book, and many western insights sit uncomfortably with its own insights. I will repeat what has already been stated in saying that man is dependent upon divine revelation. One on Job's friends asked the question Can you discover the deep things of God? (3) How can a creature discover the Creator? How can the finite comprehend the infinite? Man cannot examine God in laboratory conditions; he will discover only what God has permitted to be revealed. There are aspects of our human condition which are revealed and need to be received if we are to understand the true nature of things.
One of these revealed truths is the corporate-ness of the human race. An English poet has said that No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main, Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls,' it tolls for thee. (4) This glint of truth is one not often emphasized in the western world where the emphasis is more usually upon individual rights and responsibilities. In the east the concept is taken to the opposite extreme with blood feuds which last for generations and ancestor worship. In between these two extremes lies the biblical revelation of the corporate-ness of the human race.
There is an illustration of truth which the writer to the Hebrews uses which is strange logic to the western mind. The writer is declaring the superiority of Christ and the New Covenant to Moses and the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant's priesthood stemmed from Aaron, the brother of Moses, a descendent of Levi. In that covenant the people of Israel paid a tenth or their income to the priestly clan of Levi.
The writer argues that this priesthood was inferior to the King-Priesthood of Melchizedek because Levi paid his tenth to Melchizedek. When did this admission of “greater and lesser" occur? Before Levi was born; when he was still in the loins of his grandfather Abraham. Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Mechizedek met him. (5) This is either a weird logic or a revelation of key facts of spiritual life.
The fact is that I was in Adam, and so were you. In Abraham, Levi paid tithes; in Adam I sinned, and so did you. This truth is taught in Paul's letter to the Romans; through one man sin entered the world; and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned. (6) The tense of the verb sinned is very significant; it implies a completed action at a point in time. (7) If Paul had wanted to say because all do sin, or even all will sin he would have used a different form of the verb. We can capture the atmosphere of this tense if we translate Paul's phrase as death spread to all men because all did sin.
I cannot opt out from Adam's behaviour; I am involved as an integral part of the corporate entity which is the human race. Once the human race was just Adam, now it is more complex but viewed from one perspective it is still a single entity. This may not be the perspective we usually view things from, especially if we have had a western type of education, but it is a perfectly valid perspective. More importantly it is a vital God's-eye-view perspective and we shall miss much if we refuse the information that this revelation provides for us.
If I place a scrap of paper within the pages of this book the scrap of paper will share the experiences of the book. In I put the book on my shelf I have also put the scrap of paper on my shelf. If I give the book away I have also given the scrap of paper away. From the moment the scrap of paper was inserted into the book it has shared the book's history. As the tree is in the acorn so I was in Adam from the beginning. But within the tree which was in the acorn are more acorns, and so on.
Adam sinned, and I was in him when he sinned. I share his history, his guilt and the consequence of his sin. I share his separation from God and the separation from the unique spiritual life that is only possible if I am in right union with God. To quote Paul's inspired writing again, in Adam all die. (8) Whatever happened to Adam in spiritual terms also happened to me. Whatever he did is now my history too.
What Adam had become and the consequent states of the whole entity of the human race are referred to in the New Testament as our old man. It is not my old man as distinct to your old man, it is our old man. This is our old man; the common heritage of the whole race, irrespective of color or religion. This is one of the reasons that the phrase 'old self' is such an inadequate alternative for old man. Self focuses on the individual rather than the corporate experience of the race.
How then shall we describe our old man? It is mankind wrongly related to God; mankind spoiled and defaced. It is also mankind in a misalliance with another spirit; mankind under the wrong king. It is a mystical body under the wrong headship and it functions as one man.
It is important to understand just how wrong mankind has become in order to understand the impossibility of any do-it-yourself salvation. If this is what is really wrong with mankind it is clear that none of the usual suggested cures can ever provide the remedy. Education, philosophy, politics, legislation, personal discipline, religion; none of these, nor any combination of them, can ever provide a remedy for this ancient condition.
I use the word ancient purposely. The original word used for old in our phrase 'old man' is palaios (9), meaning not merely having grown old but ancient. This is mankind's ancient problem. Almost as old as man himself, and which has never known the slightest improvement in its inward condition.
Indeed, we are told that our old man is itself in a constant state of deterioration (10). It is in a constant state of being corrupted as a result of deceiving passions. There is no hope therefore of it outgrowing its strength or of it growing weary.
None of this is to say that man is any the less wonderful. It is not so to say that man is not capable of greatness or kindness, nor is it to indicate that God loves him the less. Mankind is wonderful but spoiled incurably. It is still the object of God's special favour and love, but if he is to be rescued from what he has become it will need an inward dynamic that is at least as powerful as that which caused his condition.
Notes:
1. Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:22, Colossians 3:9
2. RSV, NRSV, NASB, NIV
3. Job 11:7
4. John Donne 1573-1631 – Devotions 17
5. Hebrews 7:1-10
6. Romans 5:12
7. Aorist
8. 1 Corinthians 15:22
9. as used in the word palaeontology. The knowledge or study of ancient things.
10. NASB is being corrupted [the present participle]
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