Put On The New Man

Ephesians 4:22–32 NKJV

22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Put off the former conduct - the old man

When we are saved, we receive a new spirit, but we may still have some old habits

some of those habits are wrong, sinful, corrupt

This is true for everyone

Paul was writing to Christians

most of these people were not criminals, or former criminals, they were ordinary people,like us

yet they had a corrupt nature in their former state

As Christians we have a new nature, that wants to please God, enjoys pleasing God

This requires a change of conduct, priorities

Saying no to “the old man”

the old nature grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts

that is, it wants to please itself - satisfy its lusts

these lusts are deceitful

the desire for sin feels like it will satisfy, but the cost is not apparent

like so many young people, giving up tomorrow for a moment today.

Put On The New Man

This “New Man” is created according to God

That is, we now have a Spirit aligned with God’s desires, His Will

No longer seeking self as the dominant priority

instead, seeking God, His love, His kindness, His nature

in True Righteousness, and Holiness

This new man does what is right - wants to do right, without regard to cost or consequence

This now man is holy, becasue God is holy. Without secret motives, not just for show.

The Paul begins to describe what that should look like.

We do not accomplish this by learning the list of do and don’ts and then obeying them

On the contrary, that would be a heavy burdensome task, which would lead to resentment, and hypocrisy

Perhaps this is why there are so many mean and angry Christians

Instead, this is accomplished by fellowship with God - genuine communion

Through His Word dwelling in us, meditation, prayer, genuine love

then the list of do and don’ts is more like a gauge, indicating our progress.

If the gauge is empty, you don’t focus on the list, you focus on the source of the spirit - Jesus Christ

And Put on This New Man

Put Away Lying

How simple is this: Speak the truth to our neighbor

We should not need to deceive each other

We are Christians, each of us members of the same body

Be Angry and Do Not Sin

Everyone gets angry- and sometimes we should

just becasue something makes me angry does not mean I have to sin

In fact, why should I offend God just becasue someone else did?

This may require us to stop and pray about how to respond to people and situations

but you do not have to sin

Do not let the Sun go down while you are still angry

Just because you got angry doesn’t mean you have to stay angry

You may think you have a right to be angry, but you don’t have a right to stay that way

In fact, holding on to anger leads to all sorts of problems

It is harmful to the others involved -

expressing a concern may bring change, holding a grudge usually only hardens the hearts

It is harmful to you - bitterness rottenness to flesh -

leads to long term problems - depression, anger,

Anger breeds anger - the longer you stay angry, the more likely you are to get angry again - and easier

It is harmful to your relationship with God -

Holding anger past it s time is like unforgiveness

you cannot be in right relationship with God while you are sinning against Him in anger

How can you love God if you cannot love people? (including the one your angry at)

This kind of anger is inappropriate - God will not approve

that leads to resentment against God

So, don’t give place to the devil

So many ways we “give place” to the devil

we put ourselves in places we should not be

with people we should avoid

thinking about things we should not think about

listen to the wrong things

watching the wrong things

what are some of the ways you can avoid “giving place to the devil”

Let No Corrupt Word Proceed Out of You Mouth

What does “Corrupt “Word” mean?

Some people think that means saying bad words or dirty jokes

perhaps that is included, but the meaning is much deeper.

“But what is good for necessary edification. that it may impart grace to the hearers

Are your words “good”?

Do they “edify” others ?

This edification is necessary.

Do your words impart grace to the hearers?

So many Christians have no real concept of the importance and power of their words

Words are everything

James says if a man can control his tongue, he can control the whole direction of his life

Jesus said by our words we shall be justified, or condemned

Jesus gave an example of the power of Words mixed with faith in the fig tree example

If we allow “the old man” to control our tongue....

then our mouth just opens and blurts whatever comes out

like handing a loaded gun to a toddler

So many words ought not to be spoken

they may not be curse words, or hateful words

but they do not edify, they do not impart grace

They only serve to satisfy the selfish desire of the speaker,

words of criticism spoke in anger or retaliation, tit for tat

words of gossip

words that repeat worry, negative proclamation, giving root to fears and doubts

Think before you speak

Better still - Pray before you speak

Just becasue you have a fear or worry does not mean you should repeat it.

Just becasue you saw or heard something does not mean it should be repeated

Just becasue you have a problem does not mean you should keep talking about it.

If Words spoken in faith truly do have power to bring things into being:

If We really will have to given an account for every idle word

If, as David said, the words of our mouth and meditation of our heart should be acceptable....

Then what kind of words should you be speaking?

What can you do to improve your speech?

Do Not Grieve The Holy Spirit

Have you considered the idea of causing God grief?

Let all these things be put away from you:

Bitterness

Anger

Wrath

Anger

evil speaking

all malice

Things things cause God grief

If we are not willing for our own sakes, perhaps for God’s we should do these things

notice when we are missing this mark - and draw nearer to God

Pray for His heart

Instead, Be Kind One to another

be tender hearted

forgiving one another

Even as God in Christ forgave you.

There truly is no better way to live

This is that life that really is life of which Jesus Spoke