FREE PREVIEW: Ephesians 4:17-32: The New Self
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Introduction
Having called the church to walk worthily in unity, Paul now calls us to walk worthily in holiness. The believer is to be different — no longer living as the world lives, but as a new creation in Christ. In this searching passage, Paul describes the darkness out of which we have been brought, the decisive change Christ has made in putting off the old self and putting on the new, and the practical, everyday ways the new self shows itself in our speech, our anger, our work, and our forgiveness.
I. The DARKNESS We Left — No Longer Walking as the Gentiles (vv. 17–19)
“This 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, being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:17–18).
Paul paints a sober portrait of life apart from God — an empty mind, a darkened understanding, a hardened heart, and a life given over to uncleanness. The believer has been brought out of that darkness and must no longer walk in it. The root of the world’s moral ruin is not first in the hands but in the heart that has hardened itself against God.
II. The DIFFERENCE Christ Makes — Putting Off the Old, Putting On the New (vv. 20–24)
“But you didn’t learn Christ that way... that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man... and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man” (Ephesians 4:20, 22–24).
To learn Christ is to learn a whole new way of life. The believer has put off the old self like a filthy garment, is being continually renewed in the spirit of the mind, and has put on the new self, created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
III. The DAILY Walk of the New Self — Exchanging Sin for Grace (vv. 25–32)
“Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor... And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:25, 32).
The new self is not an abstraction; it shows up in the ordinary texture of life. Lying gives way to truth, sinful anger to quick reconciliation, stealing to generous labor, corrupt talk to grace-giving words, and bitterness to kindness and forgiveness — all modeled on the forgiveness God has shown us in Christ.
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain.
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