Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Ephesians 4:17-24

We all like new things, don’t we? I like new socks. There’s just something about the feeling of new socks. Some people get upset if they get new socks as a gift, I like getting socks. If I could afford it, I would wear a new pair of socks every day.

We like new things so much that there’s even a scent you can buy called “New Car.” I don’t know what it is about the new car smell, but it brings about a sense of pride. Maybe that’s not the right word. We like new things.

One thing new that I don’t always care for is new shoes; or new brands of shoes. I bought a new pair of shoes last weekend and I’m still not certain that I like them; they’re still in their trial period. Typically, I will buy the exact same brand and style of shoe. For years I have worn Under Armour Asset 9s. I like them, they fit well. A few years back I wanted to try a new pair of Nike Shocks, so I bought a pair. I wore them for maybe a week and had to go back to my old Under Armours. Ashley asked why I wasn’t wearing my new shoes, I said I just didn’t like them and I was going back to what I was used to. Money was wasted, but I was comfortable. ----

In our text for this evening, Paul talks to the church in Ephesus about the NEW. The new man. The new spirit. The new person. But he warns us of where we came from before being made new, and the dangers of returning to the old man.

Ephesians 4:17-24 (NASB)

17 So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Paul gives two instructions in these passages:

1. Don’t walk after the Gentiles (after man) (v.17-19)

2. Walk after Christ (v. 20-24)

I. Don’t walk after the Gentiles. Ephesians 4:17-19

Paul is writing this letter to what was a Gentile church. This was not a church that grew out of the Jewish faith, but a church of converted Gentiles. So, when Paul says in verse 17, “Don’t walk after the Gentiles,” the people would know what he was talking about. The emphasis is that you are no longer the same man, you are no longer the same person, and you have been made new, therefore, don’t walk in your old ways. You are now classified as a NEW nation, a NEW race. You are not a Jew and you are not a Gentile. You belong to a new group of people, the followers of Jesus Christ.

As a new race of people, you are not to walk or live like other men do. Paul then goes on to explain what it is that other men do that is not pleasing to the Father. He gives six traits of the unbeliever that displease God.

1. Unbelievers walk in the futility of their thinking (v 17, Genesis 6:5, Psalm 10:4)

Ephesians 4:17 (NASB)

17 So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds,

The thinking of man is futility. Thinking includes the ability to will and to do the truth; this includes morality as well as understanding and reasoning. The word futility means something meaningless, empty, or worthless. So, the thinking of man is worthless.

When man pushes the thoughts of God, the inspiration of God out of their minds, their thinking becomes futile. Their minds are filled with all kinds of worthless and empty thoughts. Their focus is on the worldly; worldly pleasures, worldly power; worldly gods. They have pushed the thoughts of God out and the worldly ideals fill the void.

Genesis 6:5 (NASB)

5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually.

Psalm 10:4 (NIV)

4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

Proverbs 15:26 (NIV)

26 The Lord detests the thoughts of the wicked,

- The mind of man is full of emptiness and uselessness.

Paul says do not let your mind be like that of the world.

2. Unbelievers walk with their understanding darkened (v 18, Psalm 82:5, Proverbs 4:17-18, Psalm 82:5, Proverbs 4:19, 2 Corinthians 4:4)

Ephesians 4:17-18 (NASB)

17 So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, 18 being darkened in their understanding…

To understand things means to grasp them or to comprehend what things are.

- Darkness implies being blinded and unable to see.

- The unbeliever does not see or is blinded to the understanding of God.

This does not refer to the basic understanding of the world, quite possibly the unbeliever has a strong understanding of the world, but there is darkness concerning the ways of God; His eternal plan and purpose.

Psalm 82:5 (NASB)

5 They do not know nor do they understand; They walk around in darkness;

Proverbs 4:19 (NASB)

19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know over what they stumble.

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NASB)

4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ…

The follower of Jesus Christ should not have a mind darkened to the understanding of God. We are not to return to the world of the spiritually blind.

