Ephesians 4:20-24 [20] But that is not the way you learned Christ!--[21] assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, [22]to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, [23]and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, [24]and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (ESV)
As seasons and temperatures change, so do our clothing. Even in the course of a single day, we can go from cold darkness, rain, wind, to hot, humid sun. Sometimes we take our cues in what to wear from how others are dressed around us that we need to change. But we may not feel that the attire that we see is really us, for we all have our own style. Putting on appropriate clothing is often like putting on a new you.
Spiritually, "Putting on the New Self" means leaving the old self behind. Between the old and new self, there are clear differences: The old is self–centered and futile, the new is Christ–centered and purposeful. The old is ignorant of God’s truth, the new knows and understands it. The old is morally and spiritually callused and shameless, the new is sensitive to sin of every sort. Finally, the old is depraved in its thinking, the new is renewed.
From Christ the Ephesian Christians, and every true believer is infused with the very antithesis to the downward spiral of the world plunging recklessly after its sin. Instead of hardness and darkness and deadness and recklessness, (believers have) tenderness and light and life and an abandonment to the upward spiral! (Hughes, R. K. (1990). Ephesians: the mystery of the body of Christ (p. 143). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.)
Paul helps us understand what it means to Put on the New Self in showing us:
1) What was Not Put On (Ephesians 4:20), 2) Know what to Put On(Ephesians 4:21), 3) Put off the Old Self (Ephesians 4:22), 4) Put on the New Self (Ephesians 4:23–24).
In order to Put on the New Self, we need to know:
1) What was Not Put On (Ephesians 4:20)
Ephesians 4:20 [20] But that is not the way you learned Christ!-- (ESV)
After reviewing the evils of the pagan world and the self–centered, purposeless, standardless wickedness that both comes from and leads to spiritual darkness and ignorance, Paul declared to believers who had fallen back into such degradation, But that is not the way you learned Christ!. That is not the way of Christ or of His kingdom or family. “You are not to have any part of such things,” He insisted, “whether by participation or association.” When writing to people who were personally acquainted with him, he reminded them of his own example: he himself had been a diligent pupil in the school of Christ and saw to it that he shared with others the lessons he had learned there, by practice as well as by precept (Bruce, F. F. (1984). The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (p. 356). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 2
The expression that Paul: “Learned Christ” is a direct reference to salvation. To learn Christ is to be saved. While it is true that the verb manthano can be used in reference to the process of learning truth (see Rom. 16:17; Phil. 4:9), it can also mean “to come to know” as a one–time act, particularly when the verb is aorist active indicative, as in this case. (cf. John 6:45, where Jesus spoke to those who had “learned from the Father”—indicating a reference to the saving act of faith under the Old Covenant which would lead them now to Him.) (Walter Bauer, A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament. Translated and edited by W. F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich. 5th ed. [Chicago; U. of Chicago, 1958], p. 490),
This “learning” of coming to Christ is supernaturally enabled at salvation and is supernaturally continued: Paul explained it like this to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 2:9-16 [9]But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"--[10]these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. [11] For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. [12] Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. [13] And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. [14] The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. [15] The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. [16]"For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. (ESV)
• Only the Spirit can render the message of the cross truly comprehensible to someone, so every Christian is a “spiritual person” (led and empowered by the Holy Spirit) (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2194). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.)
Illustration: To be this “spiritual person”, is all about Christ. Jesus is the subject, teacher, and atmosphere. This is the Christian experience, as St. Patrick so beautifully put it in the fifth century: "Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
In order to Put on the New Self, we need to:
2) Know what to Put On (Ephesians 4:21)
Ephesians 4:21 [21] assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, (ESV)
Paul's statement of "assuming/if" is a FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE which was assumed to be true from the author’s perspective or for his literary purposes. These believers had heard the truth. Instead of being ignorant of God’s truth, the Christian has heard Christ and is taught in Him. Both verbs are in the aorist tense, again pointing to a one–time past act, and in this context referring to the time when the readers were taught and came to believe the gospel—here called the truth … in Jesus. These terms describe the moment of salvation–conversion. When a person receives Christ as Savior and Lord, and comes into God’s truth. (Utley, R. J. (1997). Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians) (Vol. Volume 8, p. 114). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.)
