Having put on the new man – that is to say, on the basis of our saving union with Christ in His death and resurrection, your new life now then flows from this new man. Your new life involves putting away or putting to death everything that is unlike Christ; while we put on or develop graces in keeping with the power of God in us. We are gradually being transformed into His likeness and image (2 Co 3:18, Col 3:10), a process that will not end until we become completely transformed (1 Jn 3:2). Following the description of what has happened to every Christian as a new creation in Ephesians 4:20-24, a lengthy series of imperatives now follows in verses 25-32 describing exactly what we must put off and put on. Progressive sanctification, or progress in holiness, is manifested in the life of a Christian as, on the basis of our union with Christ, and the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we put off the practices which characterized or old life, and put on that which belongs to the new one.
As Christians we put off lying and put on truth. We put off stealing and put on labor. For each imperative there is a Gospel-centered, selfless reason for putting off the vice and putting on the virtue – the reason is related to the edification and unity of the body of Christ.
