MERELY HUMAN (1 Corinthians Chapter 3)

1 Corinthians 3:1-4, “But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.  I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.  And even now you are not ready, for you are still of the flesh.  For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh, and behaving only in a human way?  For when one says, ‘I follow Paul,’ and another ‘I follow Apollos,’ are you not merely human?”

The church in Corinth had a problem—the people were quarreling with each other and dividing according to which particular church leader they preferred.  But their quarrelsome divisiveness was just a symptom on an underlying debility. The underlying problem was that they were fleshly in their behavior.  “Jealously and strife”—sure evidence of their fleshliness—were at the heart of the discord.  Because of their fleshly ways, Paul was not able to speak to them as spiritual people.

God had called them to a higher plane of living.  They were called to be “saints,” but were not acting like “holy ones” (Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:2, saints = “holy ones”).  They were indwelt by the Spirit (Cf. 1 Corinthians 12:13), but His fruit was not apparent in their lives (Cf. Galatians 5:22-23).  Though destined in Christ to grow and to love, they were wallowing in the mire of selfish sins.  They were called to a different, holy, manner of life, but their lives looked no different than those of the lost (Cf. Ephesians 4:17).  They were behaving as though they were “merely human,” (Cf. 1 Corinthians 3:4), though God had called them to a superhuman manner of life.

While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of his nest.  He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens.  One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens.  The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly.  Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.

"Still it has the heart of an eagle," replied the naturalist, "and can surely be taught to fly.”  He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, "You belong to the sky and not to the earth.  Stretch forth your wings and fly."  The eagle, however, was confused.  He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again.  The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, "You are an eagle.  Stretch forth your wings and fly."

But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world and jumped down once more for the chicken food.  Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain.  There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, "You are an eagle.  You belong to the sky.  Stretch forth your wings and fly."  The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky.  Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble.  Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens.

It may be that the eagle still remembers the chickens with nostalgia.  It may even be that he occasionally revisits the barnyard.  But as far as anyone knows, he has never returned to lead the life of a chicken.

The believer is a “new creation” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), delivered through His death and resurrection from the penalty and power of sin, that he might “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).  He is Christ’s “workmanship” (His masterpiece), saved by grace “for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).  The lost selfishly scavenge in the chicken yard for scraps, the believer is one who has been delivered from sin that he might soar above in a higher plane—loving Jesus by loving others to God’s glory.  Don’t scavenge in the chicken yard in fleshly pursuits, believer in Christ, by the Spirit spread your wings and fly (Cf. Galatians 5:16, 22-23).

ORDINARY MEN - EXTRAORDINARY MESSAGE (1 Corinthians Chapter 2)

1 Corinthians 2:1-5, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.  For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

Some of the believers in Corinth were enamored with gifted speakers in their oratorical abilities to impart human wisdom.  They were prone to elevating such men and depreciating the message of the gospel.  But Paul reminded them of how he had come, not “with lofty speech or wisdom” (1 Corinthians 2:1), but “in weakness and in fear and much trembling” (1 Corinthians 2:3).  He spoke to them not “plausible words of wisdom,” but “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power” (1 Corinthians 2:4-5).  He did so deliberately—that their faith might rest in God, not man.

We live in a day when people are prone to that Corinthian kind of error.  The biggest church in America is a church full of charisma but devoid of the word of the cross.  The church growth movement has focused less on what Christ has done and more on man-engineered schemes for reaching the lost.  I once saw a video produced by a church that puts on a show every week to get people in the door.  The church set up a motocross jump track on the platform in front of the church. Two motorcycle riders simultaneously rode their bikes up the ramps over the head of the Pastor in opposite directions. The entire display was done as an illustration, according to the Pastor, to display the power of the gospel.

God doesn’t need man’s cleverly devised schemes or antics to save souls.  He is well-pleased to use ordinary men (possessing “treasure in jars of clay”) in the sharing of His extraordinary message.  By this means it is demonstrated that “the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

A 15 year old teenager headed off to church, as he normally did on Sunday mornings.  But there was a blizzard that day and the heavy snow kept him from going to his usual place of worship.  Instead he found himself in a Primitive Methodist Church. As a young man, from a long line of Pastors, he knew all about Christianity, but he didn’t know Christ.  Later he would write of those days, "It was my sad lot to feel the greatness of my sin without a discovery of the greatness of God’s mercy."

