Put off…Put on

Eph 4:22-24 "that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness."

Like I have said before, I love Paul's practicality. I know that some preachers and teachers don't like to tell people what to do. They say that they will preach the word and the Holy Spirit will do the work of practical convicting and convincing. That is true. That is a job of the Holy Spirit, but I also know that God has given us apostle, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers to equip and encourage. In my mind, that includes giving people practical application of the word of God. I think Paul felt this way too

Take for example these verses. Paul tells the Ephesians that they need to put off the old man and put on the new man. I suppose that he could have left it at that, and said that the Holy Spirit would tell the people what this meant in a practical way. He could have said that, but he didn't. Instead, he went on to tell people what he meant. And what did he mean? Here we go:

Put off the old man. This was the old man, the old nature that put off lying, and anger, and stealing, and corrupt words, and things that would make God sad, and bitterness, wrath, anger (hit this twice), clamor, evil speaking and malice. He was probably stepping on some people's toes, but he did not care. He was getting down to the basics. If you want to get rid of the old man then eliminate these things from your life. This is both interior...attitudinal...anger, bitterness, malice, and exterior actions...lying, stealing, wrath (the hot working out of anger), corrupt words.

And put on the new man. This is speaking the truth, working hard, using edifying words, being kind, compassionate and forgiving. Do you think that anyone in Ephesus had any questions about what Paul meant? I don''t think so. The fact is that the Holy Spirit used those words to convict people of their rotten attitudes and actions and gave them a positive response to replace it.

I wonder how I am doing with the old man/new man thing? I don't think I lie or steal or use rotten words. My battle comes on the inside...potentially bitterness or anger. Sometimes when that happens it can reveal itself in not so complimentary words. I believe that I speak the truth and work hard, but how kind am I? How compassionate am I? How forgiving am I?

I know one thing, I have a long way to go. I have to actively put off, intentionally put off the old man and with the same intentionality put on the new man...how? By renewing the spirit of my mind. v23 and Rom 12:2. How? Saturate my mind in God's thoughts…Stay in the word. Stay in the word. Stay in the word.