Colossians 3:10

The "new self" is who the Christian is after his or her union with Christ. One writer argued that "the new man" refers to the church, the body of Christ. [Note: Darrell L. Bock, "’The New Man’ as Community in Colossians and Ephesians," in Integrity of Heart, Skillfulness of Hands, pp. 158-60.] But this is a minority view. Colossians 3:10 describes the process of individual sanctification. "True knowledge" (epignosis) is full knowledge of God and His will. Sanctification results in increasing likeness to Christ. Only by sanctification can people attain to the full image of God and Christ that God created them to bear (Genesis 1:26-28).