Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 4:22
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
22. that ye put off ] The Gr. verb is the infinitive aorist. The tense tends to denote singleness of crisis and action. Some would render “that you have” (or “did) put off.” But the better explanation, or paraphrase, is, “with regard to your (definite) putting-off.” The “instruction in Christ” had informed them about such a “putting-off”; its principles, secret, effects, as well as its fact. But the view of the “putting-off” as a definite crisis remains; and the only question is, does this crisis appear here as a past or future one? The answer will be best given under the words “the old man,” just below. For the present we refer to Col 3:9 as strongly favouring the reference here to a crisis past; so that we may paraphrase, “you were taught in Christ with regard to the fact that your old man was laid aside.”
concerning the former conversation ] On “conversation” see on Eph 2:3 above. The word (noun and verb) happens to be almost always used by St Paul in reference to the unregenerate life-course. The clause means that the “putting-off” concerned, had to do with, a former life-course; it affected it, by being the close of it. As concerning your former manner of life (R.V.).
the old man ] This important phrase occurs elsewhere Rom 6:6; Col 3:9. In Rom. it appears as a thing which “was crucified with Christ”; in Col. as a thing which “was once stripped off” by the saints. (Cp. the remarkable parallel words Col 2:11, as in the best supported reading, “in the stripping off of the body of the flesh.”) On the whole, we may explain the phrase by “ the old state.” And under this lie combined the ideas of past personal legal position and moral position; all that I was as an unregenerate son of Adam, liable to eternal doom, and the slave of sin. To “put off the old man” is to quit those positions, which, at the root, are one. It is to step into the position of personal acceptance and of personal spiritual power and victory; and that position is “in Christ.” The believer, lodged there, enters definitely and at once upon both acceptance and spiritual capacity for victory and growth. “ The old man ” is thus not identical with “ the flesh,” which is an abiding element (Gal 5:16-17) in even the regenerate and spiritual, though it need no longer even for an hour be the ruling element; it may be continuously overcome, in a practical and profound manner, in the strength of “the new man.” The phrases “old Man” and “new Man” have a probable inner reference to the doctrine of the First and Second Adam (Rom 5:12-19; 1Co 15:21-58). The “putting off” and “putting on” may be expressed by saying, “ye broke connexion (in certain great aspects of connexion) with the First Adam, and formed connexion with the Second,” connexion both of acceptance and of life-power [37] .
[37] On this aspect of Christian doctrine much excellent matter will be found in an old book, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, by Walter Marshall, Fellow of New College, Oxford (about 1670).
corrupt ] Lit., corrupting, growing corrupt; morally decaying, on the way to final ruin. Such, from the Divine point of view, is the condition of ideal Man unregenerate, Man as represented by and summed up in Adam fallen. And such accordingly is the actual condition, from the same point of view, of unregenerate men, in whom the ideal is individualized.
according to the deceitful lusts ] Lit., the desires of deceit; desires after the forbidden, full of deceitful promises of joy and gain. See Genesis 3 for the great typical case, which perhaps is in view throughout this verse. “ According to ” : by natural result. Moral decay must follow in their path. Cp. 2Pe 2:19.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
That ye put off – That you lay aside, or renounce. The manner in which the apostle states those duties, renders it not improbable that there had been some instruction among them of a contrary character, and that it is possible there had been some teachers there who had not enforced, as they should bare done, the duties of practical religion.
Concerning the former conversation – The word conversation here means conduct – as it commonly does in the Bible; see the notes, 2Co 1:12. The meaning here is, with respect to your former conduct or habits of life, lay aside all that pertained to a corrupt and fallen nature. You are not to lay everything aside that formerly pertained to you. Your dress, and manners, and modes of speech and conversation, might have been in many respects correct. But everything that proceeded from sin; every habit, and custom, and mode of speech and of conduct that was the result of depravity, is to be laid aside. The special characteristics of an unconverted man you are to put off, and are to assume those which are the proper fruits of a renewed heart.
The old man – see the notes on Rom 6:6.
Which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts – The meaning is:
(1) That the unrenewed man is not under the direction of reason and sound sense, but is controlled by his passions and desires. The word lusts, has a more limited signification with us than the original word. That word we now confine to one class of sensual appetites; but the original word denotes any passion or propensity of the heart. It may include avarice, ambition, the love of pleasure, or of gratification in any way; and the meaning here is, that the heart is by nature under the control of such desires.
(2) Those passions are deceitful. They lead us astray, They plunge us into ruin. All the passions and pleasures of the world are illusive. They promise more than they perform; and they leave their deluded votaries to disappointment and to tears. Nothing is more deceitful than the promised pleasures of this world; and all who yield to them find at last that they flatter but to betray.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Eph 4:22
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.
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.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 22. That ye put off] And this has been one especial part of our teaching, that ye should abandon all these, and live a life totally opposite to what it was before.
The old man] See Clarke on Ro 6:6, and especially the notes on Ro 13:13; Ro 13:14.
Which is corrupt] The whole of your former life was corrupt and abominable; ye lived in the pursuit of pleasure and happiness; ye sought this in the gratification of the lusts of the flesh; and were ever deceived by these lusts, and disappointed in your expectations.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
That ye put off; a usual metaphor, taken from garments (implying a total abandoning, and casting away, like a garment not to be put on again): it is oppesed to putting on, Eph 4:24, and is the same as mortifying, Col 3:5, crucifying, Gal 6:14.
