What does New Life look Like?

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As we come to Ephesians 4:17–32, it helps to remember where Paul has already taken us. Back in chapter 2, he answered the question, "Who are we?" Before Christ, we were separated from God, without hope and without a place among His people. But through the blood of Jesus, we have been brought near. We are now citizens of God's kingdom, members of His household, and living stones in His temple. What we once were has been transformed by what Christ has done.

Those were statements of fact—truths about our identity in Christ. But Paul does not stop with what is true of us positionally; he now turns to what should be true of us practically. The first half of Ephesians focuses on what God has done for us, while the second half focuses on how we should live in response. Put simply, who we are in Christ should shape how we live for Christ. This is actually central to the passage. Ephesians 4:20 “But that is not the way you learned Christ!—” Because we have learned Christ, we must put off the old self and put on the new self. As one of my professors put it, sanctification is becoming in practice what God has already declared us to be in truth.

Paul has also already shown us what we need for that transformation. We need God's power through prayer (3:14–21), the fullness of the Spirit at work within us, and the truth of God's Word to keep us from being carried away by every false teaching (4:11–16). With that foundation in place, Paul now gives specific instruction. Using the imagery of walking and changing clothes, he calls believers to put off the old self, be renewed in their minds, and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

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Reject the Old Way of Living

Because we now belong to the people of God, we’ve got to abandon the way we once lived our lives. We used to live as people who were separated from God…as people who did not know God. Our minds were futile—we pursued knowledge with what one scholar called “silly methods aimed at a meaningless goal.” Intellectual pride and rationalization apart from God leaves us separated and hopelessly confused with a darkened…understanding. If anything is going to be truly understood, it has to be brought into the light. I’ve been in some caves where they’ve shut the lights off, and guess what, you can’t see a thing. In that darkness, you can’t study, you can’t find your way around…you can’t even see the back of your own hand! Understanding requires light.

Apart from God, we are ignorant. This doesn’t mean we’re dumb. Instead, it means we don’t know what’s true. We lack an understanding of God, so we misunderstand reality on the deepest and truest level. Apart from God, people may know a whole host of things, but they lack the knowledge of the One who gives meaning to everything else. It’s like trying to put a puzzle together with no picture, and the puzzle is just a blank piece of paper. Their knowledge is wasted due to their hard hearts. All of the knowledge of cultured Ephesus actually left them cold to God, and truly that’s all that matters in the end.

This continual trust in knowledge, wisdom, and instruction apart from God makes the heart callous. They’ve actually lost sensitivity and have become emotionally hardened to truth, which leads them to embrace every manner of sinful living.

With that in mind, the text paints a picture of what the old self looks like in everyday life. The first one we get to is falsehood. Lying and deviating from the truth, dishonesty and misleading others through distorted half truths cannot be how the people of God operate.

Next, we have to tackle our anger issues. Being angry is one thing, but we MUST be mindful of where that anger takes us. Harsh disagreements? Verbally lashing out? Physical intimidation and even violence toward others? Lashing out with emotionally charged outbursts? That’s not befitting of Christlike character.

Stealing? It can’t happen anymore. Most of us probably aren’t knocking off banks. Where this truth will hit home is on the reverse side…the fact that we’re called to work hard so that you may have something to share with anyone in need. While the text calls out actual theft, we have to wrestle with the fact that refusing to be generous may “steal” from somebody who has legitimate needs. As we’ll see, the goal isn’t just “stop taking.” It’s “start giving!”

Corrupt talk has to be dealt with. How many of you grew up on grandma’s proverb, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”? Or, “D’you kiss your mama with that mouth?” Maybe the modern proverb would be, “A wise heart filters what foolish thumbs would post.”

Don’t grieve the Spirit of God. If we’re sticking with the “setting up a happy home” idea from last week, then I think this is telling the Spirit “thanks, but no thanks” when there are areas of our life He brings to the surface. We grieve the Spirit by refusing to deal with it. If the Spirit of God convicts you of it, it’s meant to be dealt with. Don’t justify it away.

Finally, there is a rapid fire list of offenses that shows how destructive anger can be if left unchecked. Bitterness and wrath and anger remind us of the dangers of harboring anger or exploding with excessive rage and not letting go of offenses. This is a wicked trio that spins a web of hate inside our hearts and causes us to forgo the second of all commands: love others as we love ourselves.

The next three in the list are:

Clamor. Not a word I use a lot. Here, it’s the loud utterance of speech or an understandable shout. I think the idea is screaming at someone in anger.

Next, slander is abusive words that are meant to damage a person’s reputation. This would include gossip, but it goes beyond. The goal here is to tear someone down. The Greek word is actually blasphemia—you hear the word blaspheme in there.

Finally, put away all malice. This is a final catch-all that basically means give up all sin, vice, and trespass. The word literally relates to perverting virtues and twisting them to evil ends.

All of this is a reminder that each of these destroy community life and the individual believer as well. Those are the filthy clothes, stained by the ways of the world, that we are called to strip out of in order to be clothed in something that is all-surpassingly better.

Embrace the New Way of Living

There is a different way to live, opposite of what we saw when we were separated from God. We find this new life in Jesus. It’s both the life He gives us through His Spirit, but it’s also what we’ve learned by looking at His life. The NLT says that our previous life “isn’t what [we] learned about Christ.” Instead, we’ve heard about Him and have learned that truth that comes from Him.

