Corporate nature of the new and old man (part 2)

Last time we left off with the question. Why just one new man. The start
to our answer is found when we look at the opposite of the new man, the
old man.

"We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the sinful body
might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin." (Romans 6:6)

Isn't the phrase our old man strange, surely that should be my old man
or our old men. Our is plural and yet man is singular. Why? Well the old
man is corporate. It isn't that we each have an old man, one that pushes
us to do bad things. Like a bad angel on our shoulder who tempts us to
stray. Rather there is but one old man and we each are partakers of him.
We have fellowship with him (note: I have used the word fellowship
intentionally, did it shock you?)

When Christ died on the cross, he died to buy forgiveness for our sins.
But much more, he also died to deal with the old man. The thing that was
common to all men. Where did this old man come from?

Romans 5 tells us "Therefore as sin came into the world through one man
and death through sin..." Robertson put it like this, "Personification
of sin and represented as coming from the outside into the world of
humanity." Through one man, Adam, sin came into the world. More than
that it came into the human race. This illness, this condition of human
kind is terminal, there is no cure. For thousands of years this
condition persisted in man. History shows that time and again the worst
parts of man can rear it ugly head in massacre, torture, rape and even
genocide. Whole nations and people groups bent on destruction. No one
country has remained unaffected, not one man has remained pure.

The term "old man" doesn't have any meaning unless there is a new man to
compare it with. What Jesus Christ revealed to the world is the
possibility of a human race without the scars of sin. Like there is only
one old man, a corporate representative, a common nature in all men.
There is only one new man. Talking of the work of the cross, Paul
writes, "...that he might create in himself one new man..." (Ephesians
2:15, RSV)

There is a promise of God for everyman that believes in Jesus Christ, it
is the promise of escape from the clutches of what we call human nature
and the rest in a new nature, in a new man, Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:4 says, "by which he has granted to us his precious and very
great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption
that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the
divine nature."

The question for each one of us is this... I am part of the old man or
part of the new?

Bless you,

Gary