God's Masterpiece of New Life

Note: Paul continually brings his readers back to the reality that they must grasp the contrast between what they had been as pagans and what they now were as Christians, between their old and new life, and further to grasp the deeper underlying theological basis for which that change takes place.

Ephesians 4:17–19 ESV

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

“Futility of their minds”

Futility: Pointless, meaningless, useless

The definition of futility is having little or no purpose or importance or has little positive outcome. An example of futility is getting the outside of your truck washed before taking it off-roading in the mud. A futile act. (countable) Something, especially an act, that is futile.

Bertrand Russell: Consequences of Atheism

The futility of a life apart from Jesus Christ is illustrated in the life of Bertrand Russell. Russell was an English Voltaire, Cambridge educated, child of privilege, renowned philosopher and mathematician, and famous for his diamond-sharp intellect.. . .Russell's powers of analysis were so formidable that one friend called him "The Day of Judgment." Russell once wrote, "I feel myself so rugged and ruthless, and somewhat removed from the whole aesthetic side of life "a sort of logic machine warranted to destroy any idea that is not very robust." But this was not the whole story of Russell's life.

His life was anything but a logic machine in the way he lived. He was orphaned at the age of three by the death of his parents, and orphaned philosophically at the age of sixteen by his atheism.

His life was a search for a home, for love, and for children of his own. All his life he was torn between his atheism, his four wives, and many mistresses. This man who thought of himself as a logic machine wrote:

The root of the whole thing is loneliness. I have a kind of physical loneliness, which almost anybody can more or less relieve, but which would be only fully relieved by a wife and children. Beyond that, I have a very internal and terrible spiritual loneliness... I have dreamed of a combination of spiritual and physical companionship, and if I had the good fortune to find it, I could have become something better than I shall ever be.

Paul points to the way we they were darkened in their way of thinking. Their empty inward-ignorance in them leads to becoming callous, and unclean.

Over and against the darkness lies the truth in which those who have heard and applied Jesus teaching bear an unwavering testimony to the power of ignorance and error that corrupts where the power of truth liberates and refines the believer.

Proverbs 14:12 ESV

12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

vs. 17-19 “The Pagan way of life”

1. Don’t walk as if your Adoption is pointless

*Hearts become hardened when they choose to ignore TRUTH.

Note: There are several reasons throughout scripture where someones heart is hardened, however, here it represents a willful hardening of the and a deliberate rejection of the knowledge of God.

Note: The parallel’s of Romans show a habit of mind and interpretation that is both thoroughly Jewish in its evaluation of Gentile lifestyles and heavily influenced by OT Scriptures.

Romans 1:18–32 ESV

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. 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.

STAGE ONE: Obstinate

Someone who is stubborn, hard to reason with, dog headed.

Definition: Stubbornly refuses to change one’s opinion or chosen course of action, despite attempts to persuade one to do so.

(1) Hardness of Heart. (Due to their hardness of heart)

18 ‘Men by their wickedness suppressed the truth’ 18 ‘Due to their harness of heart’

21 ‘Although they new God they did not honor him as God’

28 ‘They did not see fit to acknowledge God’

STAGE TWO: Darkness

(2) Darkness of Mind.

21 ‘They became futile in their wary of thinking 17 the futility of their minds

and their senseless minds were darkened”

22 ‘ They became fools’ 18a They are darkened in their understanding

28 ‘A base mind’ 18b The ignorance that is in them

STAGE THREE: Death or Judgement

(3) Alienated from God

24 ‘therefore God gave them up’ vs. 18 ‘They are … alienated from the life of God’

26 ‘For this reason God gave them up’

28 ‘ God gave them up’

STAGE FOUR: Recklessness

(4) Recklessness of Life.

‘God gave them up to’

24 ‘impurity’ 19 ‘They have become callous and have given themselves

26 ‘dishonorable passions’ up to licentiousness (meaning public indecency of a shameless

27 ‘shameless acts’ kind), greedy to practice every kind of uncleaness.’

28 ‘improper conduct’

29-31 ‘All manner of wickedness...’

SPIRITUAL GANGLIONEUROPATHY

This is a subgroup of peripheral nervous system diseases which specific characteristics, such as the primary and selective destruction of the dorsal root neuron in the spinal cord.

If the ganglia nerves cease to send any messages, the alarm system of the body is gone.

We might think it would be great to have no pain. But it could mean death. Many are like this spiritually dead. No warning system. Sin with no pain or regrets.

I. THERE CONDITION

THE CONDITION OF THEIR SPIRITUAL GANGLIA

Understanding Darkened - to be Ignorant of the Will of God. (Romans 12:2, transformation allow us to know the will of God)

Alienated from the life of God - Separated. (we were all separated from a life with God through the original sin of Adam, Romans 5:12 “Therefore just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all have sinned. 1 Corinthians 15:22 “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

Blindness of their heart (vs.18) meant a stone harder than marble; petrified. This is a life so hardened by the world that it has lost the power to feel.