Please turn to Acts 3
Assuming/If indeed you have heard about Him and were taught in Him (cf. Matt. 17:5) could not possibly refer to hearing Jesus’ physical voice on earth, because there is no way that could have been true of all the believers in Asia Minor to whom Paul was writing. It must refer to the hearing of His spiritual call to salvation (cf. John 8:47; 10:27; Acts 3:22–23; Heb. 3:7–8). Many New Testament references speak of this hearing and being taught as the call of God (see, e.g., Acts 2:39). En autoi (in Him) means in union with Christ and further emphasizes the fact that at conversion we received the truth embodied in Christ, because we came to be in Him. The aorist tense (affirms) that the hearing is that of the time of conversion (Best, E. (1998). A critical and exegetical commentary on Ephesians (p. 427). Edinburgh: T&T Clark International.).
In hearing Christ, there is an accountability. Peter explained it like this in Acts 3:
Acts 3:11-26 [11] While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in the portico called Solomon's. [12]And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: "Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? [13]The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. [14] But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, [15]and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. [16]And his name--by faith in his name--has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all. [17]"And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. [18] But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. [19]Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, [20]that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, [21]whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. [22] Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. [23] And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.' [24] And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. [25] You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.' [26] God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness." (ESV)
• As verse 17 indicates, they acted “In ignorance” in that they did not fully understand that Jesus was the true Messiah and also the true Son of God. But such ignorance, in Scripture, while it may diminish punishment, does not fully absolve people of responsibility for their actions (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2086). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
• To hear God's voice, is to hear His call to repentance and faith that can be seen fulfilled through his covenantal promises of Messianic peace.
The truth that is in Jesus, then back in Ephesians 4:21, is first of all the truth about the message of salvation. Some years ago Marshall McLuhan popularized the phrase “the medium is the message.” He used it in reference to forms of communication such as television. In Christ’s school we have a case where the Medium really is the Message—and the environment too. Christ is everything. John Stott says in his comments on this passage, “When Jesus Christ is at once the subject, the object, and the environment of the moral instruction being given, we may have confidence that it is truly Christian. For truth is in Jesus. The change from his title ‘Christ’ to his human name ‘Jesus’ seems to be deliberate. The historical Jesus is himself the embodiment of truth, as he claimed.” (Boice, J. M. (1988). Ephesians: an expositional commentary (p. 161). Grand Rapids, MI: Ministry Resources Library.)
Illustration: On July 15, 1997, Barney the purple dinosaur had an accident. During filming of the Barney & Friends show, a cooling fan inside the sixty-pound dinosaur suit short-circuited and b. The actor playing Barney quickly got out of the suit but suffered smoke inhalation. He was taken to the hospital and soon released. The story of the accident was carried on the news, and it upset many children. Scores of parents called the television station to say their children were afraid that Barney had been burned, or worse, that he was a fake. A spokeswoman for the producers of the program said, “It can be really devastating to a three-year-old. They love Barney and they think that something terrible has happened to him, or that he’s not real.”
Fantasies like Barney can bring a person good feelings. But a fantasy is a fantasy, and sooner or later the truth comes out. There are all sorts of fantasies. Those hostile to the God of the Bible must hold on to a great number of fantasies to justify their thinking and behavior. Sooner or later those fantasies are seen for what they really are (Larson, C. B. (2002). 750 engaging illustrations for preachers, teachers & writers (pp. 593–594). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.).