3. Unbelievers walk separated (Excluded) from the life of God (v 18, John 3:16-19, Ephesians 2:12)

Ephesians 4:17-18 (NASB)

17 So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;

- In Christ there is life. Outside of Christ, there is death.

The unbeliever is walking in a life that is dead; excluded from the life of God. The NIV uses the word SEPERATED. They are separated from the life of God. And with unfriendly separation, there is always hostility. So, the unbeliever is separated and hostile toward God.

- The fault for this separation is not to be placed on God but on the unbeliever.

They are separated because their hearts are darkened to the truth and they possess willful ignorance.

God has revealed Himself to mankind through creation and divine intervention; He has placed eternity into the hearts of man. To deny this revelation one must do so willfully. One chooses to be ignorant, unaware of the truth. They have hardened their hearts to the revelation of God.

- The unbeliever is responsible for their own separation and spiritual death.

- God has provided a means of redemption; the world rejects God’s provisions.

John 3:16-19 (NASB)

16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. 18 The one who believes in Him is not judged; the one who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil.

Ephesians 2:12 (NASB)

12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

4. Unbelievers are hard and have lost all sensitivity (v 19, Acts 28:27)

Ephesians 4:17-19 (NASB)

17 You are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk…19 … they, having become callous,

Paul is saying that the unbeliever reaches a point in their life where they no longer have feelings for God or His standards. Their hearts have been hardened for so long that they have developed a callousness to the voice of God. They do not hear from or understand God.

- The longer a person walks away from God, the more calloused they become.

It becomes easier and easier to turn God off, to ignore His call. Then the sin of their lives becomes more and more acceptable for they are not bothered by their conscience.

Acts 28:27 (NIV)

27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.

5. Unbelievers give themselves over to indecent behavior (v19, Galatians 5:19-21)

Ephesians 4:17-19 (NASB)

17 You are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk…19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior

Again, the NIV translates “Indecent behavior” as “Sensuality.” The Christian standard translates it as “promiscuity.” The definition given by Strongs dictionary is “filthy and licentiousness.”

Paul’s letter to the Church in Galatia gives us a laundry list of what this means.

Galatians 5:19-21 (NIV)

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul warns the church in Galatia that these are the works of the flesh, these are the works of man, and anyone who walks in this way will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Why will they not inherit the Kingdom? To witness this in the life of an individual is to witness what is NOT the fruit of the Spirit, but the fruit of the flesh.

In our text, Paul says do not return to these old ways. These are the ways of those who have their hearts darkened and are calloused.

6. Unbelievers indulge in every kind of impurity and lust (v 19, Ephesians 5:3, Exodus 20:17, Micah 2:2)

Ephesians 4:19 (HCSB)

19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.

Not only does the unbeliever fill their lives with the list of indecent behavior, but he does so to the point that he can never get enough of it. Paul ends verse 19 by saying man has a “desire for more and more.”

- This is the worst of the worst because it is not just the behavior, but the unbridled lust for even more.

Ephesians 5:3 (NIV)

3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

Exodus 20:17 (NASB)

17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Micah 2:2 (HCSB)

2 They covet fields and seize them; they also take houses. They deprive a man of his home, a person of his inheritance.

We are not to walk in the ways of the Gentiles.

II. Walk in the ways of Christ (Ephesians 4:20-24)

Ephesians 4:20-24 (NASB)

20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

The believer is to walk as the NEW self. Why? Paul clearly says in verse 20, “You did not learn such sinful life from Christ.”

I love Paul’s use of the word IF. IF you have heard Him. IF you have been taught by Him. You were not taught in this way. IF you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, you should know not to walk in the ways of the world.

- IF you truly heard from Christ you should walk in the ways of Christ.

- This walk involves three actions:

1. The believer is to put OFF the old person, the old self (v22)

Ephesians 4:22 (NASB)

22 In reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,

The old self is the self before coming to Christ. It is the very nature of man; the natural, corruptible seed that is passed from generation to generation starting with Adam in the Garden. Paul says, “Get rid of that.” Then he gives us three things concerning the old self.

