As I was memorizing Ephesians 4:22-24 I thought about this. We do not put on our day clothes over our night clothes. We put off one to put on the other. It is the same way in the spirit. 

We had an old way of thinking before salvation. Ephesians 2:3 says, “…we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind…” Ephesians 4:18 says that we were alienated from the life of God.

Ephesians 4:22-23 says, “…put off, concerning your former conduct…and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Think of the caterpillar. Its mind is set on eating leaves. Then it goes into the cocoon and melts. 

Through metamorphosis, God creates something new. The butterfly has a new mind set that is focused on gathering nectar from flowers. Eating leaves doesn’t enter its mind.