if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus: that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Show the surrounding paragraph
Ephesians 4:21-24 sits inside this longer paragraph.
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 because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their hearts. They, having become callous, gave themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you didn’t learn Christ that way, if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus: that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
Parallel Translations
-
if indeed you heard him, and were taught in him, even as truth is in Jesus:
that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit,
and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
-
if so be ye have hearde of him and are taught in him even as the trueth is in Iesu.
So then as concernynge the coversacion in tyme past laye from you that olde man which is corrupte thorow the deceavable lustes
and be ye renued in the sprete of youre myndes
and put on that newe man which after the ymage of God is shapen in ryghtewesnes and true holynes.
Show all 3 translations
-
If so be yee haue heard him, and haue bene taught by him, as the trueth is in Iesus,
That is, that yee cast off, concerning the conuersation in time past, that olde man, which is corrupt through the deceiueable lustes,
And be renued in the spirit of your minde,
And put on ye new man, which after God is created vnto righteousnes, and true holines.
Cross-references (70)
- Romans 12:2 (v23) Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing,…
- Romans 8:6 (v23) For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;
- Psalms 51:10 (v23) Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me.
- Romans 6:6 (v22) knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in…
- Colossians 3:10-14 (v24) and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, where there can’t be Greek and Jew,…
Show all 69 cross-references
- Colossians 3:10 (v23) and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,
- 1 Peter 1:13 (v23) Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of…
- Ezekiel 36:26 (v23) I will also give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will…
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 (v24) Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
- Hebrews 12:1 (v22) Therefore let’s also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily…
- James 1:21 (v22) Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your…
- Titus 3:5 (v23) not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us through the washing of regeneration and…
- Ephesians 2:10 (vv23–24) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
- Romans 13:14 (v24) But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
- 1 Peter 2:1-2 (v22) Putting away therefore all wickedness, all deceit, hypocrisies, envies, and all evil speaking, as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of…
- Ezekiel 18:31 (v23) Cast away from you all your transgressions, in which you have transgressed; and make yourself a new heart and a new spirit: for why will…
- Ezekiel 11:19 (v23) I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a…
- Romans 6:4 (v24) We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father,…
- Ephesians 6:11 (v24) Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
- Hebrews 3:13 (v22) but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today”, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
- Colossians 3:7-9 (v22) You also once walked in those, when you lived in them; but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful…
- Titus 3:3 (v22) For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating…
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 (v24) But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even…
- Ephesians 4:25 (v22) Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.
- Romans 13:12 (v24) The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.
- 2 Corinthians 4:16 (v24) Therefore we don’t faint, but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day.
- 1 John 3:2-3 (v24) Beloved, now we are children of God. It is not yet revealed what we will be; but we know that when he is revealed, we will be like him; for…
- Ephesians 4:17 (v22) 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,
- 1 Peter 4:3 (v22) For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies,…
- Titus 2:14 (v24) who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for…
- 1 John 5:20 (v21) We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in…
- 1 Peter 2:2 (v24) as newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the Word, that with it you may grow,
- Genesis 1:26-27 (v24) God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky,…
- John 17:17 (v24) Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth.
- Romans 8:29 (v24) For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
- Ephesians 1:13 (v21) In him you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation—in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with…
- Galatians 6:15 (v24) For in Christ Jesus neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
- 2 Peter 2:13 (v22) receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit…
- Isaiah 52:1 (v24) Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for from now on the uncircumcised and…
- Galatians 3:27 (v24) For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
- Hebrews 3:7-8 (v21) Therefore, even as the Holy Spirit says, “Today if you will hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, like as in the…
- 1 Peter 1:18 (v22) knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your…
- Job 29:14 (v24) I put on righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
- Ezekiel 18:30-32 (v22) “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, everyone according to his ways,” says the Lord Yahweh. “Return, and turn yourselves from all…
- 1 Corinthians 15:53 (v24) For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
- Colossians 2:11 (v22) In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the…
- Psalms 45:6-7 (v24) Your throne, God, is forever and ever. A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness, and hated…
- Ephesians 2:15 (v24) having abolished in his flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man…
- 1 John 5:10-12 (v21) He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. He who doesn’t believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed…
- John 14:17 (v21) the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him and doesn’t know him. You know him, for he lives with you, and…
- Isaiah 59:17 (v24) He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad…
- Obadiah 1:3 (v22) The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who…
- Ephesians 2:3 (v22) We also all once lived among them in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of…
- Colossians 2:7 (v21) rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, even as you were taught, abounding in it in thanksgiving.
- Job 22:23 (v22) If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up, if you put away unrighteousness far from your tents.
- Proverbs 11:18 (v22) Wicked people earn deceitful wages, but one who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
- John 10:27 (v21) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
- Psalms 85:10-11 (v21) Mercy and truth meet together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked…
- Matthew 17:5 (v21) While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my beloved…
- Luke 10:16 (v21) Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
- John 1:17 (v21) For the law was given through Moses. Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.
- John 14:6 (v21) Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.
- 2 Corinthians 1:20 (v21) For however many are the promises of God, in him is the “Yes.” Therefore also through him is the “Amen”, to the glory of God through us.
- 2 Corinthians 11:10 (v21) As the truth of Christ is in me, no one will stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
- Hebrews 1:8 (v24) But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your Kingdom.
- Hebrews 12:14 (v24) Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,
- Psalms 45:4 (v21) In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness. Let your right hand display awesome deeds.
- Acts 3:22-23 (v21) For Moses indeed said to the fathers, ‘The Lord God will raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, like me. You shall listen to…
- Jeremiah 49:16 (v22) As for your terror, the pride of your heart has deceived you, O you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill,…
69 distinct cross-references across this passage (70 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (19 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv21–24 21. If ye have heard him. To excite their…
21. If ye have heard him. To excite their attention and earnestness the more, he not only tells them that they had heard Christ, but employs a still stronger expression, ye have been taught in him, as if he had said, that this doctrine had not been slightly pointed out, but faithfully delivered and explained.
As the truth is in Jesus. This contains a reproof of that superficial knowledge of the gospel, by which many are elated, who are wholly unacquainted with newness of life. They think that they are exceedingly wise, but the apostle pronounces it to be a false and mistaken opinion. There is a twofold knowledge of Christ, — one, which is true and genuine, — and another, which is counterfeit and spurious. Not that, strictly speaking, there are two kinds; but most men falsely imagine that they know Christ, while they know nothing but what is carnal. In another Epistle he says,
Read full note →
“If any man be in Christ, let him be a new creature.” (2 Corinthians 5:17.)
So here he affirms that any knowledge of Christ, which is not accompanied by mortification of the flesh, is not true and sincere.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv21–24 As they have learned which acknowledge Christ indeed, and…
As they have learned which acknowledge Christ indeed, and in good earnest.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–24 21 If so be that ye have heard him,…
21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
Ver. 21. Ye have heard him, &c.] When Christ speaks once, we must hear him twice, as David did, Psa 62:11, to wit, by an after deliberate meditation; for otherwise we learn nothing.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv21–24 If so be that ye have heard him; either…
If so be that ye have heard him; either heard Christ speaking to you in the gospel, Heb 12:25, and then the sense will be the same as in the following clause; or heard him preached to you, and then it may refer to the outward hearing of the word.
