What does it mean to “put off the old self” and “put on the new self” in Ephesians?

Ephesians contrasts the “old self,” corrupted by deceitful desires, with the “new self,” created after the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness. It also includes being “renewed in the spirit of your minds.” See Ephesians 4:22–24.

Passage context

In Ephesians 4:17–24, Paul urges believers to stop living like the surrounding nations, whose thinking has become empty and morally numbed. He traces a downward path from confused thinking to hardened hearts and then to uncontrolled desires and greedy practices. In contrast, he says they learned Christ differently: they heard and were taught in him. This passage stands in the letter’s practical turn, where Paul moves from describing God’s plan and the unity of the church to spelling out how that new community should live. Just before this, he stresses growth into maturity and leaving childish instability behind (4:11–16).

Why it matters

Paul frames this section as a serious, “in the Lord” testimony about how believers’ lives should no longer resemble the surrounding nations’ pattern (verse 17).

Read carefully

A common mistake is to turn the wording into a slogan. The better reading keeps the phrase tied to the passage, the speaker, and the problem the book is addressing.

Keep reading

Start with Ephesians 4:22-24, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.