From Futile to Fruitful

Ephesians 4:17-32

Ephesians 4:17–32 CSB

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. 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, 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. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord:

The therefore refers back to verse 16 which states:

Ephesians 4:16

Ephesians 4:16 CSB

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.

Because the body is being put together and promotes growth, and being built up in love we should: (see below)

You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts.

Gentiles are those that are not born of Jewish decent.

They choose to live there lives with whimsy, being pushed and pulled by whatever may satisfy them.

Today, this may look like relativism.

Today we would refer to them as secular, or worldly.

Those outside of Christ of Jesus.

Futile thoughts are those that are worthless, they lead to nothing,

This is infancy verses maturity,

Tossed about verses joined and held together

Deception verses speaking the truth,

Of human origin verses from Christ

Crafty people serving themselves verses honest, loving people serving others.

James refers to these kinds of people as those getting tossed around by the waves in their double mindedness.

Paul says in Ephesians 4:14 that these are like little children, who are tossed and blown around by every wind of teaching, human cunningness, cleverness, and deceit.

What might be an example of futile thinking that Christians ought to reject, and how might we reject these?

Consider, for example, the common notion that happiness is to be found in the accumulation of massive amounts of stuff.

To refute (fruitful thinking) see Matthew 6:19-24

Consider this illustration

Set Your Mind on Things Above

Solomon Ginsburg was a man who knew the power of giving himself to the meditation of Scripture. He was a Messianic Jew who lived a hundred years ago and traveled the world preaching the gospel. In 1911, he decided to head to America. His route took him to Lisbon, where he planned to cross the Bay of Biscay to London, and from there to travel on to the States.

Ginsburg was apprehensive about his travels. Arriving in Lisbon, he found the bulletin boards plastered with weather telegrams warning of terrific storms raging on the Bay of Biscay. It was dangerous sailing, and he was advised to delay his trip a week. His ticket allowed him to do that, and he prayed about it, mulling over a verse he had read that day—Deuteronomy 2:7: “The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey.”

The Lord seemed to assure Ginsburg his worldwide travels were under divine protection. Ginsburg boarded ship at once, crossed without incident, and caught the Majestic in London. His transatlantic voyage was smooth and restful. Only after arriving in the United States did Solomon learn that had he delayed his trip in Lisbon, he would have arrived in London just in time to have boarded the Titanic.*

Somehow—and I don’t know how it is—the Lord whispers words of wisdom and guidance into our ears as we meditate on Scripture. He keeps us from the shipwrecks of life as we let His Word dwell in us richly. He enables us to set our minds on things above, not on earthly things.

By meditation, we view our circumstances differently. We see our world from another angle. And because His thoughts are becoming our thoughts as we develop the mind of Christ, we are then able to relax, to trust, to quiet ourselves, and to discover peace and confidence.

* Solomon Ginsburg, A Wandering Jew in Brazil (Nashville: Sunday School Board, Southern Baptist Convention, 1922), 169–170.

Another example is the thought and teaching of people being born good.

For refute and fruitful thinking consider Psalms 14:2-3

Psalm 14:2–3 CSB

2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God. 3 All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.

Another example is that of relative truth.

Fruitful thinking

John 14:6

John 14:6 CSB

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Romans 1:19-22

Romans 1:19–22 CSB

19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools

And still another example, consider the entire book of Proverbs for both fruitful and futile thinking.

We have no hope in escaping futile thinking on our own.

Jesus is the only escape,

His absolute truth,

His work on the cross,

His saving grace.