VERSES 22-24: EXPRESS ONE COMPLETE THOUGHT AND IT IS REALLY QUITE DIFFICULT TO SEPARATE THESEE VERSES FOR VERSE-BY-VERSE EXPOSITION.
VERSE 22:
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man”
Literally: “for you have put off the old man as regards the former behavior”–That you lay aside, or renounce your former manner of living.. The manner in which Paul states these duties renders it not improbable that there had been some instruction among them of a contrary character, and that it is possible there had been some teachers there who had not enforced, as they should have done, the duties of practical religio
PUT OFF: (Gr.-apothesthe)-–This is the metaphor of putting off clothing or habits as Col. 3:8–“But now ye also put off (apothesthe) all these… with the same addition of “the old man” as in Col. 3:9–“Lie not one to another seeing that ye have put off (apothesthe) the old man with his deeds.”
To “put off” is “to renounce” or “to remove” from you, like clothing that you take off and set aside. To “put on” is to adopt; to make it your own. Paul tells us that we are to “put off” (apothesthe) the works of darkness—“The night is far spent, the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off (apothesthe) the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Rom. 13:12).
We are to put off (apothesthe) the old man and put on the new man in the same manner that we change our clothes. It is like putting off an old and unclean garment and then putting on a garment that is new and clean. This putting off the old man and putting on the new man cannot be done by self-effort, nor can it be done by striving to imitate Christ’s conduct. It has been done for the believing sinner by the death of Christ. We are like babies who cannot dress themselves.
“The old man” is the old sinful life, in contrast with “the new man” (v, 24)], or new life in Christ. We are told in Romans 6:6 that the old man has already been crucified in the death of Christ: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” We do not get rid of the old nature, but we are to live in it; that is, we are not to allow it to control our lives. To the old self, at once misguided and defiled, no clemency is to be shown.
We have previously discussed the word “sanctification.” Understand that this includes dying to sin, i.e., mortification of the flesh, and living the new life of righteousness. Paul here describes it as “putting off” (apothesthe) the old self and “putting on” the new self.
BEHAVIOR: (Gr.-anastrophên)-–For “manner of life,” (anastrophên), see Gal. 1:13–“For ye have heard of my conversation (anastrophên) in the past in the Jews’ religion…” So thorough and radical is the change, that it is best described as a putting off (apothesthe) of our former selves.
“which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;”
Literally: “having been corrupted according to the deceitful lusts”–Literally “lusts of deceit,” or lusts which have their ground in error and self-delusion.
CORRUPTED: (Gr.-phtheomenon)–From the Greek verb phtherô which means, “to corrupt, ruin, destroy, lead astray, seduce.”
The whole of your former life was corrupt and abominable. You lived in the pursuit of pleasure and happiness. You sought this in the gratification of the lusts of the flesh and were ever deceived by these lusts, and disappointed in your expectations.
DECEITFUL: (Gr.-apatês)–Deceit here is personified, and lusts are its servants and tools. In contrast to “the holiness of the truth,” (v.24), and “truth in Jesus,” (v. 21); and answering to Gentile “vanity,” (v.17). “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit (apatês) after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world; and not after Christ” (Col. 2:8).
Corruption and destruction are inseparably associated together. The man's old-nature-lusts are his own executioners, fitting him more and more for eternal corruption and death. The “old man,” that is, the unregenerated man is not controlled by sound reasoning or good sense; rather, he is controlled by his passions, lusts and desires.
LUSTS: (Gr.-epithumias)–The word “lusts” truly means the desires or passions of the heart. This includes, avarice, ambition, love of pleasure; in short, it means the love of pleasure or self-gratification in any way.
But understand that such passions are deceitful, and they lead one astray. They lead to ruin. They promise much more than they can perform, and they eventually lead the one to disappointment and tears. There is nothing more deceitful than the promised pleasures of this world’s system.
VERSE 23:
“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind”
“And to be renewed”
Literally: “And to be renewed”–That is, be made new by having a new mind, or spirit. By having a new spirit, and walking after the Spirit.
TO BE RENEWED: (Gr.-ananeousthai)–Literally: “to be renewed again.” From the Greek verb anakainoô, which means, “to make new again.” The Greek ananeousthai implies “the continued renewal in the youth of the new man.” A different Greek word (anakainousthai) implies “renewal from the old state.”