And have been taught by him; or taught in him; in or by, as Col 1:16; Heb 1:2; and then this relates to the power of the word, and the impression made by it upon the heart: q.d. If ye have not only heard of him by the hearing of the ear, but have been effectually taught by the Spirit to know him, and receive his doctrine, Isa 54:13; Joh 6:45.
Read full note →
As the truth is in Jesus; as it really is, and hath been taught by Christ himself, both in his doctrine and example, viz. what is the true way of a Christian’s living; as in the following verses: see Joh 17:17; Tit 1:1.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv21–24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the…
That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man,.... Which is the corruption of nature; why this is called a man, and an old man; see Gill on Rom 6:6, the putting him off, is not a removing him from the saints, nor a destroying him in them, nor a changing his nature; for he remains, and remains alive, and is the same old man he ever was, in regenerate persons; but it is a putting him off from his seat, and a putting him down from his government; a showing no regard to his rule and dominion, to his laws and lusts, making no provision for his support; and particularly, not squaring the life and conversation according to his dictates and directions; and therefore it is called a putting him off, concerning the former conversation: the change lies not, in the old man, who can never be altered, but in the conversation; he is not in the same power, but he retains the same sinful nature; he is put off, but he is not put out; and though he does not reign, he rages, and often threatens to get the ascendant: these words stand either in connection with Eph 4:17 and so are a continuation and an explanation of that exhortation; or else they point out what regenerate souls are taught by Christ to do, to quit the former conversation, to hate the garment spotted with the flesh, and to put it off; for the allusion is to the putting off of filthy garments, as the works of the flesh may be truly called, which flow from the vitiosity of nature, the old man:
which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; the old man, or the vitiosity of nature, has its lusts; and these are deceitful; they promise pleasure and profit, but yield neither in the issue; they promise liberty, and bring into bondage; they promise secrecy and impunity, but expose to shame, and render liable to punishment; they sometimes put on a religious face, and so deceive, and fill men with pride and conceit, who think themselves to be something, when they are nothing: and through these the old man is corrupt; by these the corruption of nature is discovered; and the corruption that is in the world is produced hereby; and these make a man deserving of, and liable to the pit of corruption; and this is a good reason, why this corrupt old man, with respect to the life and conversation, should be put off.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv21–24 Seeing ye have heard him - Teaching you inwardly…
Seeing ye have heard him - Teaching you inwardly by his Spirit. As the truth is in Jesus - According to his own gospel.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv21–24 Verse 21. If so be that ye have heard…
Verse 21. If so be that ye have heard him] ειγε, Seeing that, since indeed, ye have heard us proclaim his eternal truth; we have delivered it to you as we received it from Jesus.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv21–24 If so be that ye have heard him -…
If so be that ye have heard him - If you have listened attentively to his instructions, and learned the true nature of his religion. There may be a slight and delicate doubt implied here whether they had attentively listened to his instructions. Doddridge, however, renders it, “Seeing ye have heard him;” compare notes on Eph 3:2.
And have been taught by him - By his Spirit, or by the ministers whom he had appointed.
Read full note →
As the truth is in Jesus - If you have learned the true nature of his religion as he himself taught it. What the truth was which the Lord Jesus taught, or what his principles implied, the apostle proceeds to state in the following verses.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv21–24 If so be that--not implying doubt; assuming what I…
If so be that--not implying doubt; assuming what I have no reason to doubt, that
heard him--The "Him" is emphatic: "heard Himself," not merely heard about Him.
Read full note →
taught by him--Greek, "taught IN HIM," that is, being in vital union with Him (Rom 16:7).
as the truth is in Jesus--Translate in connection with "taught"; "And in Him have been taught, according as is truth in Jesus." There is no article in the Greek. "Truth" is therefore used in the most comprehensive sense, truth in its essence, and highest perfection, in Jesus; "if according as it is thus in Him, ye have been so taught in Him"; in contrast to "the vanity of mind of the Gentiles" (Eph 4:17; compare Joh 1:14, Joh 1:17; Joh 18:37). Contrast Joh 8:44.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv21–24 21. Heard him—Preaching to you through his apostles. For…
21. Heard him—Preaching to you through his apostles. For the gospel is his living voice. As the truth is embodied in Jesus—What that truth is we are told in the next paragraph. It is the truth of the renewal from the old depravities to the new purities.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–24 21. if so be] The Gr. interrogative (used also…
21. if so be] The Gr. interrogative (used also above, Eph_3:2) does not imply any doubt, necessarily, but calls the reader to verify the statement.
have heard him, &c.] Better, as “Him” is emphatic by position, If it was He whom ye heard. The Gr. construction leads us to explain this not of listening to the Lord so much as of hearing about Him, or rather, of hearing “Him” as Truth rather than Teacher. “Christ” had been the Message they had received.—He does indeed, by His Word and Spirit, personally continue the “teaching” which in His earthly ministry He began (Act_1:1); but that is not the point of the present words.
Read full note →
have been taught by him] Better, if it was in Him that ye were taught. The instruction was “in Christ,” if the teacher’s limit and rule was the truth of His Person and Work, and if those who received it were, by living spiritual union, “in Him,” and so capable of “spiritual discernment” (1Co_2:14). This clause defines and explains the previous clause.
as the truth is in Jesus] Better, even as in Jesus truth is. See last note, on the relation of spiritual “in-ness” to the standard and reception of spiritual truth. The emphasis here is as if to say, “If you were taught, as I say, in Him; in the lines of eternal fact and spiritual reality which do so truly meet in Him.”—The question arises, why does the Lord’s designation change from “Christ,” Eph_4:20, to “Jesus” here? Probably to mark the fact that the prophesied Christ is the historical Jesus.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv21–24 (21) If so be that.—The word is the same…
(21) If so be that.—The word is the same which is used in Eph_3:2, Col_1:23, indicating no real doubt, but only that rhetorical doubt which is strong affirmation.
Ye have heard him . . .—The true rendering here is, ye heard Him, and were taught in Him. St. Paul begins with the first means of knowledge, the “hearing” His voice, directly or through His ministers; and then proceeds to describe the fuller and more systematic process of “being taught,” not “by Him” (as in our version), but “in Him,” that is, in that unity with Him which embraces both teachers and taught as with an atmosphere of His presence.
