The New Life

Introduction

Ephesians 4:17–32 ESV

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Christianity Renews Life

v 25 “put away falsehood”

speak the truth

v 26 “be angry and do not sin”

do not the sun go down under on your anger.

Anger has a deadline.

Christian anger is devil-sensitive

v 28 thief no longer steal

let him labor

v 29 no corrupting talk

only such good for building up

v 30 no grieving the Holy Spirit of God

v 31 put away all

bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice

v 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Christianity Renews the Mind

This is a mind game v.17, 18, 20, 23

v.17 minds, v. 18 understanding v. 20 learned v.23. mind

v. 17 do not walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.

v. 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord

because he is going to say something personal. “Don’t walk as Gentiles do.”

I thought Paul is an apostle to the Gentiles.

NIRV: Here is what I’m telling you. I am speaking for the Lord as I warn you. You must no longer live like those who aren’t Jews. Their thoughts don’t have any purpose.

YLT: This, then, I say, and I testify in the Lord; ye are no more to walk, as also the other nations walk, in the vanity of their mind,

ETHNOS.

not even capitalized.

“Futility of their minds”

we dont talk like this

the richness of the Greek

NLT: for they are hopelessly confused

KJV: for the vanity of their mind.

NIRV: their thoughts don’t have any purpose.

Related to idolatry: Baugh

v. 18 darkened in their understanding.

NET: They are darkened in their understanding, being alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their heart

CSB: excluded from the life of God,

Darkening of understanding is willful.

v. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!

Learned is aorist tense.

one aspect to appreciate is that this is completed. A sense of completion

Baugh translates this as “not the way you learned the Messiah”

Ephesians: Evangelical Exegetical Commentary Commentary

‘To learn Christ’ does not mean merely, to learn his doctrines, but to attain the knowledge of Christ as the Son of God, God in our nature, the Holy one of God, the Saviour from sin, whom to know is holiness and life” (Hodge, 256).

subject matter is: Christ.

v. 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,

As noted above on 3:2, where εἴ γε ἠκούσατε (ei ge ēkousate) also appears, Paul is not expressing doubts about whether his Ephesian audience has heard of Christ—he affirms their faith and love (1:13, 15) and that they were taught Christ (v. 20). The phrase εἴ γε (ei ge) does not mean “if indeed” (as nasb and nkjv), but “you most surely have heard” or “if, as I take for granted” (Hodge, 257); as Chrysostom notes: “This, ‘Surely you have heard about him,’ is not from one who is in doubt, but from one who is most certain.”847 The same note of confidence should also govern the next phrase in v. 21a also: εἴ γε … ἐν αὐτῷ ἐδιδάχθητε (ei ge … en autō edidachthēte), “For surely you … were taught in him.”

Paul expands on what he means by learning the Messiah in v. 21a: “For surely you have heard about him and were taught in him.” There are two stages here, with a logical progression. The first stage is to hear about Christ in the proclamation of the gospel of peace (see 2:17), the gospel of their salvation (1:13). But the second stage of being taught “in him” implies that the hearers have responded to the gospel in faith and have been baptized “into him” (e.g., 1:13, 15; Matt 24:19–20; Rom 10:14–17; Col 1:5–7, 23).848 For instruction “in him” means that the teaching is in communion with Christ through the ministry of evangelists and teachers whom Christ has gifted for this (see on 4:11–16). Marcus Barth (529–33) sees an extended school imagery in vv. 20–21 and states nicely, “When Jesus Christ is the headmaster, the teaching matter, the method, the curriculum, and the academy, then the gift of new life takes the place of a diploma” (Barth, 530; cf. 529–33).

v. 23 be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

v 20...But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,

v 20… learned Messiah.

Our thinking redirects us to the new man.

Is Christianity passive or active?

Active

v. 22 Put off your old self

former manner of life

corrupt through deceitful desires.

v. 24 Put on the new self.

Passive

v. 23 be renewed in the spirit of your minds.

The goal is the new self.

created

after the likeness of God.

in true righteousness

holiness.

Example

Psych patient who says, “I never amount to anything good.”

Psychotherapy says, “No, you’re worth something. You are a beautiful person. You have potential, live up to it.”

Christianity says, “You’re right. You’re useless.”

Romans 3:10–12 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

But in Christ, you are a new creation.

You are loved enough so that Jesus assures that you are not going to slip out of His hands.

Oh how marvelous, Oh how wonderful/And my song should ever be.

Amazing love, how can it be. That Thou my God shouldst die for me?

Conclusion

This is supposed to be the indicatives section of Ephesians but I’d like to end with the fuel that will make us want to be the new man.

I can end with “this is scripture, let us walk worthy of the calling. let us live the life of the new self, as instructed by the Lord thru Paul.”

Did God change from the Old to the New Testament?

YES or NO?

Is that even answerable by a yes or no.

Be careful how you answer.

NO: Because you might have the Jewish perspective that it is impossible for a Man, who was just like us, who lived among us, to be God.

YES.

In a sense, God revealed Himself as a New Man thru His Son.

In the cross, Jesus put off His robe of royalty so that those who are living this futile life, would have new life.

Philippians 2:6–8 NLT

6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

He a died a criminal’s death on a cross.

That criminal was you.

He put on a human flesh, so that

Ephesians 4:24 ESV

24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.