The Old Man and the New Man

A warning. “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk” (4:17). To walk means to live day by day. Here Gentiles means people who did not know God. Going nowhere. Paul says they lived “in the futility of their mind” (4:17). Futility means emptiness, like running hard on a path that leads nowhere. Far from God. Their understanding was “darkened,” and they were “alienated from the life of God” (4:18). Alienated means cut off and far away. Past feeling. Paul says they were “past feeling” (4:19). They stopped feeling sorry for doing wrong and wanted more and more of it. No one is better. The believers in Ephesus had lived this way too before they trusted Jesus. No one is better than anyone else, and every person needs Him. A different lesson. “But you have not so learned Christ” (4:20). The believers had not learned that empty way of life from Jesus. The truth is in Jesus. They had “been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (4:21). Jesus does more than teach the truth. He shows us who God is and how to live. What this means for you. Learning about Jesus is more than learning facts. Knowing Him changes the way we live each day.

Walk (4:17). “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk.” Because of all God has done in Christ, believers live a new way. To walk is to live out a whole way of life, step after step. The futility of their mind. Futility is emptiness, effort that never reaches its goal. A life built without God may be busy and clever, yet it cannot reach the purpose God made it for. Darkened and alienated (4:18). Their understanding was darkened, and they were cut off “from the life of God.” The trouble is not a lack of brains but distance from God. Past feeling (4:19). “Who, being past feeling, have given themselves over.” Sin repeated long enough dulls the conscience, like skin that grows hard and stops feeling. Then people chase impure, shameful living “with greediness,” wanting more of what never satisfies. Fair to everyone. Paul wrote this to Gentile believers who had once lived this way themselves. It gives no one a reason to look down on anyone. It describes every heart without Christ and shows why every person needs Him. But you (4:20). “But you have not so learned Christ.” Believers do not only learn facts about Christ; they come to know Christ Himself. Taught by Him (4:21). “If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus.” Truth is more than a set of ideas. It is found in a Person. Application. Ask what you are learning from Jesus, not only about Him. Spend time with Him in His Word and in prayer this week.

Paul wrote to believers in the city of Ephesus. Before they knew Jesus, they lived without God. Paul did not want them to live that way again. Life without God is empty, like a road that goes nowhere. Paul said, “They do not understand.” That does not make those people worse than us. The believers in Ephesus had once lived that way too. Every person needs Jesus. Then Paul said, “Yes, the truth is in Jesus.” Jesus shows us who God is. He also shows us how to live.

Paul told God’s people how to live. People who do not know God lose their way. The truth is in Jesus!

Put off. Paul reminds them “that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man” (4:22). The old man is the old self, the person we were without Christ. Old clothes. Paul uses a clothing picture. Think of taking off dirty, worn-out clothes at the end of a muddy day. The old self “grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts” (4:22). Like old clothes, it only gets worse, and sin’s promises never come true. Made new. Next, believers are to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (4:23). God is the One who does the renewing. He changes how we think, from the inside out. Put on. Then they “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (4:24). The new self is created by God, not made by us. Not by trying harder. We do not become new by trying our best. Jesus died for our sins and rose again, and God makes new everyone who trusts Him. Then, with His help, we live like it. Grace first. Ephesians 2 already taught that we are saved by grace through faith. The new clothes are part of God’s gift. What this means for you. Each morning you get dressed. Let that remind you to ask God to help you live as His new person today.

Put off (4:22). “That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” The old man is the person we were before Christ. Old here is palaios (say: pal-eye-OSS), worn out and past its use, the word used for an old garment. Growing corrupt. The old self “grows corrupt,” like cloth that rots. Its desires are “deceitful”: sin promises joy and freedom, then leaves people empty. Renewed (4:23). “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Renewed is ananeoo (say: ah-nah-neh-OH-oh), to be made new again. The form of the word most likely means it is done to us and keeps happening: God renews the believer’s mind day after day. Put on (4:24). “And that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” The new man was created; believers do not invent it. God makes it, shaped like His own character. Already, and every day. Paul writes to people who already belong to Christ. The new self is God’s gift through Jesus, received by faith. Putting it on means living out what God has already made true, with the Spirit’s help. Not self-improvement. Trying harder cannot make a new person, any more than scrubbing old clothes makes them new. Christ died for our sins and rose again, and God makes new everyone who trusts Him. Application. When an old habit pulls at you, remember who God has made you in Christ, and ask Him for help to choose the new way.

Paul used a picture of clothes. The old self is like dirty, worn-out clothes. It is the old way of living without God. Paul said, “You were taught to leave your old self.” God makes His people new inside. Paul wrote, “You were taught to be made new in your hearts.” The new self is “made to be like God.” It is like putting on clean, bright clothes. We cannot make ourselves new by trying harder. Jesus died and rose again so we could be made new. We put on the new life because God has made us new.

Jesus makes His people new inside. It is like putting on clean clothes! It is God’s gift, not something we earn.