Read full note →
As the truth is in Jesus.—Here by the name “Jesus,” the personal and proper name of the Lord, St. Paul leads us on from the conception of “learning the Christ,” to understand the method of that learning, in the knowledge of the “truth” in the person of Jesus Himself, who declares Himself to be the Truth (Joh_14:6). By a loving study and knowledge of His person, as set forth to us in the gospel, and brought home to us by His grace, rather than by abstract musing on the office and attributes of “the Christ,” we come to learn the Christ also. The use of the simple name Jesus, so common in the Gospels, is rare indeed in the Epistles, where we constantly find the fuller description “Jesus Christ,” “the Lord Jesus,” “Jesus the Son of God.” Wherever it occurs, it will be found to be distinctive or emphatic. This distinctiveness is most strikingly evident in Rom_8:11 : “If the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up [the] Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies.” The “raising up of Jesus,” is the historical resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth; the “raising up the Christ” points to the mysterious effect of that resurrection on those for whom He is the Mediator. Of the few other passages in which the simple name occurs, some (as Rom_3:26; 2Co_4:10-11; 1Th_1:10; Heb_10:10) are mere reiterations of the name occurring above with the due title of honour; others are quasi-recitals of a creed declaring the historic Jesus (1Co_12:3; 1Th_4:14; comp. 2Co_11:4). In the Epistle to the Hebrews, where, in accordance with one main purpose of the Epistle, this usage is least rare (see Heb_2:9; Heb_6:20; Heb_7:22; Heb_12:2; Heb_12:24; Heb_13:12), it will be found that in all cases, either special stress is laid on the lowly and suffering humanity of the Lord, or the historic facts of His ministry on earth are referred to. The modern familiarity of use of the simple name “Jesus” has little authority in apostolic usage.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21–24 If so be that ye heard him. A word…
If so be that ye heard him. A word of caution. We are not to assume too readily that we are in a right relation to Christ. We must look within and make sure of that. To hear him, here, is to hear him as his sheep hear his voice and follow him, recognizing the voice of the Shepherd, a voice to be implicitly obeyed. And were taught in him, as truth is in Jesus. The peculiar force of this clause is the double ejn, not given in the first clause in A.V., thereby obscuring the sense, which is, that all teaching and all truth acquires a different hue and a different character when there is a personal relation to Jesus. Truth apart from the person of Christ has little power; abstract doctrines have little influence; the very atonement may be a barren dogma. But the atonement taught "in Jesus," in connection with the living, loving, dying, risen Savior tells; the blood of redemption in connection with the Son of God incarnate thus loving us, and meekly, patiently suffering the agonies of the cross in our room, is not only a power, but the greatest moral power that can move the heart.
As the truth is in Jesus.
Read full note →
These words describe the method, not the substance, of Christian teaching; the latter is adverted to in the next verse. The historical name, "Jesus," instead of the more common official name, "Christ," indicates that this teaching is given through the life of our Lord on earth. We come to the knowledge of truth by hearing him, by being taught of him, by seeing it as it is in him.
I THE KNOWLEDGE OF TRUTH IS OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE TO US. The means is proportioned to the end. If the life of Christ is necessary for the revelation of truth, the truth thus revealed must be of first moment. Emotion without truth is vapid sentiment; and action without truth can have no moral character, and is as likely to be hurtful as useful. It is a blind man"s groping. We can dispense with a superfluity of dogma. We have too many words about truth. But truth itself, the living spiritual reality, is the very breath of our souls. To know ourselves and our vocation, to know God, his love and his will, to know the spiritual order of things as far as it touches our own lives and conduct, is of vital interest.
II TRUTH IS REVEALED IN CHRIST. Truth is written on the great book of creation, but in obscure hieroglyphics, for nature is an inarticulate prophet. Truth has also come through the inspiration of thought and conscience in poets and seers. But then it is always in words; and words make it but a clumsy garment hiding its finer beauty and, at best, speaking at second hand. In Christ we see truth intelligible, powerful, touching. It is revealed in his very self and in his words and deeds as they are the outcome and signs of his character and nature. Christ is the truth. He has but to be and to be seen and heard for truth to be revealed.
III THIS REVELATION OF TRUTH IN CHRIST IS OF A DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER.
1. It is human. Truth is seen in Jesus just because he is a real and perfect Man. As man is made in the image of God, the very being of a perfect man must be a manifestation of Divine thoughts.
(1) Therefore any dogmas that are contrary to humanity are false.
(2) Therefore, also, we need not fear truth. She has a human countenance.
1. It is living. Truth in words is cold and dead, though it may be clear and beautiful. Truth in Jesus is alive, revealing itself in action, putting teeth energy, responding to our sympathy.
2. It is spiritual. Truth of religion and of conduct is what we see in Jesus, not reminiscences of secular history nor anticipations of material science. The highest truth concerns God and the soul, duty and the unseen world. 4. It is beautiful. Christ"s glory was full of grace and truth. In his face truth has no terrors, but the most winning attractions and the most moving loveliness.
IV SUCH A PRESENTATION OF TRUTH CALLS FORTH DUTIES ON OUR PART.
1. We have to learn Christ." That is the one lesson for our souls. We may learn all systems of theology and yet know nothing of the highest truth, if we do not know Christ. They who sit at the feet of Jesus drink from the deepest fountains. As Christ is best described to us in the four Gospels, these Gospels are the chief source of Christian knowledge. Yet inasmuch as the apostles interpret the mind of Christ, we may learn Christ from the whole of the New Testament But we must also come to a personal communion with Christ in order to know him aright.
2. We have to Trove how we have learned Christ by our conduct. This knowledge is to shape our actions. Fidelity, purity, and charity of life must make men see what truth we have found in Jesus. W.F.A.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv22–24 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the…
Eph_4:22
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.