Sensuality, Every Kind of Impurity

Aselgia (Greek) the word here is something so sinful that they do not try to hide sin. They do not care how much they shock the public, how much they defy decency so long as they can gratify the desires of the flesh.

Ceases to be human and reverts to being no better than a beast.

Continual Lust for More. (Greedy)arrogant greediness; the person who does not care who they hurt and what method they use so long as they get what they desire.

II. PAST FEELING

*Callousness leads to a SEARED heart.

1 Timothy 4:2 ESV

2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,

They have not human sympathy for their actions or anything they do, but they are driven by greed and passion of the flesh.

How can a person kill for nothing, make an addict of a friend, lie, cheat, and steal and still live with himself.

Their nerve centers have died.

ANSWERS OF HUMANITY THAT WE HAVE TO ASK “WHY”

Why will men hurt themselves? Because they do not know the purpose of life - that the body is the temple of God?

Why will people hurt others? Because they do not know they should love their neighbor as themselves.

Why are marriages falling apart? Because they have fallen away from the Lord.

'The Last Jedi' Prompts: 'Is There Hope in What We Are Trusting?' Authentic hope is a hard thing to kill. In the heart of the one who knows that outcome is not driven by perception or circumstance, hope may just be immortal. In the 8th installment of the Star Wars saga, Kylo Ren, son of Han Solo & Princess Leia, has embraced the Dark Side of the force and bowed to the power of a Sith Lord named Snoke. Donned in a black robe and helmet like his grandfather Lord Vader, Ren believes he has crushed the rebellion once and for all. But Snoke knows better. Returning from an apparent victory for the Dark Side,

Ren is chastised by his master.Snoke: "You are no Vader. You're just a child in a mask." Kylo Ren: "I gave everything I had to you; to the Darkside." Snoke: "Skywalker lives. The seed of the Jedi lives. As long as he does, hope exists."

Rebellions will live as long as they are led. It is true in the Star Wars universe. It is true in ours as well. Some people live as though hope is a concept reserved to the "long ago," or relegated to a "galaxy far away." Hate reigns, lies rule, and fear sits as a monarch in the hearts of those who have surrendered to despair. But there is a rebellion subverting hate, lies, and fear. A counter-cultural existence led by a lowly Galilean carpenter. Some believe he died long ago. But he lives! And because he lives, hope exists!

So, the real question is not; "Is there hope?" There is hope in the universe! We only have to ask; "Is there hope in what we are presently trusting?

Ephesians 4:20–24 ESV

20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

2. Don’t walk as if the TRUTH is pointless.

The Christian Life

First: ‘you learned Christ’ (verse 20, emethete)

Secondly, ‘you heard him’ (verse 21a, ekoustate)

Thirdly, ‘you were taught in him’ (verse 21b edidachthete)

NOTE: These words evoke the image of school. (The University of Jesus)

The University of Jesus

First there is the Jesus Christ who we learn about and submit our lives to as Lord of our lives. Secondly the idea of hearing reaffirms that Paul is assuming that they actually hear Christ’s voice. Remember that we must have ears that are ready to hear the truth of the Gospel. Paul experienced many that only had itching ears to hear what they wanted to hear.

Thirdly, Jesus Christ not only taught them but, they were being taught in him the difference between truth and error.

So, what exactly is the truth that is in Jesus? If the darkness leads to more reckless sinful behavior, what is the truth that sets us free and leads us into a righteous life?

To learn Christ is to grasp the New Creation which he has made possible, and the entirely new life which results from it. It is nothing less that putting off our old humanity like a rotten garment and putting on like clean clothing the new humanity recreated in God’s image.

When does this take place?

It can seem a bit confusing, because, the verbs seem to be written as imperatives, meaning instructions of a fresh command. However, this cannot be right, because in the parallel passage in Colossians 3:9-10

Colossians 3:9–10 ESV

9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

The text is speaking of something you have already done in the past at the point of their conversion.

Secondly, if these are fresh commands then in makes verse 25 pointless, “having put away falsehood.” So, it seems they are being given a present command on a past fact.

What had they been taught then?

(1) They had been taught that becoming a Christian involves a radical change.

You cannot claim to be a Christian and remain in the flesh.

You have conversion (as the human side of the experience is usually called).

You have re-creation ( the divine side of it).

(2) They had been taught to reject their former self and assume the new self.

“the flesh” is called man, because it is us in our truest human form: it is the ragged, corrupt, deceitful, deformed tending towards corruption. So, the later is personified as the “new man, fresh, beautiful and vigorous, the most like God...” i.e. created in his image.