Off and on. Paul shows what putting off and putting on look like. Every old thing to put off comes with a new thing to put on. Truth. Paul says, “putting away lying,” and then, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor” (4:25). God’s people belong to one another like parts of one body, so they tell each other the truth. Angry, but not sinning. “Be angry, and do not sin” (4:26). Anger is a feeling, and it is not always wrong. What we do with it matters. Hitting, yelling or getting even turns anger into sin. Before sunset. “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath” (4:26). Let go of your anger quickly instead of holding on to it for days. You never have to make up with someone who hurt you or made you feel unsafe; tell a parent or a grown-up you trust. Holding on to anger gives “place to the devil” (4:27), room for him to cause trouble. Jesus is far stronger than the devil. Telling is not a grudge. If someone does something wrong to you, telling a parent or a grown-up you trust is the right thing to do. That is not holding a grudge. Work and give. “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor” (4:28). Taking what is not yours is replaced by honest work, so there is “something to give him who has need.” Words that build. “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth” (4:29). Instead, say what is good and helpful, words that build others up, so that your words “impart grace to the hearers.” What this means for you. Pick one thing to put on from this list, and practice it this week with God’s help.

Therefore (4:25). Because believers have put on the new man, the old habits go. Each command pairs something to put away with something to put on, and most come with a reason. Truth for falsehood. “Therefore, putting away lying” comes with “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor.” Believers belong to each other like the parts of one body, so a lie between them hurts the whole body. Anger without sin (4:26). “Be angry, and do not sin.” Paul uses the words of Psalm 4:4. Some anger is right, like anger at cruelty. But anger turns into sin quickly when it is fed. “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath”: deal with it before it settles in. No foothold (4:27). “Nor give place to the devil.” Anger kept overnight gives the devil room to work, turning a hurt into a grudge. Christ is far stronger than the devil; we simply refuse him a place. Speaking up is not a grudge. Telling a parent or a grown-up you trust about something wrong that was done to you is not holding a grudge. It is wise, and it is right. Labor for theft (4:28). “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.” The goal is more than stopping: the one who once took now gives. Building words (4:29). “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth.” Corrupt is sapros (say: sah-PROSS), rotten, the word Jesus used in “a bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:17). Instead, speak what is good and builds others up, “that it may impart grace to the hearers.” Our words can hand grace to others. Application. Before you speak this week, ask: Is it true? Will it build up? Will it give grace?

Paul gave a list of old things to put off. Each one has a new thing to put on. Put off lying, and put on telling the truth. Paul wrote, “Tell each other the truth.” Anger is a feeling, and it is not always wrong. Paul said, “When you are angry, do not sin.” Do not hurt others when you feel angry. Do not stay angry all day. Staying angry gives the devil a chance to cause trouble. Did someone do something wrong to you? Tell a parent or a grown-up you trust. That is not holding a grudge. Taking what is not yours is wrong. Paul said to work instead and “share with those who are poor.” Put off harmful words. Say “words that will help others become stronger.”

Tell the truth, and share with people in need. Being angry is a feeling, but do not sin. Say kind words that help others.

Do not grieve the Spirit. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (4:30). To grieve someone is to make them very sad. Only a person can be grieved. The Holy Spirit is not a force or a feeling. He is God, and He loves us. What makes Him sad. The things on Paul’s list, like lies, angry fighting and hurtful words, grieve the Spirit who lives in believers. Sealed. It is the Spirit “by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (4:30). A seal was a mark that showed who owned something. The Holy Spirit is God’s mark that His people belong to Him. The day of redemption. Redemption means being set free. Many Christians see the day of redemption as the day Jesus comes back for His people. Put it away. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice” (4:31). Clamor is loud, angry shouting. Malice is wanting to hurt someone. Put on kindness. “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (4:32). We forgive because God forgave us first through Jesus. Forgiving and safe. Forgiving someone does not mean saying the hurt was OK. It never means keeping a secret or staying close to someone who hurts you. If someone hurts you or makes you feel unsafe, tell a parent or a grown-up you trust. What this means for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you be kind and tenderhearted this week.

Grieve (4:30). “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” A force cannot be grieved; only a person who loves can. The Spirit is a Person, and He is God. What grieves Him. The verses around this command are about speech and relationships: lying, sinful anger, theft, rotten words. The Spirit who lives in believers is pained when they treat one another the way the old man did. Sealed. He is the One “by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” A seal marked ownership. The Spirit Himself is God’s mark on those who belong to Him. The day of redemption. Many Christians see the day of redemption as the day Christ returns and His people are made completely new, body and all. Six things to put away (4:31). “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Bitterness is resentment kept alive. Wrath is a sudden outburst; anger is the kind that settles in. Clamor is shouting, evil speaking is words that tear others down, and malice is the wish to harm. Three things to put on (4:32). “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Kind is goodness that helps. Tenderhearted is a heart moved by another person’s pain. Forgiving is letting go of the debt. The pattern. We forgive “even as God in Christ forgave you.” The cross is both the reason and the measure. Forgiveness and safety. Forgiving does not mean calling a wrong right, keeping a harmful secret, or staying near someone who is unsafe. If someone hurts you or makes you feel unsafe, tell a parent or a grown-up you trust. Application. Name one bitter thought to give to God this week, and one kind act to put in its place.

Paul said, “Do not make the Holy Spirit sad.” The Holy Spirit is God, and He loves us. Hurtful words and actions make Him sad. The Spirit lives in everyone who trusts Jesus. The Spirit is “God’s proof that you belong to him.” God will set His people free when the time comes. Many Christians see that day as the day Jesus comes back. Paul told them to put away bitter, angry words. Instead, “Be kind and loving to each other.” Forgive others, just as God forgives us because of Jesus. Forgiving does not mean saying a hurt was OK. It never means keeping a secret or staying near someone unsafe. If someone hurts you, tell a parent or a grown-up you trust.

Be kind, and forgive the way God forgives. Forgiving never means keeping a hurt a secret. Tell a parent or a grown-up you trust.

The Old Man and the New Man

🎉 All Matched!