Read full note →
Morality the basis of piety
A Christian life, here, is regarded as it were from the latent similitude of raiment. As a beggar puts off his rags--his tattered and torn habiliments--and is clothed like an honoured man; so we are to put off the old man and his deeds--clothing, as it were--and put on the new man, created in righteousness and true holiness. Or, as one that has been in an infected port must lay aside the garments that have in them the seed of disease, and be clothed afresh, so that he shall neither carry it for himself, nor contagion for others; so we are to put off the old, and put on the new. But you will observe that there are in this passage which I have read inculcations of certain fundamental morals, as precedent to the full work of God in the soul. Truth, in opposition to lies; honesty, in opposition to craft and stealing; purity, in opposition to all manner of corrupt desires; general integrity and uprightness--these are inculcated as the indispensable prerequisites of Christian life. Taking them in their inverse order, by purity I understand the dominance in the soul of the higher affections and sentiments over the lower appetites and passions. It is the term that antagonizes with a life of lust and of salacious desire. We mean by purity, the predominance of the affections and of the moral sentiments. By fidelity, one means, in a general way, the absolute faithfulness of men to trust reposed in them--that tendency in a man which makes it sure that he will be faithful in his relations to others, and in all his trusts. By honesty, I mean righteous, equitable dealing in all relations between man and man--not what the law requires, but what is, according to mans best light, right between man and man. By truth, is meant the inward love of that which is, and the disposition to use the truth of fact and the truth of relation, just as they are, in all our representations among men. These qualities must exist in controlling strength in every worthy character. As it is in the matter of truth, so it is in the matter of honesty. Is he an honest man? Oh! I do not think he would steal. But is he an honest man? Would he knowingly take advantage? Well, it is not for me to say. Its for you to say. You have said it. Not to be able to say the contrary is to say that. And are there not hundreds of thousands of men who hold their heads up very well as they move in society, who are for the time being prosperous, and of whom those that know them say, They will take every advantage they can; they need watching; they need all that the Church gives them, and all that the customs of society give them, to keep them from dishonesty. A mans reputation always tracks him, and follows him; and if it is in him to be dishonest, it is in ether people to know it. Your reputation is only the shadow that your character throws. Now, on character and reputation a mans prosperity depends in this world, largely. The man who has the goodwill and the good nature of the men among whom he lives, of the society in which he dwells, is like a craft that has the wind astern, and is helped thereby. Truth, honesty, fidelity, and purity win confidence. And there is this capital for a young man. These qualities, too, simplify the working forces of life. A crafty, plotting man always has a tangled skein in his hand. He has to think, What did I say yesterday? and he forgets. He has to think, Let me see; did I, or did I not, cheat on this or that occasion? A dishonest man has to keep a journal, or he will be perpetually running across his own tracks. No mans memory is good enough journal for such a purpose as that. Men are made safe, too, by these simple and sterling virtues. He certainly is safe, who, whether he be at the top or at the bottom, alike is prosperous; but when a mans prosperity turns largely upon his actual manhood, his manhood does not depend upon his relative position in regard to wealth. There is the man of the Island, Garibaldi, just making the ends meet; just gaining his raiment and food; refusing bribes, refusing gifts, refusing all overtures of greatness that are in the lower sphere; a man that lives with a magnificent ambition of patriotism and a perpetual sacrifice of himself. When all the stuff that we can call men in our day--the buyable, the bribable, stuff--is washed away in the sewer, such men as these will stand, and their names shall be held in everlasting remembrance. The memory of the wicked shall rot. The name of the righteous shall shine brighter and brighter until the very perfect day. In application of these views and reasonings I remark--
1. How few can stand an examination on these fundamental points, if they take the law of God as their light and their test!
2. Not, less, perhaps more, is required of women than of men. Their relations to society, their relations as wives and mothers, make it peculiarly desirable that they should be fountains and models of virtue.
3. These simple moralities, in our circumstances in life, and under the temptations which are brought to bear upon us, will necessitate a determined battle. Some men conquer easier than others. I believe in hereditary tendencies. Men like gilded characters and silvered characters; but they do not like gold nor silver in character. And there is a prevalent impression that a man stands in his own way if he is too rigorous. You shall hear it said, What does a man want to be such a fanatical fool for, as to always tell the truth? What is the use of a mans breaking his own back by being so honest as that? Great are the forces that are ready to pull you down; but if you did but know it, greater are they that are for you than are they that are against you. (H. W. Beecher.)
Putting off the old man, and putting on the new
I. The apostles description of holiness. It is putting off the old man, or the corrupt nature so called, which hath spread its influence throughout the whole man, the soul (Eph_4:17-20), and the body (Rom_6:13; Rom_6:19); and which, like a man, consists of various parts. The deeds of the old man are very vigorous and strong, though old: mighty deeds (Gal_5:19-22; Eph_4:25-29); each member acts its part: unbelief, like the heart causing the blood to circulate through the whole body, influences all the other members: pride produces contention, contumely, strife, etc.; self-will leads to murmuring, disobedience, presumption, etc. This must be put off: the metaphor is borrowed from an old worn-out or unclean garment, which we would cast off with abhorrence. We must also be renewed in the spirit of our minds, in the faculties of the soul, by obtaining an enlightened understanding, rectified will, pure and well-regulated affections. We must put on the new man, a new creature: so called because it influences the whole man, soul and body (text, and 1Th_5:23; 1Co_6:20). And it consists of different parts--the soul in which God dwells, and which He animates, influences, directs, actuates, commands (1Co_6:19; 2Co_6:16; Eph_2:22; Rom_8:9-14; the body and its members (Col_3:12-17; Gal_5:22); holiness, righteousness, viz., faith, humility, self-denial, love, meekness, gentleness, patience, etc. The deeds of the new man, are all vigorous, strong, active. It is the image of God, created by Him, renewed in knowledge. This must be put on as a robe of righteousness.
II. The importance of taking this advice of the apostle. If we take it not, our Christianity is but a name or profession, and will only render us more guilty. We cannot glorify God, as being unlike to Him, and at enmity with Him. Nor can we set a good example, and thereby edify others, for the corrupt tree will bring forth corrupt fruit. We cannot be happy ourselves, for this old man is corrupt, like an old, threadbare, ragged, and dirty garment, which cannot cover us, which exposes us to shame, and is offensive, hurtful, encumbering, and entangling. All the evil dispositions of it are productive of misery. Its lusts or desires are foolish, unreasonable, violent, insatiable, deceitful; promising, but not yielding satisfaction. We are not fitted for, and cannot enter heaven without the new man.
III. How to attain this holiness. It is the gift of God: He creates it; but not without our cooperation; He works on us as upon rational creatures, not superseding but directing and assisting us in the use of our faculties, and has appointed certain means to be used by us. We are to hunger and thirst after righteousness; and in order to this, should consider frequently, nay continually, the nature and necessity of it, our want of it, the great worth of it, Gods willingness to give it, and cultivate a spirit of prayer. (J. Benson, D. D.)
That ye put off the old man.--
Putting off
I. Christian life begins with renunciation. Put off concerning the former conversation--the old man--the corrupt self that has been fostered under the influence of worldly, carnal views.
1. This renunciation must be profound. The old man, i.e., our former unconverted self. We must be careful that we do not confound this personal repudiation with any ecclesiastical rite or relationship. The purity demanded of us is inward, spiritual, moral. It is one thing to stand right with the Church, to be blameless concerning its ordinances, to be acknowledged by its authorites, to be fortified by its sacraments; it is another thing to renounce sin and embrace righteousness before Him who is a Spirit, and who judgeth not according to the outward appearance, but according to the heart.
2. This renunciation must be complete. The old man is the personification of our whole sinful condition before regeneration, and the old man is not to be maimed, some fragments of the mutilated personality to be rejected, some to be retained, but he must be crucified, killed, put away once and forever. There must be, as we have seen, the thorough rejection of evil in our heart, even the evil we have loved longest and best. People sometimes say, Well, there is nothing wrong in the thing itself; no harm in the thing itself. Now the thing in itself is a fine theme for metaphysicians, but such a phrase may seriously mislead in practical life. What do we know about things in themselves? The theatre, intoxicating drink, cards, music, fiction, and a hundred other things--we know nothing of these things in themselves; we only know them relatively, the company into which they bring us, the influence they exert upon us, the habit of mind they tend to foster. Do not stay to determine what things are in themselves, inquire only what is their influence upon you, direct and indirect, and if that influence be not altogether pure and helpful, let such things go; be more afraid of sin than of puritanism.
