Introduction: An Enemy Who Changes Shape
Blessed be God our Father, who gives us life, and by whose grace and mercy we stand. May the peace of the Lord be with you and with your household. In this chapter we will study the most outstanding characteristics of the old man. We cannot consider the subject of the old man finished without first examining them, and the reason is simple: the old man has the ability to mutate—that is, to change and to transform himself. He does not remain static throughout his entire existence or throughout his entire manifestation. The old man mutates, transforms, changes, and this is one of the factors that can most disturb or prevent any of us from being able to identify him.
Yet the Holy Scriptures present us with three characteristics that the old man keeps constant even when he changes his way of operating and even when his manifestation is transformed. That is why we devote this study to them. With this subject we intend to bring the teaching on the old man properly to a close. The purpose, as we have established practically from the beginning of these teachings, is that each of us would be able to identify our own old man. If we do not, we are really not gaining any benefit; quite the opposite, we are handing authority to the old man so that he occupies more space, more authority, and more position within the life of a man of faith or a woman of faith. I am speaking, of course, of men and women of faith. So as we close this series, we are going to identify the characteristics that allow us to recognize the old man even when he has mutated.
The Mutation of the Old Man: A Form of Godliness
When I say that the old man can mutate, I want to be more specific: many times he presents himself in an acceptable way, even an outstanding one, in such a way that he could even appear to be a merit of the person. This makes him harder to identify, because the question arises: how can a virtue be considered part of the old man? That is why it is so important to introduce this subject carefully.
The apostle Paul, writing to Timothy in his second letter, chapter 3, says:
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy… having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Notice that the first four verses present characteristics that are hostile to the gospel and to the life of faith. But look at what verse 5 says: “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” This teaches us what I have just established: the old man has the ability to mutate, and that mutation can take the form of a form of godliness. He can present himself to others as a kind person, a gracious person, a dedicated person, a diligent person. But many of those characteristics—that form of godliness—are in reality a mutation of the old man, whose purpose is to remain hidden, to go unseen, and to keep on manifesting himself within the person.
Hence the question that guides this chapter: how can I be certain that I am fully identifying my old man? The three characteristics we will study remain unchanged even though the old man changes and mutates, and they will help us identify him fully.
First Characteristic: The Old Man Is Ritualistic
The Old Man Is Bound by Vice and Habit
We begin in the apostle Paul’s epistle to the Ephesians, chapter 4:
“That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” (Ephesians 4:22)
Other versions speak of “desires of error,” and others of “the desires of the deception of the evil one.” But the word I want to highlight, because it helps us understand this first characteristic, is the one the Spanish text uses: viciado, from vicio—a word that carries the idea of being habituated, held fast by a vice. (The New King James Version renders it “grows corrupt.”) The idea behind the word has to do with frequency, with constancy, with method, with habit, with a regular way of being.
Here, then, is the first characteristic: the old man is ritualistic. He sustains himself by means of rituals. Everything that has to do with habits that end in rituals, with patterns of conduct that end in rituals, with methodical behaviors that end in rituals, points to the presence and manifestation of the old man. It is important that we understand that the old man establishes ritual, or ritualism—that is, the constant frequency of doing something, of repeating something, of keeping on doing something as part of his way of surviving. And when I speak of this constant way of doing something, I am referring to acts, to foods, to drinks; practically everything that a man or a woman does with a constant and repetitive frequency.
We are accustomed to a habit. It could be a good habit or it could be a habit in the form of a vice; in either case, it is a habit. This is part of the presence and manifestation of the old man, and it is important that we understand it, because, as I said at the beginning, we could be mistaken and fall into the old man’s game precisely when we think we are establishing good habits: habits of conduct, eating habits, drinking habits. Behind much of this, the old man may be at work in regard to the former conduct. See how the apostle, by the Spirit of God, presents it that way. Let us keep in mind that the old man is habit-bound, and that this vice is established by deceitful desires, desires of error, desires of the evil one.
