You were taught, with regard to your former way of life,
to put off your old self,
which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;
to be made new in the attitude of your minds;
and to put on the new self, created to be like God
in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:22-24
Paul makes a clear distinction between:
- Old Self: former, corrupted, deceitful
- New Self: Like God, true righteousness, holiness
What a contrast! As followers of Christ, there should be a clear distinction between the old way of living and our new life in Christ.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians then (and, by extension, to us now) to stir up our hearts to live in the light of our new position in Christ.
There’s so much truth packed into these few verses! Let’s dissect them together:
You were taught
Paul begins by essentially saying “You already know this!” It’s so easy to lose our way, become distracted, or allow the world to push and pull us away from what we know to be true. We must diligently apply what we have learned.
Former way of life
Former means past. Done. History. (Can I get an “Amen!”?) Both individually and collectively, we declare, “Praise God! I’m not what I used to be!” The enemy wants to condemn, mock, and heap on shame. But that former way of life is gone. Our new identity is in Christ!
Put off/Put on
Living out our identity in Him is a daily choice. Day by day—and sometimes moment by moment—we make an intentional choice to “put off” the old sin nature and “put on” the new. Thankfully, we have the power of the Holy Spirit to help!
Corruption/deceitful desires
Self-awareness means I remain conscious of my tendency to sin. The old nature can rise up to distort, deceive, and corrupt. Choosing to “put on” a teachable spirit means I am humble enough to receive wise counsel—to ask God, my spouse, or a trusted friend, “Am I overreacting? Am I looking at this situation correctly? Are my antennae out too far?”
Attitude of your mind
Bingo. That’s where it all begins! The daily battle is won or lost in our minds. We think about it before we jump in and do it. What messages are replaying in your head? Is your thought life filled with God’s Word? Do you need to purge the “stinkin’ thinkin’”?
Created to be like God
It is God’s will for us to be conformed to the image of His Son. This process of sanctification will never be complete on this earth … it is continual from that moment of second birth until we pass from this life. The transformation brings freedom from sin and death! Are you looking more like your Father each day?
True righteousness and holiness
The adjective true suggests there is a false (or perhaps manufactured) righteousness and holiness. The false version is often the product of legalism. It’s exhausting at best (and cannot be sustained) and at it’s worst, leads to pride. True righteousness and holiness can only come from placing our trust in Jesus and yielding to the working of His Spirit in our lives.
Much of this may be familiar to you. Sometimes we don’t need to learn new-to-us truth—we just need to be reminded of what we already know, and be challenged to live it Are you ready to put off the old and put on the new?
This past week, we resumed our Bible study in Romans. I hope the teaching video will be a blessing to you … and if you have not already done so, please visit the Cross My Heart YouTube channel and become a subscriber today!
