WALKING IN THE NEW SELF

EPHESIANS 4:21-24 (ESV)

“assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”

When a person begins following Jesus, they are stepping onto a completely different path in life. Old ways of thinking, old habits, old attitudes, old desires, and old behaviours do not simply disappear overnight, but God begins a process of transformation within the heart. Salvation is not only about being forgiven. It is also about becoming renewed and changed through Christ.

Paul says in EPHESIANS 4:22-24 that believers are to “put off your old self” and “put on the new self.” This reveals that walking with Jesus involves surrender. The old life cannot continue leading while Christ is trying to create something new within a person.

Many people become discouraged because they still battle old mindsets, old temptations, or old struggles after coming to Christ. Yet spiritual growth is often a journey, not a one-day transformation. God works deeply and patiently within people over time. Just because someone is still growing does not mean God is absent from the process.

The old self carries old attitudes.

Old anger.

Old pride.

Old fears.

Old addictions.

Old bitterness.

Old ways of coping.

Yet through the Holy Spirit, believers begin learning how to walk differently.

EPHESIANS 4:23 says believers are to “be renewed in the spirit of your minds.” Transformation begins internally before it is fully seen externally. God changes the way people think, respond, speak, love, forgive, and live. The more believers stay close to Jesus, the more their hearts begin aligning with the heart of Christ.

Many people want outward change while still holding onto inward patterns that keep pulling them backward. Yet God does not simply want behavioural adjustment. He wants heart transformation. That is why renewing the mind through Scripture, prayer, surrender, and obedience matters so deeply.

The world constantly pressures people to return to old ways of living. There are voices everywhere telling people to follow feelings above truth, pursue selfish desires, compromise convictions, or return to patterns God already called them out from. Yet believers are called to walk differently because they now belong to Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 (ESV) says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” That does not mean believers instantly become perfect, but it does mean they are no longer defined by the person they once were before Jesus.

There are seasons where growth may feel slow. There are moments where believers may feel frustrated with themselves because they still see weakness within areas of their lives. Yet spiritual maturity often happens through continually choosing surrender day after day, even during the difficult seasons.

God is patient while He transforms people.

The Shepherd does not abandon His people in the middle of the process.

He continues shaping them.