Concerning the former conversation; the former heathenish life and manners, Eph 2:2. He shows how they should put off their old man, viz. by relinquishing their old manners; the same as putting off
the old man with his deeds, Col 3:9.
The old man; the pravity of nature, or nature as depraved.
Which is corrupt; or, which corrupteth, i.e. tends to destruction, Gal 6:8; or, which daily grows worse and more corrupt by the fulfilling of its lusts.
According to the deceitful lusts; i.e. which draw away and entice men, Jam 1:14; or which put on a show and semblance of some good, or promise pleasure and happiness, but lurch mens hopes, and make them more miserable.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. That yefollowing “Yehave been taught” (Eph 4:21).
concerning the formerconversation“in respect to your former way of life.”
the old manyour oldunconverted nature (Ro 6:6).
is corrupt according to thedeceitful lustsrather, “which is being corrupted(‘perisheth,’ compare Ga 6:8,’corruption,’ that is, destruction) according to (that is, asmight be expected from) the lusts of deceit.” Deceit ispersonified; lusts are its servants and tools. In contrast to”the holiness of the truth,” Eph4:24, and “truth in Jesus,” Eph4:21; and answering to Gentile “vanity,” Eph4:17. Corruption and destruction are inseparably associatedtogether. The man’s old-nature-lusts are his own executioners,fitting him more and more for eternal corruption and death.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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 comments on Ro 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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That ye put away (). Second aorist middle infinitive of with the metaphor of putting off clothing or habits as in Col 3:8 (which see) with the same addition of “the old man” ( ) as in Col 3:9. For (manner of life) see Ga 1:13.
Which waxeth corrupt ( ). Either present middle or passive participle of , but it is a process of corruption (worse and worse).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
That ye put away. Dependent upon ye were taught, and specifying the purport of the teaching.
The old man. See on Rom 6:6. Compare Col 3:9.
Which is corrupt [ ] . The A. V. misses the force of the participle. The verb is passive, which is being corrupted, 170 and marks the progressive condition of corruption which characterizes “the old man.” Rev., correctly, waxeth corrupt.
According to the deceitful lusts [ ] . Rev., correctly, lusts of deceit. On the vicious rendering of similar phrases in A. V., see on ch. Eph 1:19. Deceit is personified.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “That ye put off” (apothesthai humas) “That you put off or put aside, away from you,” as laying aside a soiled garment, ragged clothes, or refuse, or “ye have put off,” Rom 6:6. As one professes Christ he commits himself to put off willful practice of sin.
2) “Concerning the former conversation” (kata ten proteran anastrophen) “As regards, concerning, or relating to your former course of conduct, behavior,” Col 3:8-9. The best way to be free of certain sins is to put them off, not thresh them out or beat them to death, such as — anger, hate, jealousy, gossip, talebearing, evil speaking, and lying.
3) “The old man” (ton palaion anthropon) “The old (former) man, humanity.” This old nature, carnal nature, nature of original sin or natural birth disposition, is to be put aside, under subjection, domination, or control by the power of choice of the new man, the new nature of the Spirit, 1Co 9:26-27.
4) “Which is corrupt” (ton phtheiromenon) “The old, former corrupted man,” corrupted by nature of birth, contracted or inherited corruption, a condition that debars or quarantines one from entrance into heaven except he be born again, and keeps him from sanctified service after salvation, except he keep the old man under subjection, Rom 12:1-2.
5) “According to the deceitful lusts” (kata tas epithumias tes apates) “According to the lusts of deceit,” of the eye, ear, tongue, the members of the corrupt body. These are lust channels that deceive, ensnare, and trap the unwary, Gal 6:8. The influence of the life of a Christian may be ruined, if he does not exercise his stronger will to stand against deceitful lusts through the power of the Word and Spirit, 1Co 6:19-20. Deceived by lusts of the old nature, one is robbed and sapped of physical, mental, and spiritual strength and left dead or unfruitful in Christian service, 2Pe 1:4-11.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
22. That ye put off. He demands from a Christian man repentance, or a new life, which he makes to consist of self-denial and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Beginning with the first, he enjoins us to lay aside, or put off the old man, employing the metaphor of garments, which we have already had occasion to explain. The old man, — as we have repeatedly stated, in expounding the sixth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, and other passages where it occurs, — means the natural disposition which we bring with us from our mother’s womb. In two persons, Adam and Christ, he describes to us what may be called two natures. As we are first born of Adam, the depravity of nature which we derive from him is called the Old man; and as we are born again in Christ, the amendment of this sinful nature is called the New man. In a word, he who desires to put off the old man must renounce his nature. To suppose that the words Old and New contain an allusion to the Old and New Testaments, is exceedingly unphilosophical.
Concerning the former conversation. To make it more evident that this exhortation to the Ephesians was not unnecessary, he reminds them of their former life. “Before Christ revealed himself to your minds, the old man reigned in you; and therefore, if you desire to lay him aside, you must renounce your former life.” Which is corrupted. He describes the old man from the fruits, that is, from the wicked desires, which allure men to destruction; for the word, corrupt, alludes to old age, which is closely allied to corruption. Let us beware of considering the deceitful lusts, as the Papists do, to mean nothing more than the gross and visible lusts, which are generally acknowledged to be base. The word includes also those dispositions which, instead of being censured, are sometimes applauded, — such as ambition, cunning, and everything that proceeds either from self-love or from want of confidence in God.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) Concerning the former conversation.So far, that is, as concerns the conversation or mode of life described above (Eph. 4:17-19) as the moral condition of heathenism. It is in relation to this, the corruption of the true humanity, and not in relation to the true humanity itself, that the old man is put off.
