What Does It Mean to Put Off the Old Man?

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I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire.  (Luke 24:32)

“I want you to do a self-test over the next week.”

That was the assignment from our Sunday school teacher Rodney Rowland.

“I want you to observe your thoughts and see how much of the time you are spiritually-minded compared to how much of the time you are carnally-minded.”

So I did it, and the results surprised me.

Here is what I discovered about myself, that many times my first thought on a matter was carnally-minded.  In other words, it came from the sin nature, the selfish nature, the flesh, the old man.  It was unredeemed thinking.  

But then the carnal mind was overcome by the spiritual mind.  It was redeemed thinking.  I would say it was the Holy Spirit rising up within me and giving me truth and light and understanding.

That brings me to this Bible verse, Ephesians 4:22, which says, “…put off…the old man…”

What does that mean, to put off the old man?

“Wait a minute, Doug.  I’m a saved, born again Christian.  Old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new.  Why should I have to put off the old man?  I thought he was already gone.”

Ephesians was written to “…the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus.”  They were certainly redeemed, born again children of God, and yet Ephesians 4:22 tells them to put off the old man.

Other versions of Ephesians 4:22 say it like this:

“…throw off your old sinful nature…” (NLT)

“…put off your old self…” (NIV)

“…lay aside the old self…” (NASB)

So the old self is still there, trying to sneak in with his stupid thoughts, but thank God the Holy Spirit is also there, speaking truth and life!

The question is, which nature are we going to let govern?

I like that word “govern.”  It shows up in Romans 8:6 where it says, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” (NIV)

So what does it mean to put off the old man?  It means don’t listen to him.  It means ignore his input.  It means don’t let him govern, because the old man is going to take you downward.

Instead, we listen to the voice of the Holy One!  His sheep hear His voice!  He redeems our thinking and brings us to the place of wisdom. 

One final thought:  I’ve noticed that putting off the old man is not a one-time job, like taking off an old shirt and throwing it in a fire.  

I guess the old man will still be with us as long as we are in these bodies of flesh, but the good news is that, through Jesus, we are no longer slaves to sin!  We have been set free from sin so that we can follow God and walk in His ways that lead to life and peace and holiness, bearing all the good fruit of the Spirit we read about in Galatians 5:22-23.

So we put off the old man.  We do it daily, even moment by moment, as we see him raise his ugly head and tell us some great idea he has, only to be obliterated by the Holy One who rises up within us and says, “That’s a terrible idea, don’t do it.”  

And when we don’t do the terrible idea, but instead follow God and His ways….THAT is how we put off the old man.

May God bless you today.

I’m Doug Apple.