3. This renunciation must be immediate. Daniel said to the king, Break off thy sins by righteousness (Dan_4:27). Our sins are not to be tapered off, or rounded off, but broken off short and sharp. It may be a dangerous thing suddenly to change our physical habits, but there is no danger in suddenly changing our bad habits for good ones; the danger is not to change them suddenly.
II. The success of our Christian life largely depends upon the thoroughness of the renunciation in which it begins. Putting off comes before putting on, and we can only put on the new man in the measure of the depth and determination with which we have put off the old. If there is any defect in our renunciation, it will infallibly betray itself, and greatly hinder us.
1. On the completeness of such renunciation depends our future health and soundness of spirit. If our repentance does not go deep, if the grace of God does not search and purify the very grounds of our life, we shall never enjoy soundness and strength. If any of the vicious element is left, it will work and spoil the sweetness of our soul.
2. On the completeness of this renunciation depends our future freedom and happiness. It is essential to the freedom and peace of our life that we should break utterly with the world.
3. On the completeness of this renunciation depends the full attainment of spiritual beauty of character. Stephen Grellet, the Quaker preacher, said once to an assembly of his brethren, You are starched before you are washed. That is a bad thing indeed, for however much starch may be used, the original dirt will show through and disgrace the well-got-up robe. It is thus with character, as the graphic preacher taught. Some do not in conversation get rid of original weaknesses of character, and these show through raiment that the cleverest fuller has done his best to make dainty.
4. On the completeness of this renunciation largely depends our future safety. We all know people who have contracted vicious habits, who have suffered deeply in social respect, who have become linked in with a set they cannot renounce, and such people often feel, and their friends feel, that if they are ever to recover themselves and lead a new life, they must leave this country altogether and begin again with new scenes and associations; so these unfortunate ones often succeed in putting the ocean between themselves and the scene of their fall and misery, and so doing ofttimes proves their social salvation. So the safety of the new convert depends upon putting a whole ocean between his regenerate self and his old self. Whether we go to America or Australia or not, let us be sure, by Gods grace, that a great gulf is fixed between our present spirit and our past, between our new manner of life and our past, between our new manner of life and our past conversation. It has proved a fatal error to thousands not to have put away the old man as thoroughly as might be. (W. L. Watkinson.)
The new man driving out the old
How often do we see a tree well covered with the early shoots and young leaves, but yet with many of last years dead leaves still hanging on to the branches, intermixed with the latest and best of the summer growth, as if to remind one that even this tree, fresh in the glory of its summer clothing, was but a little while ago unsightly with dead and useless leaves. Nor will the tree rid itself of these till the full tide of sap has filled the branches with full-grown verdure, when the old leaves will drop to the earth, and no longer be cumbersome. The Christian, like the tree, bears fresh leaves of a new heart, and even the good fruit of a godly life, and seems at first to be all but faultless; but how often, on nearer view, do evil ways, bad habits, and wicked passions, come to view, and disfigure the beauty of the Christian man or woman, so that companions are reminded of the late winter of an unrenewed life, of the remainders of evil old leaves not yet all stripped off or blown away by the breath of the Divine chastisement. Nor will the Christian stand in perfect clothing, and without any evil thing, till the Divine influence has permeated every part of the soul, and driven from it the remaining traces of the old Adam. (Austen.)
Religion and human nature
Some years ago, the great country of India was in a ferment of wild rebellion against British rule. During that time of rebellion most sad evils were introduced into the nation; the national spirit and sentiment were debased, and vile passions let loose for rioting. That rebellion was crushed; our Queen was set upon the throne, and peace was proclaimed. But the evils which that rebellion had brought in have not even yet been removed. It has taken the direct labours of a succession of Indias governors, and the indirect efforts of a multitude of Indias friends, to root out some of those evils, and restore to their power some of the old obediences and virtues. It is thus with our nature. The rebellion of the soul brought evils upon it and into it; and when, for any one of us, the king of grace is restored to His throne, there is yet hard work to do to crush out these relics of evil, and free our natures from their degrading influence. And this is the work to which we are called upon the admission of our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. (R. Tuck, B. A.)
The old man
By this figure we understand the depravity of man.
I. His dwelling place. Sin has its seat in the heart. Every disposition to evil comes directly from the heart. The body is but the machine of the man Depravity is in us, dwells in the secret place of the temple.
II. His disposition. Loves darkness, thirsts after the gratification of every evil desire; hates the light, turns with loathing from the light of purity, whether seen in man or God. And he is subtle--deceives those in whom he dwells, so successfully that they disbelieve in his presence.
III. His influence. Pervades every part of the man. Sears the conscience, affects the will, defiles the passions, perverts the mind, hinders the body.
IV. His achievements. At his instigation every vile deed was done that defaces the page of history.
V. His longevity. In the hearts of some he will dwell forever. The lost sin on, although they suffer as they sin. In the case of believers, though put off, still he will seek to gain his old ascendency, or be the cause of bitterness until they reach the grave. In conclusion: Let each ask
(1) Who is this old man? He is your former self--the self that loved sin and hated God.
(2) How can I put him off? Ask God to give you a new nature, and then the new man will struggle with the old, and at last triumph. (R. A. Griffin.)
Deceitful lusts
These lusts are lusts of deceit, inasmuch as they seduce and ensnare under false pretensions. And they are numerous, for present gratification is the absorbing motive of the old man. There is the lust of gain, sinking into avarice; of power, swelling into ruthless and cruel tyranny; of pleasure, falling into beastly sensualism. These lusts have the mastery of the old man, and, whether more gross or more refined, they are not the less the manifestations of moral corruption. Every strong passion that fills the spirit to the exclusion of God is a lust. It may be a lust of proficiency in mental, physical, political, or mechanical science, but if it engross the soul, it is a result and characteristic of the old man. Alas I this deceit is not simply error. It has assumed many guises. It gives a refined name to grossness, calls sensualism gallantry, and it hails drunkenness as good cheer. It promises fame and renown to one class, wealth and power to another, and tempts the third onward by the prospect of brilliant discovery. But genuine satisfaction is never gained, for God is forgotten, and these desires and pursuits leave their victim in disappointment and chagrin. Vanity of vanities, cried Solomon, in vexation, after all his experiments on the summum bonum. I will pull down my barns, and build greater, said another, in the idea that he had much good laid up for many years, and yet, in the very night of his fond imaginings, his soul was required of him. Belshazzar drank wine with his grandees, and perished in his revelry. The prodigal son, who for pleasure and independence had left his fathers house, sank into penury and degradation, and he, a child of Abraham, fed swine to a heathen master. Chalmers felt literary ambition to be in itself a lust of the old man, and a hollow vanity, till it was chastened and sanctified by the grace of God. The pretentious delusions of the old man must be weighed in the balances of the sanctuary. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
Putting off sin
As the beggar puts off his rags, as the master puts off his bad servant, as the porter puts off his burden, as the serpent his slough, or as the captive maid, when she was to be married, put off the garments of her captivity (Deu_21:18). (J. Trapp.)