How to Distinguish a Habit from the Manifestation of the Old Man
A few minutes ago we read in 2 Timothy 3 the expression “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” There is something that can help us understand precisely that the old man is present, and it is this: the old man cannot submit to habits simply because they are habits. Allow me to explain.
A person has difficulty reading the Bible or praying at a set time. This certifies that it is not simply a matter of habits, but of the manifestation of the old man. Someone might object: “So any habit will be a manifestation of the old man?” Let me present the following dynamic so that you can determine that it is not merely a matter of habits. Take the idea of praying at a set time, regardless of how long you will pray, or of reading the Word of God at a set time. At first you will find that you can do it; but there comes a moment when you cannot hold to it or adjust to it. That is evidence that it is not about habits, but that the old man is operating within the person who is trying to establish them.
It is not a matter of habits; it is that the old man enters into routines, which is another way of identifying rituals: rituals of food, of drink, of practices, and the like. Why? Because in order to sustain himself and to manifest himself, the old man needs cycles: he needs to complete cycles and to close cycles. And the closer together or the shorter those cycles are, the stronger the manifestation of the old man will be.
The Cyclical Need and the Difficulty of Closing Cycles
The apostle Peter establishes this in his first epistle, chapter 4:
“For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.” (1 Peter 4:3)
Notice that this points precisely to what I have just said: the old man needs things to be repeated. When a person has come to Christ Jesus and is leaving the old man behind, he or she will feel something like a need to do something, to consume something, to do it again, as if something were missing, as if there were an inner need within oneself. And this is due precisely to the cyclical activity in which the old man manifests himself.
That is why the following is so important: if a person cannot cancel cycles, if he has difficulty closing a frequency, if she has a weakness when it comes to working with routines, keep this in mind: the old man has taken power over that person. This is the most reliable way to identify him. A man or woman of faith is not supposed to have difficulty breaking off, because our strength comes from the Spirit of God. When a person has the difficulty of closing those routines, those rituals, those frequencies, and of being methodical in the things he or she does, be assured: the old man is operating.
The Old Man Becomes Insatiable
There is a text in the epistle of Jude that I want to include here. Jude has only one chapter; let us go to verse 7:
“As Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (Jude 7)
You will remember that when the angels were sent to deliver Lot and his family, they entered Lot’s house to urge them to leave because of the judgment that was coming upon the city. Practically all the men of that city gathered and told Lot to bring out those men because they wanted to “know” them. That expression has nothing to do with finding out who they were; it refers to a sexual act, which is precisely what Jude is referring to in verse 7. What this shows us is that they had become insatiable precisely because they needed those rituals in order to sustain themselves. And this helps us understand that, at a certain point, the old man becomes insatiable.
That is why it is important that we break every routine and every ritual: because the moment comes when the old man needs something more, and something more. At times, when it comes to food rituals, the amount can increase more and more. Why? Because the old man becomes insatiable in regard to pleasures and delights. The moment comes when he needs more activity. This is the situation we are fighting against. If a man or woman of faith does not succeed in overcoming—that is, in crucifying—his or her old man, the old man will grow to such levels of insatiability that he will take the believer deeper and deeper into his desires and into his presence within the believer’s life.
This first characteristic helps us understand when the old man is still operating in the life of a man or woman of faith: he engages in ritualistic activity. It is not only about actions, conduct, or behavior; it has to do with food, with drink, even with clothing; with everything that is part of the person, because it is need that leads him to establish routine within the life of the believer.
Second Characteristic: The Old Man Seeks the Things of the Earth
The Old Man Is Bound to the Earth
For the second characteristic we go to the Old Testament, to the book of Genesis, chapter 3. God speaks to Adam:
“Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:18-19)
Here we are shown that the old man is bound to the earth: particularly to the land where he was born, or to the land where he resides. We find cases of men and women who have moved and no longer live where they were born, and yet they feel the need to return to the land where they were conceived, because man and woman are bound to the earth. We must keep this in mind.
Now let us look at the second characteristic in the epistle to the Colossians, chapter 3:
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3)
Second characteristic: the old man seeks the things of the earth.
