A Message for all Christians

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Ephesians 4:17-25

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

19 Who being past feeling !have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

The Book of Ephesians is absolutely fantastic.
From chapter 1 to chapter 6, the Apostle Paul brilliantly builds off of each chapter and develops an ongoing epistle for the church at Ephesus.
The epistle to the Ephesians is spit up into two predominant sections.
The first 3 chapters deal with critical doctrine that the church at Ephesus needed to hear while the last 3 chapters deal with the practicality of the Christian life.
The first chapter speaks to the active foreknowledge of God whereby God in His holiness and sovereignty freely chooses to save a wretched people that is completely undeserving of His mercy.
Paul emphasizes the fact that the salvation of the Christian lies solely in the grace and mercy of a loving God.
He then speaks to the many spiritual blessings that come through our adoption into the family of God.
We have been purchased into a new family.
Thus, we have been brought into a new family with new benefits.
What are those benefits you may ask?
We have been granted the promise of eternal life.
Life full of joy and happiness that will never come to an end.
However, we have also been bestowed with blessings this side of eternity.
We’ve been granted a heart change.
We will cover this in depth in just a minute.
Chapter 2 is used by Paul to explain the relationship between Christ, the sinner, and how one becomes in right standing with God.
We read clearly in verses 8 and 9 that it is by grace we have been saved.
While this may be a simple phrase in our minds we must understand its complexity.
If salvation is by grace then it must be wholly against our merits.
This grace is enacted through faith.
The righteous God that had every right to send us to eternal damnation right then and there, bestowed grace upon us by giving us faith.
We are given faith so that we can be put into the family of God.
It is a gift that must be cherished.
It is completely a work and move of God.
We look at chapter 3 and see an explanation of the mystery of Christ revealed to Paul in his mission for the proclamation of the Gospel.
Paul marvels in his calling.
Through this marveling he then begins to write chapter 4 which begins the application section of the book of Ephesians.
Paul directly addresses believers and tells them to act in a way that is acceptable for their calling.
This brings us to verse 17.

17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

Because of our position in Christ, we have no right to act in a way that is contrary.
Paul has already explained our benefits in Jesus.
We have been greatly blessed through our sonship.
Paul now exhorts this group of believers to not walk as the Gentiles walk.
What’s funny about this statement is the audience of this epistle.
This letter is written to the church which is in Ephesus.
Ephesus is a pagan city.
It was known for its great worship of the Greek goddess Artemis.
The people in Ephesus were abundant in their secular worship of false gods.
We can assume that many of the members of the church at Ephesus were once pagans who worshipped predominant gods and goddesses such as Artemis.
So what does Paul do here?
He says don’t think like they do.
Don’t think like you used to.
Why?
You don’t do that because their is vanity in their minds.
They worship, they praise, they give glory, but who are they giving it to?
Who receives it?
What is the outcome of their worship?
Paul says that their minds are full of vanity.
Emptiness.
They are doing all that they can but all that they can do is rebel against the true God.
The church at Ephesus is to think different than the way of vanity.
Thus, the church today should think differently as well.
Forsake the path that leads to emptiness and regret.
Follow the path that leads to holiness, righteousness, and satisfaction.
Verse 18 and 19

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

19 Who being past feeling !have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

Paul makes it clear that there is a great difference between the way in which Christians should think and the way that the natural man will think.
Remember the context of the Ephesus.
Pagan idolators who are famous throughout the known world for their worship.
Paul says that these individuals have an understanding that is darkened.
They have a mind that is concealed from dwelling on truth.
They have been darkened because they have become alienated from God.
These people have chased after a false god in rejection of the true God.
In rebuttal one may ask how this is so.
If this false sense of worship was established prior to the coming in of the Gospel message, how could this worship be seen as a rejection of the true God?
How can I say that if they didn’t know the true God?
The answer is simple.
They did.
They did know the true God.
While Paul doesn’t make that point abundantly clear in the book of Ephesians, he does in Romans 1 and 2 as he says that all people groups know the existence of the true God and create false gods to worship because of their rejection.
Their hearts and their minds are darkened.
They are like this because they have become alienated (separated) from God.
Verse 19 speaks to the outcome of their darkened heart and mind.
They have rejected the true God and thus they have rejected His law.
They’ve rejected His holiness, His mercy, His grace, His love, His requirements.
They’ve rejected everything righteous.
They have made gods in the form of themselves to mask their rebellion.
What does this masking lead to?
Sin, sensuality, immorality, wickedness, hedonism.
Everything that God hates, they love.
This is the way in which they act.
They prosper in this mindset.
They live for this lifestyle.
Verse 20:

