The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians 24NOV

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Scriptures for today on whiteboard

Eph 4:17-18

Eph 4:19-20

Eph 4:21-22

Eph 4:23-24

Gal 3:28

John 6:63

Ecclesiastes 1:2

Romans 12:2

Last week -

Thanks Dustin!

Ended off in v16 with…

when every joint/part functions in its intended, designed way…

the WHOLE BODY GROWS

out of childhood, into adulthood

grows together in love —> unity.

…this week…

The New Way of Life vs. the Old (4:17-24)

The New Way of Life vs. the Old

The New Way of Life versus the Old (4:17–24)

Solemn exhortation to turn away from the old life (4:17a-b)

The old life is futility, ignorance, and impurity (4:17c–19)

Converts to Christ have made a definitive break with the past (4:20–24)

PRAY (ask someone)

*** 4 x Readers ***

Ephesians 4:17–24 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. 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. 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, 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.

Overall impressions…

So, I’ve been talking a lot about how ch1-3 are setups for the commands to follow

The Worthy Walk (4:1) — the perfection and fullness of Christ necessitates a Worthy Walk

Bearing with one another in patience (4:2) — ch3, unity in Christ (no Jew or Greek), leads to a command for unity

Grow up in all aspects into Christ (4:15) — full knowledge of Christ, both in his information and his person (ch 1)

So, Where’s the exhortation of the passage?

17a-17b: similar to the first command! (4:1) don’t walk like the Gentiles

Paul provides detail that we’ll study, but could be summarized as —> “Old self off, new self on”

However, let’s not forget what this passage is connected to (previous ch4 content on unity)

“Now this” = “Therefore this” (oun) :: connecting verbiage… as we’ll go on to see…

Overall purpose = explain what we need to do the satisfy the command to unity (4:1-16)

A) Solemn exhortation to turn away from the old life (4:17a-b)

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.

Textual comments…

“…I say and testify in the Lord”

Does this phrase, this wording, stand out to anyone?

Apostolic attestation

Other place in Pauline letters with this type of declaration/testimony language, facts follow, not commands

Normally, a parakaleo precedes a command (“I strongly urge you…”)

Here, a command follows —> resulting in —> a solemn, seriousness, tone.

As if to say: “ In the authority The Messiah Himself gave me by commissioning me as His messenger, His apostle, I tell you, God, your Creator, directly gives the command to follow.”

We should view this as a significant signpost on the side of the road of Paul’s discourse.

SO, the Kyrios commands: “you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do…”

“walking” (peripateo), not a new word for us. <touch on double meaning>

I like the ESV here, “must no longer”, really gets the emphatic negative across

Application comments…

Ethnically speaking, who’s Paul talking to here? Gentiles

What’s the implication with the way he’s wording this command <re-read it>?

They are no longer Gentiles! They’ve been grafted in to a higher level definition of identity: God’s children

*** READER ***

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

They were once Gentiles in the flesh (Ephesians 2:11 “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—” )

Now, they (all Christians) are not viewed through that “fleshly” lens anymore.

Let’s look at how Peter explains this concept, Acts 10

Cornelius falls at Peter’s feet to worship him. Peter shuts this down.

Acts 10:28 “And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”

The veil has been torn.

The high priest, as intercessor, is no longer a Levite, living and acting beholden to the Old Covenant rules.

The Intercessor is God Himself, present with, and in, each and every believer.

This concept [abolishment of fleshly distinctions] is birthed directly from the doctrines of grace we’ve studied thus far in Ephesians

Salvation, permanent access and communion with God here and now and for eternity in heaven, is by…

Grace Alone, through Faith alone, in Christ alone, according to Scripture alone, for God’s Glory alone.

*** READER ***

John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

Flesh is DEATH, Spirit is LIFE. All other fleshly distinctions matter not for eternity.

How does this fact shape your relationships? With friends, co-workers, family members?

B) The old life is futility, ignorance, and impurity (4:17c-19)

Ephesians 4:17–19 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. 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.

Textual comments…

Although there’s a “.” after “minds” in the ESV (not so in other translations), 17c belongs with 18 so I looped it in here.

“futility of their minds”

Literally means “uselessness” or “emptiness” of their minds. WOW.

Not calling them intellectually stupid!

Marks the frustration and “dead-ended-ness” of life in the corrupted creation post-Fall.

Romans 8:20–21 “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

*** Reader ***

Ecclesiastes 1:2 “Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”

It’s acceptable to substitute “futility” for “vanity” here <any of y’alls translations do this?>

How and why are their minds “useless” / “empty” / “fruitless”? Paul further decomposes in v18-19

“darkened in their understanding”

I’d love to hear y’all’s thoughts on the implications of this statement?

What about real-life examples of this today?

Think about Paul’s perspective when he makes this statement…

As Saul, the Jew-iest of the Jews

Gamaliel educated, expansively trained in the Scriptures. (Acts 22:3 ““I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.”)

In his “understanding” of God and His Law, he became the chief persecutor of the Church.

Yet, what Saul, now Paul, is saying, is that his own mind was empty, useless, futile at that point in his life!

*** If <15min in, then read it…<Turn with me to Acts 9> <read 1-19>

Divine Irony :: it took seeing the, quite literal, BLINDING LIGHT of Christ to break through the darkness of his mind

IOW: The light of Christ in all its glory, blinded Saul’s physical eyes, but opened the “eyes of his heart” [1:18]

If time……

Notitia — Assensus — Fiducia

The Spirit has to do the eye-opening work to go from Assensus to Fiducia

“alienated from the life of God”

Separated from God

In OT and the Old Covenant: what happened when you got sick or touched a dead person or sinned? Kicked out of the camp.

God commanded exclusion from the camp for all those who were unclean:

Bodily conditions

Contact with death

Contact with unclean foods

AND, sinful actions

This was to preserve the HOLINESS of the people, God’s people, in covenant with Him

This was a shadow of what became more fully realized in the New Covenant

ALL PEOPLE, without Christ’s holiness, are alienated, or separated, from the “life of God”

SO, why is this true? why are people alienated from God? Next phrase.

“because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.”

Obviously, Paul is not calling Gentiles dumb, or unintelligent.

Just look at him, looking at himself, with his Gamaliel education!

So, what are they ignorant of?

The knowledge of God, and more specifically, a right confession of who Christ is. FIDUCIA.

“hardness of heart” emphasizes…

Paul explains in Romans 1 that this is not an innocent ignorance, but a willful ignorance. <Turn with me there>

Romans 1:18–25 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 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. 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. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 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.

God has made Himself known. PLAINLY know, to all His creatures - <unpacked more in a moment>

In light of Paul’s explanation of what’s going on that he gives in Romans 1…

Ephesians 4:19 “They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”

“callous” :: the one and only usage of this word in the whole bible, yet conveys a really important concept

How do you get a callous?

What IS a callous?

What happens to your sense of feeling after a callous has developed?

Explain: repeated sinning, develops a callous on the conscience, removes feeling and awareness of sinning

Explain: Paul doesn’t give an exhaustive list here (you can see Rom 1 for more detailed examples)

But, explain: “giving themselves up to sensuality” = reveling in the flesh, whatever that looks like

LEADS THE DOOR WIDE OPEN to EVERY OTHER type of impurity. [impurity = literally means “filth”] because your calloused heart damages your ability to detect any kind of sin!

Application comments…

Let’s examine and conclude what we’ve talked about here.

Romans 1 tells us, as Imago Dei…

God has imprinted his very nature onto his creatures. Every single one of them.

Every human has been given clear evidence, both external to himself and internal to himself, of Himself.

God has made Himself to be “clearly perceived”

And therefore, any image bearer who denies God, “are without excuse”

Every human is CULPABLE for

hardening their hearts in pursuit of

“sensuality”

their “greedy [desire to practice] every kind of impurity”

Connects directly back to Ephesians 2:3 “among whom we ALL once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

ULTIMATELY, this is all about idolatry. Romans 1:25 “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.”

It’s all about Truth.

Man in his natural state post-Fall clings to his own “truth”

Reborn man in Christ clings to Truth

We’re going to talk about this more in the final verses of today’s passage.

C) Converts to Christ have made a definitive break with the past (4:20-24)

Ephesians 4:20–24 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, 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.

These final verses

In some ways, v20-24 are a reprise of what he’s already taught

Set the stage for the teaching to come in v25-32, and honestly all of Chapter 5, too

Paul will go on to elaborate of what the Christian life ought to look like

Textual comments…

v20-21: “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”

Interesting verbiage here, “to learn Christ”

What is Paul mean when he says “learn Christ”?

Not merely: gain the knowledge of Christ’s teaching, or His doctrines

It means to learn HIM, to know HIM, the person!

Ephesians Commentary

“ ‘To learn Christ’ does not mean merely, to learn his doctrines, but to attain the knowledge of Christ as the Son of God, God in our nature, the Holy one of God, the Saviour from sin, whom to know is holiness and life”

“assuming that” is not an expression of doubt

Paul’s already confessed that they have heard the gospel (1:13,15)

And he continuously is speaking to them as saved Christians

REMEMBER: Paul lived there 3 years! Acts 20:31 “Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.”

Taught them “the whole counsel of God” Acts 20:27 “for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.”

Labored with them with all humility Acts 20:19 “serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews;”

SO, “assuming that” is to say “You most surely have heard+were taught…”

Since the ways of the flesh DON’T and CAN’T lead to salvation + knowing Christ, what does lead there?

In God’s Divine Design of Salvation, Learning Christ comes through…

HEARING Him

Being TAUGHT IN Him

Hearing:

The pressure waves of the gospel proclaim hits your ears and goes into your head!

