Lesson 33: How to Put Off the Old Man and Put On the New
The Christian life is not a religious improvement program for the old life.
God does not call a person to preserve the same inward direction while adding Christian language, church attendance, Bible reading, and respectable behavior.
Scripture gives a deeper pattern:
“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 true holiness.”
— Ephesians 4:22–24, KJV
Three movements appear:
Put off the old man.
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Put on the new man.
This is not cosmetic change.
It is not decorating the former life with religious appearance.
It is a continuing break with the old manner of living and a deliberate practice of the life that agrees with what God has created in Christ.
What Is the Old Man?
The old man refers to the person as he belonged to the former life under sin.
Paul connects the old man with:
“…the former conversation…”
— Ephesians 4:22, KJV
The word conversation in this passage refers to the former manner of life.
The old man includes the old direction, values, loyalties, habits, desires, and responses that characterized life apart from the rule of Christ.
It is the person living for self.
Interpreting everything through sinful desire.
Protecting pride.
Avoiding God’s authority.
Seeking satisfaction independently of Him.
The old man is not merely a few embarrassing habits attached to an otherwise trustworthy life.
Scripture describes him as:
“…corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.”
— Ephesians 4:22, KJV
The former life cannot be trusted to lead the new life.
It must be put off.
The Old Man Was Crucified With Christ
Paul writes:
“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
— Romans 6:6, KJV
The death of Jesus Christ did not merely provide a religious covering beneath which the old life could continue unchallenged.
The old man was crucified with Christ so that believers should no longer serve sin.
This does not mean that a Christian will never again experience sinful desire, temptation, or the pull of a former habit.
Later lessons will address those battles.
It means that the former identity under sin is not the believer’s rightful master.
He should no longer say:
“This old way owns me.”
“This is who I must always be.”
“I have no choice but to serve it.”
The believer belongs to Jesus Christ.
Sin may seek obedience, but it has no rightful claim to the throne.
Do Not Preserve the Former Pattern as Your Identity
People sometimes defend an old pattern by attaching it permanently to themselves.
They say:
“That is simply my personality.”
“That is the way my family behaves.”
“That is how I learned to survive.”
“I have always reacted this way.”
“This is just who I am.”
Your history may help explain how a pattern developed.
It does not make the pattern holy.
A familiar response may feel natural because it has been practiced repeatedly. That does not give it authority to remain.
Peter writes:
“As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:”
— 1 Peter 1:14, KJV
Do not continue shaping yourself according to the former desires.
Your past may explain an old garment.
It does not require you to keep wearing it.
Putting Off Means More Than Feeling Sorry
To put something off is to remove it.
The picture is similar to taking off clothing that no longer belongs upon you.
Putting off the old man includes refusing the practices, excuses, and responses that belong to the former life.
A person may feel ashamed of an old pattern while continuing to protect it.
He may regret its consequences without rejecting the pattern itself.
He may repeatedly say:
“I wish I were different,”
while keeping every provision that allows the former conduct to continue.
Putting off requires a deliberate refusal.
“This belongs to the former life.”
“God has exposed it.”
“I will not defend it as my right.”
“I will not call it harmless because it is familiar.”
“I will not treat it as my permanent identity.”
Sorrow may accompany this decision.
But putting off must reach the will and conduct.
The Old Desires Are Deceitful
Ephesians 4 describes the old man as corrupt according to deceitful lusts.
Sinful desire lies.
It does not present the complete outcome.
It promises satisfaction while concealing bondage.
It promises freedom while creating another master.
It promises relief while increasing the need for more relief.
It promises that the choice is temporary while strengthening a pattern.
It may say:
“You need this.”
“You deserve this.”
“This will make you feel better.”
“No one will know.”
“You can change later.”
“It is too small to matter.”
The disciple must stop allowing desire to interpret reality without correction.
A desire may be strong and still dishonest.
A familiar urge may feel convincing and still lead toward corruption.
God’s Word must expose what desire conceals.
Putting Off Is Not the Same as Hiding
A pattern has not been put off merely because it is no longer visible to other people.
It may have been concealed.
Religious appearance can hide the old man without removing him.
A person may learn how to speak correctly in public while protecting the same inward motives.
He may avoid a visible action because he fears embarrassment while still loving the action within.
He may stop one outward expression but continue feeding the same desire through another form.
God is not seeking a cleaner disguise for the former life.
He calls for truth inwardly.
Putting off means dealing honestly with what belongs to the old manner of life—not merely moving it away from public sight.
Putting Off Cannot End With Emptiness
Some people think Christian change consists only of stopping things.
Stop this habit.
Avoid that action.
Refuse that desire.
Those responses may be necessary, but Scripture does not leave the life empty.
It says:
“Cease to do evil;
Learn to do well…”
— Isaiah 1:16–17, KJV
Cease from evil.
Learn to do well.
Something old is removed.
Something righteous is learned and practiced.
An empty space often invites the old pattern to return.
The person who stops one sinful response but never learns a biblical response may return to what is most familiar when pressure comes.
Therefore, the disciple must ask two questions:
“What must be put off?”
“What must be put on in its place?”
