Putting Off The Old And Putting On The New

Putting On The New Man

Colossians 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

The Holy Ghost speaking through the pen of the Apostle Paul is imploring you to put on the new man.  This new man is renewed by and through the knowledge of God through his holy word. In this short verse there is both command and transformation, and the central action is contained in the phrase “put on.”

The Weight of “Put On”

To put on is an intentional act. It is the language of clothing yourself. No one accidentally puts on a garment; it requires a conscious movement of the will. In the same way, the Holy Ghost describes the believer deliberately clothing himself with a new nature.

The old man—the former pattern of thinking, reacting, desiring, and living—must be laid aside like worn and soiled garments. Pride, bitterness, corruption of thought, selfish ambition, and the blindness of the old life cannot remain when the new life is embraced. They do not belong to the wardrobe of the new man.

The Process of Change

The renewal in knowledge acts as a catalyst, allowing you to embody qualities such as compassion, kindness, humility, and love. This is not merely about surface changes but a core evolution that reflects a deeper awareness of what it means to exist in unity with one another and the divine. 

Your New Identity

Clothing is both public and private. The “new man” is inwardly formed—renewed in knowledge—but “put on” makes it outwardly manifest. The renewal of the mind shapes speech, conduct, relationships, and witness to others. The image of the Creator becomes the pattern: the new garment is tailored after the One who made you, so the transformation is restorative (returning you to intended form) and formative (shaping you toward a likeness).

Finally, “put on” acknowledges temporality and realism. Clothes wear, get dirty, and need replacing; spiritual formation is ongoing, subject to wear and to renewal. The phrase therefore invites vigilance: keep dressing yourself each day in the attitudes and choices that reflect the renewed mind—image of God.

Knowing the End Changes How You Love Today

Confidence In The Word of God

2 Peter 1:14 Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.

Why We Weren’t Made to Stay

The speaker Peter writes by inspiration of the Holy Ghost something that you most likely spend your life attempting to avoiding: the nearness of death. There is no denial here, no bargaining, no desperate grasping for more time. There is clarity. There is acceptance. There is even a patient dignity.

The phrase “shortly I must put off” carries a profound weight. “Shortly” suggests urgency—not in panic, but in awareness. Time is no longer an abstract concept stretching endlessly ahead. It has edges now. It has a horizon that can be seen. To know that one’s remaining days are few is to see life differently. Every word matters more. Every relationship becomes more precious. 

But it is the word “shortly” that pierces the heart.

Shortly.
Not someday.
Not eventually.
Not in the vague distance of old age.

Shortly.

As you reflect on Peter's words, you are reminded that your own time on this earth is limited. You must "put off" your tabernacles, or physical bodies, at some point. This is a daunting reality if you are not in Christ, but it can also be a powerful motivator to live each day with purpose and in faith.

How the Holy Spirit Reframes Our Exit

“Even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me"—anchors Peters, acceptance in something larger than his feelings or personal philosophy. The Peter has learned this truth from Christ's. Jesus, too, put off his tabernacle. He faced death with focus, composure and purpose, and in doing so, conquered death itself. The Holy Ghost of God is speaking to you is saying: I am not walking into darkness alone; I am following a path already walked by Jesus Christ.

Turning Bitterness into Steadfast Grace

There is an aching beauty in this passage—a kind of peace that only comes when you stop fighting the inevitable and instead accept the free gift of God via his son Jesus Christ.

You spend so much of your life pretending you have unlimited time. You postpone conversations, defer kindness, delay forgiveness. You treat your days as if they are infinite, as if there will always be another chance, another season, another moment, another tomorrow. But this passage whispers a different truth: shortly, you must let go.

Yet there is no despair in these words. Instead, there is a liberation. When you truly accept that your time in this body is temporary—that you are, a pilgrim in a borrowed dwelling—something shifts. The petty anxieties lose their grip. The things that seemed so urgent become fickle. And what should remain is: you and the word of God, you and the Spirit of God, your testimony.

The Holy Ghost of God teaches us Christ that death is not an ending but a transition and translation. Knowing this, you can face the brevity of life not with bitterness, but with a quiet, steadfast grace that is only found in the Jesus Christ.