Ephesians: Living the New Life
Notes
Transcript
We’re continuing our study of Ephesians this week. Over the last couple of weeks we talked about how followers of Jesus are called to a higher standard—a life that's worthy of the calling of salvation. Paul says we should be unified because those of us who have given our lives to Christ all have the Holy Spirit.
God has given us spiritual gifts and called some people to lead the church to work together and serve each other. We finished with verses 15 and 16 last week:
15 But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head—Christ. 16 From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building itself up in love by the proper working of each individual part.
Paul challenged us to speak truth in love and to grow to be more like Jesus. We should mature in our faith so we won’t be tossed around by the wind and waves of lies the world throws at us. And he said we all should work together in unique ways He has gifted us to build up the body of Christ.
In our passage today, Paul builds on the idea that we should become more like Jesus and stop living like we did before we got saved. Let’s start readying in chapter 4, verse 17.
17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.
Verse 17 starts with the word “therefore.” When you see the word “therefore” in a Bible passage you need to find out what it’s there for! Paul is saying since you are a new person in Jesus and should be becoming more like Him, you should stop living the way you did before you got saved. He tells us to stop walking like the Gentiles do.
In the Bible, the word “walk” is often used to describe the way we live. Paul tells us to stop living like the Gentiles. The word here is used to describe anyone who doesn’t follow Jesus. Believers are told to stop living like the world that is lost in sin.
Paul uses several phrases to describe how a person who doesn’t know Jesus lives. First of all, he said living like the world means wrong thinking. He says it this way: “in the futility of their thoughts.”
Now, what does “futility” mean? It means something that doesn't produce the results you want—it's like spinning your wheels in the mud, going nowhere fast. The basic issue with this kind of lifestyle starts right in the mind. Without Jesus, our thoughts are empty, chasing after things that never satisfy.
Think about it. The mind is like the control center for everything we do. If it's off track, our whole life goes off track. Without Jesus, we're incapable of making truly wise decisions that lead to real joy and purpose. I believe the explosion of mental illness in our country comes from people living out of control and without God.
We might try our hardest to succeed—at work, in relationships, in just getting through the day—but we keep coming up short. Maybe you've known someone like that: they're hustling, giving it their all, but they can't seem to get ahead. Or maybe that's where you are right now. You're stuck in neutral, wondering why nothing's clicking. As long as we rely on our own smarts and the world's advice, we'll stay there.
Why is that? Because sin is at work in us. Sin isn't just doing bad things; it's that deep selfishness that twists our thinking. It makes us prioritize me over others, now over forever. And there's an enemy behind it all—Satan, the deceiver. The Bible calls him the father of lies, pure evil who wants nothing more than to keep us spinning our wheels. He loves the dark because it hides the truth, and he wants us blind to God's light.
That brings us to the next point: Living like the world is like wandering in the dark.
18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.
Verse 18 says they're “darkened in their understanding” and separated from the life of God. They’re trapped in “ignorance.” Picture trying to find your way through a pitch-black room—you bump into furniture, stub your toe, and feel lost and frustrated. That's what life without Jesus is like spiritually.
Even though more people than ever before are getting college degrees and higher education, it doesn’t help them understand the truth. The whole world has a wealth of information at its fingertips. All we have to do is watch YouTube or ask AI and we can find whatever answer we’re looking for.
But, Satan is busy in the world, deceiving people and blinding them to the truth. He's pulled the wool over their eyes so they can't see the way out. Paul explains this more in another letter, to the church in Corinth:
3 But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
See? The good news about Jesus—the gospel—is like a bright light, but Satan blinds people so they can't see it. They're heading toward destruction, because they don't know the truth. And no amount of education, life experience, or artificial intelligence can fix that on its own.
You could have all the degrees in the world, travel everywhere, read every self-help book, but without God, you're still in the dark about what really matters: who you are, why you're here, and how to find lasting peace.
Only God can shine that light into our darkness. Paul says later in that same letter to the church at Corinth:
6 For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
God spoke light into existence at creation, and He does the same for our hearts when we turn to Jesus. As Paul says a little further in our passage in verse 21: “the truth is in Jesus.” It's not in more education or artificial intelligence; it's in the person of Jesus.
Here's the real danger: if someone continues to ignore the light, choosing to stay in the dark, their heart get harder over time. Verses 18 and 19 talk about “the hardening of their hearts” that become “callous,” cut off from God's life.
18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.
You know, God wired us to have a conscience that makes us feel ashamed when we do something wrong. But when we’re tempted and do it again, it doesn’t feel quite so bad. Paul says when someone continues to sin, their conscience gets calloused and stops being sensitive to that guilt. Eventually, their heart gets hard like concrete.
I know a thing or two about concrete because I’ve designed structures with it as an engineer. Concrete starts out as this wet, pourable mix. You can shape it, work with it easily. But give it about 28 days, and it sets hard as rock. You can't bend it or change it anymore.
Our hearts are like that. God pours out grace, offering us His gift of life through Jesus. But if we keep pushing Him away, ignoring His nudges, He lets our hearts set like stone. It's a slow process, but it happens.
A hard, lifeless heart chases sin and selfish desires until it self-destructs. We give ourselves over to whatever feels good—greed, impurity, endless indulgence—until there's no sensitivity left, no room for anything real. Paul says that people who have become hard hearted give themselves over to promiscuity and desire more and more impurity.
