The interpretation of man’s essential nature as referenced in this exhortation in Ephesians 4:22-24 is pivotal to one’s view of sanctification. And this doctrine is essential to the biblical counseling model employed to guide a defeated Christian to victorious life in Christ.
“22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:22-24, NKJV.
The meaning of “the old man”
A key issue to be clarified here is the meaning of “old man” in this context and how it contrasts with the “new man.”
As we check the Greek lexicon we see the basic definitions used in Ephesians 4:22. Old: “palaios” is an adjective meaning “old, ancient; no longer new” (Thayer). Vines Expository Dictionary states: “‘Old’ …of what belongs to the past, e.g., the believer’s former self before his conversion, his ‘old man.'” “Man” is “anthropos” which occurs over 500 times. It means “a human being, whether male or female.” It has more precise uses also: “to distinguish man from beings of a different order; with reference to two fold nature of man, body and soul [material / immaterial]; with reference to the two fold nature of man, the corrupt [fleshly] and the truly Christian man [Spirit-filled], [which is] conformed to the nature of God (Thayer; bracketed words added).
To be precise, the “old man” is the unregenerate human spirit, i.e., who a person was in Adam as identified by his previous spiritual condition (death and depravity). This is an essential concept in order to differentiate the “old man” (which in the believer was crucified with Christ and is out of the picture) and the flesh (which is an ongoing nemesis – Gal. 5:16,17; Rom. 7:17).
Parallel passages
Romans 6:6: “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with [Him], that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”
Colossians 3:9: “Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds”
Notice that the other two texts view the old man as having been crucified and already “put off” (past tense). Since the New Testament pattern is to present doctrine and then apply it to practical issues of life, the doctrinal underpinnings of Ephesians 4:22 need to be clear. In Ephesians chs 1-3 believers have been (past tense) saved, regenerated, and sealed by the Holy Spirit; they were raised with Christ and are seated with Him in the heavenlies! (Eph. 1:13; 2:1-10).
The figurative use of “the old man”
So if the old man is no longer the identity of the child of God, why does this text in Ephesians seem to view the old man as still present in the believer? It sounds like the old man has not actually been”put off” or “crucified” yet; rather, the believer should do this. Yet, Ephesians 4:22 states “That you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt (Greek: present passive participle) according to the deceitful lusts.”
A watershed issue in interpreting this verse (and its implications for progressive sanctification) is to recognize the figurative use of “old man” in this text. This figurative use, metonymy, uses one word for another that it suggests: i.e., the “old man” for the behavior of the “old man.” Consider other examples of the use of metonymy.
- Romans 13:14a counsels, “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ…” Ontologically, Christ is in the believer (Col. 1:27) and in heaven. However this figurative expression refers to the believer putting on Christ’s virtues. And note how second half of the verse is similar to admonition of putting off the behavior of the old man: “…and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Rom. 13:14b).
- Another example of metonymy is the use of the term “the cross,” not as the literal wood structure (that has disappeared), but what Christ accomplished on the cross. “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14; cf. Col. 1:20).
This figurative use of “old man” agrees with other New Testament usage. The Greek “apotithemi” means “to put off or aside or away.” It occurs eight times in the New Testament and refers to putting off clothing. This is the literal use in Acts 7:58: “…and the witnesses laid down [“apotithemi”] their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.” The other seven occurrences of this word refer to putting off wrong behavior using the imagery of putting off old, dirty clothing (Rom. 13:12; Eph. 4:22, 25; Col. 3:8; Heb. 12:1; James 1:21; 1 Pet. 2:1. This is also the way “put off” is used in Ephesians 4:22.
Robertson Word Pictures makes this comment on the Greek grammar of this verse: “That ye put away (apoyesyai). Second aorist middle infinitive of “apotiyhmi” with the metaphor of putting off clothing or habits as “apoyesye” in Col. 3:8 (which see) with the same addition of “the old man” (ton palaion anyrwpon) as in Col. 3:9.” So, putting off the “old man” in Ephesians 4:22 refers to putting off the behavior and attitudes associated with the “old man” (emphasis added).
Therefore, the term”old man” in Ephesians 4:22 is used in a qualitative sense, rather than technical sense. The qualitative use is brought out by the phrases before and after it. Note the word order in the verse. It does not begin with, “put off the old man,” but “…put off concerning your former conduct the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.” The emphasis is on the wrong behavior to be set aside.
Read the rest of the revised article at GraceNotebook.com
J.B.W.
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