A Holy People: Ephesians 4:17-32

-God Intends for His people to be a Holy People

Holiness is: Separation from the world and a complete devotion to God

You know when you buy toys for your kids or grand-kids often times on the package in fine print are these words: “Batteries not included.” Do you know what that means? It means that you get the toy, but the power to make it work is not included. That is not the kind of gift that God gives. God’s gift of holiness includes the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit - the power to make it work.

I. Walk in the Light vv. 17-19

Paul continues his conversation from the beginning of this chapter using a powerful image: that we walk according to our calling

If we are going to walk worthy of our calling in Christ, we must stop walking as the Gentiles do

This is not a rejection of the Gentiles as a race or as a culture; it is the refutation of the futility of their thinking

This Gentile way of life is founded on a rejection of the authority of God

This foolish way of thinking leaves us:

Unable to perceive truth v. 18a

Unable to connect to God’s power and presence v. 18b

Unable to feel shame or embarrassment over sin v. 19a

Unable to stop before reaching bottom v. 19b

[28] And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. [29] They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, [30] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [32] Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (ESV)

On Easter Sunday, 2013, the southbound side of I-77 near the North Carolina-Virginia border was closed for hours following a massive chain of accidents. Police later reported that seventeen different collisions involved ninety-five cars and trucks. The wrecks left three people dead and more than two dozen injured, many of them seriously. The cause of the accidents was people driving into a thick fog that descended over the Interstate that Sunday afternoon. A police spokesman said, “Visibility at the time this accident occurred was down to about one hundred feet or less.”

As people continued to drive blindly forward, they could not see the danger that was just ahead until it was too late. Prudence reminds us to be on guard for danger—not just in the present but in the future as well. Because of the way our minds work, we often tend to discount what may happen in the future simply because it hasn’t happened yet.

II. Put on the New Self vv. 20-24

Second, Paul calls them to live like they have learned Christ

This feels like an awkward construction; normally we learn a philosophy, a set of rules or principles, a way of doing things

In Christ, we learn Him first in a personal way and then we learn to live in harmony with His intent

How do we do this?

We put off the old self v. 22

Like taking off old garments, we remove a way of living from us

This old self belongs to the unredeemed life we had apart from Christ and it is marked by corruption and deceit

1 John 1:9

[9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (ESV)

b. We renew our minds v. 23

This is something that we pursue from the Lord

Yet this is something that He does in us

This picture of the renewed mind is powerful because it is a picture of what happens in repentance: Our minds are changed from a focus on the flesh to a focus on the Spirit

Romans 12:2

[2] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)

c. We put on the new self v. 24

There is a new redeemed person in the place of the old, but we cannot enjoy this new life without taking off the old

There is a new you made in the likeness of God

There is a you that is righteous and holy in Christ!

2 Corinthians 5:17

[17] Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (ESV)

London businessman Lindsay Clegg told the story of a warehouse property he was selling. The building had been empty for months and needed repairs. Vandals had damaged the doors, smashed the windows, and strewn trash around the interior.

As he showed a prospective buyer the property, Clegg took pains to say that he would replace the broken windows, bring in a crew to correct any structural damage, and clean out the garbage.

"Forget about the repairs," the buyer said. "When I buy this place, I'm going to build something completely different. I don't want the building; I want the site."

III. Live by Love vv. 25-32

Finally, we are called to live by love

There are specific instructions here, but all of them are founded on love for God and love for man

Tell the truth v. 25

We are all interrelated in Christ

As such, we must operate in the truth, without any intent to deceive or obfuscate the truth

Our yes must be yes and our no must be no

Master your anger vv. 26-27

Anger is not a sin

However, uncontrolled anger becomes sin

We must deal with it, because otherwise the enemy will use it to wreak destruction in the body of Christ

Work Hard v. 28

There is an easy to understand instruction: no stealing!

But there is a less obvious call to righteousness in which we work hard to be able to do good for the sake of others!

Speak Life v. 29

Words are powerful things and our speech must not be “corrupt”

Is is true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?

Satisfy the Spirit v. 30

It is possible, by disobedience to grieve the Spirit of God

We ought to live in a way that desires to please Him rather than grieve Him.

Pursue Forgiveness vv. 31-32

Paul gives a list of negative behaviors; all of them continue strife and cause sin to grow

To be a people of love, we must reflect the forgiveness we have received from Christ

Are we this kind of holy people?

In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur in winter. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it. Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don’t set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home but doesn’t enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life.