The phrase the old man (found also in Rom. 6:6; Col. 3:9) is here illustrated by the description following: which is being marred in virtue of the lusts of deceit. The word rendered corrupt expresses not so much pollution as disintegration and decay, much as in 2Co. 4:16; and so carries out the idea implied in the epithet old. The unregenerate nature, subject to the lusts of deceitthe lusts, that is, of the spirit of delusion, blind themselves, and blinding the soul which yields to themis gradually sinking into the spiritual decay which must become spiritual death, unless by the effort of faith, entering into the communion with Christ, it be, once for all, put off. The various qualities of the nature thus stripped off are variously described: in Rom. 13:22, as the works of darkness; in Heb. 12:1, as simply encumbrance; in Jas. 1:21, as filthiness and excess of evil; in 1Pe. 2:1, as malice, and craft, and hypocrisies, and envies. All these are the lusts of deceit.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
(22-24) These verses explain the substance of the teaching of Eph. 4:21. The original may be interpreted either of the teaching of a fact, that ye did put off . . . and are being renewed, &c., or of a duty, that ye put off . . . and be renewed. The latter is, on the whole, the more probable, although the former would yield a simpler sense. It is to be noted that the words put off and put on in the original denote a distinct and complete act; the word be renewed, a continuous and still incomplete process. The complete act is consummated, and the continuous process begun, by the practical learning of Christthat is, by growth in spiritual communion with Him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
22. That Depending on have been taught, in Eph 4:21. The verb is, indeed, in the infinitive, and the connexion would have been better preserved had the infinitive been retained. Having pictured the depravities of old Gentilism, 11-19, Paul contrastively adds: But not such the lessons you have received from Christ, if ye have indeed learned, as truth is embodied in him, to put off the old man of Gentile depravation, and put on the new man after God’s image.
Concerning conversation In regard to your former mode of moral behaviour.
Old man Inherited from Adam, and manifested pre-eminently in Gentilism. Not merely, as Ellicott, the “personification of our whole sinful condition before regeneration;” but the personification of all our sinward tendencies derived from the fall and progressively put off by our regeneration, sanctification, and final resurrection. The term regeneration, used ordinarily and properly to designate an instantaneous act by which we are made “children of God,” does in its larger sense comprehend the entire process by which we are brought from our deepest ruin in sin to our complete final renewal in glory. This last process passes through a series of stages and progressions. In that sense our regeneration is a gradual work. Notes on 23, 24.
Is corrupt Is being ever corrupted, sinking from inborn sinwardness to an ever deeper and deeper progression in corruption a corruption implying ultimate utter perdition. And this becoming more and more corrupt is according to, that is, in compliance and accord with, the impulses of deceit, , very incorrectly translated deceitful lusts. The word we render impulses designates, in Greek, any appetance or eagerness, either for good or evil, and usually has no special reference to sexual lust. The word translated deceitful is a genitive noun: of deceit. The entire phrase, then, designates the eager promptings of a natural deceitfulness within. It corresponds with gain-greed, in Eph 4:19, and the lying they must put away in Eph 4:25; and is antithetic with truth in Eph 4:21; Eph 4:25.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eph 4:22. That ye put off, &c. The verbs put off, be renewed, and put on, in this and the following verses, are in the infinitive mood; which shews their connection with the preceding words, and that the sense is, “Ye have been instructed to put off the old man, to be renewed, to put on,” &c. As particular dispositions of mind are sometimes expressed by particular garments, when a man appears in them; so the whole of a good or bad character may be represented by a complete dress; yea, by the body in which he appears; and vice, alas! being too natural, and having the first possession, whereas goodness, if it ever succeeds at all, is supervenient and supernatural; the former may well be called the old, and the latter, the new man; which opposite characters may be seen clearly delineated in the following part of this, and in several other of St. Paul’s Epistles. Some have explained the deceitful lusts spoken of in this verse, of the lusts into which they were led by the artifices of the heathen priests, who represented them as not disagreeable to their established deities; or by the sophistry oftheirphilosophers,who found out so many fallacious excuses for the grossest vices; but it is a more important sense to understand these deceitful lusts of those which generally prevail in the world; which can lead to no rational solid happiness, but delude by vain appearances and fallacious hopes, always ending in shame and disappointment.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eph 4:22 . ] dependent on . See on Eph 4:21 . What is truth in Jesus, Paul states, not in general ( to lay aside, etc .), but individualizingly in relation to the readers; that ye lay aside . [239] Michaelis and Flatt give the strangely erroneous rendering: to lay aside yourselves! In that case there would be wanting the main matter, the reflexive ; and how alien to the N.T. such a form of conceiving self-denial! Luther and others are also incorrect in rendering: lay aside . It is not till Eph 4:25 that the direct summons comes in, and that in the usual form of the imperative , instead of which the infinitive (Winer, p. 282 f. [E. T. 397]), and with the accusative in addition (Matthiae, p. 1267), would be inappropriate. The figurative expression of laying aside is borrowed from the putting off clothing (comp. , Eph 4:24 ), and in current use, as with Paul (Rom 13:12 ; Rom 13:14 ; Col 3:8 ff.; Gal 3:27 ), so also with Greek writers (see Wetstein in loc. ); hence there was the less reason for forcing on the context any more special reference, such as to the custom (at any rate, certainly later) of changing clothes at baptism (so Grotius).
