CHAPTER XVI
Telleth us what is the old Man, and what is the new Man.
Again, when we read of the old man and the new man we must mark what that
meaneth. The old man is Adam and disobedience, the Self, the Me, and so forth.
But the new man is Christ and true obedience, a giving up and denying oneself
of all temporal things, and seeking the honour of God alone in all things. And
when dying and perishing and the like are spoken of, it meaneth that the old
man should be destroyed, and not seek its own either in spiritual or in natural
things. For where this is brought about in a true divine light, there the new
man is born again. In like manner, it hath been said that man should die unto
himself, that is, to earthly pleasures, consolations, joys, appetites, the I,
the Self, and all that is thereof in man, to which he clingeth and on which he
is yet leaning with content, and thinketh much of. Whether it be the man
himself, or any other creature, whatever it be, it must depart and die, if the
man is to be brought aright to another mind, according to the truth.
Thereunto doth St. Paul exhort us, saying:
"Put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts: . . . and that ye put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."[17] Now he who liveth to himself after the old man, is called
and is truly a child of Adam; and though he may give diligence to the ordering
of his life, he is still the child and brother of the Evil Spirit. But he who
liveth in humble obedience and in the new man which is Christ, he is, in like
manner, the brother of Christ and the child of God.
Behold! where the old man dieth and the new man
is born, there is that second birth of which Christ saith, "Except a man be
born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."[18] Likewise St. Paul saith, "As in Adam all die, even so in
Christ shall all be made alive."[19] That is
to say, all who follow Adam in pride, in lust of the flesh, and in
disobedience, are dead in soul, and never will or can be made alive but in
Christ. And for this cause, so long as a man is an Adam or his child, he is
without God. Christ saith, "He who is not with Me is against Me."[20] Now he who is against God, is dead before
God. Whence it followeth that all Adam's children are dead before God. But he
who standeth with Christ in perfect obedience, he is with God and liveth. As it
hath been said already, sin lieth in the turning away of the creature from the
Creator, which agreeth with what we have now said.
For he who is in disobedience is in sin, and sin
can never be atoned for or healed but by returning to God, and this is brought
to Pass by humble obedience. For so long as a man continueth in disobedience,
his sin can never be blotted out; let him do what he will, it availeth him
nothing. Let us be assured of this. For disobedience is itself sin. But when a
man entereth into the obedience of the faith, all is healed, and blotted out
and forgiven, and not else. Insomuch that if the Evil Spirit himself could come
into true obedience, he would become an angel again, and all his sin and
wickedness would be healed and blotted out and forgiven at once. And could an
angel fall into disobedience, he would straightway become an evil spirit
although he did nothing afresh.
If then it were possible for a man to renounce
himself and all things, and to live as wholly and purely in true obedience, as
Christ did in His human nature, such a man were quite without sin, and were one
thing with Christ, and the same by grace which Christ was by nature. But it is
said this cannot be. So also it is said: "There is none without sin." But be
that as it may, this much is certain; that the nearer we are to perfect
obedience, the less we sin, and the farther from it we are, the more we sin. In
brief: whether a man be good, better, or best of all; bad, worse, or worst of
all; sinful or saved before God; it all lieth in this matter of obedience.
Therefore it hath been said: the more of Self and Me, the more of sin and
wickedness. So likewise it hath been said: the more the Self, the I, the Me,
the Mine, that is, self-seeking and selfishness, abate in a man, the more doth
God's I, that is, God Himself, increase in him.
Now, if all mankind abode in true obedience,
there would be no grief nor sorrow. For if it were so, all men would be at one,
and none would vex or harm another; so also, none would lead a life or do any
deed contrary to God's will. Whence then should grief or sorrow arise? But now
alas! all men, nay the whole world lieth in disobedience! Now were a man simply
and wholly obedient as Christ was, all disobedience were to him a sharp and
bitter pain. But though all men were against him, they could neither shake nor
trouble him, for while in this obedience a man were one with God, and God
Himself were one with the man.
Behold now all disobedience is contrary to God,
and nothing else. In truth, no Thing is contrary to God; no creature nor
creature's work, nor anything that we can name or think of is contrary to God
or displeasing to Him, but only disobedience and the disobedient man. In short,
all that is, is well-pleasing and good in God's eyes, saving only the
disobedient man. But he is so displeasing and hateful to God and grieveth Him
so sore, that if it were possible for human nature to die a hundred deaths, God
would willingly suffer them all for one disobedient man, that He might slay
disobedience in him, and that obedience might be born again.
Behold! albeit no man may be so single and
perfect in this obedience as Christ was, yet it is possible to every man to
approach so near thereunto as to be rightly called Godlike, and "a partaker of
the divine nature."[21] And the nearer a man
cometh thereunto, and the more Godlike and divine he becometh, the more he
hateth all disobedience, sin, evil and unrighteousness, and the worse they
grieve him. Disobedience and sin are the same thing, for there is no sin but
disobedience, and what is done of disobedience is all sin. Therefore all we
have to do is to keep ourselves from disobedience.
[17] Eph. 4:22, 24.
[18] John 3:3.
[19] 1 Cor. 15:22.
[20] Matt. 12:30.
[21] 2 Peter 1:4.