Albert Barnes Commentary Ephesians 4:22

"that ye put away, as concerning your former manner of life, the old man, that waxeth corrupt after the lusts of deceit;" — Ephesians 4:22 (ASV)

That you put off. That you lay aside, or renounce. The manner in which the apostle states these duties makes it likely that there had been some instruction among them of an opposing kind, and it is possible that some teachers there had not enforced the duties of practical religion as they should have.

Concerning the former conversation. The word conversation here means conduct—as it commonly does in the Bible (see the commentary on 2 Corinthians 1:12).

The meaning here is: "With respect to your former conduct or habits of life, lay aside all that related to a corrupt and fallen nature. You are not to lay aside everything that formerly belonged to you. Your dress, manners, and ways of speaking and interacting might have been correct in many respects. But everything that came from sin—every habit, custom, and way of speaking and of conduct that was the result of depravity—must be laid aside. The peculiar characteristics of an unconverted person you must put off, and you must assume those which are the proper fruits of a renewed heart."

The old man (see the commentary on Romans 6:6).

Which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. The meaning is:

1. That the unregenerate person is not guided by reason and sound judgment, but is controlled by his passions and desires. The word lusts has a more limited meaning in modern usage than the original word. That word we now confine to one class of sensual appetites, but the original word denotes any passion or propensity of the heart. It may include avarice, ambition, the love of pleasure, or of gratification in any way; and the meaning here is that the heart is by nature under the control of such desires.

2. Those passions are deceitful. They lead us astray. They plunge us into ruin. All the passions and pleasures of the world are illusory. They promise more than they perform, and they leave their deluded devotees to disappointment and to tears. Nothing is more "deceitful" than the promised pleasures of this world, and all who yield to them find at last that they "flatter but to betray."