Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 4:23
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
23. be renewed ] A present infinitive in the Gr. The idea is thus of progress and growth, the antithesis to the “corrupting” just above. The decisive fact of new position in and connexion with Christ was to result, and was resulting, in an ever developed spiritual experience, with its ever new disclosures both of need and of grace. Cp. 2Co 4:16. We may paraphrase the clause (on the principle explained in the first note on Eph 4:22), “ and with regard to your being renewed.”
in the spirit of your mind.] I.e., practically, “in your spiritual life and faculty, coming out in the phase of thought and understanding,” as distinct from e.g. the phase of emotion. “Spirit” can scarcely here refer to the Holy Ghost; and it cannot bear the vague modern sense of “sentiment,” or the like. It is the human spirit, as the substratum, so to speak, of every activity of the “inner man,” and now specially of the activity which sees and grasps truth (“your mind ”). See above, last note on Eph 4:17. The Gr. may be rendered “ by the spirit of your mind,” as the instrument, or avenue, used by the Eternal Spirit in the process of renewal. And cp. Rom 12:2 for a good parallel. But usage is on the whole in favour of the rendering “in,” in the sense of “with reference to.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And be renewed – That is, it is necessary that a man who has been following these should become a new man; see the notes on Joh 3:3 ff., compare the notes on 2Co 4:16. The word used here – ananeoo – does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament; but it has the same meaning as the word used in 2Co 4:16, and Col 3:10. It means to make new, and is descriptive of the work of regeneration. This was addressed to the church, and to those whom Paul regarded as Christians; and we learn from this:
(1) That it is necessary that man should be renewed in order to be saved.
(2) That it is proper to exhort Christians to be renewed. They need renovated strength every day.
(3) That it is a matter of obligation to be renewed. People are bound thus to be renovated, And,
(4) That they have sufficient natural ability to change from the condition of the old to that of the new man, or they could not be exhorted to it.
(See the supplementary Rom 8:7, note; Gal 5:17, note.)
In the spirit of your mind – In your temper; your heart; your nature.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Eph 4:23
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind
Renewal in the spirit of the mind
The renewal takes place not simply in the mind, but in the spirit of it.
It is the special seat of renewal. The mind remains as before, both in its intellectual and emotional structure–in its memory and judgment, imagination and perception. These powers do not in themselves need renewal, and regeneration brings neither new faculties nor susceptibilities. The organism of the mind survives as it was, but the spirit which inhabits and governs it is entirely changed. The ruling and motive power is renovated. The memory, for example, still exercises its former functions, but on a very different class of subjects; the judgment still discharging its old office, is occupied among a new set of themes and ideas; and love retaining all its ardour, attaches itself to objects quite in contrast with those of its earlier preference, and pursuit. The change is not in mind psychologically, either in its essence or in its operation, neither is it in mind, as if it were a superficial change of opinion, either on points of doctrine or of practice; but it is in the spirit of the mind, in that which gives mind both its bent and its materials of thought. It is not simply in the spirit, as if it lay there in dim and mystic quietude; but it is in the spirit of the mind, in the power which, when changed itself, radically alters the entire sphere and business of the inner mechanism. (J. Eadie, D. D.)
