Out With the Old & in With the New

Change is Possible: Ephesians 4:17-5:2 • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 41:03
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Today, I hope to talk to you about taking out the old and bringing in the new.
Prayer
Out with the old and in with the new.
This is part 1 of a 2 part message.
What I hope to show you today is that…
You were made to be righteous and holy
This text mentions that we all have an “old self”… Literally “Old man” (Thats what a lot of the Students call me. Old Man.) and “new self”. Which is new man…
Before I walk through the text though. I have to make one observation regarding this idea of old and new, because, i think this is a place where Christians (including pastors) can experience shame, guilt, and doubt.
You see, the language of this text speaks of the Old Man coexisting with the New Man. One is of the flesh and one is of the Spirit.
Galatians talks about this too.
Galatians 5:16–17 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Here’s why I think its easy to feel shame and guilt with this concept, when we read texts like 2 Cor 5:17
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
When we sin, we may be tempted to think… “Wait.. why did I do that? What’s wrong with me? Am I even a Christian?
The reason we struggle with this is because we fail to remember 2 Cor 5:16
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.
Here’s what I’m trying to say…
When we are talking about out with the old and in with the new, we are talking about out with the flesh, and in with the Spirit.
Sanctification is God working with us to put to death the Old Man of the flesh ever day and raise the New Man of the Spirit with his motivation and control as an outflow of our life.
The very fact that we have texts like this show us that we have not yet been made perfect. But are in the middle of the perfection process.
Picture, buckets within a heart
Old Man
Old Man
Lives in the confines of the flesh.
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.
“testify” = The same word for martyr. This highlights the seriousness of what Paul is teaching. He even goes so far to say “I say and testify in the Lord”. Paul is talking as if he is communicating a message that he heard directly from Jesus. Jesus is the source of this message.
“walk” = Also used to describe living. A normal behaviour that dictates the direction and theme of your life.
“Gentile” = Nations or peoples; used to describe anyone not allying themselves with the God of Israel. Christians adopted it to mean anyone not under submission to Jesus as their king.
“futility” = Empty, pointless, no purpose, incapable of producing results.
“mind” = Think mental attitude. The posture of your disposition: The complex mental state involving beliefs, feelings, values that cause you to make decisions and act a certain way.
This is is more than your worldview, the lens by which you see and understand everything, but it is what determines your worldview.
This is the place where you, the inner you, decides to feel something emotionally. What makes you happy. What makes you sad. What makes you angry. What makes you excited.
This is the place that determines what is important to you. Why some of us choose a vocation, a major in college, what sports you play, why you might choose to go to the bar instead of your child’s little league game.
What is absolutely astounding about this word mind is that its only one level of the inner part of a person. The human experience is complex. Like an onion. The bible describes these levels differently and yet as if they are all the deepest part of you, though they are different. From these places are the outflow of your life. Permanent change for a person can only truly come from transforming these places. Probably because these deepest places of you are eternal in nature (that’s my guess). And God is the only one able to do it. SANCTIFYING YOU. Every other man made method of change will be temporal, not eternal.
Think of it this way: Lets say a community needs clean, pure water to drink, wash clothes, and water their plants with. You have aqueduct that spans a mile or two through this community. Everyone goes to a point on the aqueduct closest to where they live to get their water. People are getting sick and dying from the water though… if you installed a purification system at the end of the aqueduct, only those that lived closest to that spot would have access to clean water. Everyone else just keeps going to get water upstream of the purification system. Thats a lot like what man made methods of change provide. The try to purify the most downstream points of the aqueduct. We have to work ourselves up stream. All the way to the water source that feeds the aqueduct. Unless you go upstream, your still going to have contaminated or unclean water.
Paul is saying that those people not under the allegiance of Jesus do what they do because those things are an outflow of what is inside of them. Unless something goes upstream and purifies, there will be no chance for life to occur. Its futile because the source can only produce death.
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.
Remember when I mentioned from Isaiah’s prophesy, “those who have lived in darkness have seen a great light”? Remember how I mentioned how terrifying it is to be constantly unable to see what is in front of you. Darkness causes stress, anxiety, fear, dread. Its terrible.
“darkened” = to be or become unable or unwilling to perceive or understand. To continually become more deficient in light.
“understanding” = Constructed from the same greek word for mind. That deep part of them that determines disposition.
For those not in Christ, their existence is one of darkness separated from God. God is foreign to them. The concept of God might be easy to understand, but to actually know Him on a personal level, have life in Him, is absolutely out of the picture and impossible for them to grasp.
“Heart” = another place the bible describes being what produces the outflow of a life: the place of a person’s thoughts (mind), volition, emotions, and knowledge of right from wrong (conscience) understood as the heart.
Paul is saying that that place, the heart, has hardened (devoid of feeling and mental awareness).
19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
“become callous” = become unfeeling and without shame
“they… have given themselves up” = they handed themselves over. Forced themselves to a certain place and authority.
“sensuality” = sinful abandon: indulgence in sensual pleasure unrestrained by convention or morality.
Take note of the sense here… This is being absolutely okay with sin. Absolutely enamored. Calling evil good and likely calling good evil.
What I’m saying, is that if you have a particular sin or sins you fall into temptation with and grieve, mourn, and long for freedom from, then this is not you beloved. You have hope. This isn’t an excuse to do it. But, it is an indicator that something good is at work in you.