To reiterated what we have seen, in order to Put on the New Self, we need to:
3) Put off the Old Self (Ephesians 4:22)
Ephesians 4:22 [22]to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, (ESV)
This tension between the indicative and the imperative, between the “already” and the “not yet,” is common in the Pauline letters; it is summed up in the admonition: “Be what you are!”—Be in practice what the calling of God has made you. Put off/Lay aside the old self is related to “have heard … and have been taught” in the gospel (v. 21). It should also be noted that, although it is essential to affirm that salvation is a divine and sovereign miracle apart from any human contribution, it must also be affirmed that people do hear and believe and put off/lay aside the old while putting on the new. The saving act of God effects such responses in the believing soul. These are not human works required for divine salvation but inherent elements of the divine work of salvation. Paul’s terms here are basically a description of repentance from sin and submission to God, so often taught as elements of regeneration (see Isa. 55:6–7; Matt. 19:16–22; Acts 2:38–40; 20:21; 1 Thess. 1:9; et al.). (Bruce, F. F. (1984). The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (p. 357). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Please turn to Colossians 3
In contrast to the unregenerate person who continually resists and rejects God and lives in the sphere of dominating sin (the former manner of life), the Christian has heard the call to lay aside the old self. The verb means to strip off, as in the case of old filthy clothes. The tense (aorist middle) indicates a once–and–forever action done by the believer at salvation. Paul’s reference to the old self (old in the sense of worn out and useless) is consistent with gospel terminology in his other epistles. For example, Colossians 3 describes the tact of salvation:
Colossians 3:1-9 [3:1] If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [2] Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. [3] For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. [5] Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. [6] On account of these the wrath of God is coming. [7] In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. [8] But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. [9] Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices. (ESV)
• Keep your place in Colossians 3, for we shall return to it. Here we see that for believers to set your minds on things that are above contrasts with the things that are on earth and refers to pursuing a deeper knowledge of Christ himself (Phil. 3:10) and all that belongs to living with and for him. This would include seeking first his kingdom (Matt. 6:33) and living a life worthy of his name (Col. 1:10; 2:6). Based on their death and resurrection with Christ and the hope of a future life with him, Paul encourages the Colossians to continue eliminating sinful behaviors from their lives and cultivating Christian virtues. An event that has already taken place. A qualitative change of identity has already occurred in the lives of believers. It now only remains for them to bring their behavior into line with their new identity (see also Rom. 6:6; Eph. 4:24). Being renewed (present tense) indicates that the transformation of Christians is an ongoing process (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2298). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
The inescapable conclusion is that salvation is a spiritual union with Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection that can also be described as the death of the “old self” and the resurrection of the “new self,” who now walks in “newness of life.” This union and new identity clearly means that salvation is transformation. It is not the addition of a new self to an old self. In Christ, the old self no longer exists (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). The old self is the unconverted nature, described as being corrupt through deceitful desires. The old self of the unbeliever not only is corrupt but is increasingly being corrupted (present passive), because it is the tool for deceitful desires (cf. 2:1–3). The gospel invitation is to lay the old self aside in repentance from sin that includes not just sorrow about sin but a turning from sin to God. It is because we have already put off our old nature, in that decisive act of repentance called conversion, that we can logically be commanded to put away all the practices which belong to that old and rejected life (Stott, J. R. W. (1979). God’s new society: the message of Ephesians (p. 180). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
Illustration: A hymn, adapted from the work of Jeremy Taylor shows the ‘cleansing of the Temple’ to be a picture or parable of what the Lord intends to do in us: Hosanna! welcome to our hearts! for here. Thou hast a temple too, as Sion dear; Yes, dear as Sion—and as full of sin; How long shall thieves and robbers dwell therein? Enter and chase them forth, and cleanse the floor; O’erthrow them all, that they may never more. Profane with traffic vile that holy place, Where Thou hast chosen, Lord, to set Thy face (Variant from Jeremy Taylor 1613–67 as cited in Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1982). Darkness and Light: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:17–5:17 (pp. 127–128). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
Finally, we can now see how to:
4) Put on the New Self (Ephesians 4:23–24)
Ephesians 4:23-24 [23]and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, [24]and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (ESV)