The progressive renewal
It is only living things that grow; and all living things do grow. Be it the lichen that clings to the rook, or the eagle that has her nest on its craggy shelf, or man that rends its heart with powder and draws the gold from its bowels–from the germ out of which they spring, they grow onwards to maturity; in the words of my text, they increase more and more. These words are as true of spiritual as of natural life. According to heathen fables, Minerva the goddess of wisdom and daughter of Jupiter, sprung full-grown and full-armed from her fathers head. No man thus comes from the hand of the Holy Spirit, in sudden, mature, perfect saintship. There is nothing in the spiritual world which resembles this: no, nor even what the natural world presents in the development of the insect tribes. During their last and perfect stage, in the condition, as it is called, of the imago, be their life long or short, they undergo no increase. So soon as the green worm that once crawled on the ground and fed on garbage, bursting its coffin shell, comes forth, a creature with silken wings, to roam in the sunny air, to sleep by night on a bed of flowers, and by day banquet on their nectar, it grows no mere–neither larger nor wiser; its flight and faculties being as perfect on the day of what may be called its new birth, as when, touched by early frosts or drowned in rain, it dies. Here, indeed, we have a symbol of the resurrection body as it shall step from the tomb; in beauty perfect, in growth mature; to undergo henceforth, and through eternal ages, neither change nor decay. It is otherwise with the renewed soul. Before it, in righteousness, and knowledge, and true holiness, stretches a field of illimitable progress–upwards and onwards to what it shall be forever approaching, yet never reach, the throne of God. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
The new and the old nature
There are a great many men who are like one of my roses. I bought a Gloire de Dijon. It was said to be one of the few ever-blooming roses. It was grafted on a manetti stalk–a kind of dog rose, a rampant and enormous grower, and a very good stalk to graft fine roses on. I planted it. It throve the first part of the summer, and the last part of the summer it grew with great vigour; and I quite gloried when the next spring came, in my Gloire de Dijon. It had wood enough to make twenty such roses as these finer varieties usually have; and I was in the amplitude of triumph. I said, My soil suits it exactly in this climate; and I will write an article for the Monthly Gardener, and tell what luck I have had with it. He I waited and waited and waited till it blossomed; and behold! it was one of these worthless, quarter-of-a-dollar, single-blossomed roses. And when I came to examine it I found that it was grafted, and that there was a little bit of a graft down near the ground, and that it was the manetti sprout that had grown to such a prodigious size. Now, I have seen a great many people converted, in whom the conversion did not grow, but the old nature did. (H. W. Beecher.)
Renewal more than repair
A builder was called in to repair some houses. The contract stated that any doors, window sashes, etc., which should be renewed would be paid for. The work proceeded, certain door panels, window frames, and sashes proved to be imperfect and decayed. The defective panels, beadings, and pieces of framing were made good. In due course the painting, graining, and finishing work was completed. I was present when the work underwent examination. The builders account had been rendered, and an item appeared of so many pounds for renewing doors, sashes, etc. Certainly not, said the architect on being appealed to; to repair is one thing, to renew quite another. In vain the builder expostulated. How well I remember the architects words–No, sir, your contract comprehends all repairs. Go and get your dictionary and see what the word renew means. Had you taken away the old doors and window sashes, and brought new ones, we would have paid you for them. Such in the meaning of the terms of your contract, and no amount of repairing will renew that which is old. (Henry Varley.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 23. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind] Their old mode of living was to be abandoned; a new one to be assumed. The mind is to be renovated; and not only its general complexion, but the very spirit of it; all its faculties and powers must be thoroughly, completely, and universally renewed. Plautus uses a similar expression describing deep distress, and answerable to our phrase innermost soul: –
Paupertas, pavor territat mentem animi.
Poverty and dread alarm my innermost soul.
Epid., l. 519.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And be renewed; viz. more and more, being already renewed in part.
In the spirit of your mind; i.e. in your mind which is a spirit: see 1Th 5:23; 2Ti 4:22. He means the superior powers of the soul, where regeneration begins, and which the philosophers magnified so much, and thought so pure.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
23. be renewedThe Greek(ananeousthai) implies “the continued renewal inthe youth of the new man.” A different Greek word(anakainousthai) implies “renewal from the old state.“
in the spirit of your mindAsthere is no Greek for “in,” which there is at Eph4:17, “in the vanity of their mind,” it isbetter to translate, “By the Spirit of your mind,” that is,by your new spiritual nature; the restored and divinely informedleading principle of the mind. The “spirit” of man in NewTestament is only then used in its proper sense, as worthy of itsplace and governing functions, when it is one spirit with the Lord.The natural, or animal man, is described as “not having theSpirit” (Jude 19) [ALFORD].Spirit is not in this sense attributed to the unregenerate (1Th5:23).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Or by the Spirit that is in your mind; that is, by the Holy Spirit; who is in the saints, and is the author of renovation in them; and who is the reviver and carrier on, and finisher of that work, and therefore that is called the renewing of the Holy Spirit, Tit 3:5 or rather the mind of man, which is a spirit, of a spiritual nature, immaterial and immortal, and is the seat of that renewing work of the Spirit of God; which shows, that the more noble part of man stands in need of renovation, being corrupted by sin: and this renewing in it, designs not the first work of renovation; for these Ephesians had been renewed, and were made new creatures in Christ; but the gradual progress of it; and takes in, if not principally intends, a renewal, or an increase of spiritual light and knowledge, of life and strength, of joy and comfort, and fresh supplies of grace, and a revival of the exercise of grace; and in short, a renewal of spiritual youth, and a restoration of the saints to that state and condition they were in, in times past: and the exhortation to this can only mean, that it becomes saints to be concerned for such revivings and renewings, and to pray for them, as David did,
Ps 51:10 for otherwise, this is as much the work of the Spirit of God, as renovation is at first; and he only who is sent forth, and renews the face of the earth, year by year, can renew us daily in the Spirit of our minds.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
That ye be renewed (). Present passive infinitive (epexegetical, like , of ) and to be compared with in Col 3:10. It is an old verb, , to make new (young) again; though only here in N.T.