Judas Iscariot and Gehazi: The Excuse of the Work of God
Do you remember when Jesus the Christ was anointed at Bethany by Mary with an extremely costly perfume? Judas Iscariot said: “What a waste! This could have been sold and given to the poor.” The old man was clearly manifesting himself. The text says that Judas said it not because he really cared about the poor, but because he was the treasurer and used to take money for his own benefit. What does this passage teach us? That the old man seeks the things of the earth, and sometimes he can put forward, as an excuse, the glory of God, the service of God, or the benefit of the work, when in reality what he is seeking is the things of the earth.
Let me give you another example from the Old Testament: the case of Gehazi, the assistant and steward of Elisha (2 Kings 5). Naaman the Syrian comes to receive healing from God through Elisha. Elisha does not come out to receive him; he only gives him the instruction to go to the Jordan and dip seven times in order to be made clean. At first Naaman does not want to do it, but at the suggestion of his own servants he agrees, and indeed, when he has dipped seven times, his flesh is made completely clean, free of leprosy. In gratitude, Naaman wants to give clothing and other gifts to Elisha and to the work, but Elisha does not allow it. Then Gehazi comes and runs after Naaman and, with a lie and deceit, tells him: “Give me clothing for the poor, for the benefit of those who live with us.” Many of us know this account: in the end, Gehazi received Naaman’s leprosy precisely because he did this.
The lesson is that the old man seeks the things of the earth, and we must be very careful: many times the excuse of the work of God can be put forward when in reality it is not for the work of God, but a pretext for obtaining the benefits of the earth. If we set our eyes on the things of the earth, what we are doing is making the old man strengthen himself, grow fat, empower himself, and manifest his operation in the life of a man or woman of faith.
It Is Not a Problem of Faith
This teaches us that many times we are unable to seek our provision in God. When we have the inability, the difficulty, or the deficiency of waiting for our provision from God, let us keep in mind that the old man has been strengthened in the life of that believer. And hear this well: it is not a matter of faith. No one should say in the end: “The truth is that I just don’t have faith; I lacked faith.” The problem is not faith; the problem is that the old man is strong and empowered in the life of the man and woman of faith. This is the real problem.
There are other texts I want to show you. In 2 Corinthians 4:18 we read:
“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Here it is clearly shown that the problem many men and women of faith face is not an absence of faith, but that the old man is operating in the life of the man and woman of God. And in Romans 8:5 the Spirit of God establishes:
“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.” (Romans 8:5)
It is clearly defined: the old man seeks the things of this world, and by this I mean all its resources, all its contacts, all its manifestation, and all its fullness. He wants to resolve everything by what this world offers, and not according to what God has established.
The Solution: Taking Action and Exercising Faith
If it is not a matter of faith, how do we resolve it? The answer is simple. In the previous teaching we studied that it is necessary for each of us to crucify the old man; if we do not take action to crucify him, none of us will be free from his workings. The old man does not die out on his own, nor does he die out merely because I declare that he is crucified. It is not a matter of a declaration or a confession that says, “My old man is crucified with Christ.” It is a matter of each one taking action so as not to allow the old man to keep operating in his or her life. If we discover that more than 70 or 80 percent of our intention and our activity is directed toward the things of the earth, the problem is that our old man is being empowered.
We resolve it when we set our eyes on the things above. See how the Word presents it in Colossians: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above.” There has to be an initiative, and that initiative is ours. Faith does not arrive merely because we declare it; faith arrives when we exercise it. No one can say that he or she has faith if he or she is not willing to walk according to what the Word of the Lord establishes.
Let me give you two examples. The first is the man born blind, in John 9. The blind man was not asking for any miracle; in fact, he did not know that Jesus was there, nor did he know Him. Jesus approaches and, without saying much to him, makes clay with His saliva and puts it on the blind man’s eyes. Then He says to him: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” If you locate the place where Jesus was at that moment and the place where Siloam was, you will realize that the blind man had to cross all of Jerusalem. The blind man was obedient, and when he washed, he received his healing.