] is not to be explained, as if the words stood: . . . (Jerome, Oecumenius, Vorstius, Grotius, Raphel, Estius, Semler, Koppe, Rosenmller, and others), but: that ye lay aside in respect of your former life-walk the old man , so that it expresses, in what respect, in reference to what the laying aside of the old man is spoken of. “Declarat vim verbi relationem habentis deponere ,” Bengel. The Pauline . ., ideally conceived of, is not injuriously affected, as de Wette thinks, in its internal truth by this recalling of the pre-Christian walk (as if the author had conceived of it empirically ). The ., in fact, concerns the whole moral nature of man before his conversion, and the . . affirms that the converted man is to retain nothing of his pre-Christian moral personality, but, as concerns the pre-Christian conduct of life, is utterly to do away with the old ethical individuality and to become the new man. Such a contrast, however, as Cornelius a Lapide (comp. Anselm) found: “non quoad naturam et substantiam,” would be in itself singular and foreign to the context.
As to , see on Gal 1:13 .
.] The pre-Christian moral frame [240] is represented as a person. See on Rom 6:6 .
. . .] an attribute of the old man serving as a motive for that . . .: which is being destroyed according to the lusts of deception . is not to be explained of putrefaction (Michaelis), seeing that . is not equivalent to , nor yet of inward moral corruption (Koppe, Flatt, Holzhausen, Meier, Harless, and older expositors), or self-corruption (Schenkel), seeing that the moral corruption of the old man is obvious of itself and is already present, not merely coming into existence ( present participle, which is not to be taken, with Bengel, as imperfect ), but of eternal destruction (Gal 6:8 ), in which case the present participle: which goes to ruin (comp. on 1Co 1:18 ), is to be taken either of the certain future realized as present, or of the destruction in the course of development (so Grotius: “qui tendit ad exitium”). The latter appears more appropriate to the contrast of , Eph 4:24 .
] is genitive subjecti , and is personified (comp. Hesiod. Theog . 224). Hence: in accordance with the lusts of deception , with which it has had designs on the corruption of the old man. What is meant, cannot be doubtful according to the context, and according to the doctrine of the apostle as to the principle of sin in man, namely, the power of sin deceiving man (Rom 7:11 ). Comp. Heb 3:13 , also 2Co 11:3 . The adjectival resolution into cupiditates seducentes (Grotius), followed by many, is in itself arbitrary and not in keeping with the contrast in Eph 4:24 ( ).
[239] Not: that ye have laid aside, as Hofmann wishes to take it, who explains as if Paul had written: . . . Starting from the aorist infinitive thus taken at variance with linguistic usage (comp. on Rom 15:9 ; 2Co 6:1 ), Hofmann has incorrectly understood the whole passage. According to his interpretation, the perfect infinitive must have been used. The Vulgate already has correctly not deposuisse , but deponere .
[240] Not original sin (as Calovius and others would have it), which, in fact, cannot be laid aside, but the moral habitus , such as it is in the unregenerate man under the dominion of the sin-principle. Comp. Rom 7:7 ff.; Eph 2:1 ff.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 2111
THE OLD MAN, AND THE NEW
Eph 4:22-24. That ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt, according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and trice holiness.
CHRISTIANITY is universally professed amongst us: but many know little more of it than the name. They, who are in some measure acquainted with its principles, have, for the most part, learned it only from books and human instruction. But there are some who have learned it, as it were, from Christ himself. Their understandings have been opened, and their hearts instructed by his good Spirit. These are said to have heard Christ, and to have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus [Note: ver. 21.]. These may be distinguished from the others by the effects of their knowledge. While the speculative Christian remains willingly ignorant of true holiness, the truly enlightened man labours to attain the highest measure of it that he can. This St. Paul represents as the infallible consequence of divine teaching: and his declarations respecting it set forth the sum and substance of a Christians duty.
I.
Put off the old man
There are many terms peculiar to the Holy Scriptures which need to be explained. Those in the text are of the greatest importance
The old man is that principle of sin which actuates the unregenerate man
[It is a natural principle. As a man consists of a soul with many faculties, and a body with many members, so does this principle, though but one, consist of many parts: pride, unbelief, &c. &c. constitute that body of sin, which is here denominated the old man; and it is called old, because it is coeval with our existence, and is derived from our first parents, after whose fallen image we were made. It is a corrupt, principle. It is expressly called so in my text. All its inward lustings and desires are vitiated, and invariably discover themselves by the external fruits of a vain conversation. It is also a deceitful principle, continually representing good as evil, and evil as good: it constantly disappoints our expectations, making that to appear a source of happiness which never yet terminated in any thing but misery.]
This it is our duty to be putting off
[It is indeed no easy matter to effect this work; yet in dependence on Gods aid we may, and must, accomplish it. We must suppress its actings. It will break forth, if not resisted, into all manner of evil [Note: Sec the following context.]: but we must fight against it, and bring it into subjection [Note: 1Co 9:27.]. Our eternal life and salvation depend on our mortifying the deeds of the body [Note: Rom 8:13.]. Not contented with a partial victory, we must check its desires. A weight that may be easily stopped when beginning to roll, will prove irresistible when it is running down a steep declivity. We must check evil in its first rising, if we would not be overpowered by it: none can tell how far he shall go when once he begins to fall. We must therefore crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts [Note: Gal 5:24]. To do this effectually, we must guard against its deceits. We should examine our motives and principles of action. Sin is deceitful; the heart also is deceitful; and Satan helps forward our deceptions. That which is very specious in its outward appearance is often most odious to the heart-searching God. We must therefore bring every thing to the touchstone of Gods word: we must prove all tilings, and hold fast that which is good [Note: 1Th 5:21.].]
