Ephesians 4:22

“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.”

We were not taught about Christ in terms of sin and worldliness. No, we were told about a Christ who was different, and the lifestyle we must follow is also radically different to the old nature.

our way of life before we knew Christ was self-directed. We did what we thought was right, or more likely, what we wanted to do.

the old way living is now a former way of life. It has passed away because we died in Christ, and therefore have been raised in Him. The former way of life must remain in the past as we follow the way of Christ.

we have to” put off the old self” - literally it says to put off the old man, or old person.

the analogy is to taking off old worn out clothes in order to put on Christ, and our new nature in Him. but here Paul says we have to take off the old person in order to put on the new nature in Christ.

for some people, this is scary, and for most people it is difficult. How can I take off the old person that I was before Christ? I am quite attached to my self, and I can't imagine being without my self. Does that even make sense?

before we knew Jesus, our nature was corrupted by sin. Everything we did was polluted by sin. Our old nature is destined for death.

But then we came to know Jesus, and we were attracted to him so much that we asked him to come in and make us new. Part of becoming new is getting rid of the old.

this is not something we have to do ourselves. If we take up our cross to follow him, we will die to ourselves. The Holy Spirit takes our dead old nature and brings us back to life. The old man is gone and the new has come.

to put off our old nature is dying to ourselves, presenting ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. We bring ourselves to God with all of our sinful desires, and we say, “ Lord it is all yours. Do what you will with me.”

It is the Holy Spirit who makes it possible to put off the old self, the old person. All we have to do is die to our own ambitions, and let God do His work in us.

the old nature is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.

if we hold on to our old persona, then its deceitful desires will continue to corrupt us. If we demand that our old nature be allowed to live, then it will corrupt us and destroy our new life in Christ.

Our old nature is a breeding ground for corruption and sin. it is like an incubator for a deadly virus which ultimately kills everyone that touches it.

the corruption comes from the deceitful desires of the old nature.

we all have desires, some of which are healthy, and some of which are not healthy. A desire for food is good, but so easily corrupted into greed and obesity. A desire to be significant is a good thing, but can be switched to arrogance, pride and control .

our desires are deceitful in a number of ways.

Firstly, they can distract us from what is really important. if I constantly give in to my snacking desire, I get nothing done for the Lord .

Secondly,they deceive us into thinking they cannot harm us. “ A little pawn might liven up my marriage.” “ A glass or two of wine never hurt anyone.” We find ways to justify those deceitful desires.

Thirdly, the desires of the old nature are deceitful because they pull us away from godly things. A favourite TV show does not come with the warning that we could be spending that hour in prayer. My need for social interaction may take precedence over the call of the Holy Spirit to spend a period of time in solitude and meditation.

this old person or former self must be put off. The desires which lead us away from God seem so appealing, until we learn that they take us away from the abundant life in Christ.

key points in this verse:

• the way to deal with our old way of life is to put off our old self

• we must take up our cross and die so Christ's life can fill us

• The desires of the old nature are deceitful and will lead us away from our new life in Christ.