The Primitive Methodist Church almost didn’t open that morning, but the caretaker, thinking that a few people might show up, opened the doors and lit the stove.  By 11:00 some 12-15 people had come inside, but not the Pastor. He had apparently been unable to get there because of the snow.  Finally one of the laymen of the congregation reluctantly took the pulpit. As he looked down, he could see the small congregation, hundreds of empty seats, and the young 15 year old boy seated under the gallery. The text for his sermon was "Look unto me, and be ye saved" (Isaiah 45:22), and after about ten minutes of repeating himself, the man was about to step down from the pulpit. But before he did, he addressed the teenager. "Young man," he said, "you look very miserable, and you will always be miserable if you don’t obey my text. But if you do obey now, this moment, you will be saved."  He paused again, then shouted at the young man with more animation, "Young man, look to Jesus!  Look! Look! Look!"

That young man was Charles Spurgeon.  Years later Spurgeon wrote of his experience, "There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness was rolled away.”  God used the preaching of an unprepared and ordinary laymen to save Charles Spurgeon.  Charles Spurgeon went on to preach the gospel to thousands over the course of his ministry.  He was nonetheless an ordinary man—just like the man who had first shared that extraordinary message with him.

THE CROSS DIVIDE (1 Corinthians Chapter 1)

1 Corinthians 1:23, “But we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to show how are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and wisdom of God.”

In his book “The Cross” Martyn Lloyd Jones wrote, "My dear friends, there never can be a more important question than this: what does the cross do to you?  Where do you find yourself as you think of it and face it?  It is the test of our church membership, indeed, of our whole position and profession.  There is no more subtle test of our understanding than our attitude toward the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.  In other words, the cross passes judgment upon us all, immediately and out of necessity.  You cannot remain neutral in the presence of the cross.  It has always divided mankind and it still does.  And what the Apostle says is that there are ultimately only two positions in respect to it.  The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is either an offence to us or else it is a thing above everything else in which we glory.”

With respect to the message of Christ-crucified radically divergent opinions are held by various groups.  To the Jews it is a stumbling block, to the Gentiles it is “folly.”  “Folly” translates the Greek word moria which is related to our English word moron.  It is refers to that which is stupid, silly, or absurd.  Some years ago someone passed on to me a letter to the AARP magazine they had come across.  The writer said, "Every day I am shocked by how many superstitious people live in our country.  They choose to accept, without proof, a reality involving an invisible man who determines whether you go to an invisible place after death.  I am seriously amazed by how many intelligent people think this way."  The writer of that letter considered the message of Christ crucified to be sheer folly.  Such is the view of the perishing and theirs is the majority opinion. 

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and by a work of the Spirit the believer is led to behold the glory of the person and work of Christ (Cf. John 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6).  Divine power, wisdom, and love—indeed all of God’s glorious attributes-are all visibly demonstrated in Christ’s willing sacrifice.  What love is this that would compel God to send and sacrifice His own Son for rebel sinners (Cf. John 3:16; Romans 5:8)?  The “manifold wisdom of God” orchestrated a work that man would have never devised (Cf. Ephesians 3:10).  Divine power, to save from sin and death, was availed to man when Christ died for sins and rose from the dead.  The world might deem the message foolish, but it alone represents “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

Paul repeatedly affirmed his wholehearted devotion to the “Christ-crucified” message (Cf. 1 Corinthians 1:17, 23, 2:2, 9:16).  He was not ashamed of the message (Cf. Romans 1:16).  He called it “the gospel of the glory of the blessed God” (1 Timothy 1:11).  He thanked and praised God for it (Cf. 1 Timothy 1:12, 17).  By that message he himself had been saved and radically transformed from a “blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent” into a loving Apostle and faithful servant of Christ (Cf. 1 Timothy 1:13, 11).  He gloried in the cross, saying, “But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14).

The story of told of a small English village that had a tiny chapel whose stone walls were covered by traditional ivy.  Over an arch was originally inscribed the words: WE PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED.  There had been a generation of godly men who did precisely that: they preached Christ crucified.  But times changed.  The ivy grew and pretty soon covered the last word.  The inscription now read: WE PREACH CHRIST.  Other men came and they did preach Christ: Christ the example, Christ the humanitarian, Christ the ideal teacher.  As the years passed, the ivy continued to grow until finally the inscription read: WE PREACH.  The generation that came along then did just that: they preached economics, social gospel, book reviews, just about anything.  We live in the later times.  The ivy has covered and obscured the message so that it is hardly discernable any more.  But regardless of what anyone else says or thinks, the word that God has given to us to believe and proclaim is Christ crucified.  There is power in that message, and that message alone, unto the salvation of souls.

