"Because they are callous, they have given themselves over to indecency for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn about Christ like this, if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus. You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth."
Introduction
This passage (Ephesians 4:19–24) contrasts two ways of life: the old, corrupting pattern shaped by deceitful desires, and the new life formed in Christ. The writer calls Christians to remember how they were instructed in Jesus and to practice a deliberate moral and spiritual renewal: laying aside the old self, being renewed in the spirit of the mind, and putting on the new self created according to God in righteousness and holiness.
Historical-Cultural Context and Authorship
This text comes from the letter to the Ephesians in the New Testament. Church tradition attributes the letter to the Apostle Paul, and many readers still accept Paul as the primary author because the letter reflects Pauline themes: union with Christ, ethical transformation, and household ethics. Modern scholarship debates the authorship and some propose a later writer in Paul’s circle; regardless, the letter carries the theological vocabulary and pastoral concern associated with Pauline communities.
Ephesus was a major port city in Roman Asia Minor, known for its wealth, commercial activity, and religious pluralism (including the temple of Artemis). The social and moral setting included public entertainments and a marketplace of religions and philosophies where sexual immorality and acquisitiveness were common complaints in Greco-Roman moralists and Christian writers alike. The imagery of “putting off” and “putting on” echoes household and ethical language familiar in Hellenistic moral instruction and early Christian catechesis: moral renewal was presented as a re-clothing or re-formation of identity.
Some original-language details help the sense: Greek contrasts τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον (ton palaios anthropon, “the old man/person”) with τὸν νέον ἄνθρωπον (ton neos anthropon, “the new man/person”). The phrase ἐν Χριστῷ (en Christo, “in Christ”) and ἡ ἀλήθεια ἐν Ἰησοῦ (hē alētheia en Iēsou, “the truth in Jesus”) emphasize union with Jesus and truth-personified in him. Words like ἐπιθυμία (epithumia, “desire” or “longing”) and ἀνανεοῦσθαι (ananeousthai, “to be renewed”) point to inward motivations and an ongoing transformation of mind and heart.
Characters and Places
- Jesus/Christ: Central to the passage; the text insists that the Christian formation received by the readers is "in Christ" and that truth is found in Jesus.
- God: The new person is described as "created in God’s image," pointing to God as Creator and the standard of righteousness and holiness.
- The readers (you): The plural "you" addresses baptized members of the community who have heard teaching about Christ and are called to live it out.
- Ephesus (implied by the letter): The broader letter is addressed to Christians associated with the Ephesian circle in Asia Minor, a city known for its religious diversity and moral challenges.
Explanation and Meaning of the Text
Verse 19 describes those who have become "callous" or "past feeling" and thus abandon restraint, giving themselves over to all kinds of impurity with greed. The language portrays spiritual dullness: when conscience or sensitivity is hardened, people are free to follow passions that lead to moral corruption. The portrait is not merely descriptive but pastoral—warning against the trajectory of ethical hardening.
Verses 20–21 shift from description to contrast and catechesis: "you did not learn Christ like that... as the truth is in Jesus." The community’s initiation into Christ carries with it teaching and formation. To be "taught in him" (ἐν αὐτῷ) means that the source and content of instruction is the person and truth of Jesus, not the prevailing patterns of the surrounding culture.
Verses 22–24 develop the practical pattern for ethical renewal. "Lay aside the old man" uses the imagery of removing garments or discarding a former identity; that old self is described as being corrupted by deceitful desires (πλάνος/πλάνη, the idea of being led astray). The renewal is internal and ongoing: "be renewed in the spirit of your mind" blends spiritual renewal (πνεῦμα) with cognitive transformation (νοῦς). Finally, "put on the new man" presents a positive identity—created according to God (κατακτισθέντα κατὰ θεόν), restored to the imago Dei—whose defining marks are righteousness (δικαιοσύνη) and holiness (ἁγιότης) grounded in truth.
Theologically, the passage stresses union with Christ as the ground of moral change: Christian ethics is not merely obeying rules but being formed by the truth of Jesus and re-created by God. The text also balances divine initiative and human responsibility: the new self is a gift of God’s creative and formative work, yet believers are called to put off and put on—disciplined acts that flow out of faith and instruction. Practically, the passage discourages moral dullness and encourages attention to interior desires and to the renewal of the mind, which becomes the engine of transformed behavior.
Devotional
Remember that the Christian life is a journey of re-formation: you are not simply asked to suppress behaviors, but to receive a new identity. When the mind is renewed by the Spirit and shaped by the truth of Jesus, the garments of the old self—patterns of deceitful desire, selfishness, and callousness—begin to fall away. Come to God in prayer asking for sensitivity of conscience and for the practical grace to "put on" the new self each day, trusting that this renewal reflects the image of the Creator being restored in you.
Practically, look for small, consistent acts that align your inner life with the truth in Christ: honest self-examination, Scripture read with prayer, forgiveness offered to others, and choices that cultivate holiness and righteousness. Celebrate progress as grace, and turn to the community of faith for encouragement; the process of renewal is communal, rooted in teaching "in Christ," and sustained by the presence of God who makes us new.