Sin a deceitful lust
It hath many secret ways of insinuating; it is like a Delilah; it is like Jael to Sisera. Sin is a sweet poison, it tickleth while it stabbeth. The first thing that sin doeth is to bewitch, then to put out the eyes, then to take away the sense and feeling. As Joab came with a kind salute to Abner, and thrust him under the fifth rib, while Abner thought of nothing but kindness, so sin comes smiling, comes pleasing and humouring thee, while it giveth thee a deadly stab. (Anthony Burgess.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv21, 23, 24 21. If so be that ye have heard him.…
21. If so be that ye have heard him. This does not express a doubt that they had heard and been taught by Christ. The idea is: If ye have heard, etc., as I know you have, you have been taught the truth in Jesus, that
(verse 22) ye put off concerning the former manner of life the old man and his deeds. “The old man” is the old sinful life, in contrast with “the new man,” or new life in Christ.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv22, 24
EPHESIANS
A DARK PICTURE AND A BRIGHT HOPE
Read full note →
Eph 4:22
If a doctor knows that he can cure a disease he can afford to give full weight to its gravest symptoms. If he knows he cannot he is sorely tempted to say it is of slight importance, and, though it cannot be cured, can be endured without much discomfort.
And so the Scripture teachings about man’s real moral condition are characterised by two peculiarities which, at first sight, seem somewhat opposed, but are really harmonious and closely connected. There is no book and no system in the whole world that takes such a dark view of what you and I are; there is none animated with so bright and confident a hope of what you and I may become. And, on the other hand, the common run of thought amongst men minimises the fact of sin, but when you say, ‘Well, be it big or little, can I get rid of it anyhow?’ there is no answer to give that is worth listening to. Christ alone can venture to tell men what they are, because Christ alone can radically change their whole nature and being. There are certain diseases of which a constant symptom is unconsciousness that there is anything the matter. A deep-seated wound does not hurt much. The question is not whether Christian thoughts about a man’s condition are gloomy or not, but whether they are true. As to their being gloomy, it seems to me that the people who complain of our doctrine of human nature, as giving a melancholy view of men, do really take a far more melancholy one. We believe in a fall, and we believe in a possible and actual restoration. The man to whom evil is not an intrusive usurper can have no confidence that it will ever be expelled. Which is the gloomy system-that which paints in undisguised blackness the facts of life, and over against their blackest darkness, the radiant light of a great hope shining bright and glorious, or one that paints humanity in a uniform monotone of indistinguishable grey involving the past, the present, and the future-which, believing in no disease, hopes for no cure? My text, taken in conjunction with the grand words which follow, about ‘The new man, which, after God, is created in righteousness and true holiness,’ brings before us some very solemn views {which the men that want them most realise the least} with regard to what we are, what we ought to be and cannot be, and what, by God’s help, we may become. The old man is ‘corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,’ says Paul. There are a set of characteristics, then, of the universal sinful human self. Then there comes a hopeless commandment-a mockery-if we are to stop with it, ‘put it off.’ And then there dawns on us the blessed hope and possibility of the fulfilment of the injunction, when we learn that ‘the truth in Jesus’ is, that we put off the old man with his deeds. Such is a general outline of the few thoughts I have to suggest to you.
I. I wish to fix, first of all, upon the very significant, though brief, outline sketch of the facts of universal sinful human nature which the Apostle gives here.
These are three, upon which I dilate for a moment or two. ‘The old man’ is a Pauline expression, about which I need only say here that we may take it as meaning that form of character and life which is common to us all, apart from the great change operated through faith in Jesus Christ. It is universal, it is sinful. There is a very remarkable contrast, which you will notice, between the verse upon which I am now commenting and the following one. The old man is set over against the new. One is created, the other is corrupted, as the word might be properly rendered. The one is created after God, the other is rotting to pieces under the influence of its lusts. The one consists of righteousness and holiness, which have their root in truth; the other is under the dominion of passions and desires, which, in themselves evil, are the instruments of and are characterised by deceit.
The first of the characteristics, then, of this sinful self, to which I wish to point for a moment is, that every Christless life, whatsoever the superficial differences in it, is really a life shaped according to and under the influence of passionate desires. You see I venture to alter one word of my text, and that for this simple reason; the word ‘lusts’ has, in modern English, assumed a very much narrower signification than either that of the original has, or than itself had in English when this translation was made. It is a very remarkable testimony, by the by, to the weak point in the bulk of men-to the side of their nature which is most exposed to assaults-that this word, which originally meant strong desire of any kind, should, by the observation of the desires that are strongest in the mass of people, have come to be restricted and confined to the one specific meaning of strong animal, fleshly, sensuous desires. It may point a lesson to some of my congregation, and especially to the younger portion of the men in it. Remember, my brother, that the part of your nature which is closest to the material is likewise closest to the animal, and is least under dominion {without a strong and constant effort} of the power which will save the flesh from corruption, and make the material the vehicle of the spiritual and divine. Many a young man comes into Manchester with the atmosphere of a mother’s prayers and a father’s teaching round about him; with holy thoughts and good resolutions beginning to sway his heart and spirit; and flaunting profligacy and seducing tongues beside him in the counting-house, in the warehouse, and at the shop counter, lead him away into excesses that banish all these, and, after a year or two of riot and sowing to the flesh, he ‘of the flesh reaps corruption,’ and that very literally-in sunken eye, and trembling hand, and hacking cough, and a grave opened for him before his time. Ah, my dear young friends! ‘they promise them liberty.’ It is a fine thing to get out of your father’s house, and away from the restrictions of the society where you are known, and loving eyes-or unloving ones-are watching you. It is a fine thing to get into the freedom and irresponsibility of a big city! ‘They promise them liberty,’ and ‘they themselves become the bond slaves of corruption.’
But, then, that is only the grossest and the lowest form of the truth that is here. Paul’s indictment against us is not anything so exaggerated and extreme as that the animal nature predominates in all who are not Christ’s. That is not true, and is not what my text says. But what it says is just this: that, given the immense varieties of tastes and likings and desires which men have, the point and characteristic feature of every godless life is that, be these what they may, they become the dominant power in that life. Paul does not, of course, deny that the sway and tyranny of such lusts and desires are sometimes broken by remonstrances of conscience; sometimes suppressed by considerations of prudence; sometimes by habit, by business, by circumstances that force people into channels into which they would not naturally let their lives run. He does not deny that often and often in such a life there will be a dim desire for something better-that high above the black and tumbling ocean of that life of corruption and disorder, there lies a calm heaven with great stars of duty shining in it. He does not deny that men are a law to themselves, as well as a bundle of desires which they obey; but what he charges upon us, and what I venture to bring as an indictment against you, and myself too, is this: that apart from Christ it is not conscience that rules our lives; that apart from Christ it is not sense of duty that is strongest; that apart from Christ the real directing impulse to which the inward proclivities, if not the outward activities, do yield in the main and on the whole, is, as this text says, the things that we like, the passionate desires of nature, the sensuous and godless heart.