The second is the paralytic at Bethesda. On a Sabbath day, Jesus approaches the paralytic and asks him: “Do you want to be made well?” The paralytic answers that he has no one to put him into the pool when the angel comes down and stirs the water, because he understood that this was the only way to receive healing. Just as in the case of the blind man, the paralytic was not asking for healing; it is Jesus who approaches. And Jesus simply says to him: “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” Notice well: rise. There is an exercise.
This shows us that faith is not a declaration; faith is an exercise. We have to move, believing in what the Word of the Lord has established. And the old man has the purpose of choking out the faith and the spiritual life of the person; that is why he seeks the resources of the earth, the contacts of the earth, and all the options this world presents. It is the old man who is choking the faith of a person of faith. The problem for many people is not an absence of faith, but that they have allowed their old man to grow so much that they no longer realize how to distinguish him. Here we are seeing it: let us not seek the things of the earth. “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:2-3).
Third Characteristic: The Old Man Rewards Himself
“I Deserve It”
For the third characteristic we go to the first epistle of John, chapter 2:
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
Third characteristic: the old man rewards himself. Likewise, he gratifies himself and indulges himself. Surely we have heard a person say on more than one occasion: “I bought it because I deserve it.” That is practically the old man at one hundred percent of his manifestation. The old man seeks to reward and gratify himself. This self-reward is manifested in wanting to be the center of attention for others; it is manifested in food, in drink, and in everything that has to do with the satisfaction of the body—that is, with the pleasures of the body; with everything the body asks for itself.
The Old Man Who No Longer Does “What He Used To Do”
Let us be very careful. Many of us have chosen to identify the old man with vices, with the pleasures of the world, with the things we used to do, and we come to say: “I just don’t do that anymore,” referring to cigarettes, to drugs, or to the pleasures of this world. But the old man mutates; he transforms himself. It is no longer cigarettes—it may be food; it is no longer drugs—it may be a personal delight, a personal pleasure. He is still the old man. Just because we no longer do what we used to do, we cannot say that the old man is no longer there; he is only operating in a different way.
That is why it is important that we understand this when we feel the need to reward ourselves with food, with drink, with clothing, with experiences, with trips, with opportunities. Let us keep it very much in mind: what is operating there is the old man. He has not disappeared; he is as strong as before, and perhaps more so, because no one realizes that he is still operating. That is why, at the beginning, we read 2 Timothy 3: “having a form of godliness.” The fact that we used to do perverse things and no longer do them is no reason to say that the old man is no longer there; he has changed his way of operating and manifests himself in different ways, in acceptable and tolerable ways and, to a certain extent, in ways that earn people’s praise: “How this person has changed! Look at what he was before and what he does now.” Let us be very careful, because the old man is still operating in that person’s life.
Do Not Fulfill the Desires of the Flesh
Another text that helps us understand this third characteristic is in Galatians, chapter 5:
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:16-17)
Here it is made clear that the old man seeks to reward himself. Have you felt the need for something? Have you felt the need to obtain something even though there was no need for it? Keep in mind that the one operating is the old man. He has not yet disappeared or been crucified; he is still present. Someone might say: “What is wrong with wanting a breather, a moment of relaxation and recreation?” These are expressions we are often accustomed to saying. But it is not about having a moment of rest; it is that the old man is seeking to reward and gratify himself, and the person has not realized it.
This is leading many men and many women into an unawareness of the work of God: they are not aware of what God is doing in their lives or in the midst of their surroundings. That is why, when a person comes under judgment precisely because of these situations, he or she falls into pride and anger against God, because the person feels that God has taken away everything he or she needs and everything he or she deserves. This happens precisely because the old man has established himself firmly within the person.
Notice the end of the text: “these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Many times God places demands on the life of a man or woman of faith, and they cannot fulfill them because the old man does not allow it. I have known cases of men and women who are called to ministry and cannot develop it; they cannot even see the need to begin a ministry. It is precisely because the old man does not allow it. The text clearly says that these things are contrary to one another: the flesh, which represents the old man, lusts against the Spirit. The old man often imposes himself on the life of faith of a man and a woman, and as a result everything God wanted to carry out with that person is cut short and aborted. This is extremely serious. Each of us must see the subject of the old man as a primary matter and work on it; we cannot leave it for posterity, because it may be that later it will be impossible to establish our lives of faith.