DOCTRINAL NAIVETY (Romans Chapter 16)

Romans 16:17-18, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.  For such persons do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.”

As with most of the New Testament epistles, the letter to the Romans includes a warning regarding the danger of false teachers.  This admonition to “watch out for,” comes at the end of Paul’s letter and succinctly summarizes the reason for concern.

Two commands are given: 1) Watch out for; and 2) Avoid.  The term translated “watch out for” is the Greek skopeo from which we derive the term scope in microscope or telescope.  It carries the meaning of looking at or observing with intensity.  Inasmuch as it is in the present tense it speaks of an ongoing practice.  The second command, avoid, means to “avoid association” or “have nothing to do with.”  It is also in the present tense.

The post-modern day in which we live is by definition a day of naivety and gullibility when it comes to doctrinal issues.  The time when they “will not endure sound teaching” has come (Cf. 2 Timothy 4:3).  As a result of this doctrinal deficiency many in the church lack any ability to exercise discernment.  The believer in Christ is well-served to take to heart the repeated admonition to be on the alert to the presence of false teachers (Cf. Matthew 7:15, Acts 20:28, Philippians 3:2, Colossians 2:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, 2 Peter 2:1, 1 John 4:1).

The false teachers are recognizable by their fruit (Cf. Matthew 7:15).  They cause divisions.  Lacking the Spirit they practice the deeds of the flesh—“enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions” (Galatians 5:20).  They “create obstacles” (Romans 16:17).  The term “obstacles” translates the Greek skandalon.  According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary the term “originally was the name of the part of a trap to which the bait is attached, hence, the trap or snare itself.”  Vine’s goes on to say, “In the NT skandalon is always used metaphorically, and ordinarily of anything that arouses prejudice, or becomes a hindrance to others, or causes them to fall by the way.”  As with the snare of an animal trap into which the bait is placed, the faith-upsetting hindrances of the false teacher are not readily apparent.  Their false teaching is cleverly disguised and dressed-up in Christian-sounding garb lest it be readily identified.  Deceptively disguised their false teaching is doubly dangerous.

False teachers are deceptively charismatic with their words.  Their speech is characterized by “smooth talk” (i.e. eloquent, attractive, pleasant sounding words) and “flattery” (i.e. speech adapted to captivate the hearer; Cf. 2 Timothy 4:3; Isaiah 30:10).  By way of contrast the Apostle Paul refused to tamper with God’s Word or water it down by telling people what they wanted to hear (Cf. 2 Corinthians 4:1-2).

The false teacher sets his sight on the naïve, those lacking the spiritual wherewithal to know better—the unsuspecting and easily duped.  They are those spoken of elsewhere by Paul and likened to “children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (Ephesians 4:14). 

The only sure antidote for doctrinal naivety is Spirit-imparted doctrinal discernment and growth in spiritual maturity.  And to exercise discernment one must pay careful attention to the Word (Cf. 1 Peter 2:2).  The Bereans were commended inasmuch as they “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11).  Every believer is exhorted to follow that example and to “test everything” and “hold fast that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).  The standard by which all teaching is to be measured is the Word of God—“the doctrine you have been taught” (Romans 16:17).  With respect to all matters of faith and practice the believer needs to continually sift all matters through a “But what does the Bible say?” filter, lest they be deceived.  False teachers and their teaching need to be recognized and avoided.  Inasmuch as doctrinal naivety characterizes the modern church, the admonition given in this passage is especially timely and relevant.

THE GOD OF HOPE (Romans Chapter 15)

Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

In the novel, "Cat's Cradle" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., an important book comes to light.  It is entitled, "What Can a Thoughtful Man Hope for Mankind on Earth, Given the Experience of the Past Million Years?"  The chief character in his book is anxious to read it, but when he does, he finds that it doesn't take long.  The whole book consists of one word, "Nothing."  Even if man had existed for a million years—which he hasn’t—apart from God’s intervention there would be no legitimate reason or basis for hope (Cf. Ephesians 2:12).

But God would have HIs people to be filled with hope.  Because of Him they have good reason to be even in the midst of troubling times.  Romans 15:14 constitutes a prayer by the Apostle Paul for the readers of his epistle.  It is a prayer that we might “abound in hope.”

Hope, as the term is used in Scripture, refers to a “favorable and confident expectation” and concerns that which “has to do with the unseen and the future” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of OT and NT Words).  It differs from the common usage in our vernacular inasmuch as Biblical hope contains no element of doubt.  We might say, “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow,” but lacking any guarantee our hope cannot be deemed a “confident expectation.” 

