Ephesians 4.22b-The Old Man is Corrupted By Deceitful Desires
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday September 2, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:22b-The Old Man is Being Corrupted by Deceitful Desires
Lesson # 272
Ephesians 4:22 Each and every one of you as a corporate unit were taught with reference to your former lifestyle to lay aside the old man’s sinful desires, which are being corrupted in accordance with deceitful lust patterns. (Lecturer’s translation)
As noted in our study of Ephesians 4:20, this constitutes the apodosis of a first class condition, which indicates the assumption of truth for the sake of argument. Ephesians 4:21-24 constitutes the protasis of this first class condition.
The contents of Ephesians 4:22-24 explain the contents of Ephesians 4:21.
Therefore, Ephesians 4:22 is continuing the protasis and helps to explain the contents of Ephesians 4:21.
Specifically, Ephesians 4:22-24 explain what the recipients of this epistle were taught about Christ through experience.
Ephesians 4:22 is composed of the following:
(1) infinitival clause: apothesthai hymas kata tēn proteran anastrophēn ton palaion anthrōpon (ἀποθέσθαι ὑμᾶς κατὰ τὴν προτέραν ἀναστροφὴν τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον), “Each and every one of you as a corporate unit were taught with reference to your former lifestyle, to lay aside the old man’s sinful desires” (Author’s translation).
(2) participial clause: ton phtheiromenon kata tas epithymias tēs apatēs (τὸν φθειρόμενον κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τῆς ἀπάτης), “which are being corrupted in accordance with deceitful lust patterns” (Author’s translation).
The infinitival clause in Ephesians 4:22 is modified by a participial clause, which contains the verb phtheirō (φθείρω), which we noted is used in a moral sense and describes human nature as changing from good to bad in morals, manners and actions.
Adam and Eve were created perfect and remained so until they disobeyed the Lord’s prohibition to not each from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
In other words, this word implies human nature was good in the eyes of God but then changed to evil when they disobeyed this prohibition.
Therefore, the Christian’s indwelling old Adamic sin nature is “corrupted” in the sense that it is contrary to the will of God and in agreement with the will of the devil.
This verb phtheirō (φθείρω) functions as an attributive participle which means that it is modifying the accusative masculine singular form of the noun anthrōpos (ἄνθρωπος), which we noted is modified by the articular accusative masculine singular form of the adjective palaios (παλαιός).
Together, we noted they are personifying the old Adamic sin nature and contains the figure of metonymy, which means that old Adamic sin nature is put for its sinful desires.
The sin nature is described as “old” because it belongs to the old creation under Adam which is under a curse because of Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden.
Therefore, the articular accusative masculine singular present passive participle conjugation of the verb phtheirō (φθείρω) is ascribing corruption to the Christian’s old indwelling Adamic sin nature, which resides in the genetic structure of their physical bodies.
The present tense of this verb phtheirō (φθείρω) is a gnomic present, which expresses the idea that the Christian’s old indwelling Adamic sin nature “as an eternal spiritual truth” or “as a spiritual axiom” exists in the state of corruption.
It also functions as a customary present or stative present, which expresses the idea that the idea that the Christian’s old indwelling Adamic sin nature as an eternal spiritual truth or as a spiritual axiom “exists in the state of” corruption.
The passive voice of this verb indicates that the old Adamic indwelling sin nature of the Christian receives the action of being corrupted by this nature’s deceitful desires.
As was the case in Ephesians 2:3, the noun epithumia (ἐπιθυμία) in Ephesians 4:22 pertains to the various lust patterns of the sin nature.
However, this word not only refers to sexual lust but also to power lust, approbation lust, social lust, monetary lust, materialism lust, inordinate ambition resulting in inordinate competition, revenge lust, criminal lust, chemical lust, crusader lust, and pleasure lust.
At the heart of such lusts is the desire to live independently of the will of God.
The noun apatē (ἀπάτη) is ascribing deceitfulness or deception to the believer’s indwelling old Adamic sin nature.
The noun epithumia (ἐπιθυμία) functions as the object of the preposition kata (κατά), which functions as a marker of correspondence, which means that it marks the lust patterns of the old Adamic sin nature as “conforming with” the deceitfulness of these lust patterns.
Therefore, in Ephesians 4:22, Paul is teaching these Gentile Christians that they were taught with reference to their former unregenerate lifestyle to lay aside the sinful desires of their old Adamic sin nature, which are being corrupted in accordance with deceitful lust patterns.
