Put Off, Put On, Put Away
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 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. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:22-32 (NKJV) emphasis mine
The Apostle Paul tells us to do three things in this passage:
Put off the old man.
Put on the new man.
Put away lying, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and malice.
Let’s break this down. When we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we became new creations (II Corinthians 5:17). If we continue to go on with life as if nothing happened, acting in the same way we always have, we are still walking in our carnal nature- the old man. However, if we turn away from that way of thinking and acting and turn to the Word of God, we renew our minds and the nature of the old man that we used to be is no longer in control. By renewing our minds to the Word, the born-again child of God puts off the old man (the old nature) and puts on the new man (the new nature). We actually get the new nature when we are born-again; but it is a matter of getting our mind, will, and emotions to turn away from following the flesh and follow that new nature; the nature of our born-again spirits.
When we put on the new man by renewing our minds to the Word, our behavior changes. The most obvious thing that is impacted is how we talk. It affects our mouths, and we find certain ways of talking distasteful. We become uncomfortable with lying and evil speaking. Let’s look at verse 31 in the Amplified Classic for more details.
Let all bitterness and indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger, animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander (evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). Ephesians 4:31 (Amplified Bible Classic Edition, AMPC)
Wow, if we renew our minds by being in the Word, we can rid ourselves of some really destructive stuff. When you decide to read and study your Bible each day, you may not be aware of it, but something supernatural is taking place in your mind. And the result is that things like bitterness, rage, bad temper, resentment, quarreling, blaspemous language, and spite are put away from you. And the more you are in the Word, the further away you put those things. That makes it harder and harder to act like the old man.
So, putting off, putting on, and putting away is as simple as getting saved and getting in the Word. And when the Word gets in you, the new man is the dominant force in all you do, and you walk in newness of life.
