The Greek verb anakainoō means to renew, to make new again, or to renovate. Composed of ana ('again') and kainoō (from kainos, 'new in quality'), it describes not mere repair but qualitative renewal — a restoration to a new kind of life.
Paul's use in 2 Corinthians 4:16 is among the most encouraging declarations in all his letters: 'Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.' The progressive present tense describes a continuous, ongoing process — daily renewal from God even as the body deteriorates.
Colossians 3:10 connects anakainoō to the new self 'being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator' — a return to the original purpose of the imago Dei, distorted by sin, now being restored. The verb stands at the intersection of soteriology, eschatology, and sanctification.