Confident expectation regarding the believer’s favorable future is availed to him by the God of hope.  God is both the source and giver of hope.  God Himself—who declares “the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10)—has no need of hope.  He who “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11), knows already what will come to pass.  Hope is a creature need.  Unlike God, we live and exist in the realm of uncertainty.  We lack the ability on our own to foresee or dictate the future.  Confidence regarding a favorable future must be ministered to us from One who has the power and ability to achieve that which is hoped for.  The God of hope is favorably disposed towards His children and is absolutely trustworthy in all that He has promised (Cf. Romans 15:4).  He is our reason for hope (Cf. Lamentations 3:21-24).

God is able to fill His children with hope.  The Holy Spirit, indwells every child of God.  Jesus called Him the Helper (parakletos, lit. “called to one’s side”).  Preeminent amongst His many tasks, is His ministry as Helper, is His work in directing our hearts “Christ-ward” (Cf. John 16:13-14).  It is in Jesus Christ that we find “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.”  It is He who has caused us to be “born again to a living hope” through HIs resurrection (Cf. 1 Peter 1:3).  It is He who constitutes, in His imminent return, the “blessed hope” of the believer (Cf. Titus 2:13).  As the Spirit of God works to apply the Word of God to our hearts (Cf. Romans 15:4), He ministers confident expectation regarding all that which God has prepared for us. 

God’s desires that we “abound in hope.”  The word “abound” translates a Greek term meaning “to be abundantly furnished, to abound in a thing” (Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of OT and NT Words).  It is elsewhere used of the fragments left over after the feeding of the multitude (Cf. John 6:12-13).  In this context the term speaks of an overabundance of confident expectation.  It is in the present tense and therefore pictures God’s saints as continually abounding in Spirit-imparted hope.  J B Phillips paraphrases this prayer of Paul this way, “May the God of Hope fill you with joy and peace in your faith, that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook may be radiant and alive.”  Is your outlook “radiant and alive?  By the Spirit it can be.  These are troubling times.  “Out in the highways and by-ways of life, many are weary and sad.”  God would have us to “carry the sunshine where darkness is rife.”  He desires for us to be filled with this kind of hope to such an extent that others would see it in us and wonder why we have it (Cf. 1 Peter 3:15).  Because of our relationship with the God of hope we have good reason to abound in hope.

UNITY AMIDST DIVERSITY (Romans Chapter 14)

Romans 14:1, “As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.”
Romans 14:13, “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.”

The instructions in this chapter were particularly relevant to circumstances that had arisen in the early church.  Some in the church were from a Jewish background and had been raised and taught to avoid eating certain foods.  But there are, of course, no ceremonial or dietary restrictions for the believer in Christ (Cf. Colossians 2:21-23; 1 Timothy 4:1-3).  Some of the Jewish brethren struggled to adapt.  Then there was the problem in Rome and in other places regarding the eating of meat that had been offered to idols (Cf. 1 Corinthians chapters 8-9).  Prior to their salvation some of the Gentiles had offered meat to idols.  Now, as believers, some were afraid to eat any meat at all.  Other believers held no such reservations.

Paul spoke of two differing groups of people.  The first, those “weak in faith,” were those who lacked understanding of truths associated with the believer’s freedom in Christ.  Amongst this group were those of a more legalistic bent.  William Barclay commented regarding this, “Such a man is weak in the faith for two reasons: 1) He has not yet discovered the meaning of Christian freedom;…2) He has not yet liberated himself from a belief in the efficacy of works.”  The second group, those described as “strong” (Romans 15:1), were more doctrinally astute regarding such matters and as a result felt free to “eat anything” (Romans 14:2).

The principles laid out in this chapter have relevance to other matters commonly referred to as “non-essentials” or “matters of conscience.”  Many modern-church-era disagreements fall into these categories.  It is always wrong to commit adultery, fornicate, get drunk, lie, steal, etc.  With regards to such issues God has spoken—these things are clearly wrong and forbidden.  Christians are exhorted in response to lovingly rebuke, exhort, and reprove according to the instructions given in God’s Word.  Other matters fall into the category of “non-essentials.”  Amongst such concerns are questions regarding whether it is okay for a Christian to drink alcohol, go to movies, play cards, work on Sunday, wear anything to church other than a suit or a dress, etc.  Amazingly, many disagreements, and even church-splits, have arisen over trivial matters (Cf. Romans 14:17).  The “weak in faith” are prone to passing judgment (Cf. Romans 14:4).  The “strong” are prone to disregard the sensitivity of others (Cf. Romans 14:15). 

