Part 1 analysed Paul’s discourse flow (Eph 4:17–24). Having clarified the condition of the person that must be “put off” (4:17–18, NIV 2011), Paul discusses the renewal of the “old self” (v. 23). The exegetical enquiry examines what Paul meant by the intriguing phrase, “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (v. 23 NET)?

There is scholarly debate on whether the infinitives are imperative, “put off” and “put on” (Eph 4:22–23 NIV), or indicative, “you have put off” and “you have put on”. Hoehner (2002, 603) believes that the aorist middle infinitive has the idea of an inceptive act that may have reference to conversion. Merkle et al. (2016) believe “that the tense form should not be pressed so as to imply a one-time event such as conversion or baptism (Arnold 287; Porter, Idioms, 35)”. Instead, the aorist is used to portray the action as a whole without regard to how it unfolded in reality. Contextually the infinitives relate to “(you) were taught in him” (v. 21 NET) and function to reveal the content of the teaching. The inference is that the learned truth from Christ is that we have put off the old person and put on the new person because this has already been accomplished in a positional sense at the time of conversion. However, there is a sense that we are also taught to do it, as it will become more apparent below, so the two ideas seem to go together.

The hapax, “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Eph 4:23 NET and NKJV; “minds” ESV), is not only without parallel but is also puzzling. The Greek literally reads “in the spirit of your minds”; however, some translations are interpretive: “to be made new in the attitude of your minds” (NIV 2011); “let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes” (NLT). Interpreters typically take one of two views: “One is to take spirit as more or less synonymous with ‘mind,’ ‘heart,’ or ‘inner person’. The other takes spirit to refer to the divine Spirit” (Neufeld 2002; cf. 4:17b–18; 3:16–17). While it is true that pneuma (spirit) in Ephesians generally relates to the Holy Spirit (Lincoln 1990, 287; except in 2:2), the conundrum is that the Holy Spirit is never alluded to as the spirit of your mind (Hoehner 2002, 608). Accordingly, Merkle et al. (2016) believe that because “spirit” is qualified by “your mind,” it most likely refers to the human spirit and not the Holy Spirit (Hoehner 2002, 608; Lincoln 1990, 287; contra NLT and Arnold 2010, 288–89).

It is noteworthy that Paul portrays fallen humanity in futile thinking (Eph 4:17), darkened in understanding and ignorant (v. 18); contextually, the reversal of the condition of the old person requires the renewal of the mind. The conundrum is that elsewhere in the letter, it is the Spirit who transforms believers (Lincoln 1990, 287 cf. 1:17; 3:16; 4:3; 5:18; 6:18).

Ananeóō means “to renew,” and in the passive, ananeoũsthai “to be renewed” (cf. Eph 4:23). The phrase has a transformational nuance, “new state or position”. The theological implication is a “new reality of present salvation” (Behm 1985, 896–901). The renewal of our minds is vitally important to a worthy walk (v. 1) and fully experiencing the new person (v. 24); the experience of salvation goes much deeper than the initial salvific positional experience. The renewal (v. 23) in view is what we believe and the transformation of our attitudes and behaviour (cf. NIV 2011). The controlling message of the passage is that we have been spiritually transformed and must also be mentally transformed to become who we are.

The infinitive “be renewed” (Eph. 4:23) should be taken as present passive, suggesting God is the one who effects such change (Merkle et al. 2016; Hoehner 2002, 607). “It is accomplished on rather than by believers” (Behm 1985, 896–901). Consequently, the Spirit’s activity is implicit because transforming the spirit of the mind is only possible by the indwelling of the Spirit of God (Foulkes 1989). The present tense indicates that renewing is a continual process throughout the believer’s life (Hoehner 2002, 606; cf. 2 Cor 4:16, “renewed day by day” NET). However, we are not passive; the process is not a one-time accomplishment but the continual work of cooperating with the Holy Spirit. The contextual nuance is that believers should let themselves be renewed by Christ (v. 20) so that through inner renewal, we are free from the bondage of the old person and fit for the Christian life—until this happens, we cannot fully embrace the new person (Osborne 2017), because only a renewed mind will ultimately lead to a new lifestyle (Cohick 2010).

Works Cited

Behm, Johannes. 1964. “Νέος, Ἀνανεόω.” Pages 896–901 in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Edited by Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, and Geoffrey William Bromiley IV. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.

Cohick, Lynn. 2010. Ephesians. New Covenant Commentary Series. Cambridge: Lutterworth.

Foulkes, Francis. 1989. Ephesians: An Introduction and Commentary. Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press.

Hoehner, Harold. 2002. Ephesians. An exegetical commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker.

Lincoln, Andrew. 1990. Ephesians. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word Books.

           Merkle, Benjamin, Andreas Köstenberger, and Robert Yarbrough. 2016. Ephesians. Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament. Nashville: B&H Academic.

Neufeld, Thomas. 2002. Ephesians: Believers Church Bible Commentary. Believers Church Bible Commentary. Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press.

Osborne, Grant. 2017. Ephesians: Verse by Verse. New Testament Commentaries. Bellingham: Lexham.

Short Bio: After serving as the General Manager of Sulzer SA 1989–2007, Jose left the corporate world and dedicated himself to theology, earning his MTh in Biblical Studies. He has served as a lecturer at SATS since 2007, during which time he has also been actively engaged in course development. Jose is married to Isabella; they have an adult daughter, Candice.