The spirit ( ). Not the Holy Spirit, but the human spirit.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
In the spirit of your mind [ ] . The spirit is the human spirit, having its seat in and directing the mind. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit is never designated so as that man appears as the subject of the Spirit. We have Spirit of adoption, of holiness, of God, but never Holy Spirit of man. Furthermore, the apostle ‘s object is to set forth the moral self – activity of the christian life. Hence pneuma spirit, is here the higher life – principle in man by which the human reason, viewed on its moral side – the organ of moral thinking and knowing is informed. The renewal takes place, not in the mind, but in the spirit of it. “The change is not in mind psychologically, either in its essence or in its operation; and neither is it in the mind as if it were a superficial change of opinion either on points of doctrine or practice : but it is in the spirit of the mind; in that which gives mind both its bent and its materials of thought. It is not simply in the spirit as if it lay there in dim and mystic quietude; but it is in the spirit of the mind; in the power which, when changed itself, radically alters the entire sphere and business of the inner mechanism” (Eadie).
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And be renewed” (ananeousthai de) “And to be renewed,” renovated, restructured, Rom 10:2; Psa 51:10. This refers to the transformed life from uselessness to usefulness for Christ
2) “In the spirit of your mind” (to pneumati tou noos humon) “In the spirit (attitude) of your mind,” an attitudinal transformation of temperaments, passions, emotions, thoughts, and actions-toward moral values and ethical conduct or behavior.
By the “spirit of your mind” phrase is meant man’s spirit, begotten of God’s Spirit, is to control the determinations of choice, Joh 6:63.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
23. And be renewed. The second part of the rule for a devout and holy life is to live, not in our own spirit, but in the Spirit of Christ. But what is meant by — the spirit of your mind? I understand it simply to mean, — Be renewed, not only with respect to the inferior appetites or desires, which are manifestly sinful, but with respect also to that part of the soul which is reckoned most noble and excellent. And here again, he brings forward to view that Queen which philosophers are accustomed almost to adore. There is an implied contrast between the spirit of our mind and the Divine and heavenly Spirit, who produces in us another and a new mind. How much there is in us that is sound or uncorrupted may be easily gathered from this passage, which enjoins us to correct chiefly the reason or mind, in which we are apt to imagine that there is nothing but what is virtuous and deserves commendation.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(23) And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.The word translated renewed is not the same as the word new below. It is properly to be made young again, and the process of recovery is described as the natural effect of putting off the decrepitude of the old man, and the decay engendered by fleshly lusts. The effect is seen in the spirit of the mindthat is, in the spiritual nature of the inner man. The spirit of man is the mind or inner man, considered in its true relation as quickened and sustained by the Spirit of God. (See Romans 8, and especially Eph. 4:16.) We note, in Col. 2:18, the opposite condition of the mind of the flesh, in those who do not hold the Head. This spirit is spoken of as regaining its undying youth, as it were, naturally, when the muddy vesture of decay is cast off.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
23. And be renewed Connected as an infinitive verb with the infinitive put off, in last verse, and governed by taught in Eph 4:21; taught to put off and to be renewed, and, Eph 4:24, to put on. And not only are these verbs in the infinitive, but it is important to note they are in the present tense, and thereby express a continuous process: that is, taught to be putting off, and to be being renewed, and to be putting on the new man. This process looks to its absolute completion in the day of redemption, Eph 4:30. Spirit of your mind, Not temper of your mind. The word mind, here, is the same word as in Eph 4:17, where see note. Of the Gentile mind the occupant is vanity; of yours, should be Christ’s Spirit. The sense, then, is: Be ye renewed by the Spirit, that is, the indwelling occupant of your higher mind, the divine Spirit, which has expelled the former tenant, vanity.