Ephesians 4:22 tells believers to set aside their former way of living, the old self that is being corrupted by deceitful desires. Paul wrote this as part of a letter to the churches in and around Ephesus, addressing Gentile and Jewish Christians who had come to faith in Jesus. The verse is a call to honest change, not a description of something that happens automatically.
That you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit…
Ephesians 4:22 (WEB)
What Ephesians 4:22 Means
The phrase “put away” is an instruction, language you would use for taking off dirty clothes. Paul is saying that the change Christ brings involves a deliberate choice to stop living the way you used to. The verb assumes you have a real part to play, even though God’s grace is what makes the change possible.
“Your former way of life” points to a pattern of behavior, the everyday habits and attitudes that shaped you before you knew Christ. Paul calls this self “the old man,” a way of describing the whole person as they were organized around their own desires. The verse says this old self “grows corrupt,” meaning it is decaying and leading toward ruin rather than toward life.
What the verse does not promise is that the old habits will vanish the moment you read it. It describes a direction you are called to face and a line you are asked to keep choosing to step away from. Paul expects this to take ongoing effort, which is why the surrounding verses talk about renewal and continual growth.
The Context of Ephesians 4:22
The letter is traditionally attributed to Paul, and most scholars accept that he wrote it or that it reflects his teaching closely. Its first three chapters describe what God has done for believers in Christ, and chapters four through six describe how that new identity should shape daily life. Verse 22 sits in the middle of that practical section.
The verses just before it, 19 to 21, describe the hardened, greedy way of living that marked the surrounding culture, and Paul contrasts it with what the readers learned from Christ. The verses after it, 23 to 25, speak of being renewed in the mind, putting on the new self, and putting away falsehood to speak truth. Read in that sequence, the putting away in verse 22 is the first half of a two-part movement: letting go of the old, then taking up the new. It is not a standalone rule about avoiding a list of sins.
Key Phrases in Ephesians 4:22
Romans 6:6
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
(WEB)
Paul teaches here that the old self was crucified with Christ, which gives the call to put away the old life its foundation. Ephesians 4:22 asks believers to live out in daily choices what is already true in Christ.
Colossians 3:9-10
9 Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, 10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator…
(WEB)
This passage uses similar language of putting off the old self and putting on the new, showing that the same pattern runs through Paul’s letters. It reinforces that the change is ongoing and tied to growing knowledge of God.
A Short Prayer From Ephesians 4:22
Lord, you know the habits and desires I have carried from my former way of living, and you know how easily I return to them. Help me see clearly the patterns that are pulling me toward decay, and give me the courage to set them aside one choice at a time. Renew my mind so that I am drawn to what is true and good, and let your grace carry me when my effort feels weak. I trust that the life you are forming in me is stronger than the old one. Amen.