And you say, ‘Well, if it is so, what harm is it? Did not God make me with these desires, and am not I meant to gratify them?’ Yes, certainly. The harm of it is, first of all, this, that it is an inversion of the true order. The passionate desires about which I am speaking, be they for money, be they for fame, or be they for any other of the gilded baits of worldly joys-these passionate dislikes and likings, as well as the purely animal ones-the longing for food, for drink, for any other physical gratification-these were never meant to be men’s guides. They are meant to be impulses. They have motive power, but no directing power. Do you start engines out of a railway station without drivers or rails to run upon? It would be as reasonable as that course of life which men pursue who say, ‘Thus I wish; thus I command; let my desire stand in the place of other argumentation and reason.’ They take that part of their nature that is meant to be under the guidance of reason and conscience looking up to God, and put it in the supreme place, and so, setting a beggar on horseback, ride where we know such equestrians are said in the end to go! The desires are meant to be impelling powers. It is absurdity and the destruction of true manhood to make them, as we so often do, directing powers, and to put the reins into their hand. They are the wind, not the helm; the steam, not the driver. Let us keep things in their right places. Remember that the constitution of human nature, as God has meant it, is this: down there, under hatches, under control, the strong impulses; above them, the enlightened understanding; above that, the conscience, which has a loftier region than that of thought to move in, the moral region; and above that, the God, whose face, shining down upon the apex of the nature thus constituted, irradiates it with light which filters through all the darkness, down to the very base of the being; and sanctifies the animal, and subdues the impulses, and enlightens the understanding, and calms and quickens the conscience, and makes ductile and pliable the will, and fills the heart with fruition and tranquillity, and orders the life after the image of Him that created it.
I cannot dwell any longer on this first point; but I hope that I have said enough, not to show that the words are true-that is a very poor thing to do, if that were all that I aimed at-but to bring them home to some of our hearts and consciences. I pray God to impress the conviction that, although there be in us all the voice of conscience, which all of us more or less have tried at intervals to follow; yet in the main it abides for ever true-and it is true, my dear brethren, about you-a Christless life is a life under the dominion of tyrannous desires. Ask yourself what I cannot ask for you, Is it I? My hand fumbles about the hinges and handle of the door of the heart. You yourself must open it and let conviction come in!
Still further, the words before us add another touch to this picture. They not only represent the various passionate desires as being the real guides of ‘the old man’ but they give this other characteristic-that these desires are in their very nature the instruments of deceit and lies.
The words of my text are, perhaps, rather enfeebled by the form of rendering which our translators have here, as in many cases, thought proper to adopt. If, instead of reading ‘corrupt according to the deceitful lusts,’ we read ‘corrupt according to the desires of deceit,’ we should have got not only the contrast between the old man and the new man, ‘created in righteousness and holiness of truth’-but we should have had, perhaps, a clearer notion of the characteristic of these lusts, which the Apostle meant to bring into prominence. These desires are, as it were, the tools and instruments by which deceit betrays and mocks men; the weapons used by illusions and lies to corrupt and mar the soul. They are strong, and their nature is to pursue after their objects without regard to any consequences beyond their own gratification; but, strong as they are, they are like the blinded Samson, and will pull the house down on themselves if they be not watched. Their strength is excited on false pretences. They are stirred to grasp what is after all a lie. They are ‘desires of deceit.’
That just points to the truth of all such life being hollow and profitless. If regard be had to the whole scope of our nature and necessities, and to the true aim of life as deduced therefrom, nothing is more certain than that no man will get the satisfaction that his ruling passions promise him, by indulging them. It is very sure that the way never to get what you need and desire is always to do what you like.
And that for very plain reasons. Because, for one thing, the object only satisfies for a time. Yesterday’s food appeased our hunger for the day, but we wake hungry again. And the desires which are not so purely animal have the same characteristic of being stilled for the moment, and of waking more ravenous than ever. ‘He that drinketh of this water shall thirst again.’ Because, further, the desire grows and the object of it does not. The fierce longing increases, and, of course, the power of the thing that we pursue to satisfy it decreases in the same proportion. It is a fixed quantity; the appetite is indefinitely expansible. And so, the longer I go on feeding my desire, the more I long for the food; and the more I long for it, the less taste it has when I get it. It must be more strongly spiced to titillate a jaded palate. And there soon comes to be an end of the possibilities in that direction. A man scarcely tastes his brandy, and has little pleasure in drinking it, but he cannot do without it, and so he gulps it down in bigger and bigger draughts till delirium tremens comes in to finish all. Because, for another thing, after all, these desires are each but a fragment of one’s whole nature, and when one is satisfied another is baying to be fed. The grim brute, like the watchdog of the old mythology, has three heads, and each gaping for honey cakes. And if they were all gorged, there are other longings in men’s nature that will not let them rest, and for which all the leeks and onions of Egypt are not food. So long as these are unmet, you ‘spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which satisfieth not.’
So we may lay it down as a universal truth, that whoever takes it for his law to do as he likes will not for long like what he does; or, as George Herbert says,
‘Shadows well mounted, dreams in a career,
Embroider’d lies, nothing between two dishes-
These are the pleasures here.’
Do any of you remember the mournful words with which one of our greatest modern writers of fiction closes his saddest, truest book: ‘Ah! vanitas vanitatum! Which of us is happy in this world? which of us has his desire? or, having it, is satisfied?’ No wonder that with such a view of human life as that the next and last sentence should be, ‘Come, children, let us shut up the box and the puppets, for the play is played out.’ Yes! if there be nothing more to follow than the desires which deceive, man’s life, with all its bustle and emotion, is a subject for cynical and yet sad regard, and all the men and women that toil and fret are ‘merely players.’
Then, again, one more point in this portraiture of ‘the old man,’ is that these deceiving desires corrupt. The language of our text conveys a delicate shade of meaning which is somewhat blurred in our version. Properly, it speaks of ‘the old man which is growing corrupt,’ rather than ‘which is corrupt,’ and expresses the steady advance of that inward process of decay and deterioration which is ever the fate of a life subordinated to these desires. And this growing evil, or rather inward eating corruption which disintegrates and destroys a soul, is contrasted in the subsequent verse with the ‘new man which is created in righteousness.’ There is in the one the working of life, in the other the working of death. The one is formed and fashioned by the loving hands and quickening breath of God; the other is gradually and surely rotting away by the eating leprosy of sin. For the former the end is eternal life; for the latter, the second death.