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Eph 4:23. And be renewed in the Spirit of your minds; “This saving knowledge of Christ excites and binds you, not only to mortify your corruptions, but also to abound in all grace and holiness, that you may press after a still further renovation, through the sanctifyinginfluences of the Holy Spirit, in the inmost powers of the soul, which is of a spiritual nature, but is naturally all over depraved by the fall; and particularly after a growing renovation in your understanding, that superior and leading faculty, as well as in your will and affections, which are, or ought to be, under its conduct.” As the Apostle supposed that there Ephesians had learned Christ, and been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus, Eph 4:20-21 he could not but consider them, in the judgment of charity, as already regenerated, or born again; and therefore renewing in the spirit of their mind, must relate, not to the first grand work of the Spirit in their conversion, but to a progressiveness in those holy principles and dispositions that were wrought in them by heart-changing grace.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Eph 4:23 . Positive side of that which is truth in Jesus: that ye, on the other hand, become renewed in the spirit of your reason .
] passive , not middle ( renew yourselves , Luther), since the middle has an active sense ( 1Ma 12:1 ; Thuc. v. 18, 43; Polyb. vii. 3. 1, and often). The renewal is God’s work through the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:1 f.; Tit 3:5 ), and without it one is no true Christian (Rom 8:9 ; Gal 5:15 ), consequently there can be no mention of . Respecting the distinction between (only here in the N.T.) and , recentare and renovare , as also respecting , which does not refer to the restitution of human nature, as it was before the fall, but denotes the recentare in reference to the previous (corrupt) state, see on Col 3:10 .
] The genitive is at any rate that of the subject; for instead of simply saying , [241] Paul makes use of the more precise designation in the text. But the may be either instrumental or dative of reference . In the former case, however, we should, with Oecumenius, Castalio, and others, including Ch. F. Fritzsche in his Nov. Opusc . p. 244 f., and Fritzsche, ad Rom. II. p. 28, have to understand the Holy Spirit , who has His seat in the of the man on whom He is bestowed, and through whom (dative) the , Rom 12:2 , is effected, so that now the old of the (Eph 4:17 ) no longer occurs, and the , which, on the other hand, has set in (Rom 4:4 ), is a . Comp. Tit 3:5 . But, in opposition to this view, we may urge, first, that the Holy Spirit bestowed on man is never in the N.T. designated in such a way that man appears as the subject of the Spirit (thus never: and the like, or as here: ); and secondly, that it was the object of the apostle to put forward the aspect of the moral self-activity of the Christian life, and hence, he had no occasion expressly to introduce the point, which, moreover, was obvious of itself: through the Holy Spirit . Accordingly, there remains as the right explanation only the usual one (dative of reference), according to which the is the human spirit, different from the divine (Rom 8:16 ). Consequently: in respect of the spirit of your , that is, of the spirit by which your is governed. The , namely, is the higher life-principle in man, the moral power akin to God in him, the seat of moral self-consciousness and of moral self-determination. This , which forms the moral personality of man, the Ego of his higher turned towards God, has as the organ of its vital exercise as the faculty of its moral operation the , that is, the reason in its ethical quality and activity (comp. on Rom 7:23 ), and puts the [242] at the service of the divine will (Rom 7:25 ), in an assent to the moral practice of this divine will revealed in the law and a hatred of the contrary (Rom 7:14 ff.). But, since this Ego of the higher life, the substratum of the inward man the , in which the has its support and its determining agent is under the preponderant strength of the power of sin in the flesh non-free, bound, and weak, so that man under the fleshly-psychical influence of the natural character drawing him to sin becomes liable to the slavery of immoral habit, the needed renewal unto moral freedom and might, which consecration of power it receives in regeneration by means of the Holy Spirit, in which case, however, even the regenerate has always to contend against the still remaining in him, but contends victoriously under the guidance of the divine (Gal 5:16-18 ).
