Steps To The New Person

 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 (King James Version)

One thing I speak about often, especially on Talkin' Scripture, is the fact that we must not be the same people we were before we met Jesus. There must be a change. Paul writes about this topic in Ephesians 4.

We read this in Ephesians 4:22-24, "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." What we find in these verses is the steps to becoming who God wants you to be. I'm sure that is a goal of yours, as it is mine, to become the person that God desires, and that Jesus paid for in His death on the cross. 

Step 1: Put Off The Old Life

Verse 22 says, "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts." Before we can commit to becoming the person God wants, we must put off our old life. We must put to death the sin nature found in each of us. We choose each day what we will serve. We choose to follow God and His ways, and we choose to allow sin to control us. Paul tells us to "put off concerning the former conversation the old man." We must put off, or do away with, the control of sin in our lives. Jesus paid for it with His death, you left it at the altar when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, so why pick it up and take it with you again? Our old nature is corrupt, and should have no part in our life with Christ.

Step 2: Renew Your Mind

Verse 23 says, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind." If you are going to put off the old ways, then you must allow God to transform your mind. (Romans 12:1-2). If you don't allow God to transform your thought pattern, you'll keep going back to the old ways of life. Over and over again. You can never truly rid yourself of your old life unless you allow God to change your thought pattern. Paul writes in Colossians 3:2 " Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." Set your mind and thoughts on the things of God, and take it off the things of this world.

Step 3: Put On The New Life

Verse 24 says, "And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Finally, after you've taken off the old man, you must put on the new man. Notice, the old man is corrupt because of deceitful lusts, but the new man is created after God. You can't wear both the old man and the new man. You can only begin to live for God after you've done away with the old man, and had your mind transformed from the world's perspective to God's perspective.

Use these steps, as found in Ephesians 4, to help spur you growth into the person that God desires, and that Jesus paid for on the cross. Think About It.