PUT OFF THE OLD MAN, PUT ON THE NEW MAN
Sermon Text, Ephesians 4:22-28 (v. 22-24). That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.
Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth; Your Word is truth. Lord, by the power of the Spirit in Your Word, bring us to strive to mortify the flesh and overcome the world; and, serving You in holiness and pureness of living, to give You continual thanks for Your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ: Grace be unto you and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We’re actually beginning in the middle of a long sentence, when we hear St. Paul say, “That you put off the old man …” We have to go back to verse 20 to hear how this begins: “But you have not so learned Christ …”
This is a key verse for understanding the instructions for godly living in these New Testament epistles. Our godly living shows that Christ is our Teacher. Without this, the epistles and instructions for living can become just moralism where you look at it no differently than Jews or Muslims, or even atheists who think it’s important to do good or be nice. So that exhortation of Paul that introduces this is important: “You have not so learned Christ.”
We can’t think correctly about the old and the new man apart from Christ. In order to solve the problem of the old Adam, Christ became the Second Adam. “As by one man’s [Adam’s] disobedience many were made sinners so also by one Man’s obedience” – Jesus – “many will be made righteous”(Ro 5:19).
We have to be urged to struggle against the impulses of the old man. God wants us to put down the old man, our sinful self – to “crucify the flesh, with its passions and desires” (Gal 5:24) – and for the new man, our forgiven self, to “daily come forth and arise” as our catechism says, for these impulses to prevail over the old self, to exercise our faith and get stronger in living out our faith.
- This does not happen naturally on its own.
St. Paul says it’s an action that requires effort: “that you put off the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” It requires waging war against your sinful tendencies, fighting against yourself, really.
This is called mortification: that you fight your flesh, the old Adam, as Romans 8 says to “mortify [put to death] the deeds of the body by the Spirit.” It’s being hard on yourself the right way – hating your obsession with money, hating your sinful pride, hating how you rely on being praised, hating your jealousy, hating how you indulge your appetites and don’t deny self.
This is not the message you get from our culture. Our culture wants you to appeal to the old man instead of waging war against it. The common religion of our culture is so-called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. It consists of these core beliefs: (1) there is a God, (2) He wants people to be nice, (3) He wants you to be happy, and (4) people who are good go to heaven.
But notice what being “good” consists of. Not obeying God’s commands, just being nice. If God just wants me to be happy, then He has to agree with the choices I make, not the other way around. Even if the choices you make are sins, according to this “religion” God has to pat you on the back and say: “Good for you.” This is a license to sin, imagining God allows or approves of it.
Because we live in this culture, we have to be taught and retaught what God says. We’re affected by the culture we live in. You might not even realize how you’ve gotten used to (for example) the 6thcommandment sin that permeates our culture ever since the sexual revolution; you accommodate yourself, adjust your opinions to be in line with the popular view, and learn to live with it rather than struggle against it and have a line that will not be crossed. We may give the impression that these sins are no big deal. You can run through all the commandments this way and see how we tolerate sin, at least how we tell ourselves “it’s OK” with our disrespectful or rebellious attitudes, allowing ourselves to harbor hatred, prejudice and unforgiving attitudes, slander and gossip, coveting and materialistic tendencies, etc.
Putting off the old man doesn’t come naturally. The culture won’t tell you to do it. The more you indulge sin or indulge being tolerant or unconcerned about it – the more hardened your conscience gets, the worse you get. Worse, how? You get more used to sin and are less in tune with God’s holiness.
St. Paul says the old man “grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” Deceit is dishonesty. The old man lies to you. It says this is OK and you find out it isn’t, then you get pummeled with guilt and shame.
- The new man prevails by the supernatural power of Christ.
St. Paul says: “and put on the new man which was created according to God in righteousness and true holiness.” The new man is your forgiven self. This is the you that loves God, wants to do His will. It’s how Adam and Eve were before the Fall: made in God’s image, righteous and holy, loving what is true, good, and pure. They were “created according to God in true right-eousness and holiness.” Paul says this is what God restores in you, by faith.
How do you “put on the new man?” First it’s about what Jesus did, which is outside you. The new man – the Second Adam – first is Jesus. He said No to all sin and Yes to God and His will, perfectly, to count for you. “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” You are clean from all your sins for Jesus’ sake. You receive a clear conscience. His Word softens your heart.