(3) They had been taught that living the Christian life starts with a renewed mind.

There is a daily continual renewing of our outlook that is involved in being a Christian. If the degradation is due to the futility of our minds, then Christian righteousness can only happen in the constant renewing of our minds.

This literally translation from the Greek means changing the way we think about and see God in the world in we live.

Romans 12:2 ESV

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.

In the command to exchange our old life for a new one, Paul is not implying that we can bring about our own re-birth. Nobody has ever given birth to himself. The new humanity that we assume is God’s creation, not ours.

2 Roots of Holiness

(1) We have experienced a new Creation.

(2) We have received a new mind.

Both of these realities are organically tied together. It is our new creation that causes us to be born again, therefore, giving us a new mind; and it is our new mind which understands our new creation and its implications.

Since it is a new creation in God’s image, it has involved for us the total putting away our old fallenness and the putting on of our new humanness.

Ephesians 4:25–32 ESV

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

“Therefore” (what is it there for)

Because you did throw off your old self, you now have to throw off all the old conduct that belonged to your old life. The new behavior must be consistent with the kind of person you have now become.

Remember, the putting off and putting on is a metaphor for the way we dress.

The Clothes we wear

The putting off and putting on depends on the role we are fulfilling. For example, when you go to a wedding we wear one kind of clothing. (I have my marrying and burying suit)

While in some places it is customary to wear blue jeans all the time it still stands as a general rule that we dress up for weddings. Therefore, whatever the custom requires dictates what we will wear for that particular situation.

Many times our dress is determined by our job. Soldiers, Marines, and sailors wear the uniform of the day. Lawyers, businessmen, and engineers wear different clothes to fit their job description. When you enter the prison system you are expected to wear the prison clothes. When prisoners are released from custody they change what they are wearing.

Similarly when a soldier leaves the army they put back on their civilian clothes.

Since we are a new creation we have put off the old humanity and put on the new, we must also put away the old standards and adopt the new ones.

Our new role will mean new clothing, our new life a new ethical lifestyle.

WHAT IS THE CURE?

CONCERN FOR RELATIONSHIPS

vs. 25 “Therefore, having put away all falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”

DON’T TELL LIES, BUT TELL THE TRUTH

Holiness is not formed in isolation from human beings. You cannot be good in a vacuum, but only in the real world of people.

Truth now replaces falsehood. (put away speaking things that are not true into peoples lives) notice the preposition “to” is replaced and becomes “with,” indicating the interpersonal level of our relationships that are emphasized in the clause that follows.

“for we are members of one another.”

When we are truthful and completely open with one another, the body will work in harmony and therefore be effective. Without openness and truth, there can only be disunity, disorder and trouble in human community.

vs. 26 “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.”

DON’T LOSE YOUR TEMPER, BUT ENSURE THAT YOUR ANGER IS RIGHTEOUS

Be angry but do not sin is the echo of Psalm 4:4 Another mark of the old self is not being able to control our temper, unjustified anger.

There is an anger that is seen as righteous anger which our Lord himself shows on several occasions throughout his ministry. Jesus anger never led to seen because he had the ability to keep it under control. Christian’s should be sure that if they do express anger that it is aimed towards righteous indignation against the things which God hates.

It must have no sinful motives and be kept in complete check. What Paul knows is that what may begin as righteous anger can very easily become perverted and soured and is turned against our brothers and sisters.

There is a great need in our Christian culture for Godly righteous anger. We human beings compromise with sin in a way in which God never does. In the face of blatant evil we should be indignant not tolerant, angry not apathetic.

If God hates sin, his people should hate it too. If evil arouses his anger, it should arouse our’s also.

When you see the brutal murder and persecution of Christians around the world does it lead to Godly indignation. When you consider all of the millions of babies that are aborted every year.

Jesus reminded his followers not to assume that he has come to bring peace to earth, I have not come to bring peace but a sword.”

vs. 27 “and give no opportunity to the devil.”

The danger of anger is that it could potentially throw the door wide open for the devil to have a field day with your life and witness. James 4:7 “Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”

Don’t steal, but work and Give

vs. 28 “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

Do not steal is the eighth commandment, it had then and still does have wider reaching application, not only to the stealing of other people’s money or possessions, but also to tax evasions and customs which rob the government of their dues, to employers who oppress their workers, and to employees who have a poor work ethic and give poor work to their employers.

It is not enough that the thief stops stealing but that he also must work. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “tells commands us that if anyone is not willing to work, they should not eat.” He should do honest work with his hands, earning his own living, not sponging off of mom or dad or society.

Purpose of Work in the Economy of the World

Why to most people go to work everyday? The philosophy that the world has attached to your work is that we work to get, it is purely selfishly motivate.