“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward {man} is renewed (ankainoô) day by day” (II Cor. 4:16).
“And have put on the new {man} which is renewed (anakainoô) in knowledge after the image of Him that created him.” (Col. 3:10).
This “renewal” process is thorough-going. We have a new nature. This is the result of regeneration by the Holy Spirit. We are to live in that new nature, that new man. Renunciation and appropriation are to be concurrent processes.
Their old mode of living was to be abandoned; a new one to be assumed. The mind is to be renovated; and not only its general complexion, but the very spirit of it; all its faculties and powers must be thoroughly, completely, and universally renewed.
“in the spirit of your mind”
Literally: “in the spirit of your mind:”–Not the Holy Spirit, but the human spirit. That is, in your temper; your heart; your nature.
As the Greek word for “in” is not here in v. 23 for it to read “in the vanity of their mind,” it is better to translate it as, “By the Spirit of your mind.” That is, by your new spiritual nature; meaning the restored and divinely informed leading principle of the mind. The “spirit” of man in the N.T. is only then used in its proper sense, as worthy of its place and governing functions, when it is one spirit with the Lord. The natural, or animal man, is described as “not having the Spirit” (Jude 1:25). Spirit here is not in this sense attributed to the unregenerate (I Thess. 5:23).
The place of our constant renewal, or rejuvenation, is the spirit of the mind. The mind is the center of a person’s thinking, but Paul tells us that it can be used to think spiritual things, or just natural things. It can dwell on vanity (v. 17); or it can be lifted to spiritual things. This renewing of the mind is made possible by the indwelling of the Spirit of God. Then there will be a new way of thinking, and as a result, a new way of life.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what {is} that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2).
VERSE 24:
“And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
“And that ye put on the new man,”
Literally: “and to put on the new man”–He who has a new mind within him is a new man. He who is born anew, ”of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:5).
This is in opposition to “the old man,” which is to be “put off” (v. 22). The Greek here (kainon) is different from that for “re-new-ed” (v. 23). Put on does not mean merely to put on a renovated nature, but one that is totally new; that is, an altogether different nature, a changed nature. The brand new man.
Putting it simply, this means to get a new nature; for in Christ Jesus-under the Christian dispensation, neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Therefore you must be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
NEW: (Gr.-kainon)–From the Greek word (kainos), which normally means, “new in character.” This is one of the two words for “new” as used by Paul. Hence kainos normally is an epithet of excellence. The other Greek word for “new” is neos, which means, “new in origin. Normally used for “young.”
“But I say unto you, ‘I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new (kainos) with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Matt. 26:29).
“which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”
Literally: “{which} according to God {was} created in righteousness and true holiness”–This is still part of what they were taught (v. 21). The new creation described took place at conversion
This dentes that this is the imputed righteousness of Christ, and that all is to be done consistent with the holy character of God. Since we have been declared righteous and we are in Christ seated in the heavenlies, our walk down here should agree with our position.
Here is certainly an allusion to the creation of man. Moses tells us, Gen. 1:27, that God created man in His own image; that is, God was the model according to which man was formed in the spirit of his mind.
From Paul we learn what Moses meant by the image of God; it was righteousness and the truth of holiness. It is not this or the other degree of moral good which the soul is to receive by Jesus Christ, it is the whole image of God; it is to be formed according to God; after the pattern God, the new birth, the new life in Christ, destined us to be like God in the end (Rom 8:29). The likeness of God is to be traced upon the soul of the believer, and he is to bear that as fully as his first father Adam bore it in the beginning.
Paul says here that they should put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness, in the holiness of truth. Both certainly refer to the same thing, and the one illustrates the other. Truth as opposed to deceit in v. 22, and likewise personified. Righteousness and holiness are both attributes of truth.
VERSE 25:
“Wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another.”
“Wherefore, putting away lying”
Literally: “Therefore, having put off the false”–Paul now turns to the prohibitions which he began back in verse 17. The believer is told to no longer walk as the Gentiles walk. From the general character of “the new man,” there will necessarily result the particular features which he now details.