The New Man Is Created After God
Ephesians says:
“And that ye put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
— Ephesians 4:24, KJV
The new man is not a more polished version of the old man.
He is described as created after God in righteousness and true holiness.
Christian transformation is not self-invention.
The believer is not deciding what kind of person he would prefer to become and then asking God to assist the project.
God supplies the pattern.
The new life increasingly agrees with His righteousness and holiness.
This does not mean that the believer becomes divine.
It means that God is restoring His moral likeness in those who belong to Christ.
The new man values what God calls good.
Rejects what God calls evil.
Practices truth.
Seeks righteousness.
And lives as one set apart for God.
Put On What Agrees With Your New Identity
Colossians gives the same pattern:
“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him:”
— Colossians 3:9–10, KJV
Paul connects conduct with identity.
Do not return to the deeds of the old man because the old man has been put off.
Put on what agrees with the new man.
The Christian does not say:
“I will practice righteousness so that I can create a new identity for myself.”
He says:
“Because I belong to Christ, I must no longer wear what belongs to my former life.”
Identity does not remove responsibility.
It establishes the reason for responsibility.
The believer’s conduct should increasingly agree with the new life he has received.
Renewal Connects Putting Off and Putting On
Between putting off and putting on, Ephesians says:
“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”
— Ephesians 4:23, KJV
Lesson 30 taught this process fully.
The connection is important here.
If conduct changes while the former thinking remains protected, the old pattern will continue pressing for expression.
The person may temporarily stop an action while still believing:
“I need this to be satisfied.”
“This response protects me.”
“Obedience will leave me deprived.”
“God’s way will not work in this situation.”
The mind must receive truth.
The lie supporting the old action must be exposed.
The renewed understanding then supports the new obedience.
Putting off without renewal may become external restraint.
Renewal without putting on may remain unused information.
Biblical change brings all three together:
Put off.
Be renewed.
Put on.
Scripture Gives a Replacement Pattern
Ephesians provides a clear illustration:
“Let him that stole steal no more:
but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good,
that he may have to give to him that needeth.”
— Ephesians 4:28, KJV
The old practice is stealing.
But the instruction does not stop with:
“Steal no more.”
The former practice is replaced by honest labor and generosity.
The old man takes.
The new man works honestly and gives.
This illustrates the replacement pattern without requiring this lesson to teach every individual sin.
Ask:
“What did the old pattern seek?”
“How did it operate?”
“What does righteous conduct look like instead?”
“What action can begin practicing the new way?”
The replacement should be as specific as the old pattern.
Put On the Character Appropriate to God’s People
Paul writes:
“Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another…”
— Colossians 3:12–13, KJV
These qualities belong upon people who are holy and beloved by God.
Mercy.
Kindness.
Humility.
Meekness.
Longsuffering.
Forbearance.
Forgiveness.
The later lessons will examine several of these qualities individually.
Lesson 33 establishes the larger pattern:
The disciple does not merely remove corrupt behavior.
He deliberately puts on the qualities that agree with his new identity.
He does not wait passively for kindness, humility, or patience to appear without practice.
He receives God’s truth and begins acting according to it.
Put On the Lord Jesus Christ
Paul gives an even greater expression:
“But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
— Romans 13:14, KJV
The goal is not merely replacing several bad habits with socially respectable habits.
The believer is called to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
His character, authority, and example should increasingly shape the life.
Ask:
“What response agrees with Christ?”
“What would honor His name?”
“What belongs upon someone who represents Him?”
The second part of the verse warns against making provision for the flesh.
Lesson 44 will address the flesh fully.
The present application is simple:
Do not deliberately supply what strengthens the old pattern while claiming to put it off.
Removal and provision cannot continue together indefinitely.
Do Not Rename the Old Garment
The former life often survives by receiving a more respectable name.
Pride may be called confidence.
Harshness may be called honesty.
Control may be called leadership.
Fear may be called wisdom.
Laziness may be called waiting.
Selfish ambition may be called purpose.
People-pleasing may be called love.
Not every confident, honest, careful, restful, ambitious, or compassionate action is sinful.
The point is that sinful motives can hide beneath acceptable language.
Ask:
“Has Scripture named this differently than I have?”
“Am I protecting an old response by giving it a Christian title?”
God sees beneath language.
The old garment does not become new because its label has been changed.
Change Must Become Practical
It is possible to speak about putting off and putting on in such general terms that nothing changes.
The old pattern should be identified clearly.
Not merely:
“I need to improve my attitude.”
But:
“When I am corrected, I immediately defend myself and blame someone else.”
The new practice should also be clear:
“When correction comes, I will listen fully, ask whether it is true, and answer without shifting blame.”
The specific subjects will differ.
The pattern remains:
Identify what belongs to the former life.
Identify the lie or desire supporting it.
Find the biblical replacement.
Practice the new response in the setting where the old response usually appears.
Change becomes clearer when applied to an actual situation.
Practice the New Before It Feels Natural
The old pattern may feel natural because it has been repeated for years.
The new response may initially feel unfamiliar.
That does not make it false.
A person accustomed to protecting himself may find humility uncomfortable.
