Ye…have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him.
—Colossians 3:9-10
If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him…be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and…put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
—Ephesians 4:21, 23-24
In every pursuit it is essential to have the goal clearly defined. It is not enough that there is movement—we need to know that the movement is headed in the right direction. When we are in partnership with another person, we need to know that our goals are the same. If our daily renewal is to attain its objective, we need to know clearly what its purpose is.
“Ye…have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge.” The divine life, the work of the Holy Spirit within us, is no blind force. We are to be workers together with God. (See 2 Corinthians 6:1.) Our cooperation is to be intelligent and voluntary. “The new man…is renewed in knowledge,” day by day. There is a knowledge that natural understanding can draw from the Word, but it is without life and power. It has none of the real truth and substance that spiritual knowledge brings. Only the renewing power of the Holy Spirit gives true knowledge. This involves an inward tasting, a living experience of the very things of which the words are but the images. “The new man…is renewed in knowledge.” However diligent our Bible study may be, true knowledge is gained only as spiritual renewal is experienced.
The morning hour is the time for our daily renewing by the Holy Spirit into the image of God as righteousness and holiness. We need a time of meditation and prayer to get our hearts set upon God’s purposes. We need a true vision of how the inward man can be renewed day by day into the very likeness of God. Let nothing less be your aim. The image of God, the life of God, is in you, and His likeness can be seen in you. Let all your trust in Him mean nothing less than finding His likeness formed in you by the renewing of the Holy Spirit.
Let this be your daily prayer—to be renewed according to the image of Him who created you.