[241] He might have written, as in Rom 12:2 , merely ; but his conception here penetrates deeper, namely, to the fountainhead of the vital activity of the , to the inner agent and mover in that activity.
[242] Bengel excellently puts it: “ Spiritu mentis : 1Co 14:14 , Spiritus est intimum mentis .” Delitzsch consequently errs ( Psychol , p. 184) in thinking that expositors have here neglected to seek instruction from 1Co 14:14 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Ver. 23. In the spirit of your mind ] That is, in the most inward and subtle parts of the soul, the bosom and bottom, the vis vivifica, and very quintessence of it. This he calls elsewhere the wisdom of the flesh, Rom 8:7 , that carnal reason, that, like an old beldam, is the mother and nurse of those fleshly lusts that fight against the soul.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
23 .] and undergo renewal (both should be marked, the gradual process implied in the present , and the passive character of the verb. Of this latter there can be no doubt: the middle having always an active force: so we have . , Polyb. xxiii. 1. 5: see many more examples in the Lex. Polybianum, and in Harl.’s note here: and we have even, in Autonin. iv. 3 (Harl.), . Stier’s arguments in favour of the middle sense seem to me to be misplaced. is middle, but that refers to a direct definite reflexive act; whereas the process here insisted on is one carried on by the Spirit of God, not by themselves. And it is not to the purpose to ask, as Stier does, ‘How can the Apostle say and testify by way of exhortation, that they should be renewed as they ought to walk?’ for we have perpetually this seeming paradox, of God’s work encouraged or checked by man’s cooperation or counteraction. The distinction between and is not (as Olsh.) beside the purpose here, but important. The reference in ( novus ) to the objective is prominent, in ( recens ) to the subjective. The is used as opposed to the former self; the , as regards the new nature and growth in it: cf. Col 3:10 , , . Thus in Rom 12:2 it would not be said . . , because it is not by nor in the , but by or in the , that the . takes place. Whereas here, where a process of growing up in the state of is in question, is properly used. is more ‘renewal from the age of the old man;’ , ‘renewal in the youth of the new man.’ See Tittmann, Syn. p. 60 ff.) by (though (see more below) the expression . . stands contrasted with , Eph 4:17 , yet the omission of here serves to mark that not merely the sphere in which, but the agency by which, is now adduced) the Spirit of your (emphatic) mind (the expression is unusual, and can only be understood by reference to the N. T. meaning of , as applied to men. First, it is clearly here not exclusively nor properly ‘the Holy Spirit of God,’ because it is called . . It is a , in some sense belonging to, not merely indwelling in, . The fact is, that in the N. T. the of man is only then used ‘sensu proprio,’ as worthy of its place and governing functions, when it is one Spirit with the Lord. We read of no : the is necessarily a man dwelt in by the Spirit of God: the is the ‘animal’ man led by the , and , Jud 1:19 . Thus then the disciples of Christ are , undergoing a process of renewal in the life of God, by the agency of the of their minds, the restored and divinely-informed leading principle of their , just as the children of the world are walking in the of their minds. , see above, Eph 4:17 ),
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Eph 4:23 . : and that ye be renewed . For a few MSS. ( [446] 2 17, 47, etc.) and some Versions (Syr., Copt., Vulg.) read , while is omitted by [447] . In such connections expresses both addition and contrast . It introduces a statement connected with the foregoing but giving the other side of that. Here it is the positive change which must follow the putting off . As the middle of this verb has the active sense, must be taken as passive here, = “be renewed,” not “renew yourselves” (Luth.). The verb expresses a spiritual change, a transformation from old to new. Whether it also conveys the idea of restoration to a former or a primal state is doubtful, so many compounds with ( , , , , etc.) expressing