Putting Off

(Ephesians 4:22)

What would you do if a person covered in filth and emitting a foul odor came into your house and tried to sit at the dining table? You would likely guide them to put off their dirty clothes and take a bath first, wouldn’t you? No one would bring perfume to spray on a filthy body to get rid of the stench.

1. According to the Deceitful Lusts
The old self should have been discarded the moment we believed in Jesus. Previously, the old self has governed our entire identity and dragged us wherever it pleased. The old self has led us away from the truth and always made us choose the path of deceit driven by lust. At that time, whenever our lusts were stimulated, we were easily deceived. Despite repeatedly failing and experiencing disappointment, we continued to be led by lust and failed to see the reality.

2. Your Former Conduct, Which Grows Corrupt
Just because we have been freed from sin and received new life through Christ, it does not mean that the corrupt state of our old self has disappeared. The first thing we must do, now that we have received new life and are serving the Lord, is to resolve to put off the practices of the old self. Without this resolution, those who begin their faith life may try to understand God through the old self’s ways, ultimately failing to hear from Christ and be taught in Him.

3. The Old Man
Many individuals disregard the system by which truth is mediated through transmission. They become obsessed with acquiring secret knowledge unknown to others, believing that such knowledge will elevate their status among people. They treat what is learned and heard through transmission as mere human words, often ignoring and attacking it. We should not do this. Through this system, which God Himself has established, He proclaims and teaches the truth in Jesus, which is the Gospel of salvation.

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim