Putting on the New Self

Ephesians 1:1–2 (ESV)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

"The Wardrobe of Life"

Illustration: Imagine you are standing before your closet, deciding what to wear. Each piece of clothing represents an aspect of your life—old habits, attitudes, and behaviors. Some items are comfortable, familiar, but worn out or in my case where some have begun to not fit as the used to. Others are new, crisp, and represent the person you aspire to be. As Christians, we are faced with a similar choice every day: will we put on the old self, or will we choose to wear the new self, created in Christ?

Transition: Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, calls us to discard the old wardrobe of our former way of life and to dress ourselves in the new self, reflecting the righteousness and holiness of God.

I. The Old Self: A Life of Futility and Darkness (Ephesians 4:17-19)

As we consider last week, we seen that Paul, writing to the Ephesians reminded them of why we are called as Christians. That this calling is not just for our benefit, but the benefit of our neighbor. Martin Luther said it well, when he stated that “God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does.” Building upon this idea from last week about what it means to be called them we come back to Ephesians 4:17

Ephesians 4:17 ESV

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.

Strong words there but something we should pay attention to in our calling. We are to no longer walk as we did or as those who are still of the world, in the futility of their minds. Bringing up the question then what does it mean have futile mind? Futile isn’t a word we use frequently and looking it up it means vain or in vanity and we recognize this from the 2nd commandment, to not use the Lord’s name in vain, or empty of meaning. There is where we get the real understanding to have words without meaning, or as Paul is saying here an empty, or meaningless mind. Futility of the mind is to be without any sense at all. Fitting for our world today as I said a few weeks ago when I mentioned about stupidity.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writes in his treaty on folly or stupidity the following:

“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed — in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical — and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.”

We can easily equate futility with stupidity for the one leads to the other, and they play off of one another. As we see next in what Paul writes.

Ephesians 4:18–19 ESV

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. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

Pay attention to that hardness of heart, that is where the issue lies, the danger of sin is that when caught up in sin, you end up loving that sin, and the heart can eventually become callused by the damage that sin causes to the point that the heart becomes hardened. This is what we are warned about in the grieving of the Holy Spirit, for a hardened heart will no longer hear or entertain the conviction of the Holy Spirit, in fact it will not listen to reason, or anything other than what that sin and the lies of the devil have to offer. Thus they give themselves up to sensuality, greed and every kind of impurity. Do not think that we are exempt for this is what Paul is warning about that we should not continue to walk in this path. In the futility of the mind.

We have been created new in Christ Jesus, we have been washed clean, we have recieved new clothing to put on, to walk in a different path.

II. The Call to Renewal: Putting on the New Self (Ephesians 4:20-24)

Ephesians 4:20–21 ESV

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,

A warning for the church, false teachers, and those who would lead people astray from the truth of God’s word. You did not learn God’s truth from the futility of the mind and if someone says you can be secure in your sin, they are not telling you the truth, in fact a doing quite the opposite and leading you down a path of self destruction and callousing of the mind and heart. Which in its fullness will lead to death and ultimately hell.

In fact the danger begins when anyone points you to look to yourself, your decision, your works or anything you do, and even as Paul says next by putting off the old self, we can see even it isn’t really our work but Christs working for us.

Ephesians 4:22–24 ESV

to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Here is where it gets sticky when we talk about predestination and freewill, for this seems to indicate that we have a choice to make, and we do, but it all depends on where the will is bound. Where freewill is said to be freewill we see Luther pointing out the obvious that our freewill does nothing but allow us to reject God’s will. With this in mind we can look at this and see it clear, that when we are saved, when we put on Christ, it is God’s doing, it is his working in us through the waters of baptism, through the renewing of our minds, as what Titus 3:5

Titus 3:5 ESV

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Thus why we pray in Psalm 51:10

Psalm 51:10 (ESV)

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

III. The Fruit of the New Self: Living in Truth, Righteousness, and Holiness (Ephesians 4:25-32)

Ephesians 4:25 ESV

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

Knowing truth, puts away falsehood, thus why Bonhoeffer notices and says that the stupid person is more dangerous than the malicious one. For the stupid person will not listen to reason, or truth, even when it is so clearly presented right in front of him. Those who are in the futility of their minds, have no desire to hear truth, they are secure in their lies, empty thoughts, and falsehood. No better example than this right here, social media, AI, fake news, nothing is real any more, we live in world that is being manipulated, through algorithms, lies, deceit and half truths.

We however should not just give up, nor should we roll over and take it, but fight back, not with weapons of war, but with the most dangerous all to lies, that is truth. The truth of God’s word, truth in all the we say and do, and the ultimate truth Jesus Christ, crucified, and resurrected to the forgiveness of sins. Creating in us a clean heart, renewing a right spirit, not by our own reasoning, but solely by His truth found here in His Word. Then we speak truth in love, for the sake of our neighbor. For we are members of one another, the body of Christ.

Ephesians 4:26–27 ESV

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Ephesians 4:28–29 ESV

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. 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.

Ephesians 4:30 ESV

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Again do not grieve the Holy Spirit, the unpardonable sin, that is getting to the point your heart is so calloused it can no longer stand to hear truth.

Ephesians 4:31 ESV

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

and most importantly Ephesians 4:32

Ephesians 4:32 ESV

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Again we should be remind that these things are not just to please God as if we could merit something before him, but that they result of what he has done for us, forgiving in us the unforgivable, pardoning the worst and grievous of sins, and creating in us a clean heart. We are reminded then that God does not need our good works, but our neighbor certainly does. Amen