A) The old self has already been put to death – that is your FORMER way of life, but it has been put to death already (Romans 6:6)

Romans 6:6 (NASB)

6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

On the cross of Calvary, your old self was crucified with Christ. At our Baptism, we symbolize the death, burial, and resurrection of self. When you receive Christ, you immediately are counted as buried with Christ. The old man is dead.

B) The deeds of the old self have been taken off (Colossians 3:9)

Colossians 3:9 (NASB)

9 Do not lie to one another, since you stripped off the old self with its evil practices,

The power those evil deeds used to have over you has been stripped off, you are no longer in bondage to them.

C) We are instructed to rid ourselves of the old self.

- We are to use our own will to rid ourselves of the old man. To do that we must:

1) Realize the old self is dead and count ourselves as dead. (Romans 6:11)

Romans 6:11 (NASB)

11 So you too, consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

2) Our old self is alive, but we must reject temptation and refuse to participate in the temptations of the old self. (Romans 6:12-13)

Romans 6:12-13 (NASB)

12 Therefore sin is not to reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the parts of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead, and your body’s parts as instruments of righteousness for God.

1. The believer is to put OFF the old person, the old self (v22)

2. The believer is to be RENEWED in the spirit of his mind (v 23)

Ephesians 4:23 (NASB)

23 and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

The mind of the believer is to be mad new. We need a change of mind, a turnaround, and an attitude adjustment.

A) The mind has been affected by sin.

The mind is selfish, self-centered, and centers around the things of the world. The scriptures are clear that the mind is corrupt.

- The mind is empty, futile in its thinking (Romans 1:21)

Romans 1:21 (NIV)

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

- The mind has become depraved (Romans 1:28)

Romans 1:28 (NIV)

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind,

- The mind has become sinful and hostile to God (Romans 8:7)

Romans 8:7 (NIV)

7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law

- The mind is blinded by Satan so it cannot see the light of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4)

2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV)

4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel

- The mind has become focused on earthly things (Philippians 3:19)

Philippians 3:19 (NIV)

19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.

- The mind is alienated from God and is an enemy of God (Colossians 1:21)

Colossians 1:21 (NIV)

21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds

- The mind is unspiritual (Colossians 2:18)

Colossians 2:18 (NIV)

18 they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.

- The mind is corrupt (Titus 1:15)

Titus 1:15 (NIV)

15 both their minds and consciences are corrupted.

B) The mind is made new by the presence of Christ in our lives.

- When we receive Christ we are spiritually born again given the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV)

16 for… we have the mind of Christ.

Christ renews the mind of the believer from the world to Himself.

C) The believer is to walk daily renewing his mind more and more.

We are to allow the Spirit of Christ to focus our minds more and more upon God every day.

- We are to love the Lord with all our mind (Matthew 22:37)

Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’

- We are to keep our mind on spiritual things (Romans 8:5)

Romans 8:5 (NIV)

5 those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

- We are to abolish arguments and every thought that interrupts our knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:5)

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

- We are to think only about the things of praise and excellence (Philippians 4:8)

Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

- We are to live by the laws of God which God has put on our minds (Hebrews 8:10)

Hebrews 8:10 (NIV)

10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

- We are to arm ourselves with the attitude of Christ in bearing suffering (1 Peter 4:1)

1 Peter 4:1 (NIV)

4 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.

1. The believer is to put OFF the old person, the old self.

2. The believer is to be RENEWED in the spirit of his mind.

3. The believer is to put ON the new person, the new self.

- When we receive Christ, we are regenerated, renewed, and born again spiritually.

We are the new self.

- We are in fellowship with God.

- Obedient to God’s will.

- Devoted to God’s service.

There are

- Two Greek words that can be translated to the English word new.

First is

1. Neos, which means something new, but there are many like it.

And there is the word

2. Kainos, which means something new where there is nothing like it.

Kainos give a unique item.

- A follower of Christ is made Kainos, completely new, nothing else like it exist.

- We are not Jews. We are not Gentiles. We are part of a new race, a new people in Christ Jesus.