Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
Put On – Put Off (Ephesians 4:20-24)
That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
It is interesting to observe God’s part and ours in enabling us to live in a way pleasing to God. In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve made themselves clothing out of fig leaves. We can imagine that their “clothes” were rather flimsy, fit poorly, and lasted little more than a day under the wilting sun. I grew up in a part of Nigeria where the couture was essentially a fresh sprig of leaves cut from the forest each day and placed strategically on the body. I have some idea of how inadequate a covering of fig leaves might be. In their place God provided them with rather more durable animal skin outfits. But they had to take off the fig leaves and put on the leathers God provided.
Similarly, the values and lifestyles we choose for ourselves before we meet Christ are self-designed and a bit pathetic in terms of eternity. So we are urged to put off the fig leaves of our former lifestyle which are driven by “deceitful desires”; that includes self-indulgence and self-centredness. Our old self has a fatal flaw: it is being corroded and corrupted by the very engine that drives it. In the place of our deceitful desires we are to don the more substantial “skin” of true righteousness and holiness. God creates the clothing; we have to put it on.
It is a bit like the unity Paul talked about in 4:4-5. There is one body and one Spirit – they are givens – but we are to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit” (verse 3). God makes us one body and the Spirit indwells us. But we have to work hard to make it happen in practice. Similarly, the responsibility is ours to put off our old self and put on the new self. From what the Scriptures reveal, we know that it is all of God’s enabling. But we live and die in a world of choices we must make. Experientially, the responsibility is ours to make righteousness and holiness happen.
Once again, Paul makes the point that the battle for purity begins in the attitude of our minds. It is almost as if daily we must consciously resolve to give ourselves to God and mentally put on our new self, just as routinely as physically we put on our clothes for the day. This is more than self-improvement and the power of positive thinking. This is of divine origin. It is quite beyond our ability by thinking to become the new creation that is like God in righteousness and holiness. But we are called to make choices and obey, daily to take up our cross and follow Jesus.
Father God, help us to remember that in Christ we are a new creation. Help us this day to wear our new selves and reveal your likeness to those around us.
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