nothing more than change . For the supposed distinction between as expressing renovation , making new, or giving a fresh beginning, and as referring to regeneration or change of nature, see Haupt and Ell. in loc. , and Meyer on Col 3:10 . : in the spirit of your mind . The position of the gives it a measure of emphasis, “ your mind,” “the mind that is in you ,” unless it be taken (with Haupt) to be placed last because it qualifies not the only but the whole idea in . This difficult sentence has been understood to refer to the Holy Spirit , the being dealt with as some form of the poss. gen. or the gen. subj. , and the as dat. instr. Thus the sense would be “renewed by the Holy Spirit bestowed on , or possessed by , your mind” (c., Theophy., Bull, Waterland, Fritz., etc.). This proceeds on the NT doctrine that it is by the Spirit of God that we are regenerated or renewed. But it leaves the point of the addition of obscure. This ancient interpretation has been adopted by some recent exegetes with certain modifications. Thus Ellicott is of opinion that the refers not to the Holy Spirit distinctly and separately as the Divine Agent, but to that Spirit as united with the human spirit . In this way he thinks the poss. gen. is in point, and the introduction of the accounted for as the receptaculum of the . But, while it is true that it is often difficult to say whether the regenerated mind of man or the Divine Spirit is particularly in view in the Pauline use of , there seems to be no case in which the NT speaks of the Holy Spirit as man’s Spirit, or attaches to in the sense of the Divine Spirit any such defining term as or . Nor can it be said that , in the sense of the Divine Spirit in union with man’s spirit, has anywhere else any such designation as the one in the text. Nor, again, does the interpretation which turns upon this idea of union between God’s Spirit and our spirit, and not simply on the indwelling of the Divine Spirit in us, really account in any satisfactory way for the . It is necessary, therefore, to take here as = our spirit, and that as at once distinguished from and related to the . The , then, appears to be the higher faculty in man, the faculty that makes him most akin to God, the organ of his spiritual life and his fellowship with God, under the bondage of sin by nature, but set free from that and made fit for the purposes of the Divine life by the Holy Spirit. The ( cf. on Eph 4:17 above) is the faculty of understanding, feeling, and determining, distinguished by Paul from the (1Co 14:14 ), represented as capable of approving the law, but incapable of withstanding the motions of sin (Rom 7:23 ), and itself the subject or seat of renewal ( , Rom 12:2 ). Further the regenerate human spirit and the Divine Spirit are described as distinct and yet co-operant (Rom 8:16 ). Here then the must be taken not as the instrumental dative (for renewal does not take effect by means of our spirit), but as the dat. of ref. , and the will be the gen. subj. Thus the sense becomes “renewed in respect of the spirit by which your mind is governed” (Mey.), that is, in respect of the spiritual faculty, the moral personality whose organ is the mind or reason. Some, holding by the interpretation of as our spirit, take the to be the gen. of appos. ( e.g. , August., de Trin. , xiv., 16, spiritus quae mens vocatur ), or the part. gen. , = “the governing spirit of your mind” (De Wette). But the above construction is better, and it is the one adopted substantially by the AV and the other old English Versions, the RV, Mey., Haupt, Abb., and most commentators.
[446] Codex Claromontanus (sc. vi.), a Grco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.
[447] Codex Augiensis (sc. ix.), a Grco-Latin MS., at Trinity College, Cambridge, edited by Scrivener in 1859. Its Greek text is almost identical with that of G, and it is therefore not cited save where it differs from that MS. Its Latin version, f, presents the Vulgate text with some modifications.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
renewed. Greek. ananeoo. Only here. Occurs frequently in Apocrypha. Implies that the whole course of life now flows in a different direction. See 2Co 4:16; 2Co 5:17.