The word that’s translated “promiscuity” could also be translated sensuality. It’s indulging every sinful desire while despising any authority that says no. We've all seen people who seem to have it all on the outside—fame, wealth, looks—but they're chasing every desire and ending up wrecked.
We watched a move when the kids were small called Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It's this silly story about a guy who invents a machine that makes it rain food. At first, it's fun—burgers falling from the sky! But then people go nuts. They eat like there's no tomorrow. One kid stuffs himself with jelly beans until he passes out in a sugar coma! They had to snap a celery stalk under his nose to wake him up.
It's funny, but it's a perfect picture of how the lost act without Jesus. They keep chasing the next high—whether it's food, sex, money, relationships, or thrills—until it destroys them. Unfortunately, it’s also how some Christians act too.
Some people that claim to be Christians are doing the same things the world is doing. They listen to music that glorifies sex and violence. They watch movies that are full of violence, sex, foul language, and that promote homosexuality and trans lifestyles. They take the Lord’s name in vain, have sex before they get married, and support the ability of a woman to murder her unborn child through abortion. They watch pornography, lie to their friends and family, and cheat their employers by pretending to work while scrolling through social media all day.
I’m pretty sure this is an uncomfortable topic that most people would prefer I don’t talk about. Some will even say that I’m being hateful and bigoted for saying homosexuality and transgenderism is a sin. They will say I can’t interfere with a woman’s choice to have an abortion. Friends, people are being threatened and shot for saying these things, but I have to speak the truth in love.
I don’t hate people who are homosexual or transgender. I believe that all people are created by God in His image and should be loved. I don’t hate the woman that has an abortion. My heart breaks for them because they’ve been blinded by the god of this world and don’t see the light of the gospel. I pray that everyone who hears me preach this will understand just how much God loves them and wants to save them from death and destruction.
Friends, followers of Jesus are called to a life that’s different from the world. We are called to holiness and purity.
7 For God has not called us to impurity but to live in holiness.
We can’t live for God and stay friends with the world. Remember what we learned in James 4:
4 You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? So whoever wants to be the friend of the world becomes the enemy of God.
That's strong language—calling us adulteresses, like we're cheating on God with the world. Because that's what it is. That doesn’t mean we can’t have any friends who aren’t saved, but you can't cozy up to the world's sinful ways and claim to love God. It's one or the other.
After talking about how the world lives, Paul says that knowing Jesus is nothing like that in verses 20 and 21
20 But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus,
So, if you say you're a follower of Christ but your life looks just like everyone else's—no effort to turn from sin, no growth toward Jesus—it's time to take a hard look. Paul says a true follower will try to become like Jesus and obey His commands. John puts it this way:
3 This is how we know that we know him: if we keep his commands. 4 The one who says, “I have come to know him,” and yet doesn’t keep his commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
Keeping His commands isn't about being perfect; it's about direction. If we love God, we want to obey Him. We walk like Jesus walked—humbly, lovingly, sacrificially. Now let’s see how we should live. Paul says in verses 22 through 24 that this way is radically different from the world. Let’s read it together:
22 to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.
Living like Jesus means becoming a new person. Paul uses this great picture of changing clothes. “Take off the old self... put on the new self.” The old self is that sinful, corrupt way of life, full of deceitful desires that promise everything but deliver nothing.
But the new self? You are renewed in the spirit of your mind. In other words, God gives you a fresh way of thinking. When you become a Christian, something amazing happens: God opens your eyes to spiritual truths you couldn't see before. You start understanding who He is, who you are in Him, and what He's calling you to do.
We can have the mind of Christ and see the world through His eyes. We can have His humility, His love, His focus on the Father. As we grow in faith, read the Bible, pray, and grow with other believers, that new mind gets stronger.
We're created in God's likeness, in righteousness—which means being pure and acceptable to Him—and purity of truth, which is holiness, set apart for His purposes. It's becoming your truest self, the person God designed you to be.
And this new life shows up in how we live every day. Paul lists some practical ways in verses 25 through 32, and we'll unpack those more next week, but let's touch on them briefly. Don't lie—speak truth to build trust. Don't sin in your anger—deal with it quickly without letting it fester. Don't steal—work honestly to have something to share. Don't use rotten talk—let your words build others up. Don't grieve the Holy Spirit—that's God's presence in you—by bitterness or tearing people down. Instead, be kind and compassionate, forgiving just as God forgave you in Christ.
But living like Jesus isn't about rules; it's about relationship. It's freedom from the old chains, stepping into the light.
So, where does this leave us today? Are you living like the world or like Jesus? Be honest with yourself. If you're still wandering in the dark, chasing futility, hardening your heart—don't continue down that path to destruction.
Jesus is calling you out of it. He died for you, rose for you, and offers new life right now. It's as simple as admitting you're stuck, believing Jesus is who He says He is, and turning to follow Him. Pray with me: “Jesus, I need You. Forgive my wrongs. Change my heart. I want the new life You offer.” If that's you, come talk to me after—we'll walk through it together.
And if you're a believer here today, ask yourself: Am I living this new life? Does my everyday look different from before I met Jesus? Maybe the old self is creeping back in—wrong thinking, a bit of hardness. Remember, God's grace is fresh every morning. Renew your mind in His Word. Surround yourself with folks who point you to Him. Let's commit to putting off the old and putting on the new, one day at a time.
Friends, this is the worthy life Paul calls us to—different, full, eternal. May God help us live it, for His glory and our joy. Let's pray.