Lying was a vice very common among the pagans: so it is likely that the Ephesians, in their former pagan state, had been very guilty of this for the pagans thought it lawful, when it was beneficial, to lie: for they affirmed, that a lie was better than a hurtful truth. There is more than one type of lie:
1. There is the lie of speech.
Sometimes deliberate and sometimes almost unconscious.
2. There is the lie of silence.
a. This may be the most common type of lie. Someone has referred to the “menace of things unsaid.”
b. This is when we, by our silence, give approval to something which we know is wrong.
Paul is saying, since you were so taught, putting away falsehood, speak the truth. Because of putting off the old man, and putting on the new man. All false speaking, all prevarication, because this is opposite to the truth as it is in Jesus, (v. 21), and to the holiness of truth, (v. 24), is to be brought to an end,
There is no sin more unseemly in a Christian, more inconsistent with grace, more abominable to God, more like unto the devil, more injurious and prejudicial to human society, than the sin of lying. Fidelity towards each other, and mutual confidence in each other, is that which makes human society both safe and easy.
“speak every man truth with his neighbor”
Literally: “speak truth each with his neighbor”–Paul exhorts them, now that they are converted to Christianity, to speak exact truth one to another. This adds a forcible reason for it, because they were members one of another; that is, of human society, which by lying is destroyed; falsehood dissolves the bond of human society.
Truth was but of small account among many of even the best heathens, for they taught that on many occasions a lie was to be preferred to the truth itself. Dr. Whitby collects some of their maxims on this idea:
“A lie is better than a hurtful truth.”-Menander “Good is better than truth”"-Proclus.
“When telling a lie will be profitable, let it be told.”-Darius in Herodotus, lib. iii. p. 101.
“He may lie who knows how to do it in a suitable time.”-Plato apud Stob., ser. 12.
“There is nothing decorous in truth but when it is profitable; yea, sometimes truth is hurtful, and lying is profitable to men.”-Maximus Tyrius, Diss. 3, p. 29.
Having been brought up in such a loose system of morality, these converted Gentiles had need of these apostolic directions; Put away lying; speak the truth: Let lying never come near you; let truth be ever present with you. A Christian is to be exact even in the little things—i.e., honest. In making bargains we must promise to do only what we can do. Do not overstate the case if you try to sell something. It might be all right for someone walking “in the vanity” of the mind to do so, but it is never right for a Christian. There was once a time in America when business deals could be made with a handshake and verbal agreement. But no longer, because Americans have forgotten how to tell the truth. When America turned its back on God, it turned its back upon the ability to tell the truth, for He is Truth (John 14:6). Any business agreement today must be searched, and researched, by a battery of attorneys.
When the old man is put off in the crucifixion of Christ, the lying tongue and deceitful heart were put on the cross. One of the reasons Jesus had to die for us was because all men are liars: “I said in my haste, all men are liars” (Psa. 116:11). We ought always speak the truth. Speaking the truth would resolve most of the problems in the average church. Since believers are members of one body, speaking the truth is imperative.
“for we are members one of another.”
Literally: “because we are members of one another”–All members of one Christian household; hence every member has a right to the truth.
Consider yourselves as one body, of which Jesus Christ is the head; and as a man's right hand would not deceive or wrong his left hand, so deal honestly with each other; for you are members one of another. We belong to one body, have one interest, and should no more deceive one another than ourselves.
We belong to one Body–the Church–which is the Body of Christ. The idea is that falsehood tends to loosen the bonds of brotherhood. In the human body harmony is observed. The eye never deceives the hand, nor the hand the foot, nor the heart the lungs. The whole move harmoniously as if the one could put the utmost confidence in the other–and falsehood in the church is as ruinous to its interests as it would be to the body if one member was perpetually practicing a deception on another.
VERSE 26:
“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath”
“Be ye angry, and sin not”
Literally: “Be angry but do not sin”–Permissive imperative, not a command to be angry. Rather, this is a prohibition against sinning as the peril in anger. Quoted from Psa. 4:4, Septuagint (LXX) Version–“Be ye angry, and sin not; feel compunction upon your beds for what ye say in your hearts.” Do not sin through anger is the thought. If circumstances arouse your indignation, do not be led astray.
