May the peace of the Lord be with you and your home. We thank the eternal and Almighty God for this time He grants us each week to deepen in the truth that sets us free. As the word says in “John 8:32”: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” As men and women of faith, we must understand that our dependence is not on what the world offers, but on the sufficiency that comes from God. Today we will study the characteristics of the old man, based on Ephesians 4:17-22, a passage we have explored previously and which we will now analyze in detail to identify how this nature manifests in our lives.
The purpose of this teaching is to recognize the forms that the old man takes in those who have embraced faith in Christ. To understand this, let us remember that the old man is the sinful nature with which we are all born, a consequence of the original sin of Adam and Eve in Eden. This is established in “Romans 3:23”: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No one is good by nature; all men and women are separated from the glory of God due to this sinful condition. There is no distinction between “more good” or “more bad”; before God, we are all in the same condition.
When we are born, we bring that sinful nature, and only when we repent and come to Christ do we find reconciliation through His cross. As “Romans 6:23” says: “The wages of sin is death,” a condemnation that weighs on all who do not approach Jesus. Without Him, when we depart from this world, we cannot be in the presence of God. This is the core of the Gospel of the Kingdom, a truth we must clearly understand. The old man is not exclusive to the most obvious sinners, such as the vicious or criminals; it is the innate nature with which we all come into this world.
When we accept Christ, the word declares in “2 Corinthians 5:17”: “The old things passed away; behold, all things have become new.” However, the old man does not always completely disappear from the lives of believers. Often, it transforms and manifests in subtle ways that go unnoticed. This is the focus of our teaching: to identify these manifestations so that we can confront them.
The Scriptures, particularly the New Testament, were written for believers, for those who have already accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. That is why, in Ephesians, a letter addressed to men and women of faith, we are warned about the old man. This indicates that, even in communities of faith, this sinful nature can remain active. In Ephesians 4:17-22, we find seven characteristics of the old man, and today we will study the first three, leaving the remaining four for next week.
Let’s begin with the first characteristic, found in Ephesians 4:17: “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.” The old man manifests in the vanity of the mind, in empty thoughts centered on worldly things. This vanity implies that, although a believer may have changed their conduct—no longer sinning as before, not frequenting places of sin, not living as they used to—their way of thinking remains anchored in the past. In “Romans 12:2,” Paul exhorts: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” True transformation requires a change in the mind, not just in behavior.
For example, the people of Israel, freed from slavery in Egypt, stopped serving Pharaoh and building his temples, but many continued thinking with an Egyptian mentality: magical, mythological, esoteric. Although their actions changed, their way of thinking did not. The same happens with many believers: they have left behind evident sins, but their mentality remains worldly. Before knowing Christ, we depended on our resources, contacts, and capabilities. If we had them, we thought: “This is possible.” If not, we said: “It is impossible.” This thinking persists in many believers, despite knowing verses like “Philippians 4:13”: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We quote the word, but act according to our old mentality, limited by what we see as possible or impossible.
The life of faith is not just about changing habits or behaviors. You can modify your behavior, but if your mind is not renewed, you remain the same person. The vanity of the mind manifests in worldly attitudes toward life, circumstances, and even God. Many do not know how to integrate faith into their daily lives, using it only in emergencies, such as illnesses or crises, but not for daily living. This reflects the presence of the old man, which prevents us from fully trusting in God.
In “1 Corinthians 2:16” we are told: “We have the mind of Christ.” Having the mind of Christ implies renouncing vanity and fantasy, ceasing to build scenarios that do not align with the word of God. In “Colossians 1:21” we read: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled.” Being “enemies in the mind” is doubting what God says, questioning His word. A clear example is in “Matthew 14:28-31,” when Peter, seeing Jesus walking on water, says: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” Peter doubted, and Jesus reproached him: “Why did you not believe me?” The old man questions the word of God, asks for unnecessary confirmations, as if God needed to prove Himself. This is what many do: “If you are God, do this or that.” Faith does not require proof, but trust in what God has said.
Let’s move on to the second characteristic, in Ephesians 4:18: “Having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.” The old man has a darkened understanding, unable to comprehend the word, the Spirit, or the work of God. In “Matthew 13:19,” in the parable of the sower, it says: “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.” Faith is nourished by the word, but the old man, with his darkened mind, does not understand it. Even if a believer has abandoned vices, attends church, and lives righteously, if they do not understand the word, the old man remains active.
A darkened understanding is like a stormy day, full of dark clouds that prevent seeing clearly. This darkness allows the enemy to steal the word sown in the heart. Many believers, when opening the Bible, feel drowsy or distracted, not because they are in evident sin, but because the old man operates in their mind. In “2 Corinthians 4:3-4” we read: “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” This blindness affects even believers who have not renewed their mind, preventing them from praying or understanding the word.
Why does this darkness persist? Because the mind has been fed with worldly ideas: books of philosophy, esotericism, mysticism, or literature that glorifies values contrary to God. Many believers keep these materials, thinking they are harmless. However, “Acts 19:18-19” shows us that new believers “confessed and told their deeds… Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.” They burned what fed their old mentality. In “Joshua 7:11-12” we read: “Israel has sinned… for they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies… unless you destroy the accursed from among you.” Keeping these things maintains the darkened mind, preventing living in the light of God.
The third characteristic, also in Ephesians 4:18, is being “alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them.” The old man does not perceive God’s work in the believer’s life. Many think that God is only present when there is material success: a salary increase, a new car, visible achievements. If there is no “addition or multiplication,” they believe God is absent. In “Romans 8:6-8” it says: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” The old man lives for himself, for his interests, not for God. In “Hebrews 11:6” it is established: “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” The old man does not live by faith, but by the “self.”
Job’s case illustrates this. In “Job 1:20-22” we read: “Then Job… fell to the ground and worshiped, and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.” Job lost everything, but recognized that God works even in loss, not just in gain. The old man does not understand this and becomes frustrated when he does not see immediate “results.”
If you cannot see God working in your life, the old man is active. Where is he nourished? In traumas, conflicts, or unaddressed pain. Many believers carry wounds from the past—losses, betrayals, frustrations—that feed the old man. Jesus said to Martha in “John 11:40”: “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” But the old man doubts and clings to pain. The Spirit of God calls you to release these burdens. In “John 11:43,” Jesus exclaimed: “Lazarus, come forth!” Come out of your pain, your conflict, so that your mind may be renewed, your understanding enlightened, and you may no longer be alienated from the life of God.
In the name of Jesus, I invite you to free yourself from pain, betrayal, and frustration. Give to the Lord all that has burdened you. The Spirit of God is here to give you freedom, for the old man to be crucified on the cross. Do not allow him to continue governing your mind. Abandon vanity, darkness, and ignorance. Live according to the word, and you will be a new creature, as “2 Corinthians 5:17” says: “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Maintain that freedom, walk in faith, and may the peace of the Lord be with you.
