New Life in Christ

Paul insists that the readers must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, with futile minds, darkened understanding, alienation from God's life, and a hardened surrender to impurity. That is not how they learned Christ, for in him they were taught to put off the old self, be renewed in the spirit of their minds, and put on the new self created after God's likeness in righteousness and holiness.

S¹⁷o I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. ¹⁹Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more. ²⁰But this is not the way you came to know Christ. ²¹Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him— in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus— ²²to put off your former way of life, your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

From that new self, Paul draws a series of concrete commands: speak truth because believers belong to one another, refuse sinful anger and the devil's foothold, exchange theft for honest labor and sharing, and let speech build others up with grace. He adds that the Holy Spirit must not be grieved, and that bitterness, rage, malice, and slander must give way to kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness after the pattern of God's forgiveness in Christ.

²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one another. ²⁶“Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, ²⁷and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need. ²⁹Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.