Now, we need to be renewed in the spirit of our minds. Romans 12 reminds us that without renewed minds—minds that have been made alive again by the grace of God and that are being remade in light of the mercy of Christ and the truth of God’s Word—we won’t be able to understand God’s will. And, without knowledge of God’s will, we won’t be able to live the lives He calls us to. This is why we believe so strongly in teaching God’s Word.

As we are being renewed, we put on the new person. We’re changing out of the old filthy rags and putting on the new robes of righteousness. God’s Word helps to think rightly about God and how we should respond to Him. As we come to a true and right knowledge of Jesus, it leads us to change our lives. Up front, we see the aim of what this new life will look like: righteousness and holiness. What do these two things mean? Often, we might use them interchangeably, but they’re not the same word.

Righteousness, boiled down to simple terms, means doing what’s right. Righteousness is the “good” that now determines our choices and our paths in life. All of these virtues that we’ll discuss here, they’re righteous…they’re the right thing to do. It’s how we’re supposed to live.

Holiness is the goal. The point of living according to God’s standards is that we might be separated from the world. Holiness means being set apart unto God and therefore different from the world. The Israelites of Jesus’ day had this part down, to a fault, actually. They were so separated from the world that they’d forgotten their call to reflect and represent God to the world.

Righteousness is the call—to live according to God’s standards. Holiness is the aim—to live different from the world. Representing God well should be the result. When the world observes us, they should get a better understanding of what God is like, of what Jesus is like. Again, the path is righteousness and holiness is the destination.

So, what does this practiced righteousness look like?

Truth-telling. Stop lying and tell the truth. Deal honestly with everyone you come in contact with. Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Heal broken relationships. Listen, the world understands holding a grudge. But, you can’t hold on to that anger. We’ve got to be quick to heal what is broken. And if you’re like me, and you find yourself thinking, “Why do I have to be the first one to say, ‘I’m sorry?’”, just remember that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

Do honest work. Work hard. Work diligently. I don’t care if you work smarter or if you work harder, just do work so that, instead of needing from others, you have something to share with those who are in need.

Which, brings us to another mark of righteousness: generosity. What are you hanging on to it for? The parable of the wealthy landowner who tore down his barns to build bigger ones reminds us that we can’t take it with us and we’re not guaranteed tomorrow. Remember that God blesses us so that we can become a blessing to others.

When you talk, be careful what you say. If it doesn’t build others up, it ain’t worth saying. This passage even gives a couple of clues as to what that looks like:

Only say it if it builds others up. Before you speak, ask yourself, “Is this beneficial?” So, what is beneficial speech? Will be good medicine to the other person? and Is this going to serve and love them well? Get rid of words that only tear down. Proverbs 12:18 “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Second, are your words timely? Do they fit the occasion? Will they help in the moment? Proverbs 27:14 “Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.” The right word at the wrong time brings hurt rather than healing.

Finally, the Scripture tells us that kindness should guide our actions toward one another (4:32). So, our words should be kind and gentle, compassionate, forgiving, and loving. Proverbs 25:15 “With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.”

If that’s too hard to remember:

THINK before you speak. Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?

Be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving. After all, is this not the same treatment that we received from Jesus? At the end of the day, WWJD isn’t bad advice. Ask yourself, especially in your relationships and dealings with others, “Is this how Jesus would treat this person?” If the answer is no, time to pivot, reconcile, and correct course.

Experience

The reason we tell the truth, forgive, show kindness, and seek reconciliation is not merely because Jesus is our example. We do these things because Jesus has already shown them to us. We forgive because we have been forgiven. We show mercy because we have received mercy. We love because Christ first loved us.

So where does this message meet you today?

Perhaps there is some part of the old self that needs to be put off. Maybe there is bitterness you've been holding onto, anger you've been feeding, dishonesty you've been excusing, or words you've been using that tear others down rather than build them up.

Or perhaps there is some aspect of the new self that God is calling you to put on. Maybe it is truthfulness, generosity, kindness, forgiveness, or reconciliation. Maybe the Spirit is pointing to a room in the house that you've neglected for too long.

Or maybe this passage leaves you standing on the outside looking in. Paul's call to put off the old self and put on the new self is only possible for those who have first been made new by Jesus Christ. You cannot live the Christian life until Christ has given you new life. (PREACH THE GOSPEL)

Church, the call today is not simply to try harder. The call is to become in practice what God has already declared true of us in Christ. Day by day, room by room, choice by choice, putting off the old self and putting on the new.

So I'll leave you with the same question we asked last week: What is the next step you can take today that will help you become more like Jesus?

Directed Prayer

1. Lord, Reveal and Remove What Does Not Honor You

"You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do..."

Confess areas where we have followed worldly thinking and desires.

Ask God to expose any hardness of heart, ignorance, or sinful patterns in us.

Pray for a greater awareness of sin and a deeper desire to turn from it.

2. Lord, Renew Our Minds with the Truth of Christ

"The truth is in Jesus... be renewed in the spirit of your minds."

Thank God for revealing Himself to us through Christ.

Ask Him to shape our thoughts, attitudes, and desires according to His Word.

Pray for wisdom to see life from God's perspective rather than the world's.

3. Lord, Help Us Put On the New Self

"Put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

Ask God to help us live out our new identity in Christ.

Pray for growth in righteousness, holiness, and Christlike character.

Commit ourselves to walking in obedience and reflecting Jesus in our daily lives.

Prayer Focus: Father, help us put off the old life, renew our minds through Christ, and walk as the new people You have created us to be.