Someone has written this satirical poem which sadly is not too far from the truth in many churches:  “Believe as I believe, No more, no less; That I am right, And no one else, confess; Feel as I feel, Think only as I think; Eat what I eat, And drink but what I drink; Look as I look, Do always as I do; Then, and only then, Will I fellowship with you.”

Kent Hughes commented on the problem addressed by the Apostle Paul, “The ‘easy’ solution to the problem would have been to form two churches, ‘The Church of the Carnivores’ (perhaps not a bad name for some churches I have heard of!” and ‘The First Church of the Vegetarians.’  Paul, fortunately, was committed to the nobler, though far more difficult, solution.”

That nobler, far more difficult solution is to walk in love (Cf. Romans 14:15).  Love involves sacrifice and the situation gave rise to opportunities for both groups to express that.  The “strong” were admonished to “welcome” and “not despise” those who were weak in faith (Romans 14:1, 3).  They were also exhorted to sacrifice their freedom to “eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes a brother to stumble” (Cf. Romans 14:21).  The “weak in faith” were called upon to set aside their propensity to pass judgment on their liberated brethren (Cf. Romans 14:3, 10, 13), with the understanding that each believer “will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).  All were commanded to “pursue what makes for peace and mutual upbringing” (Romans 14:19), that unity might be preserved amidst diversity in the church (Cf. Romans 15:5-7).

WHAT TO WEAR (Romans Chapter 13)

Romans 13:14, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

There used to be a show on TV called, “What Not to Wear.”  The premise of the show was to find some poorly attired person who would then be assisted by fashion experts to make drastic alterations to his or her wardrobe.  At the end of the show the now well-attired person would be introduced to his or her family and friends, who would then respond to the dramatic improvement with corresponding amazement and delight.

Spiritually speaking, we live and exist in a “What Not to Wear” reality.  Adam and Eve were the first to experience the trauma of being inappropriately dressed (Cf. Genesis 3:7).  By God’s grace their wardrobe was later upgraded (Cf. Genesis 3:21).  But they have left to us all, in sin, a legacy of being inappropriate attired before our thrice-holy God (Cf. Romans 5:12; Isaiah 6:1-5; Zechariah 3:1-5).

The believer in Christ is one who has experienced a radical change of identity.  By a work of the Spirit of God he has been created anew, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Positionally speaking, the believer is one who even now attired with the very righteousness of Christ (Cf. Romans 5:1; 2 Corinthians 5:21).  The command to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” is a command to the believer to live according to his new identity (who he truly is).

The phrase “put on” means to “put on as a garment or to cause to get into a garment.”  It is used here figuratively and speaks not just to external matters, but to intimate identification with Christ in all respects.  The command is to put on practically that which has already been put on positionally (Cf. Galatians 3:27, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ”).  The “put on” terminology is used elsewhere by the Apostle Paul to likewise describe the need to live according to one’s new identity in Christ (Cf. Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10).

The same phrase is used in Luke 15:22, where we find a wonderful illustration of a dramatic change in attire.  In his pursuit of sin the prodigal son ultimately found himself in a most dreadful estate—feeding the pigs and longing after the pig food.  In caring for the pigs he was no doubt smelly and unbearable to be around, his clothes being covered with pig mire and all!  He came to his senses and returned to his father.  His father then saw him, embraced him, and put on him a robe, a ring, and new sandals on his feet.  One would suppose that he was henceforth delighted to have exchanged his noxious smelling garments for new and better ones.  His new garments identified him to be a member of his father’s household and testified to his father’s love.

Kent Hughes once commented on Romans 13:14, “The fact is, we have this new self if we are Christians.  We received the old man at birth, and we were given the new man in our heavenly birth.  The new man is not our work—it is God’s creation and gift.  Our task is not to weave it, but to wear it.  Paul is commanding a daily appropriation of that which we already possess…We have our part to do in dressing ourselves with the divine wardrobe, for here, clothes do make the man—and the woman!  We must daily set aside the rotting garments of the old man.  We must formally reject sensuality and selfish pride and materialism and bitterness.  We must read the Word and ask God to renew our minds through the Spirit.  We must work out our salvation by doing those things that will develop a Biblical mind.  We must put on our new, shining garments of light.  We must put on what we are!”  The appropriate attire for the believer in Christ is Spirit-borne, Christ-like attitudes and actions (Cf. Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:12-14).  By God’s grace, in the Lord Jesus Christ, we’ve been made recipients of an appropriate and glorious wardrobe, all we must do is put Him on.