spirit. App-101.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
23.] and undergo renewal (both should be marked,-the gradual process implied in the present, and the passive character of the verb. Of this latter there can be no doubt: the middle having always an active force: so we have . , Polyb. xxiii. 1. 5: see many more examples in the Lex. Polybianum, and in Harl.s note here: and we have even, in Autonin. iv. 3 (Harl.), . Stiers arguments in favour of the middle sense seem to me to be misplaced. is middle, but that refers to a direct definite reflexive act; whereas the process here insisted on is one carried on by the Spirit of God, not by themselves. And it is not to the purpose to ask, as Stier does, How can the Apostle say and testify by way of exhortation, that they should be renewed as they ought to walk? for we have perpetually this seeming paradox, of Gods work encouraged or checked by mans cooperation or counteraction. The distinction between and is not (as Olsh.) beside the purpose here, but important. The reference in (novus) to the objective is prominent, in (recens) to the subjective. The is used as opposed to the former self; the , as regards the new nature and growth in it: cf. Col 3:10, , . Thus in Rom 12:2 it would not be said . . , because it is not by nor in the , but by or in the , that the . takes place. Whereas here, where a process of growing up in the state of is in question, is properly used. is more renewal from the age of the old man; , renewal in the youth of the new man. See Tittmann, Syn. p. 60 ff.) by (though (see more below) the expression . . stands contrasted with , Eph 4:17, yet the omission of here serves to mark that not merely the sphere in which, but the agency by which, is now adduced) the Spirit of your (emphatic) mind (the expression is unusual, and can only be understood by reference to the N. T. meaning of , as applied to men. First, it is clearly here not exclusively nor properly the Holy Spirit of God, because it is called . . It is a , in some sense belonging to, not merely indwelling in, . The fact is, that in the N. T. the of man is only then used sensu proprio, as worthy of its place and governing functions, when it is one Spirit with the Lord. We read of no : the is necessarily a man dwelt in by the Spirit of God: the is the animal man led by the , and , Jud 1:19. Thus then the disciples of Christ are , undergoing a process of renewal in the life of God, by the agency of the of their minds, the restored and divinely-informed leading principle of their , just as the children of the world are walking in the of their minds. , see above, Eph 4:17),
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Eph 4:23. , in the spirit of the mind) 1Co 14:14. The spirit is the inmost part of the mind.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 4:23
Eph 4:23
and that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind,-The spirit of the mind is the spirit that directs the mind, which before becoming Christians was under the control of fleshly lusts, seeking happiness only in the gratification of them. Henceforth as Christians the spirit that animates the mind must direct its energies to the elevating of man, doing good, in denying ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, (Tit 2:12).
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
be: Eph 2:10, Psa 51:10, Eze 11:19, Eze 18:31, Eze 36:26, Rom 12:2, Col 3:10, Tit 3:5
spirit: Rom 8:6, 1Pe 1:13
Reciprocal: Gen 18:15 – denied 2Co 4:16 – is Gal 5:22 – love Col 1:6 – knew 2Pe 1:4 – ye might
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Eph 4:23.) -And be renewing in the spirit of your mind. This passive (not middle) infinitive present still depends on – being adversative, as the apostle passes from the negative to the positive aspect. As Olshausen has observed, all attempts to distinguish between and are needless for the interpretation of this verse. See Trench, Syn. xviii.; Col 3:10; Tittmann, p. 60. The , in composition, denotes again or back-restoration to some previous state-renovation. See on following verse. Such moral renovation had its special seat in the spirit of their mind. This very peculiar phrase has been in various ways misunderstood. OEcumenius, Theophylact, Hyperius, Bull, and Ellicott understand of the Holy Ghost, the Spirit renewing the mind by dwelling within it . See Fritzsche, ad Rom. vol. ii. p. 2. But, 1. The belongs to ourselves-is a portion of us-language that can scarcely in such terms be applied to the Spirit of God. 2. Nor does Ellicott remove the objection by saying that is not the Holy Spirit exclusively, or per se, but as in a gracious union with the human spirit. This idea is in certain aspects theologically correct, but is not conveyed by these words- in such a case cannot mean God’s Spirit, for it is called ; it is only man’s spirit though it be filled with God’s. In Rom 8:6, the apostle makes a formal distinction. 3. There is no analogous expression. None of the genitives following are like this, but often denote possession or character as Spirit of God-Spirit of holiness-Spirit of adoption. 4. Nor can we give it the meaning which Robinson has assigned it, of disposition or temper. Quite like himself is the notion of Gfrrer, that is but the rabbinical figment of a , H5972, founded on a misinterpretation of Gen 2:7, and denoting a kind of Divine breathing or gift conferred on man about his twentieth year. Urchrist. ii. p. 257. 