“… Ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:9,10)
In order to have our mind renewed we must become a new man in Christ. Regeneration is the start of renewal. Now we are positioned to receive a completely new outlook on all things. The things which were once so important to us fade away in the light of the better things the Spirit would have us mind. Living for ourselves is out of the question. We now live for Him who died and rose again for us. Our bodies which were once our own and placed at the disposal of our own pleasure are now God’s and dedicated to His will.
To be in Christ is to be a new creature, where old things have passed away, and all things have become new. It is only our mind that has to catch up to this revolutionary event. We are in Christ, and Christ is in us, to teach us what we have put off and what we have put on. Through our union with the death of Christ, the body that was once dedicated to sin has now been disabled. Through our union with the resurrection of Christ, our redeemed body is now alive unto God and set apart for His glory. By the Spirit of Christ we learn the very purposes for which we have been saved.
Salvation brings a definitive end to what was, and a definitive beginning to what is now to be. That remarkable event is enforced and made the practical reality of our lives as we are guided into all truth by the Spirit of God. The end goal of such renewing is our transformation into the likeness of Christ and the image of God.