This is what the forgiveness of sins gives you: it restores the image of God, “renewed in the spirit of your mind” – the damage done to yourself by your old man – making you unclean and guilty before God – is undone, your guilt is removed, you’re completely innocent in God’s sight for Jesus’ sake.
You experience this as a great battle or conflict inside you, between the old man and the new man, your sinful self and your forgiven self. Often your sinful self gets the upper hand. It feels stronger. You feel weak in faith and weak in your will. You get tempted to despair and think that God can’t use you, that you’re worthless and not much of a Christian. But it’s just that your sinful self is stronger than your forgiven self. What you need is just for your new nature, your forgiven self, to be made stronger.
This is why you come to church. We need what comes from outside us: Christ giving Himself to you in Word and Sacrament. In the words “your sins are forgiven you,” in baptism’s promise that you’re His child, in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus places all His victory over sin – which is outside you – into you. In His Supper He even comes into you, in His body and blood, and makes your forgiven self stronger. Your Savior dwelling within you now puts in you the strongest power in heaven and earth, to strengthen you in faith and love.
The benefits of Jesus’ work are given to you in the Gospel first to free you from your sin, but second to free you to serve Him willingly and joyfully. Jesus frees you not only from the guilt of sin, but He also frees you from sin ruling you. He strengthens you to fight and struggle against sin, to mortify the flesh – with His help – so you actually do His will with the help of God.
- What this looks like is keeping the “do’s” of the commandments.
This is what St. Paul goes into in the last verses here. This is just the 10 commandments teaching you the forgiven sinner what it looks like to struggle against your sin and live a God-pleasing life.
The commandments have no ability to help you do it, but the Holy Spirit does. This is His thing: to sanctify us. He uses the Law this way as a guide.
“Putting away lying, let each one speak truth with his neighbor,” is the 8th commandment, to not lie or gossip about your neighbor but to speak the truth in love. “Do not let the sun go down on your wrath,” is the 5th commandment which forbids murder and also sinful anger and grudge-holding. “Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give,” is the 7th commandment, not to steal but use our money gained through honest work to glorify God, help others and share with the needy.
Our reading ends at verse 28, but St. Paul isn’t done; he goes on to say: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth … Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”
The old Adam wants God’s will to just remain general, not specific. It wants to do only what it feels like. So “putting off the old man” includes listening to God’s specific commands. Your neighbor and his/her needs are specific! God sees your faith, but everyone else sees what you do; that’s where they see your faith, in how you live it. They see that “you have so learned Christ,” that you do these things. This isn’t doing things to show off or to make yourself worthy to God – you are worthy by faith in Jesus. But you live this faith, exercise yourself in it, so it doesn’t lie there unused.
These instructions are the “Do’s” of the Commandments, the good that God wants to be done, the virtues He wants to develop in you. So here you learn – by putting it into practice –
- in the words “put away lying,”to be truthful, to stand up for the truth and stand against falsehood and slander, and to keep your word;
- in the words “do not let the sun go down on your wrath,”to push down anger and instead be patient and calm, to forgive, humbly acknowledging your faults and misdeeds;
- and in the words “do not steal but work with your hands,”to be honest, to stand against deception, to be a worker others can count on, and to be generous, charitable, and helpful.
This is just what it looks like to be a Christian. If we don’t do these things to the degree we should, or unwillingly, remember it’s your sinful self flexing its muscle. So you come to Christ for your forgiven self to be made strong.
Christ’s forgiveness – when He Himself, your risen and ascended Lord, through the pastor says to you, “your sins are forgiven you” – not only removes your sins from you but also makes your forgiven self stronger.
God is telling you – reminding you – who you are: His baptized child. By His word of forgiveness, you arise with strength in your limbs (like the paralyzed man) with your new man, the forgiven self, made stronger. The you who loves Him and wants to do His will, and not only wants to, but does it with His help. He dwells in you and works through you. He tells you He can use you, He has greatuse for you, you are worthy in His sight for Jesus’ sake, you are the very one through whom He will do all this specific good in your corner of the world that He has in mind. “Be of good cheer!” Amen!