But we must not be satisfied with resisting sin. We must,
II.
Put on the new man
The new man is that principle which actuates the godly
[It consists of many parts, as well as the evil principle. Humility, faith, love, &c. are among its most characteristic features. It is divine in its origin. It belongs to no man naturally; but is new. It is the gift of God, the work of his good Spirit. It is created within us, and is as truly the workmanship of God, as the universe itself is. All who possess it are said to be Gods workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works [Note: Eph 2:10.]. it is moreover holy in its operations: all its motions and tendencies are holy. It works to transform us after Gods image. It leads to an unreserved obedience to both tables of the law. It directs to righteousness towards man, and holiness towards God. Nor will it be satisfied with any semblance of religion, however specious. It labours uniformly to bring us to the experience of true holiness both in heart and life.]
This it is our duty to be putting on
[As the prodigal was not merely pardoned, but clothed in robes suitable to his new condition, so are the children of God to be adorned with virtues suited to the relation which they bear to their heavenly Father. We must be renewed, not in our outward actions only, but, in the spirit of our minds: the great spring of action within us must be changed, and the new man must reign in us now, as the old man did in our unregenerate state. Do we ask, How shall this great work be effected? We answer, Encourage its motions, and exert its powers. The new principle of life in us is as water, which seeks continually to extinguish the corrupt principle within us: and if, upon any temptation occurring, we watched carefully the motions of that principle, we should frequently, perhaps invariably, find it directing us to what is right. But it is a still small voice that cannot be heard without much attention, and it may be very soon silenced by the clamours of passion or interest: it is the voice of God within us; and, if duly regarded, would never suffer us to err in any great degree. It has also powers, which, like the members of the body, may be strengthened by exertion. Put forth its powers in the exercise of faith and love, and it will be found to grow as well as any other habit. Having indeed the tide of corrupt nature against it, its progress will not be so rapid, nor will it admit of any intermission of our labours: but the more we do for God, the more shall we be disposed, and enabled, to do for him. We must however remember not to address ourselves to this duty in our own strength: of ourselves we can do nothing; but if we rely on the promised grace of Christ, we shall be strengthened by his Spirit, and be changed into his image from glory to glory.]
We may improve this subject,
1.
For conviction
[If this progressive change be the necessary evidence of our being true Christians, alas! how few true Christians are there to be found! Yet nothing less than this will suffice. If we be really in Christ, we are new creatures; old things are passed away, and, behold, all things are become new [Note: 2Co 5:17.]. It is not an external reformation merely that we must experience, but a new creation. Let all reflect on this. Let all inquire what evidence they have of such a change having passed upon their souls. The voice of Christ to all of us is this; Ye must be born again; except a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven [Note: Joh 3:3; Joh 3:7.].]
2.
For consolation
[Many are ready to despond because of the severe conflicts which they experience between the spiritual and the carnal principle in their souls. They say, If I were a child of God, how could it be thus? We answer, This is rather an evidence that such persons are partakers of a divine nature: if they were not, they would be strangers to these conflicts. Though they might feel some struggles between corruption and conscience, yea, and between reason and conscience, the one attempting to vindicate what the other condemns, they would know nothing of those deeper conflicts between the flesh and spirit, especially in reference to the secret exercises of the soul in its daily converse with God. These evince the existence of a new principle, though they shew that the old man still lives within them [Note: Gal 5:17.]. Let not any then despond because they feel the remains of indwelling corruption, but rather be thankful if they hate it, and if they have grace in some good measure to subdue it. Let them trust in God to perfect that which concerns them; and look to him to fulfil in them all the good pleasure of his goodness: then shall they in due time put off their filthy garments [Note: Zec 3:4.] altogether, and stand before their God without spot or blemish to all eternity.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Ver. 22. That ye put off, &c. ] As the beggar puts off his rags, as the master puts off his bad servant, as the porter puts off his burden, as the husband puts off his lewd wife, as the serpent his slough, or as the captive maid, when she was to be married, put off the garments of her captivity,Deu 21:13Deu 21:13 .
The old man which is corrupt ] Sin is said to be the old man, because it lives in man so as sin seems to be alive and the man dead; and because God will take notice of nothing in the sinner but his sin.