The Old Man Gratifies Himself Through Memories
There is one more text I want to present, Philippians 3:13, which many of us know, but which shows how we must work on this third characteristic:
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.” (Philippians 3:13)
I want to highlight something important: the Spirit of God, through the apostle Paul, says “forgetting those things which are behind,” because one of the elements the old man uses to gratify or reward himself is memories. Hear this well: the old man uses memories to reward himself. You can see it clearly in the Old Testament, when the people of God came out of Egypt. Walking through the wilderness, at times they said: “We remember the onions, we remember the leeks.” They recalled what they ate in Egypt, but they did not remember that they were slaves in Egypt, because the old man uses memories to reward himself.
This is extremely serious. There are people—and I am speaking, of course, of men and women of faith—who become trapped in time: trapped in the memory of a father, of a mother, of a partner, of an experience, of a graduation, of a pleasant moment such as a promotion or a position at work. They become trapped in that time. It is the old man seeking to reward himself. This is a characteristic that each of us must know and work on, because if we do not work on it, the old man will keep gratifying himself through memories, through foods, through drinks, through possessions, and through personal benefits.
Practical Application: The Mistake of Looking Only for What We Used to Be
The old man is not only perverse experiences, as we have often classified them. Perhaps this is why more than one person has had trouble dealing with his or her old man: when trying to identify him, the person does not recognize those practices, those behaviors, or even those words he or she used to have, and concludes that he or she has no old man. Here is the greatest failure of men and women of faith in our times: because they do not see the things they had before, many become confused and say: “I don’t have the problem of the old man.”
The Word of God clearly teaches us that there are three characteristics, and that there are other characteristics derived from these three; but these three are enough for us to be able to identify the old man. And if we do not work with them, we are handing over all authority so that the enemy, the kingdom of darkness, can operate in our lives. Why? Because when we began this series of teachings we established that the old man is a link with the kingdom of darkness. A man or woman of faith who does not work with his or her old man is handing authority over his or her life to the kingdom of darkness. Not working with the old man is synonymous with giving authority to the kingdom of darkness. Now we can understand why many cannot grow in faith. It is not a problem of faith, nor even a problem of the congregation; the problem is an old man who is still active within the person, and as long as he or she does not overcome him, his or her life of faith will not really be able to develop. The Word teaches it clearly: the flesh lusts against the Spirit.
Conclusion
We thus conclude this series of teachings on the old man. There have been several that we have studied, and in this one we have concentrated on identifying his most outstanding characteristics, so that none of us has an excuse and says “I don’t have an old man” or “I have trouble identifying my old man.” Even though we no longer do the things of the past, the old man sustains himself by these three characteristics:
- First: the old man is ritualistic. He seeks routines, frequencies, habits, and methods in order to keep operating within a man or woman of faith.
- Second: the old man seeks the things of the earth, because man is bound to the earth. If you find that you need to return with a certain frequency or regularity to the place where you were born, to the house where you lived as a child, or to the neighborhood where you grew up, be assured: it is the old man manifesting himself, because he seeks the things of the earth.
- Third: the old man rewards and gratifies himself.
I thank the Lord for this time that He has allowed us to study through His Word and to know the truth, so that each of us may be set free and come to the knowledge of the truth. From here on, it is each person’s responsibility, a personal work, to confront our old man and so be able to seek the things above. I bless you; may the peace of the Lord be with you. Amen.
Review Questions
- Why does the old man’s ability to mutate and to present himself with a “form of godliness” make him so difficult to identify, and in what ways might he be hiding behind apparent virtues in my own life?
- Of the three characteristics studied (ritualism, the pursuit of the things of the earth, and self-reward), which do I recognize most clearly in my life today, and what concrete actions must I take to close that cycle instead of limiting myself to declaring that my old man is crucified?
- If faith is an exercise and not a declaration, in which areas of my life am I seeking resources, contacts, or rewards of the earth instead of moving in faith according to the Word of the Lord?
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