But ye have not so learned Christ;

I know the wording is a bit awkward there but let me translate.
“You didn’t learn Christ in this way.”
Paul makes a massive distinction between the way of the world and the way of Christ.
You haven’t learned Christ this way!
You shouldn’t do this because Christ is present in your lives!
Do you remember who you are?
You have been bought with a price.
Verse 21 says

If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

Paul has made the point that we haven’t learned Christ this way.
Now, here is what you have learned from Christ.
Here is the practicality of this message.

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

I’ve done something I’ve never done before.
I have three points that I would like you all to walk away with.
If you’re taking notes write these things down.
“Put off” “Renew” “Put on”
“Put off” “Renew” “Put on”
This is the guideline that the New Testament writers have given so that Christians can grow in their sanctification.
That’s what this chapter of Ephesians is all about.
Sanctification is the act of God whereby He makes us like Christ.
What?
The act of God?
I thought God did the saving and I did the growing.
Brothers and sisters, Christ has the same power in salvation that He does in sanctification.
How can I say that?
Because sanctification is a part of salvation.
As we look at our walk in the Lord, our salvation experience, we can often point to a time and say “there! Thats when I was saved.”
While that isn’t the case with everybody, many have that experience.
However, that initial part of salvation isn’t really the first part.
While it may seem like the first step in our salvation on the human side, Paul has already explained in chapter 1 that before the foundations of the world were laid, He actively chose a certain people who would become His church.
It’s that simple.
While at the time of justification, we are made in right standing with God and are saved from the penalty of sin, we must still be saved from the power of sin.
This is where sanctification comes into play.
Sanctification is the process of us becoming more like Christ.
To sum it up very easy, it’s when we “Put off” “Renew” “Put on”
But, lets break this down a little.
What’s the first step of this sanctification guideline?
“Put off”
Paul says that we are to put off the old man.
What a weird expression.
Paul uses the word man (anthropos) to refer to all that is naturally within us.
Specifically, Paul mentions our natural conduct.
The way in which we conducted ourselves.
Our walk, our talk, our actions.
All of this comes into play here.
Paul is signaling for the church at Ephesus to remember who they were prior to their conversion.
He’s telling them to remember who they were.
Pagans.
Idolators.
Adulterers.
Dark minded.
Dark hearted.
Remember who you were and what you participated in.
Think of all the wrong doing that you have done.
All the bad things that you don’t want anyone else to know about.
Reflect on those things and apply the first step.
“Put off”
What does it mean for something to put off?
It means to lay aside.
Cast away.
Get rid of.
That’s what the Christian is supposed to do with the natural tendencies.
Put off the old man that chases after the things which are forbidden.
Put off the old man that desires for sin.
Put off the old man that hates Christ and the things of righteousness.
Kill him!
He must die.
The importance is astronomical.
Either you kill the old man, or the old man kills you.
When one caves in to the desires of the old man, they cave into sin that gives the Lord righteous indignation.
Pretend you have a child and the child willfully disobeys you.
You would be rightfully angry because they have willfully went against what you just told them.
But the child may say, “I’m sorry, I just really wanted to”
Does that make it right?
Does that make it acceptable?
Absolutely not.
Because disobedience has occurred punishment must now occur.
When we hesitate to kill the old man, we cause a fracture in our relationship with God.
While there is no fracture salvifically, we are failing to meet the criteria that God has set, thus separating us from proper communion.
Lay aside the old man no matter the urge or desire.
This will keep you out of so much sin and spiritual anguish.
Who remembers point #2?
“Renew”
Look in verse 23