Paul is not saying that the believer is never to be angry. It is a sin for a Christian not to be angry when the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ is taken in vain, or when the Name of God is blasphemed within our hearing. The Lord knew what it was to be angry; yet He lived a sinless life. His eyes flashed with righteous anger when He saw the Pharisees living double lives.
The believer is commanded to be angered under certain conditions and with certain people. There seems to be an idea today that a Christian is one who is “blah;” that he is to be sweet under all circumstances and conditions. No believer can be neutral in this battle of truth. He should hate the lying and gossiping tongues, especially of another Christian.
BE ANGRY: (Gr.-orgizesthe)–Should circumstances arise to call for anger on your part, let it be as Christ's “anger” (Mark 3:5), without sin.
Our natural feelings are not wrong when directed to their legitimate object, and when not exceeding due bounds. As in the future literal, so in the present spiritual, resurrection, no essential constituent is annihilated, but all that is a perversion of the original design is removed. Thus indignation at dishonor done to God, and wrong to man, is justifiable anger.
We can never suppose that Paul delivers this as a precept, if we take the words as they stand in our version. Perhaps the sense is, Take heed that you be not angry, lest you sin; for it would be very difficult, even for an apostle himself, to be angry and not sin. If we consider anger as implying displeasure simply, then there are a multitude of cases in which a man may be innocently, yea, laudably angry; for he should be displeased with everything which is not for the glory of God, and the good of mankind. But, in any other sense, I do not see how the words can be safely taken
What then is sinful anger? It is when self and selfishness are projected in the matter. When someone says something about you and you get your feelings hurt, the whole matter pertains to self. There is then sin in your anger. It is implied here…
1. That there may be anger without sin; an
2. That there is special danger, in all cases where there is anger, that it will be accompanied with sin. Anger is a passion too common to need any description.
It is an excitement or agitation of mind, of more or less violence, produced by the reception of a real or supposed injury, and attended commonly with a desire or purpose of revenge.
“let not the sun go down upon your wrath”
Literally: “do not let the sun go down on your wrath”–There is danger in a settled mood of anger.
If you have been stirred to sinful anger, or have spoken unkind words to a fellow brother or sister, heed this exhortation. If we practice going to people and confessing every time we lose our temper for selfish reasons, we will become more careful about giving vent to our feelings.|
1. Do not cherish anger.
2. Do not sleep upon anger.
3. Do not harbor a purpose of revenge.
4. Do not cherish ill-will against another.
When the sun sets on a man's anger, he may be sure it is wrong. The meaning of the whole of this verse then is, "If you be angry, which may be the case, and which may be unavoidable, see that the sudden excitement does not become sin. Do not let it overleap its proper bounds; do not cherish it; do not let it remain in your bosom even to the setting of the sun. Though the sun be sinking in the west, let not the passion linger in the bosom, but let his last rays find you always peaceful and calm.
WRATH: (Gr.-parorgismos)–“Wrath” is absolutely forbidden; “anger” (Gr.-orgê)–is not necessarily so, though, like poison sometimes used as medicine, it is to be used with extreme caution.
This is not saying that your anger shall not be imputed to you if you put it away before nightfall; but “let no wrath (that is, as the Greek, personal ‘irritation’ or ‘exasperation’ (Gr.-parorgismos) mingle with your ‘anger,’ even though, the latter be righteous,” [TRENCH, Greek Synonyms of the New Testament]. “Put it away before sunset” (when the Jewish day began), is proverbial for put it away at once before another day begins (De 24:15); also before you part with your brother for the night, perhaps never in this world to meet again. So, “Let not night and anger against anyone sleep with you, but go and conciliate the other party, though he have been the first to commit the offense.” Let not your “anger” at another's wickedness verge into hatred, or contempt, or revenge.
Paul here teaches us how to bridle our anger in such a way that, even though our anger is fierce, yet it does not break out, and that it is without delay quenched before we sleep. And this is so that Satan may not take occasion to give us evil counsel through the wicked counsellor, and destroy us. If it so happens that you are angry, yet do not sin, that is, bridle your anger, and do not wickedly do that which you have wickedly conceived. Let not the night come upon you in your anger, that is, make atonement quickly, for all matters.