According to the deceitful lusts ] Sin, though at first it fawn upon a man, yet in the end (with Cain’s dog lying at the door) it will pluck out the very throat of his soul, if not repented of. Like the serpent, together with the embrace, it stings mortally. Hence the ruler’s meat is called deceivable, Pro 23:3 . There being a deceitfulness in sin, Heb 3:13 , a lie in vanity, Joh 2:8 . Lust hath a deceit in it, as here.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
22 .] namely (the infinitive depends on (not on , Eph 4:17 , as Bengel and Stier), and carries therefore (not in itself, but as thus dependent) an imperative force see on Eph 4:17 ) that ye put off (cf. Eph 4:24 : aorist, because the act of putting off is one and decisive, so also of below: but , because the renewal is a gradual process. Beware of rendering, with Eadie and Peile, ‘ that ye have put off ,’ which is inconsistent with the context (cf. Eph 4:25 ), and not justified by being expressed. This latter is done merely to resume the subject after the parenthetical Eph 4:21 ), as regards your former conversation (explains the reference of : q. d. (for you were clothed with it in your former conversation): and must not, as by c., Jer., Grot., Est., al., be joined with . .: on . , see note, Gal 1:13 ), the old man (your former unconverted selves, see note on Rom 6:6 ) which is (“almost, ‘ as it is, &c. ,’ the participle having a slight causal force, and serving to superadd a further motive.” Ellic.) being corrupted (inasmuch as the whole clause is subjectively spoken of the . ., it is better to take . (as usually) of inward ‘ waxing corrupt ,’ as in reff. (especially Jude), than of destination to perdition , as Mey., which would be introducing an outward objective element) according to (in conformity with; as might be expected under the guidance of) the lusts of deceit ( is personified the lusts which are the servants, the instruments of deceit: cf. , Jdt 9:10 . Beware of the unsatisfactory hendiadys, ‘ deceitful lusts ,’ E. V., which destroys the whole force and beauty of the contrast below to ),
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Eph 4:22 . : that ye put off, as regards your former manner of life, the old man . This is best connected with the . It gives the purport or contents of the instruction. The inf., therefore, is the objective inf. ( cf. in , Eph 4:17 above, and Donald., Greek Gram. , 584). It has something of the force of an imperative, but is not to be taken as the same as an imperative, that use of the inf. being very rare in the NT, and found generally indeed only in the case of oracles, laws and the like ( cf. Win.-Moult., p. 397). In such constructions as the present the inf. does not require the pronoun; but is introduced here with a view to lucidity, after the reference to Jesus in Eph 4:21 (so Ell., Alf., etc.). The figure in the is taken from the putting off of garments, and is parallel to the of Eph 4:24 . The clause defines that in respect of which this putting off is to take effect, the prep. having here the general sense of “in reference to,” not that of “in conformity with”. , contrasted with the (Eph 4:24 ), the (Col 3:10 ), the (Gal 6:15 ), is the former unregenerate self in its entirety ( cf. Rom 6:6 ; Col 3:9 ). : which waxeth corrupt . The pres. part. marks the corruption as a process that goes on, a condition that progresses . The point is missed by the “is corrupt” of the AV, but is well put by “waxeth corrupt” (Ell., RV); cf. also Gal 6:8 . The “corruption,” however, is to be understood as “destruction”. The “old man” is in a condition of advancing destruction or ruin, and, therefore, should all the more be “put off”. Some ( e.g. , Meyer) take eternal destruction to be in view, the pres. part. expressing what is to issue in destruction or indicating the certainty of the future. : according to the lusts of deceit . is the gen. subj. , not = “the deceitful lusts” (AV), but = the lusts which deceit uses or which are its instruments. The is in contrast with , the article giving it the abstract force approaching a personification. here = in accordance with . The process of corruption or ruin goes on in precise conformity with the nature of the lusts which the deceitful power of sin has in its service.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
EPHESIANS
A DARK PICTURE AND A BRIGHT HOPE
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.’
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
put off = put away. See Rom 13:12.
concerning. App-104.
former. Greek. proteros. Only here as adjective
conversation. Greek. anastrophe. Compare Gal 1:1, Gal 1:13.
the old man. The old (Adam) nature. See Rom 6:6.
man. App-123.
corrupt = being corrupted. Greek. phtheiro. Compare 1Cor. Eph 15:33.
the deceitful lusts = the desires of the deceit (Greek. apate). Here, the desires of the deceiver, as in Eph 4:14 “the error” is used for the cause of it, the devil. Compare Rev 12:9; Rev 20:3, Rev 20:8, Rev 20:10.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
22.] namely (the infinitive depends on (not on , Eph 4:17, as Bengel and Stier), and carries therefore (not in itself, but as thus dependent) an imperative force-see on Eph 4:17) that ye put off (cf. Eph 4:24 : aorist, because the act of putting off is one and decisive, so also of below: but , because the renewal is a gradual process. Beware of rendering, with Eadie and Peile, that ye have put off, which is inconsistent with the context (cf. Eph 4:25), and not justified by being expressed. This latter is done merely to resume the subject after the parenthetical Eph 4:21), as regards your former conversation (explains the reference of : q. d. (for you were clothed with it in your former conversation): and must not, as by c., Jer., Grot., Est., al., be joined with . .: on ., see note, Gal 1:13), the old man (your former unconverted selves, see note on Rom 6:6) which is (almost, as it is, &c., the participle having a slight causal force, and serving to superadd a further motive. Ellic.) being corrupted (inasmuch as the whole clause is subjectively spoken of the . ., it is better to take . (as usually) of inward waxing corrupt, as in reff. (especially Jude), than of destination to perdition, as Mey., which would be introducing an outward objective element) according to (in conformity with; as might be expected under the guidance of) the lusts of deceit ( is personified-the lusts which are the servants, the instruments of deceit: cf. , Jdt 9:10. Beware of the unsatisfactory hendiadys, deceitful lusts, E. V., which destroys the whole force and beauty of the contrast below to ),
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Eph 4:22. , that ye put off) This word depends on I say, Eph 4:17 : and from the same verse the power of the particle no longer [, Engl. Vers. henceforth-not] is taken up, as it were, after a parenthesis without a conjunction in the equivalent verb, out off [= that ye henceforth walk not, Eph 4:17]: for the reverse of those things, which are mentioned Eph 4:18-19, has been already set forth and cleared out of the way in Eph 4:20-21; and yet this verb , to put off, has some relation to the words immediately preceding Eph 4:21. Putting on, Eph 4:24, is directly opposed to the putting off [Eph 4:22].- , according to the former conversation) according as you have formerly walked. The antithesis is the whole of Eph 4:23 : according to shows the force of the verb, which has relation to it, put off, not merely abstain.- , the old man) The concrete for the abstract, as presently, at Eph 4:24, the new man: comp. Eph 4:13, note. The abstract, for example, is lying, Eph 4:25.- , who was corrupt) The Imperfect, as , who stole, Eph 4:28. The antithesis is, was created [in righteousness, Eph 4:24], and that too in the aorist or imperfect [, not as Engl. Vers. which is created], in respect of the first creation and the original intention [of God in making man at first pure and innocent].- , according to the lusts) The antithesis is, according to God, in righteousness [Eph 4:24], etc.- , the lusts) The antithesis is, righteousness and holiness.- ) of heathen error. The antithesis is, of truth [ , lit. the holiness of truth; so true holiness, Eph 4:24].