and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

I honestly feel that the 2nd point in this 3 step guideline is the most overlooked.
We overlook point 2 so we can get to point 3 quicker.
However, I can’t do that.
I can’t because this step is crucial in getting to the third.
We are commanded to put off the old man and renew the spirit of our mind.
What does it mean for our mind to be renewed?
It is the process by which we cleanse our mind and refocus our mindset.
Think of what Paul has already established.
The church has been told not do what they have previously done.
Rather, they are to put that off.
But, when one “puts” the old man away, where is their mind and spirit dwelling.
Is it not focused on that old man?
Focused on who he is, what he has done, and the wickedness that he prospered in?
When our focus stays on that old man, we not only lose the victory that comes through a saving relationship with Christ, but we also allow ourselves to think about the temptation of sin once more.
When you think of the old man you think of what he loved.
But, Paul says to renew the spirit of your mind.
Cleanse, clean, and become pure.
So how does one renew the spirit of their mind?
I want to give 3 options.
Firstly, we find refuge in the Word of God.
The Bible is the special revelation that God has given to His church so that we can grow and become more like Him.
It should be a lamp unto our feet and a guide along our path.
We stand on the command of the God-breathed Scripture and allow it to work in our hearts and draw us to the “new man.”
Secondly, we meditate on the promises of God.
This one goes hand in hand with the first option.
Understand who God is, what He has done for us, and understand where we are in our spiritual walk.
It’s exactly as I explained a moment ago.
We have been saved from the penalty of our sin, but we are still being saved from the power of sin.
We renew our mind to kill the power of temptation.
Thirdly, surround yourself with the communion of brothers and sisters in Christ.
Allow them to help you bear your burdens.
Seek godly counsel and live in the way that a family would act.
Because thats what we are.
The more I read the New Testament, the more I see the obvious call for the church to become unified.
Put off the small things that may divide us and live for Christ and His bride.
So, we put off the old man, renew the spirit of our mind, and then put on the new man.
As we come to the last step of this “crash-course” of biblical sanctification, I can’t help but point out the unity that we have seen.
We’ve discussed the importance of putting off the old man.
We’ve discussed the importance of renewing the spirit of our mind and the necessity of this step in completion of the 1st step.
Then, as we renew our mind, we put on a new man.
One who is directly contrary to the man described in verse 22.
While that man is dirty, unclean, and wicked, the new man is completely pure.
While we are supposed to kill the old man, we are supposed to cherish the new man.
Apply this man to every aspect of your life.
Paul describes this new man as being in the likeness of God.
He explains what he means in the last part of that verse.
This man is a fulfillment of the righteousness and holiness of God.
Who would be the perfect representation of the fulfillment of the righteousness and holiness of God?
Sounds like God Himself.
Thus, we look back to who the Apostle John writes in His first epistle as Jesus Christ the Righteous.
We as Christians have been called to put on the new man who is the likeness and shape of Jesus.
What a responsibility!
God Himself.
The one who came to bear the sin and shame of His church.
Laying aside all of the old man and replacing it with the Savior.
In closing, I want to point out the necessity of following this guideline.
The book of Ephesians was written for the purpose of explaining key biblical doctrine to the church and then applying that information to their daily lives so that they can fight against what Paul describes as evil spiritual forces.
Resist sin and temptation and live unto Christ.
These steps of holiness must be applied every single day that the believer lives.
Why?
What if I forget?
Brothers and sisters, if we forget, we lose.
When we slip up on the daily fight of sanctification, we rebel against our Master.
Kill the old man, renew the spirit of your mind, then put on the new man in the likeness of God.
While this is a command to the church, it is a word of comfort.
It is comforting because of what the rest of the New Testament says.
In regards to the true Christian, Jesus says in John 6 that all that the Father has given to Him, He will in no way cast out.
I can be certain of my position in eternity because of the promise of Jesus.
Our hope cannot be remotely close to hope in ourselves.
My salvation has nothing to do with what I said in a prayer.
It has nothing to do with my doings.
It’s all about Christ.
When I find myself in sin, the Holy Spirit convicts me and pains me of sin and draws me back to the new man.
it’s what I have described as being a pain of gratefulness.
While that conviction hurts in the moment, it gives great evidence of my salvation.
I rest in the same assuredness of the Apostle Paul as he writes in Romans that “all who are being led by the Spirit of God, are indeed sons.”
What a great assurance.
If Christ holds tomorrow, He holds me too.
Put off the old man, renew your mind, and put on the new man.
Prayer
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