Old Man and New Man

Biblical Texts

"Old man" and "new man" are paired expressions found in the epistles of Paul.

• Romans 6:6: "Our old man is crucified with him." This verse is part of Romans 6:3–6, which explains union with Christ through baptism.
• Ephesians 4:22–24: Believers are to put off the old man and "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."
• Colossians 3:9–10: Believers 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."
• Ephesians 2:15: Christ made peace between Jews and Gentiles, "for to make in himself of twain one new man." Here the new man refers not to an individual but to a new community.

Terminology and Background

In Greek, the old man is palaios anthrōpos. The new man is rendered kainos anthrōpos in Ephesians, while Colossians 3:10 uses neos. These expressions are paired with the imagery of "putting off" and "putting on" clothing. Some scholars read this imagery in connection with baptism, alongside Galatians 3:27: "have put on Christ."

Broader Biblical Context

The old man is understood as the person under the dominion of sin in Adam, and the new man as the person newly created in Christ. This contrast parallels the contrast between Adam and Christ in Romans 5:12–21. The phrase "the image of him that created him" in Colossians 3:10 recalls the image of God in Genesis and also echoes the "new creature" of 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Accomplished fact or ongoing task: Romans and Colossians say that the old man has already been crucified and put off. By contrast, the New Korean Revised Version, a standard Korean translation, renders Ephesians 4 as the command "put on." Scholars disagree over whether the infinitives in the original should be read as commands or as a description of what the readers have already been taught.
• Two natures in the believer: A widespread popular explanation holds that the old man and the new man coexist and struggle within the believer. By contrast, Reformed scholars such as John Murray hold that the believer is not the old man but the new man. They attribute the struggle with remaining sin to the fact that the new man is not yet perfect.
• The Wesleyan tradition: The Wesleyan tradition, including Methodist and Holiness churches, has emphasized the connection between the problem of the old man and holiness, that is, entire sanctification, in which the heart is cleansed from the remaining inclination to sin. The Reformed tradition, including Presbyterians, tends to regard sanctification as a gradual, lifelong process.
• Individual or community: On the basis of Ephesians 2:15, some interpreters read the new man not only as the inner life of the individual but also as the new humanity in Christ, that is, the church.
• Common confusions: The old man and the new man are not terms that distinguish body from soul. Nor are they the same as the outward man and inward man of 2 Corinthians 4:16 or as what Paul calls the flesh. In addition, although sermons commonly say that "the old man must be put to death daily," the texts say that the old man has already died. The command to "mortify" is applied to "your members which are upon the earth" (Colossians 3:5) and "the deeds of the body" (Romans 8:13).