5. Augustine, failing in his usual acuteness, identifies and – quia omnis mens spiritus est, non autem omnis spiritus mens est, spiritum mentis dicere voluit eum spiritum, quae mens vocatur. De Trinitate, lib. xiv. cap. 16. Estius follows the Latin father. Grotius and Crellius hold a similar view, joined by Koppe and Kttner, who idly make the unusual combination a mere periphrasis. 6. is not loosely, as Rckert and Baumgarten-Crusius take it, the better part of the mind, or ; nor can we by any means agree with Olshausen, who puts forth the following opinion with a peculiar consciousness of its originality and appropriateness-that is the substance and the power of the substance. Such a notion is not supported by the biblical psychology. 7. is the highest part of that inner nature, which, in its aspect of thought and emotion, is termed . So the apostle speaks of soul and spirit- often standing to as to . It is not merely the inmost principle, or as Chrysostom phrases it, the spirit which is in the mind, but it is the governing principle, as Theodoret explains it- . This generally is the idea of Rell, Harless, de Wette, Meier, and Turner. Meyer in his last edition retracts his opinion in the second, and says that the usual interpretation is correct, according to which-das das menschliche ist-that being-das Hhere Lebensprincip. Delitzsch, Bib. Psych. p. 144. The renewal takes place not simply in the mind, but in the spirit of it. The dative points out the special seat of renewal. Winer, 31, 6, a; Mat 11:29; Act 7:51; 1Co 14:20. The mind remains as before, both in its intellectual and emotional structure-in its memory and judgment, imagination and perception. These powers do not in themselves need renewal, and regeneration brings no new faculties. The organism of the mind survives as it was, but the spirit, its highest part, the possession of which distinguishes man from the inferior animals, and fits him for receiving the Spirit of God, is being renovated. The memory, for example, still exercises its former functions, but on a very different class of subjects; the judgment still discharging its old office, is occupied among a new set of themes and ideas; and love, retaining all its ardour, attaches itself to objects quite in contrast with those of its earlier preference and pursuit. The change is not in mind psychologically, either in its essence or in its operation; neither is it in mind, as if it were a superficial change of opinion, either on points of doctrine or of practice; but it is in the spirit of the mind, in that which gives mind both its bent and its materials of thought. It is not simply in the spirit, as if it lay there in dim and mystic quietude; but it is in the spirit of the mind, in the power which, when changed itself, radically alters the entire sphere and business of the inner mechanism.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 4:23. Spirit and mind means virtlally the same thing in a sentence like this, but the two are used for the purpose of emphasis. Paul wants them to realize that he is not writing about things that the fleshly body desires, but of those that are higher, and of a spiritual character. To be renewed denotes a change in their mind from an interest in carnal things, to desire the things that are spiritual.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eph 4:23. And become renewed. Be renewed is more literal, but the present tense refers to a continued process, as become suggests. In Col 3:10, the word renewed is slightly different; here the root is the word meaning young, which there occurs in the phrase new man; comp. Eph 4:24. This renewing is Gods work, and yet we have here an exhortation. The paradox is frequent in the Scriptures, and need occasion no practical difficulty.
In the spirit, or, by the Spirit, of your mind. It is difficult to decide between the two views. The one refers spirit to the human spirit, which belongs to the mind, the whole phrase indicating that with reference to which the renewal takes place. The other refers Spirit to the Holy Spirit indwelling in the human spirit (see Excursus on Romans 7), taking the phrase as instrumental. Both are grammatically admissible. The New Testament use of sprint favors the latter, since the unrenewed human spirit is rarely spoken of. The main difficulty is that the subject and the agency of the renewing are confused. But a process is referred to, in which this indwelling Spirit of the mind is the continuous Agent.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
The thought here is that we need to be, indeed, are renewed – a present activity that is accomplished from without WHEN WE ………
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
4:23 And be renewed in the {f} spirit of your mind;
(f) Where there ought to have been the greatest force of reason, there is the greatest corruption of all, which gradually weakens all things.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
This verse is not primarily a command. The verb is not an imperative but an infinitive in the Greek text. The verse is a description of what has already happened in the life of every believer (cf. Col 3:9-10). However the verse does make an appeal to the reader even though its main point is revelation. The infinitive has the force of an imperative. [Note: Bock, "’The New . . .,’" pp. 162-63; idem, "A Theology . . .," p. 316, footnote 10.]
Rather than being futile, darkened, and ignorant (Eph 4:18-19) the Christian has taken on a new attitude (cf. Rom 6:2-10; 2Co 5:17). This renewing is an ongoing process in the life of the Christian (i.e., progressive sanctification). The verb is passive, which emphasizes that God is at work in us (cf. Rom 12:2).