And the truth that underlies that awful representation is the familiar one to which I have already referred in another connection, that, by the very laws of our nature, by the plain necessities of the case, all our moral qualities, be they good or bad, tend to increase by exercise. In whatever direction we move, the rate of progress tends to accelerate itself. And this is preeminently the case when the motion is downwards. Every day that a bad man lives he is a worse man. My friend! you are on a sloping descent. Imperceptibly-because you will not look at the landmarks-but really, and not so very slowly either; convictions are dying out, impulses to good are becoming feeble, habits of neglect of conscience are becoming fixed, special forms of sin-avarice, or pride, or lust-are striking their claws deeper into your soul, and holding their bleeding booty firmer. In all regions of life exercise strengthens capacity. The wrestler, according to the old Greek parable, who began by carrying a calf on his shoulders, got to carry an ox by and by.
It is a solemn thought this of the steady continuous aggravation of sin in the individual character. Surely nothing can be small which goes to make up that rapidly growing total. Beware of the little beginnings which ‘eat as doth a canker.’ Beware of the slightest deflection from the straight line of right. If there be two lines, one straight and the other going off at the sharpest angle, you have only to produce both far enough, and there will be room between them for all the space that separates hell from heaven! Beware of lading your souls with the weight of small single sins. We heap upon ourselves, by slow, steady accretion through a lifetime, the weight that, though it is gathered by grains, crushes the soul. There is nothing heavier than sand. You may lift it by particles. It drifts in atoms, but heaped upon a man it will break his bones, and blown over the land it buries pyramid and sphynx, the temples of gods and the homes of men beneath its barren solid waves. The leprosy gnaws the flesh off a man’s bones, and joints and limbs drop off-he is a living death. So with every soul that is under the dominion of these lying desires-it is slowly rotting away piecemeal, ‘waxing corrupt according to the lusts of deceit.’
II. Note how, this being so, we have here the hopeless command to put off the old man.
That command ‘put it off’ is the plain dictate of conscience and of common sense. But it seems as hopeless as it is imperative. I suppose everybody feels sometimes, more or less distinctly, that they ought to make an effort and get rid of these beggarly usurpers that tyrannise over will, and conscience, and life. Attempts enough are made to shake off the yoke. We have all tried some time or other. Our days are full of foiled resolutions, attempts that have broken down, unsuccessful rebellions, ending like the struggles of some snared wild creature, in wrapping the meshes tighter round us. How many times, since you were a boy or a girl, have you said-’Now I am determined that I will never do that again. I have flung away opportunities. I have played the fool and erred exceedingly-but I now turn over a new leaf!’ Yes, and you have turned it-and, if I might go on with the metaphor, the first gust of passion or temptation has blown the leaf back again, and the old page has been spread before you once more just as it used to be. The history of individual souls and the tragedy of the world’s history recurring in every age, in which the noblest beginnings lead to disastrous ends, and each new star of promise that rises on the horizon leads men into quagmires and sets in blood, sufficiently show how futile the attempt in our own strength to overcome and expel the evils that are rooted in our nature.
Moralists may preach, ‘Unless above himself he can erect himself, how mean a thing is man’; but all the preaching in the world is of no avail. The task is an impossibility. The stream cannot rise above its source, nor be purified in its flow if bitter waters come from the fountain. ‘Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?’ There is no power in human nature to cast off this clinging self. As in the awful vision of the poet, the serpent is grown into the man. The will is feeble for good, the conscience sits like a discrowned king issuing empty mandates, while all his realm is up in rebellion and treats his proclamations as so much waste paper. How can a man re-make himself? how cast off his own nature? The means at his disposal themselves need to be cleansed, for themselves are tainted. It is the old story-who will keep the keepers?-who will heal the sick physicians? You will sometimes see a wounded animal licking its wounds with its own tongue. How much more hopeless still is our effort by our own power to stanch and heal the gashes which sin has made! ‘Put off the old man’-yes-and if it but clung to the limbs like the hero’s poisoned vest, it might be possible. But it is not a case of throwing aside clothing, it is stripping oneself of the very skin and flesh-and if there is nothing more to be said than such vain commonplaces of impossible duty, then we must needs abandon hope, and wear the rotting evil till we die.
But that is not all. ‘What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,’ God sending His own Son did-He condemned sin in the flesh. So we come to
III. The possibility of fulfilling the command.
The context tells us how this is possible. The law, the pattern, and the power for complete victory over the old sinful self, are to be found, ‘as the truth is-in Jesus.’ Union with Christ gives us a real possession of a new principle of life, derived from Him, and like His own. That real, perfect, immortal life, which hath no kindred with evil, and flings off pollution and decay from its pure surface, will wrestle with and finally overcome the living death of obedience to the deceitful lusts. Our weakness will be made rigorous by His inbreathed power. Our gravitation to earth and sin will be overcome by the yearning of that life to its source. An all-constraining motive will be found in love to Him who has given Himself for us. A new hope will spring as to what may be possible for us, when we see Jesus, and in Him recognise the true Man, whose image we may bear. We shall die with Him to sin, when, resting by faith on Him who has died for sin, we are made conformable to His death, that we may walk in newness of life. Faith in Jesus gives us a share in the working of that mighty power by which He makes all things new. The renovation blots out the past, and changes the direction of the future. The fountain in our hearts sends forth bitter waters that cannot be healed. ‘And the Lord showed him a tree,’ even that Cross whereon Christ was crucified for us, ‘which, when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet.’
I remember a rough parable of Luther’s, grafted on an older legend, on this matter, which runs somewhat in this fashion: A man’s heart is like a foul stable. Wheelbarrows and shovels are of little use, except to remove some of the surface filth, and to litter all the passages in the process. What is to be done with it? ‘Turn the Elbe into it,’ says he. The flood will sweep away all the pollution. Not my own efforts, but the influx of that pardoning, cleansing grace which is in Christ will wash away the accumulations of years, and the ingrained evil which has stained every part of my being. We cannot cleanse ourselves, we cannot ‘put off’ this old nature which has struck its roots so deep into our being; but if we turn to Him with faith and say-Forgive me, and cleanse, and strip from me the foul and ragged robe fit only for the swine-troughs in the far-off land of disobedience, He will receive us and answer all our desires, and cast around us the pure garment of His own righteousness. ‘The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus shall make us free from the law of sin and death.’
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv22, 24 old man
old man
(See Scofield "Rom 6:6").
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds
to be renewed in the spirit of your minds
This may be translated with an active form. AT: "to allow God to change your attitudes and thoughts" or "to allow God to give you new attitudes and thoughts" (See: Active or Passive)
Read full note →
to put on the new man that is created in the image of God
Paul is speaking of moral qualities as if they were pieces of clothing. AT: "to live your new life, which is created in the image of God" or "to start living in the new way because you were created in the image of God" (See: Metaphor)
in true righteousness and holiness
"truly righteous and holy"
translationWords
spirit
mind
righteous
holy
true
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v24 4:24 A believer has a new nature: God’s Spirit…
4:24 A believer has a new nature: God’s Spirit expresses his life within the believer (see Col 3:10; cp. Gen 1:26; Rom 12:1-2; Gal 5:22-23). The transforming work of God’s Spirit is part of the gift of salvation (Eph 2:8-10).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.