Someone accustomed to reacting immediately may find patience unnatural.
Someone accustomed to taking may find generosity costly.
Do not use unfamiliarity as proof that the new response is not genuine.
Faithful obedience may feel deliberate before it becomes established.
You are not being hypocritical merely because the right action requires thought and effort.
Hypocrisy pretends to possess a righteousness the heart has no intention of pursuing.
Growth sincerely practices what God commands while asking Him to continue changing the heart.
Depend Upon God as You Act
Putting off and putting on cannot be accomplished through human determination alone.
Paul writes:
“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
— Philippians 2:13, KJV
God works within His people.
He works in the willing and the doing.
That does not make the believer passive.
The surrounding command is to work out what God is working within.
Dependence says:
“Lord, change what I desire.”
“Strengthen me to reject the former response.”
“Help me practice what agrees with Your will.”
Human effort without dependence becomes self-confidence.
Claims of dependence without action become passivity.
Biblical change prays and acts.
When the Old Pattern Reappears
The reappearance of an old response does not mean that the entire work was unreal.
Old habits may attempt to return.
The believer may respond wrongly, recognize it, and need to correct the response.
Do not say:
“I failed again, so the old man must still be my unavoidable identity.”
Neither excuse the failure.
Call it what it is.
Confess it honestly.
Correct what can be corrected.
Return to the truth.
Practice the new response again.
Lesson 18 has already established the way of confession and return.
Putting on the new man is not proved by never needing correction.
It is shown by refusing to make the old way your accepted home.
Live the Remaining Time Differently
Peter describes the changed direction of life:
“That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh
to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.”
— 1 Peter 4:2, KJV
The remaining time matters.
The believer cannot recover the years already spent serving self and sin.
But the rest of his earthly life can be placed beneath the will of God.
The purpose is not merely to become more respectable.
Life is brief.
Only what is done in faithfulness to God will retain eternal value.
Do not spend the remainder of life preserving patterns that belong to what Christ called you out of.
Put off what belongs to the former life.
Put on what agrees with the will of God.
A Simple Put Off–Renew–Put On Pattern
Use this process with one specific former pattern.
1. Name the Old Pattern
What action, reaction, motive, or habit belongs to the former life?
2. Reject the Excuse
How have you defended or renamed it?
3. Identify the Deceitful Message
What does the old pattern promise or claim?
4. Find the Correcting Truth
What does Scripture reveal about the pattern and its promise?
5. Remove the Old Provision
What practical support keeps the pattern available?
6. Name the New Response
What righteous quality or action must replace it?
7. Practice It in the Actual Setting
What will you do the next time the old pattern normally appears?
8. Depend Upon God
Ask Him to work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.
9. Return After Failure
Confess, correct, and practice the new response again.
Discipleship Questions
- What does the Bible mean by the old man and the former manner of life?
- Why is stopping an old action without putting on a biblical replacement often incomplete?
- How does renewal of the mind connect putting off the old with putting on the new?
- Why might a new and obedient response initially feel less natural than the old pattern?
- What specific old pattern must you put off, and what must be practiced in its place?
Closing Exhortation
Do not decorate the old life.
Do not protect it as your permanent identity.
Do not rename what God has exposed.
Do not merely hide it from other people.
Put it off.
The old man belongs to the former manner of life.
His desires are deceitful.
His promises conceal corruption.
The old response may feel familiar, but familiarity is not authority.
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Let truth expose the lie beneath the pattern.
Then put on the new man.
Cease to do evil.
Learn to do well.
Put on mercy.
Kindness.
Humility.
Meekness.
Patience.
And above all, put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Christian life is not empty removal.
It is a new life increasingly practiced under the authority of the One who saved you.
A Prayer to Put Off the Old and Put On the New
Father,
Thank You for giving me new life through Jesus Christ.
Show me what still belongs to the former manner of life.
Expose the habits, reactions, desires, motives, and excuses I have continued to protect.
Forgive me for treating an old pattern as my permanent identity.
Help me remember that the old man was crucified with Christ so that I should no longer serve sin.
Give me courage to put off what You expose.
Reveal the deceitful message beneath it.
Renew me in the spirit of my mind through Your truth.
Show me the righteous quality or action that must take its place.
Help me practice the new response even when it feels unfamiliar.
Keep me from hiding old conduct beneath religious language.
Teach me to put on the new man, created after You in righteousness and true holiness.
Work within me both to will and to do of Your good pleasure.
When I fail, bring me to honest confession and faithful return.
Let the remaining time of my life be lived according to Your will rather than the former lusts.
Help me put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
In His name, amen.
Next Step
Complete this pattern with one specific area:
The old pattern I must put off:
The excuse or respectable name I have given it:
The false promise beneath it:
The Scripture that corrects it:
The new quality or action I must put on:
The situation in which I will practice it:
The provision I must remove:
Do not choose ten old patterns.
Begin with one.
Put it off.
Renew your understanding through truth.
Then deliberately put on the new response.
Previous Lesson: Lesson 32 — Why Grace Does Not Give Permission to Sin
Next Lesson: Lesson 34 — How to Flee Fornication and Keep Your Body Pure