The motive for Christian earning is not merely to have enough for oneself and one’s own, and then perhaps for comforts and luxuries, but to have in order to give to others. The Christian idea of work then is lifted far above and beyond a personal profit or motive whatsoever, it all becomes motivated towards giving and being generous.

CONCERN FOR OUR SPEECH

Don’t use your mouth for evil but for good.

vs. 29-30 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

Paul now moves from the use of our hands to the use of our mouths. Speech is an incredible give from God.

It is one of our capacities that reflects our likeness of God. For our God speaks, and like him we also speak. Speech distinguishes us from all of God’s other creatures.

Cows can moo, dogs bark, pigs grunt, lambs bleat, lions roar, monkeys squeal and birds sing, but only humans can speak. The work in Greek here for evil is sapros, a word used for rotten decaying fruit.

Instead we are to use the incredible gift of speech we have been given to edify and build people up, not to damage or destroy them.

Jesus tells us that our words reveal what is truly in our hearts, and each of us will have to give an account on the day of judgement of every careless word we have uttered.

Proverbs 18:21: “Death and live are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

BATTLE FOR PURITY OF OUR MOUTH

What Do 860 Million Words Say About You? In a recent book, Levi Lusko writes that it takes cooperation of 72 different muscles to produce speech. On average 16,000 words come out of your mouth every day. That adds up to a whopping 860.3 million words in the average American lifetime. What do all the nouns, verbs, adjectives, and sentences say about your life and the condition of your heart?

The Battle for Purity of our Mouth Starts with the Heart

Matt. 12:33 “It is not the good tree that bears bad fruit” The same term here for “bad” fruit is the same word Paul now uses for evil or unwholesome or corrupt talk.

Let me suggest some ways that our language becomes rotten fruit!

IMPLICATIONS OF SUCH ROTTEN FRUIT

(1). It does not Nourish - Think about how what you say and the way you say it benefits the body

(2). It will Probably make you Sick - Not only does it fail to bring the body positive nourishment; it can cause negative harm. Words can wound a person very deeply.

(3). It smells bad and makes the Atmosphere Unpleasant - 2 Corinthians 2:15 It is hard to savor the beauty from a garbage dump. It’s like standing in an adult book store and looking through the window if there is one at the beautiful sunset.

2 Corinthians 2:15 ESV

15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,

(4) It probably comes from a diseased tree. If the fruit is rotten as soon as it appears on the branch, chances are that there is something wrong with the tree. Jesus said, in Matthew 12:34-37

Matthew 12:34–37 ESV

34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

So, if a person uses God’s name in an unworthy manner or trivializes sex in a way that dishonors God’s creation it is an indication that there is a rottenness in the tree as well as outside. If the fruit is bad, the tree is bad.

Notice that instead of Paul giving us examples of what is evil language he moves us to a whole new way of thinking about our language.

Paul is telling us instead of giving us a new language to use he is giving us a new way of thinking.

Instead of saying “you do not need to use that language anymore to communicate your intention,” he says,

“The root issue is whether your intention is motivated out of LOVE.”

Paul shifts from outside fruit to internal FRUIT.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV

29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

When is the last time you used what you said to encourage or build someone up? Maybe you need to have a time each day that you set aside specifically for that task.

NOTE: Paul is reminding us that not only all of our language is a display of the grace of God, but our work is also a display of the grace of God.

CONCLUSION

Sealed for the Day of REDEMPTION

God has left behind in the place of the old hate and anger, and resentment a new hope. It means that a Christian is a person in whom the Holy Spirit of God dwells.

The Hope of all believers is sealed by the Spirit of God until the end of history when we will come to a day of redemption instead of a day of damnation. This is the day when the battle with sin will be finally over.

The Relationship of 4:30 with our Language

If our heart is resentful, prideful, bitter, rotten hurtful language spews out of our mouths. This persons language that comes out of the heart and does not hope in God will not impart grace to those who hear it. Instead they will be imparting Death.

But, if you as a believer stop and think for a moment that Christ has died for your sin, that God has promised to work all things together for your good, for those who are called, and loved by God, that he has given you the Holy Spirit for the specific purpose of sealing you for the day of redemption, then surely a deep and confident hope will be the root of your life.

A couple of years ago we had a house-guest for several weeks stay with us while he was dealing with a difficult situation. About several day’s into his stay with us he declared to my wife and I that he had never been in a place where the words that were said were encouraging and not laced with hate.

He said he felt peace for the first time in his life.

Through this kind of root will flow the sap of grace, and out onto the branches of your life will come the fruit of a whole new way of talking.

The Moral Question: Am I avoiding using the Lords name in vain?

The Christian Question: Am I building the faith of others by what I say? Is my mouth a means of grace? Am I frightened and anxious and angry about my life, or am I filled and overflowing with hope that the Spirit of God will keep me safe for the day of redemption?