So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a desire for more.
But that is not the way you learned Christ! Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him, in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus. 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; to be renewed in the spirit of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore, each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are members of one another. “Be angry, yet do not sin.” Do not let the sun set upon your anger, and do not give the devil a foothold.
The one who steals must steal no longer, but rather must labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one in need. Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may give grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and rage and anger and clamor and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as God in Christ forgave you.
Notes
The New Covenant calls for a new walk—and that walk flows from learning Christ. Paul doesn’t say “learn about Christ,” but rather “learn Christ”—a phrase that communicates personal relationship and transformation. What Sinai revealed in types and shadows, Christ embodies in fullness. And now, those united to Him are called to live as new creations.
The old self—rooted in Adam, corrupted by deceitful desires, dead in sin—must be put off. This is not self-improvement but death and resurrection. Paul had already declared: you were dead, but God made you alive in Christ (cf. Ephesians 2:1–5). Now, he calls believers to put on the new self—not just a better version of themselves, but a self created after God, righteous and holy through union with Jesus
(cf. Colossians 3:9–10; Romans 6:4–6).
This transformation begins with the renewing of the mind, not by external law but by the indwelling Spirit. The behavior that follows—truth-telling, working honestly, speaking grace, forgiving others—is not legalism, but the fruit of a new identity. It is not “act holy so you can be holy.” It is “you are holy in Christ—now live as one who is.”
Paul roots this entire ethical framework in relationship: we are members of one another. We are sealed by the Spirit. We are forgiven in Christ. This is not mere morality; it is new creation living—Spirit-produced, Christ-centered, and love-shaped.
We are warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is not a force but a Person who indwells God’s people and seals them for the day of redemption. Bitterness, rage, and slander grieve Him because they deny the gospel we profess. But kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness display the gospel we’ve received.
This is the New Covenant ethic: put off what belongs to death, put on what belongs to life. Walk in the new self. Speak truth. Work in love. Forgive as you’ve been forgiven. And let the Spirit shape you to look more and more like Jesus.
Moe Bergeron 
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