In contrast to the depraved, reprobate mind of the unregenerate person (vv. 17–18), the Christian is renewed continually in the spirit of [their] mind (cf. Col. 3:10). Salvation relates to the mind, which is the center of thought, understanding, and belief, as well as of motive and action. When a person becomes a Christian, God initially renews their mind, giving it a completely new spiritual and moral capability—a capability that the most brilliant and educated mind apart from Christ can never achieve (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9–16). This renewal continues through the believer’s life as they are obedient to the Word and will of God (cf. Rom. 12:1–2). The process is not a one–time accomplishment but the continual work of the Spirit in the child of God (Titus 3:5). Our resources to aid in this development are God’s Word and prayer. It is through these means that we gain the mind of Christ (cf. Phil. 2:5; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 1:7), and it is through that mind that we live the life of Christ. The present tense of this infinitive underlines the continuous nature of the renewal that is still required, and the passive voice suggests that this takes place as believers allow themselves to be renewed (Lincoln, A. T. (1990). Ephesians (Vol. 42, p. 287). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
• You are what you think. You move in the direction of what you put into your mind and what you allow your mind to dwell on. So, if you are not what you want to be, then you must begin to think differently. If you are to think differently, you must put into your mind that which you want to become. If you do, the Holy Spirit will use it to change you to become what you want to be. If you don’t, you will never be what you want to be. It all depends on what you put into your mind. (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, pp. 154–155). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
The renewed spirit of the believer’s mind verse 24 concludes, is an addition to put on the new self, which is the new creation made in the very likeness of God and has been created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. That which was once darkened, ignorant, hardened, callused, sensual, impure, and greedy is now enlightened, learned in the truth, sensitive to sin, pure, and generous. Whereas it was once characterized by wickedness and sin, it is now characterized by righteousness and holiness. To put on... has an implied imperatival force, not in the sense that they were to continue putting on the new man, but that they should conduct their lives in the light of the mighty change God had effected (O’Brien, P. T. (1999). The letter to the Ephesians (p. 331). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Please turn back to Colossians 3
It is essential to expand the concept of the new self so that it may be understood more fully. The word new (kainos) does not mean renovated but entirely new—new in species or character. The new self is new because it has been created after the likeness of God. The Greek is literally, “according to what God is”—a staggering statement expressing the wondrous reality of salvation. Those who genuinely confess Jesus Christ as Lord are made like God! Peter says we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). This should result in a change of action. We are to begin living the lifestyle that corresponds to who we have become in Christ. This new holy self shows we are maturing, growing in unity with the body, and doing our part of the body’s work. (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 155). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
This is how Paul continues the thought in Colossians 3:
Colossians 3:10-15 [10]and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. [11] Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. [12]Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, [13]bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. [14] And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. [15] And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (ESV)
• Paul calls the Colossians to a holy lifestyle, consistent with their new identity. Believers have been chosen by God and stand before him as his beloved holy ones. They are to live up to what they are in Christ (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2299). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.).
Finally, the Righteousness that believers are called to, relates to how we deal with others, and reflects the second table of the law (Ex. 20:12–17). Holiness (hosiotes, sacred observance of all duties to God) relates to God and reflects the first table (Ex. 20:3–11). The believer, then, possesses a new nature, a new self, a holy and righteous inner person fit for the presence of God. This is the believer’s truest self. The many “therefore” and “wherefores” in the New Testament usually introduce appeals for believers to live like the new creatures they are in Christ. Because of our new life, our new Lord, our new nature, and our new power, we are therefore called to live a correspondingly new life–style. We have our part to do in dressing ourselves with the divine wardrobe, for here clothes do make the man — and the woman! We must daily set aside the rotting garments of the old man. We must formally reject sensuality and selfish pride and materialism and bitterness. We must read the Word and ask God to renew our minds through the Spirit. We must work out our salvation by doing those things that will develop a Biblical mind. We must put on our new, shining garments of light. We must put on what we are! (Hughes, R. K. (1990). Ephesians: the mystery of the body of Christ (p. 144). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.)
(Format note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1986). Ephesians (pp. 162–181). Chicago: Moody Press.)