(Ephesians 1:13 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” )

The Spirit takes hold of that preached Gospel and WORKS on your soul

TAUGHT IN Him

Implication here: the believer responds to hearing the gospel in faith, and have been baptized INTO HIM

The teaching is received in communion with Christ through

personal study, Spirit enabling the Word of God to be revealed and understood, and…

through the ministries of those whom Christ has given as teachers via spiritual gifting

Marcus Barth, mid-20th century theologian and teacher:

Ephesians Commentary

“When Jesus Christ is the headmaster, the teaching matter, the method, the curriculum, and the academy, then the gift of new life takes the place of a diploma”

“as the truth is in Jesus”

It’s all about TRUTH. aletheia. Divine Truth.

In God there is no shadow of turning.

In God there is nothing but pure, unadulterated, uncorrupted, TRUTH.

Apart from God, there is only distorted or rejected or redefined truth, and unbelief, corruption, fallacy, paganism, idoltry, EVERY FORM OF IMPURITY

To KNOW CHRIST, personally, to be IN CHRIST, personally, is to be IN TRUTH itself.

Ephesians 4:20–24 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, 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.

Ephesians 4:22–24 “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.”

To Put Off the Old and To Put On the New

“Put on/off” :: to place or to lay {aside / on}

Since those in Christ have been permanently welded to Truth itself, empowered by the Spirit…

We are ABLE to put off, or place aside, the corruption of the former self, our prideful, self-centered, self-serving, sinful desires of the flesh

We are ABLE to put on, or place on ourselves, or lay on ourselves, the new man!

*** READER ***

Romans 12:2 “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.”

As much as I’d love to turn this study into a Romans study, I won’t! (JP preaching through it soon)

Romans 12 is a perfect companion text for these final verses. Commend it to you for further study.

Ephesians 4:23 “and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,”

God brings about a MIND TRANSFORMATION

The Spirit puts on a new lens for your mind

We would call this the “Christian Worldview” or “Biblical Worldview”

Talk about analogy with getting glasses: can’t see reality, or truth, for what it is unless the lenses are correct.

Talk about the new James Webb space telescope, seeing previously unseen aspects of the universe that are drastically calling into question astrophysicist’s “comprehensive understanding” of the universe

Talk about seeing our relationships with unbelieving family members, or anyone your are in an evangelistic relationship with: They don’t understand, can’t see, what Truth is, unless the person of Christ is introduced to them. Which, SHOULD, make us patient with them, have compassion for them, and love them better!

What is the new man??

the very image of our Redeemer Himself!

v24b: “The LIKENESS of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth”

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”

This Creator God, the one true living God, Yahweh, HAS DONE a NEW CREATIVE WORK in the soul of every believer

This Creator God, in this life while the Lord tarries to return, is doing an ongoing creative work in every believer’s soul —> putting the Old Man to death, and putting on the New Man CREATED in the likeness of God the Son Himself! BOOM! MIC DROP!

The Purpose of God: Ephesians Chapter 8: Christian Living (4:17–5:20)

A link remains between the old man and the new man. The old man has been dealt a death blow; his destination is certain, but he is not yet dead. As Christians we are to mortify the flesh by destroying the old nature. We are to feed the new man with all the means of grace that God has appointed and at the same time starve the old man by denying him the occasions for sin. It is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit who works this renewal from within as we struggle in this spiritual warfare.

Application comments…

If Paul knows the Ephesians know the gospel, they’ve heard it, they’ve been taught it…why is Paul belaboring putting off the old and on the new? Why is he emotionally pleading with them?

BECAUSE they, and we, need it!

We NEED to be spurned to action!

We are so often stubborn cattle that don’t want to move off our patch of green grass!

Head knowledge of this book is NOT what God wants out of His children. You need it…

2 Timothy 3:15 “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

BUT, God wants more, and deserves more, out of the adopted children HE DIED to SAVE!

God wants obedience! He wants conformance!

Luke 9:23–26 “And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

Will you go “scorched earth” today and put to death the deeds of the body?

Closing

Going to leave you with some questions to ponder and pray over and maybe discuss with you family members, spouses, friends…

Will you deny yourself and take up your cross daily?

Will you obey God today??

Will you examine your own life today??

What areas of your mind are still darkened?

What areas of your life are you clinging to your fleshly understanding of what truth is?

What Old Man characteristics do you need to deal a death blow to?

What New Man characteristics do you need to exercise your Spirit-empowered disciplines (private study, prayer, service, education, reading, whatever) to further develop, and maybe disciple others in?

Romans 8:12–13 ESV

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

<Intro the bible study worksheet I created>

PRAY

Happy Thanksgiving!

See you next week!

Ephesians 4:25-5:2

The New Creation Walk in Love (4:25–5:2)

In word (4:25)

In thought (4:26–27)

In deed (4:28)

In word again (4:29)

In thought and word (4:31–32)