The scary place to be is to be okay with sin. And not desire change. Now, if you’re here, and you don’t want change, my prayer is that there is a seed in you that does deep deep down. But, look at what the next thing says…
“greedy to practice every kind of impurity” = to have an excessive and immoderate desire of acquiring more and more of all things considered filthy to God.
I really really hope you are thinking critically about what I am saying. If you were, you might say something like “well, I know non-christians who are good people. Normal people. Their not out trying to do and practice more and more of what God considers filthy. Some of them don’t even cuss.”
Here’s the thing… 1. You cannot see a person’s thoughts. 2. Anything outside of faith in Christ is considered filthy and offensive to God. Even good deeds done from a dirty well are considered used tampons to God.
Lesson to be learned…
Lasting Change is Not Natural
Lasting Change is Not Natural
It is supernatural
Change Initiator
Change Initiator
HOPE
20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—
“Learned Christ” =
Ephesians Explanation of the Text
Paul makes the rather unusual statement that they “learned Christ.” One normally learns a content (e.g., the law, statues, and ordinances, etc.) or a certain pattern of behavior (e.g., to obey God or to do good), but not a person. This unique expression most likely heightens the element of personal relationship with Christ that is central to the Christian faith and emphasized in Ephesians
The word for “learned” has a similar construction to that of the greek word for disciple. Mathétés vs Manthanó.
Basically Paul is saying, “thats not how you were were taught to be a disciple of the living Jesus.”
Jesus is the change initiator. Coming under the effect of the great commission is were change occurs.
If we want to have lasting change initiated, we must become disciples of Jesus.
Likewise, if we know people living in misery, addiction, judgement, etc, their only hope for lasting change is to fulfill the great commission upon them. Evangelize, disciple, etc.
21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,
Discipleship:
Stage 1: Gospel heard
Life death and resurrection of Jesus.
Hope for heaven and resurrection
All authority belongs to Jesus.
Stage 2: Teaching occurs
What we are doing here.
Yoking up with other disciples who are yoked to Jesus
taught = Greek: didasko - early christian writing called the didakey. The teachings.
The fact that Jesus is the change initiator gives me hope because it shows me…
Lasting Change is Possible
Lasting Change is Possible
Because Jesus said it is.
New Man
New Man
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
Consider the present tense of this. “belongs” “is corrupt”.
Fight fight fight.
“put off” = Stop oneself being in a state or condition. Removing a garment.
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
Remember what our very first verse pointed out: What you do starts inside of you.
“Mind” = Disposition. The complex mental state involving beliefs, feelings, values that cause you to make decisions and act a certain way.
THAT PLACE. THE DEEPEST PLACE IN YOU. WELL, THERE IS A DEEPER PLACE THAN THE DEEPEST PLACE.
THE SEEDS OF RENEWAL ARE PLANTED WITHIN THE DEEPEST PLACE OF YOUR DEEPEST PLACE.
INCEPTION.
24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
The very action of putting on the new man is itself an outworking of the new man.
I have by no means perfected this. I find these victories are so difficult to catch and quantify. But, I did have a moment this week as I was trying to work through a situation. I realized after saying something seeking to influence someone my motives were coming out of the flesh. To be seen as competent, wise, and to be celebrated for my idea. After inspecting my heart with Jesus I realized what I had done. So, as the conversation continued later and I was getting frustrated because of paranoia I had to stop… Take a deep breath… Confess to God that I was being tempted to operate out of selfish ambition… Ask Him what He would have me to do and how he would have me to speak… And so I then changed my tone and posture as I actively submitted to what I knew to be His desire, how He would work towards it, and surrendering the results to Him. I had to put off my old self, my flesh, and “put on” the new man, of the Holy Spirit.
The new man being worked out is sanctification and it may sound like it is moving forward… But in reality, it is about returning. It is about restoring the likeness (image) of God that was poisoned in Genesis 3. Putting on the new man is new because it is new to us, but it isn’t new to humanity. The completion of the new man at glory will be a return to what we were intended to be.
Lasting Change is Regaining Normal
Lasting Change is Regaining Normal
Gradually becoming what you were intended to be
So what?
Beloved, if you desire to have lasting change, first and foremost, you have to understand that it can only happen in relationship with Jesus.
The fact that lasting change is not natural necessitates the need for a supernatural power
Jesus is that power. He has made Himself available to you!
Because Jesus is that power, that means we have hope. Its possible to regain normal. To be sanctified backwards towards Eden. Towards shalom.
I want to give you something tangible to try as we close…
PRAY…
lol. duhh.
Here’s what I mean.
Initiate a conversation with Jesus. (RELATIONSHIP) and try this out as you need daily…
P raise
Praise Him for change being possible. Praise Him as if you believe you have hope for change because He is trustworthy.
R elease
Release to Him what you need to.. Verbally forgive others in prayer to Him. Verbally surrender your selfish ambitions and holy ambitions to Him. Let go of your own will, verbally.
A sk
Ask Him to bless those you’ve forgiven. Ask Him to help you be holy. Ask Him to reveal more of His grace to you. Ask Him to be your all.
Y ay
It sounds funny saying “YAY”. What I’m saying is celebrate that Jesus is trustworthy. Praise Him as if (because) he heard you and will move. Praise Him because you have hope in Him!
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE YOU ARE FORGIVEN AND LOVED NO MATTER HOW FAR INTO CHANGE YOU ARE.
Today is all about how you were made to be holy and righteous… But, beloved, next time I speak of this, I will expound upon how you were made to love and be loved.
GOSPEL