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Scripture • World English Bible
Ephesians 4:17–24
17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
18being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts.
19They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20But you didn’t learn Christ that way,
21if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:
22that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit,
23and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain
Reflection
Paul issues a stark but merciful call in Ephesians 4:17–24: the life you lived before Christ and the life you now have in Christ cannot coexist. The old patterns—darkened thinking, alienation from God, and the callousness that chases unclean desires—must be put away. Why? Because you have been taught in Jesus and formed anew for a different kind of life.
To ‘‘put away the old man’’ is not merely to try harder. It is to stop identifying with the habits and thought-patterns that were shaped by ignorance and hardness of heart. Those ways are collapsing under the weight of sin’s deceit. The remedy Paul gives is threefold: leave the old life behind, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man. Each step describes an inner reality that produces outward change.
Leaving the old life behind begins with honest lament and repentance. Confession turns our attention from defending old impulses to naming them before God and asking for his cleansing. But repentance is not a single act; it’s a repeated turn—a continual reorientation of heart and will away from what used to control us and toward Christ.
Renewing the mind is the daily work of transformation. Our thinking shapes our desires and actions. The Spirit replaces lies with truth—truth about God’s love, our identity in Christ, and how to live as his image-bearers. Renewal happens where Scripture, prayer, and the fellowship of the body intersect: by reading and memorizing God’s Word, by submitting our thoughts in prayer, and by letting brothers in Christ speak truth into our lives.
Putting on the new man is not self-help; it is putting on what God has already made us to be ‘‘in the likeness of God,’’ characterized by righteousness and holiness of truth. Practically, this looks like choosing integrity over convenience, kindness over sarcasm, self-control over impulse, and forgiveness over grudges. It means cultivating habits that display Jesus to the world: honest speech, disciplined rest, sacrificial service, and passionate love for God and neighbor.
This process is hopeful. You are not left to clean yourself up alone. The same Spirit who raised Christ is at work renewing your mind and clothing you with the new nature. Growth may be slow and sometimes messy, but every small act of obedience is evidence that the old is losing its grip and the new is becoming visible.
Whether you are newly following Jesus or have walked with him for years, take Paul’s words as both comfort and command: refuse to re-entangle yourself in former ways, invite the Spirit to change how you think, and deliberately put on the practices and attitudes of the new life. The world will notice not the force of your striving but the reality of God’s work in you.
Putting Faith Into Action
- Identify one specific pattern of the 'old life' (e.g., angry speech, secret addiction, gossip). Confess it to God and one trusted brother, set a measurable plan to avoid triggers, and put an accountability check in place for the next 30 days.
- Start a short daily habit to renew your mind: choose a short passage of Scripture to read and memorize each week, meditate on its truth for five minutes each morning, and replace one negative thought with that truth whenever it appears.
- Practice 'putting on' the new man by choosing three concrete behaviors to display righteousness and holiness—consistent honesty in speech, a weekly act of service, and intentional forgiveness toward someone who wronged you—and ask a friend to help hold you to them.
Prayer
Father, thank you that you make us new. Teach us to turn from our old ways, and by your Spirit renew our minds so we can put on the new life you have given us. Give us courage to confess, wisdom to change our thinking, and strength to do what is right. Shape our words and deeds to reflect your righteousness and holiness, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
Memory Verse
Ephesians 4:23 — and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (WEB)
“and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,”
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Ephesians 4
World English Bible • WEB
1I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
2with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
3being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
4There is one body and one Spirit, even as you also were called in one hope of your calling,
5one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in us all.
7But to each one of us, the grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.
8Therefore he says,
9Now this, “He ascended”, what is it but that he also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?
10He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
11He gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, shepherds and teachers;
12for the perfecting of the saints, to the work of serving, to the building up of the body of Christ,
13until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a full grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
14that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error;
15but speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him who is the head, Christ,
16from whom all the body, being fitted and knit together through that which every joint supplies, according to the working in measure of each individual part, makes the body increase to the building up of itself in love.
17This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
18being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts.
19They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20But you didn’t learn Christ that way,
21if indeed you heard him and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:
22that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit,
23and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
25Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
26“Be angry, and don’t sin.” Don’t let the sun go down on your wrath,
27and don’t give place to the devil.
28Let him who stole steal no more; but rather let him labor, producing with his hands something that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need.
29Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
30Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice.
32And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
World English Bible (WEB) • Public Domain