Ephesians 4.17b-Contrast Between the Lifestyle of the Christian and the Lifestyle of Non-Christian
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday May 31, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:17b-Contrast Between the Lifestyle of the Christian and the Lifestyle of the Non-Christian
Lesson # 253
Ephesians 4:17 Therefore, at this particular time I am communicating, specifically, at this particular time I am solemnly and earnestly making a request on the basis of the Lord’s sovereign authority. Namely, that each and every one of you as a corporate unit continue to no longer make it your habit of conducting your lives as in fact the Gentiles are conducting their lives by means of the futility produced by their thinking. (Lecturer’s translation)
In Ephesians 4:17, Paul’s solemn and earnest request that the recipients of this epistle continue to no longer make it their habit of conducting their lives as the unregenerate members of the human race are conducting their lives presents an inference from the contents of Ephesians 4:7-16.
Ephesians 4:17 is composed of the following:
(1) Declarative statement: Touto legō kai martyromai en kyriō (Τοῦτο λέγω καὶ μαρτύρομαι ἐν κυρίῳ), “At this particular time I am communicating, specifically, at this particular time I am solemnly and earnestly making a request on the basis of the Lord’s sovereign authority.” (Lecturer’s translation)
(2) Appositional infinitival clause: mēketi hymas peripatein, kathōs kai ta ethnē peripatei en mataiotēti tou noos autōn (μηκέτι ὑμᾶς περιπατεῖν, καθὼς καὶ τὰ ἔθνη περιπατεῖ ἐν ματαιότητι τοῦ νοὸς αὐτῶν), “Namely, that each and every one of you as a corporate unit continue to no longer make it your habit of conducting your lives as in fact the Gentiles are conducting their lives by means of the futility produced by their thinking.” (Lecturer’s translation)
As has been the case throughout this epistle, the referent of the accusative second personal plural form of the personal pronoun su (σύ) is the recipients of this epistle who Paul describes here in Ephesians 2:11 as Gentile Christians.
The word means “each and every one of you as a corporate unit” or “all of you without exception” because it not only refers to these Gentile Christians as a corporate unit but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
In other words, it not only refers to them as a corporate unit but also as individuals.
As was the case in Ephesians 2:2, 11 and 4:1, the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) means “to live, to conduct one’s life” and is used in a figurative sense with reference to the lifestyle of the recipients of this epistle.
In Ephesians 2:11 and 4:1, it was used of the recipients of this letter living their lives in obedience to Paul’s Spirit inspired teaching, i.e., his gospel.
However, as was the case in Ephesians 2:2, the verb here in Ephesians 4:17 is used of their pre-conversion lifestyle or their lifestyle before the Father declared them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
The meaning of the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) is emphatically negated by the negative adverb of time meketi (μηκέτι), which means “no longer” since the word pertains to the extension of time up to a point but not beyond.
Therefore, the word refers to the unregenerate period of the lives of the recipients of this epistle or in other words, it speaks of their lives before they became Christians through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Thus, it refers to their lives prior to the Father declaring them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ and being placed in union with Him and identified with Him through the baptism of the Spirit.
The infinitive conjugation of the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) is an appositional infinitive, which means that it stands in apposition to the accusative neuter singular form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος), “this.”
Therefore, the entire clause introduced by this verb and the negative adverb of time meketi (μηκέτι) identifies the referent of the demonstrative pronoun.
Therefore, this would indicate that the infinitive conjugation of the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) identifies the referent of this demonstrative pronoun as the recipients of this letter continuing to no longer make it their habit of conducting their lives as the members of unregenerate humanity live their lives.
The present tense of this verb peripateō (περιπατέω) is a customary present, which would express the idea of the recipients of this letter no longer “making it their habit” of living their lives as the members of unregenerate humanity live their lives.
Also, the idea expressed by the present tense is that of “continuing” to no longer make it their habit of conducting their lives as the unregenerate members of the human race conduct their lives.
This is indicated by the contents of Ephesians 1:15, which affirm the recipients of this epistle were obeying Paul’s Spirit inspired apostolic teaching.
Up to this point in Ephesians, the apostle Paul has on two occasions addressed the lifestyle of the recipients of this letter, namely Ephesians 2:4-10 and 4:1-3.
In the former, he reminds them that they should produce good works, which are in obedience to his Spirit inspired gospel, which he communicated to them.
He reminds them that despite the fact that they were spiritually dead because of their sins and transgressions and enslaved to the sin nature and Satan and his cosmic system, God the Father saved by grace through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
He also made them alive together with His Son in that He identified them with His Son in resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
In both instances, Paul employs the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) for the lifestyle of the recipients of this epistle.
Throughout the New Testament there is a concern for the Christian’s lifestyle or conduct and the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) appears often in the New Testament with reference to the lifestyle or conduct of the believer (cf. 1 Cor. 7:17; 2 Cor. 5:7; 10:3-4).
This verb appeared in Ephesians 2:2 with regards to the unregenerate lifestyle of the recipients of this epistle and it also appears in Ephesians 2:10 in relation to the lifestyle of the recipients of this letter as Christians or regenerate people of God.
Now, the adverb kathōs (καθώς) functions as a marker of comparison which indicates that it is marking a comparison between the lifestyle of the Christian community and the lifestyle of the unregenerate community.
The conjunction kai (καί) is also employed in this comparative clause.
However, this time it is emphatic, which means that it serves to affirm in emphatic terms that the unregenerate community live their lives in the futility of their thinking.
As was the case in Ephesians 2:11, 3:1, 6 and 8 the noun ethnos (ἒθνος) here in Ephesians 4:17 means “the Gentiles” since the word pertains to persons from an ethnic group or nation not allied with and trusting in the God of Israel who is Jesus Christ and is used in a collective sense for these people.
Thus, this word is used of those members of the human race who are not regenerated through faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
Therefore, this word speaks of unregenerate humanity who have not trusted in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and are therefore, unregenerate children of the devil.
Once again the verb peripateō (περιπατέω) and it again means “to live, to conduct one’s life.”
However, this time we have the third person singular present active indicative conjugation of this verb and the referent of the third person singular form of this verb is the articular nominative neuter plural form of the noun ethnos (ἒθνος), “the Gentiles.”
Therefore, this verb peripateō (περιπατέω) means “to live, to conduct one’s life” and is used in a figurative sense with reference to the lifestyle of the members of the unregenerate community.
This time the present tense of this verb peripateō (περιπατέω) is a customary present or stative present, which expresses the idea of members of the unregenerate community “exist in the state of” living their lives by means of the futility of their thinking.
The present tense of this verb is not speaking of a regularly occurring action because unregenerate humanity exists in the state of living according to the standards of Satan’s cosmic system and the desires of their old Adamic sin nature and have no desire to obey God because they are enslaved to sin and Satan.
