Ephesians 4:22-24 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
As we walk deeper into our walk, we come face to face with a reality that cannot be ignored: the old nature does not quietly step aside. It must be put off. It must be denied. It must be crucified. Identity in Yeshua (Jesus) reveals who we are. Still, surrender begins to reshape us—and now we learn that walking in the Spirit requires a holy defiance against everything in us that belongs to the old life.
Paul commands us in Ephesians 4:22–24 to “put off the old self,” which is corrupted by deceitful desires, and to “put on the new self,” created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Notice the language: put off, be renewed, put on. This is intentional, decisive, and daily. The old nature does not die by neglect; it dies by rejection. It loses power when we refuse its voice, starve its habits, and strip it of authority. You cannot carry the old life into the new creation—one must yield to the other.
The old nature is built on lies—lies about God, lies about ourselves, lies about what will satisfy us. It pulls us toward patterns we have outgrown, mindsets we no longer belong to, appetites that no longer fit the new creation. When God calls you forward, the enemy will always try to pull you back into the familiar. But identity demands movement. Calling demands separation. The Spirit demands that the old garments be removed so the new can be seen.
Putting off the old nature is not a work of shame—it is a work of freedom. You are not rejecting yourself; you are rejecting what no longer belongs to you. You are not fighting for identity; you are fighting from identity. You are not trying to become someone new; you are aligning with who you already are in Yeshua. Every time you reject the old nature, you declare with your life: “I am not who I was—I am who He made me to be.”
The new creation life is not timid. It is bold. It is fierce. It is deliberate. It chooses righteousness over impulse, truth over deception, holiness over compromise. It refuses to negotiate with darkness. It refuses to revisit what God has buried. It refuses to let the grave speak louder than resurrection. To reject the old nature is to honor the price Messiah paid to make you new.
Beloved, rise in holy defiance. Cast off the remnants of the old life. Break agreement with every lie, every memory, every appetite that calls you back to what died at the cross. Stand firm in the power of the Spirit and strip the old nature of its influence. You are not a prisoner—you are a new creation. You are not defined by what was—you are marked by what is eternal. Put off the old, and let the new blaze forth. Let righteousness clothe you. Let holiness crown you. Let truth reshape you. Step fully into the life Messiah has secured for you. Do not look back. Do not hesitate. What you reject loses power; what you embrace comes alive. Walk in the new creation with fire, resolve, and purity—this is your hour to arise.