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 4:22
Eph 4:22
that ye put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man,-The new life required that they put off the old man-the old manner of life, which was corrupt. [The resistance, the subduing, the absolute overcoming of those sinful propensities and habits, and the abandoning of those sinful acts which are so contrary to the new principles of spiritual life begotten through the gospel is the putting off of the old man; represented here under the figure of laying off an old garment, that another and better one may be put on.]
that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit;-The old habit or manner of life which was put off or laid aside was corrupt-sinful through deceitful lusts. The lusts are deceitful because they promise happiness if gratified, when they always bring misery. The man away from God is led by these lusts, and they always work corruption of life and degradation of character and bring misery.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
old man
(See Scofield “Rom 6:6”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
ye: Eph 4:25, 1Sa 1:14, Job 22:23, Eze 18:30-32, Col 2:11, Col 3:8, Col 3:9, Heb 12:1, Jam 1:21, 1Pe 2:1, 1Pe 2:2
former: Eph 4:17, Eph 2:3, Gal 1:13, Col 3:7, 1Pe 1:18, 1Pe 4:3, 2Pe 2:7
the old: Rom 6:6, Col 3:9
deceitful: Pro 11:18, Jer 49:16, Oba 1:3, Rom 7:11, Tit 3:3, Heb 3:13, Jam 1:26, 2Pe 2:13
Reciprocal: Lev 13:47 – The garment Deu 21:12 – and she shall 2Ch 6:41 – thy priests Job 34:32 – if Psa 51:10 – renew Psa 119:29 – Remove Psa 119:118 – their deceit Pro 14:8 – folly Pro 23:3 – General Isa 1:16 – put away Isa 11:6 – General Jer 4:1 – put away Eze 18:31 – Cast Luk 15:22 – the best Joh 3:7 – Ye Joh 6:45 – And they Joh 13:10 – needeth Rom 6:4 – even Rom 6:12 – in the lusts Rom 8:13 – but if Rom 12:2 – be ye Rom 13:12 – cast 1Co 3:3 – and walk 1Co 5:7 – Purge 1Co 15:46 – that which is natural 2Co 3:18 – are 2Co 5:17 – old Eph 2:2 – in time Eph 5:11 – works 1Ti 6:9 – many Tit 2:12 – denying Jam 1:14 – when 1Pe 2:12 – your conversation 1Pe 3:4 – the hidden 1Pe 4:2 – no
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Eph 4:22.) -That you put off. The infinitive, denoting the substance of what they had been thus taught (Donaldson, 584; Winer, 44, 3), is falsely rendered as a formal imperative by Luther, Zeger, and the Vulgate. Bernhardy, p. 358. Our previous version, have put, is not, as Alford says of it, inconsistent with the context, as in Eph 4:25, for perfect change is not inconsistent with imperfect development. But as Madvig, to whom Ellicott refers, says, 171, b-the aorist infinitive in such a case differs from the present only as denoting a single transient action. See on Php 3:16. It is contrary alike to sense and syntax on the part of Storr and Flatt, to take as governed by -that you put off yourselves! and it is a dilution of the meaning to supply , with Piscator. and are figurative terms placed in vivid contrast. is to put off, as one puts off clothes. Rom 13:12-14; Col 3:8; Jam 1:21. Wetstein adduces examples of similar imagery from the classics, and the Hebrew has an analogous usage. The figure has its origin in daily life, and not, as some fanciful critics allege, in any special instances of change of raiment at baptism, the racecourse, or the initiation of proselytes. Selden, de Jure Gentium, etc., lib. Eph 2:5; Vitringa, Observat. Sac. 139. That you put off-
-as regards your former conversation, the old man. It is contrary to the ordinary laws of language to translate these words as if the apostle had written- . Yet this has been done by Jerome and OEcumenius, Grotius and Estius, Koppe, Rosenmller, and Bloomfield. occurs under Eph 2:3. Gal 1:13; 1Ti 4:12; Suicer, sub voce. This former conversation is plainly their previous heathen or unconverted state. The apostle says, they were not now to live like the rest of heathendom, for they had been instructed to put off as regards their manner of life, the old man- . Rom 6:6; Col 3:9. The meaning of a somewhat similar idiom- -may be seen under Eph 3:16. Rom 7:22. It is needless to seek the origin of this peculiar phrase in any recondite or metaphysical conceptions. It has its foundation in our own consciousness, and in our own attempts to describe or contrast its different states, and is similar to our current usage, as when we speak of our former self and our present self, or when we speak of a man’s being beside himself or coming to himself. It does not surprise us to find similar language in the Talmud, such as-the old Adam, etc. Schoettgen, Hor. Heb. 516; Tr. Jovamoth, 62. Phraseology not unlike occurs also among the classics. Diogenes Laertius, 9, 66. The words are, therefore, a bold and vivid personification of the old nature we inherit from Adam, the source and seat of original and actual transgression. The exegesis of many of the older commentators does not come up to the full idea. This self or man is old, not simply old in sin, as Jerome and Photius im agine- -but as existing prior to our converted state, and as Athanasius says- -yet not simply original sin. This old man within us is a usurper, and is to be expelled. As the Greek scholiast says, the old man is not in its essential meaning, but- . With all his instincts and principles, he is to be cast off, for he is described as-
-being corrupt according to the lusts of deceit. stands in contrast with in Eph 4:24, and with of the same verse. The old man is growing corrupt, and this being his constant condition and characteristic, the present tense is employed-the corruption is becoming more corrupt. And this corruption does not describe merely the unhappy state of the old man, for, as Olshausen remarks, this opinion of Harless is superficial. The old man is corrupt, filled with that sin which contains in it the elements of its own punishment, and he is unfitted by this condition for serving God, possessing the Divine life, or enjoying happiness. That corruption is described in some of its features in Eph 4:17-18. But the apostle adds more specifically-according to the lusts of deceit. The preposition does not seem to have a causal significance. Harless indeed ascribes to it a causal relation, but it seems to have simply its common meaning of according to or in accordance with. Winer, 49, d. is irregular and excessive desire. Olshausen is wrong in confining the term to sensual excesses, for he is obliged to modify the apostle’s statement, and say, that from such forms of sin individual Gentiles were free, and so were the mass of the Jewish nation. But is not necessarily sensual desire. Where it has such a meaning-as in Rom 1:24, 1Th 4:5 -the signification is determined by the context. The lusts of the flesh are not restricted to fleshly longings. Gal 5:16; Gal 5:24. The term is a general one, and signifies those strong and self-willed desires and appetites which distinguish unrenewed humanity. Rom 6:12; Rom 7:7; 1Ti 6:9; Tit 3:3. The genitive- -may be, as Meyer takes it, the genitive of subject, being personified. Though it is a noun of quality, it is not to be looked on as the mere genitive of quality. These lusts are all connected with that deceit which is characteristic of sin; a deceit which it has lodged in man’s fallen nature-the offspring of that first and fatal lie which
Brought death into the world and all our woe.
Heb 3:13; 2Co 11:3. This deceit which tyrannizes over the old man, as the truth guides and governs the new man (Eph 4:24), is something deeper than the erroneous and seductive teaching of heathen priests and philosophers. These lusts of deceit seduce and ensnare under false pretensions. There is the lust of gain, sinking into avarice; of power swelling into ruthless and cruel tyranny; of pleasure falling into beastly sensualism. Nay, every strong passion that fills the spirit to the exclusion of God is a lust. Alas! 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 a 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 goods 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 father’s house, sank into penury and degradation, and he, a child of Abraham, fed swine to a heathen master.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 4:22. To put off means to cease doing things that belong to men of the world. Conversation refers to the general conduct including the speech used with their fellowmen. Old man is a figurative name for the fleshly desires that people of the world try to satisfy. It is the same “old man” that is described in Rom 6:1-6. Deceitful lusts. Such lusts are deceitful because they lead a man to think he is enjoying genuine pleasure, and yet they will be disappointing in the end.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eph 4:22. That ye put off. The emphasis is on the verb, which is used of throwing oft garments. No more special reference (as preparation for a race, for baptism) is necessary. The tense points to a single, sudden act.
As regards your former way of life. Conversation is misleading; comp. Gal 1:13. The phrase qualifies the verb put off, and this putting off of the old man is indispensable, because in their former way of life this old man was, as it were, the garment in which they were clothed
The old man. The corrupt self, the depraved nature, the flesh in the ethical sense (see Excursus on Romans 7), here personified, in contrast with the new man (Eph 4:24). It is old, because it is regarded as condemned, done away, and in Rom 6:6 is spoken of as crucified.
Which waxeth corrupt. The participle, thus rendered, has been variously explained, as which tends to corruption, which is corrupted, which corrupteth himself, The last view, which brings out the force of the present and middle senses of the original, is preferable, and fairly paraphrased by Ellicott as above. The idea of growing corruption was probably suggested by the figure of putting off an old garment. Eternal destruction is suggested as the culmination of the process of corruption.
According to the lusts of deceit. Not deceitful lusts, but lusts which belong to deceit, sin being thus characterized because of its power of deceiving. These lusts are the instruments which carry on the process of corruption, and their agency is so potent, because the subjects are deceived as to the true character of the desires they cherish. In the more refined forms of sin the deceit is the greater. The entire culture of too many is included here, as it was in those days of classical heathenism.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 22
The old man; the former evil character.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
There is the blast and we will see a little later as well. Now, let’s look at those verses’ one at a time.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation {e} the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
(e) Yourselves.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Here is what the Ephesian Christians had heard. Christians should put their former unsaved manner of life aside. The old self (or man) is the person the Christian was before his or her regeneration. That person was experiencing progressive corruption because of desires that appeal to the physical senses. Lusts are deceitful because they promise real joy but fail to deliver it.