Ephesians 4:22b – Weed Killer for the Soul

… which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires;

Summary: The “old self” is tricky. It wants to be liked so it plays tricks on us to make us think it is doing good.

To better understand the context for today’s passage, let’s look at the entire sentence so far:

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires …” (Ephesians 4:22)

Paul is talking about our “old self” before we learned about Christ. When Paul says the “old self” is “being corrupted,” he means it is an ongoing process. It is not that the old self “has been” corrupted or “will be” corrupted but that it is being corrupted.

The original Greek word that Paul used is “phtheírō.” The word describes an ongoing process of destruction. Have you ever sprayed weed killer on a weed? At first, it seems like nothing has changed. The weed doesn’t look any different than it did before. A few days later, it still might look like nothing has changed. But soon, the weed starts to wither and turn brown. The edges of the leaves begin to curl, and the plant looks sick. Eventually, the plant dies, and there is nothing left except the brown husk of what had been a weed.

Deceitful desires are like weed killer for the self. They do not appear to have an immediate effect. A person can indulge in a lot of “deceitful desires” and still not look any different on the outside. But something does change. There is a sickness that takes hold of a person. The “self” starts to shrivel and wither. When the body dies, instead of releasing a healthy soul redeemed by the blood of Jesus, it releases a shriveled and corrupted soul left without hope.

In his conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus says:

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3)

When we are “born again,” we are “made new” (Ephesians 4:23). But in fact, we are reborn like a Siamese twin. The “new self” and the old are linked by the same body. We stand before these two like a person staring into a closet, trying to choose which clothes to wear. Trying to wear both at the same time is not possible. Putting on the “old self” is putting on death. Is there really any choice?

Application: Consciously and deliberately avoid anything to do with the “old self.”

Food for Thought: What is an example of a “deceitful desire,” what does it feel like, and why does Paul say it is deceitful?