As was the case in Ephesians 4:17-21 and 23-32, Paul is discussing the subject of the church age believer’s sanctification and specifically, the experiential aspect of this sanctification.
When Paul speaks of these church age believers laying aside the sinful and deceitful desires of their old Adamic sin nature, he is speaking of confession of sin to be restored to fellowship (1 John 1:9) and appropriating by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ in order to maintain that fellowship.
This is accomplished by considering themselves dead to this sin nature and alive to God.
To appropriate by faith one’s union and identification with Christ is accomplished by considering oneself as having been crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ at the right hand of the Father.
They are to do this because at the moment of justification through the baptism of the Spirit, the church age believer was placed in an eternal union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the Father’s right hand.
This union and identification appropriated Jesus Christ’s victory over the sin nature as well as Satan and his cosmic system, which the believer was enslaved to prior to their justification.
These events in Jesus Christ’s life delivered the human race from eternal condemnation, condemnation from the Law, personal sins, physical and spiritual death, as well as enslavement to the sin nature, the devil and his cosmic system.
The sinner appropriates this great deliverance by trusting in Jesus Christ as their Savior and consequently, the Father declares them justified based upon the merits of the object of their faith, Jesus Christ.
Simultaneously, through the baptism of the Spirit, the believer is placed in this union and identification, which provides them victory over sin, Satan and his cosmic system in a positional, experiential and perfective sense.
The first stage of sanctification is called “positional” which means that God views the believer as crucified, died, buried, raised and seated with Christ.
At the moment of justification, the Holy Spirit placed the believer in union with Christ, identifying him with Christ’s crucifixion (Romans 6:6; Galatians 2:20), His death (Romans 6:2, 7-8; Colossians 2:20; 3:3), His burial (Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12), His resurrection (Romans 6:5; Ephesians 2:6; Philippians 3:10-11; Colossians 2:12; 3:1) and His session (Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1).
“Positional sanctification” is the believer’s “entrance” into the plan of God for the church age resulting in eternal security as well as two categories of positional truth (1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 1 Peter 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; Ephesians 5:26-27; Hebrews 2:11; 10:10; Acts 20:32; 26:18; Romans 6:3, 8; 2 Thessalonians 2:13).
“Retroactive” positional truth is the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His death and burial (Romans 6:3-11; Colossians 2:12) or in other words, when Christ died God considers the believer to have died with Him.
“Current” positional truth is the church age believer’s identification with Christ in His resurrection, ascension and session (See Ephesians 2:4-6; Colossians 3:1-4) or in other words, when Christ was raised and seated at the right hand of the Father, the Father considers the believer to have been raised and seated with Christ as well.
“Positional sanctification”: (1) What God has done for the church age believer. (2) His viewpoint of the church age believer. (3) Sets up the potential to experience sanctification in time. (4) Provides the believer with the guarantee of receiving a resurrection body.
The second stage of sanctification is called “experiential,” which is the function of the church age believer’s spiritual life in time through obedience to the Father’s will, which is revealed by the Spirit through the communication of the Word of God (John 17:17; Romans 6:19, 22; 2 Timothy 2:21; 1 Peter 3:15; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4, 7; 1 Timothy 2:15).
“Experiential sanctification” is the post-justification experience of the believer who is in fellowship with God is accomplished by obeying the Spirit inspired Scriptures, which reveal the Father’s will for their life.
It is only a potential since it is contingent upon the church age believer responding to what God has done for him at the moment of justification, therefore, only believers who are obedient to the Word of God will experience sanctification in time.
“Perfective” sanctification is the perfection of the church age believer’s sanctification at the rapture, i.e., resurrection of the church, which is the completion of the plan of God for the church age believer (John 14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:53-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Galatians 6:8; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Peter 5:10; John 6:40).
The church age believer’s identification with Jesus Christ in His resurrection guarantees them a resurrection body at the rapture or resurrection of the church (cf. Rom. 6:4; Eph. 2:6; Col. 3:4).
This guarantee of a resurrection body will be experienced by every believer regardless of their response in time to what God has done for them at justification.
Now, not only does Paul discuss the believer’s laying aside the sinful and deceitful desires of their old Adamic sin nature in Ephesians 4:22 but he also does so in Romans 6 and Colossians 3.
