Ephesians - Lesson 4E

• In our previous study, Paul asked the believers in Ephesus not to walk as they once did when they lived as unbelievers

  • Paul uses the metaphor of a journey by foot, a “walk”, to represent the course of an earthly life

    • In vs.17-19 Paul described the walk of an unbeliever from God’s point of view

    • “Gentiles,” Paul called unbelievers, walk in futility of mind

    • Their thinking is vain, futile

    • Because they assume they understand life’s purpose and meaning, but they walk in the dark

  • The world chases wrong things in wrong ways out of ignorance, and after all is said and done, they just return to dust   

    • Paul said their minds are darkened in their understanding of truth

    • Which is a way of describing the spiritual blindness that all people possess at birth, which prevents them from knowing God

    • They are excluded from eternal life, because of their blindness

    • And over the course of their lives, their conscience becomes increasingly callous, increasingly greedy for sensuality in all forms

  • Paul moved his audience through this progression to make a point of how thinking drives behavior

    • The world’s ignorance of God and their callous hearts explains their wanton life of sin

    • An unbeliever’s mind is trapped by a perspective; a view of self and the world that justifies pursuing a lifestyle of greed, violence, lust and hatred

    • They walk according to what they know

    • Unless God intervenes to bring a person to a knowledge of the truth, they will remain in the darkness

• On the other hand, a person who has received the truth by means of the Spirit gains an understanding of God that can transform their walk of life

  • Which is where Paul goes next…speaking of how believers should live 

Eph. 4:20 But you did not learn Christ in this way,
Eph. 4:21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
Eph. 4:22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
Eph. 4:23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
Eph. 4:24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

• Paul opens saying the church did not learn Christ “in this way”

  • He’s speaking of the way the unbelieving learn their walk of life

    • Unbelievers walk by stumbling in spiritual darkness

    • They learn their walk according to the flesh, which drives them from one lustful desire to another

    • They have no spiritual compass, so the flesh rules

    • And this was our walk prior to faith too

  • But now Paul says you have a new walk, a walk with Christ, but you and I don’t learn our walk in the same way that unbelievers learn their walk

    • We don’t learn to walk with Christ by paying attention to the desires of the flesh

    • Our direction in life comes from the spirit

    • Yet some Christians fail to make this leap…they continue to walk according to what their flesh wants

    • The Bible has a term for a Christian who walks in Christ the same way they walked prior to faith: a carnal Christian

  • The word carnal literally means flesh

    • It’s the name the Bible gives to a believer who charts their path in life by paying attention to the desires of the flesh

    • Certainly all of us experience a degree of carnality

    • All of us follow after the desires of our flesh from time to time

    • And none of us are free of the temptations the flesh brings

  • But the question Paul is asking the church this morning is, are we letting our flesh drive our path in life?

    • Is carnality the rule or the exception?

    • Are we moving toward a new path, growing in a closer walk with Christ

    • Or are we trying to learn Christ the way we learned our prior life?

• Paul says we do not learn Christ the way the world learns, that is, with our flesh leading the way

  • We learn Christ by the spirit as a matter of God’s grace

    • And notice Paul didn’t say learn Christianity or learn obedience or learn piety

    • He said learn Christ, because we’re talking about a walk of knowing Him Who dwells in us

    • Knowing His character, His love, His mercy, His expectations, His values, His call on our lives

  • A believer’s call is to know Christ fully, which is a lifelong process

    • And if it’s a true pursuit, it’s a pursuit of spirit 

    • For that’s the only way to know Christ truly

  • That’s why Paul adds in v.21 if his audience had, in fact, heard Christ in their hearts

    • The person who has merely learned Christ in a physical, fleshly sense is still an unbeliever 

    • That kind of learning is head knowledge without spiritual understanding, which is not a saving knowledge of Christ

  • In that sense, the flesh can pursue Christ in the same way it pursues any other sensuality

    • Pursuing religion rather than relationship is a common tragedy

    • We see it everyday among Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other false faiths

    • They invoke the name of Jesus but don’t know the true Gospel

    • Since they try to learn Christ in the flesh, they learn nothing, and so their fleshly pursuit leaves them just as lost as before

• But we have been taught the truth “in Him” Paul says in v.21

  • As one who has heard the true Gospel and has received it in the spirit, we are born again

    • We learn the truth in Jesus by the Spirit, and so our walk of life as a follower of Jesus must continue as it began…in the Spirit

    • Which begins by laying aside their old self, Paul says, which is that former manner of life

    • Manner of life in v.22 can also be translated lifestyle

  • Paul’s choice of words suggests a garment being taken off, like an old coat

    • That garment represents an old way of thinking and with it comes an old way of behaving

    • Paul says those things are clinging to us, but we must take them off

  • So imagine at the moment you came to faith in Jesus Christ, your inner person was brought to life spiritually

    • By God’s Spirit, we gained a new spirit that is sinless and obedient to His every word Paul says in Romans 6

    • But our new inner self is still cloaked in our old flesh nature, like a filthy overcoat

  • If we’re going to walk properly with Christ, displaying His likeness in union with our brothers and sisters in the body, we need to jettison that old nature 

    • Paul says we need to lay it aside, like someone taking off the old coat, setting it on the ground and walking off without it

    • Paul uses a Greek verb in the aorist infinitive form, which describes an ongoing imperative or command

    • We are to ever more, continue laying aside the coat, as if we are removing the garment one thread at a time

  • That coat represents our old life, the way we thought and walked in the flesh, the life we knew before Christ

    • We need to dump that old life like a cheap suit

    • But it’s a life-long pursuit, and even Paul’s choice of verb tense reflects that truth

    • We start today, and each day we set aside the old self so that more of Christ living in us shines through   

• That’s the call of sanctification in the life of every believer

  • Before faith we were spiritually dead and the flesh ruled

    • Now we have access to the mind of Christ and have been given a spirit that desires to obey Him

    • That’s how we learned Christ

    • Yet we’re still clothed in a flesh that wants to draw us away from Christ

  • Paul says that flesh is even now being corrupted by its lustful desires

    • That process didn’t stop when we became a believer

    • Your body is still in decay destined to return to dust

    • Our body is literally dying around us, a death made necessary by its corrupt nature

  • So to stretch my analogy a bit further, if our old coat is falling apart on us, why seek to preserve it?

    • Why try to hold it together?

    • Instead, take hold of those fraying threads and give a good pull to hasten its unraveling

    • Ultimately the Lord will replace it, and even now we can diminish its power in our lives

    • That’s what Paul means when he says we must not learn Christ according to flesh, but we must lay that old self aside

• Now if only it were so easy, right?

  • We all know that when it comes to sin, the struggle is real

    • While some of us may be more successful in our struggles than others, no one is totally free of the fight

    • So how can Paul speak of this challenge so casually, as if to suggest it's simply a matter of setting our mind to it

    • Well maybe it’s a little simpler than we thought

  • The hard work is actually done by Jesus Himself

    • Paul says in v.23 be renewed in the spirit of our mind

    • To renew simply means to make something new 

  • We know we have already been made new spiritually by faith in Christ

    • We were born again in the spirit, and we received Christ’s Spirit

    • But Paul says we must also be renewed in the spirit of our mind

  • The term “spirit of the mind” refers to our thinking, attitudes and outlook on life

    • Our thinking must now be made new, taught by that new spirit we received from Christ

    • The Greek verb translated “be renewed” is passive which means the work of changing our mind is done to us, not by us 

    • We give ourselves over to the study of Christ in His word, and He creates the change in our thinking

    • He will renew our minds by His truth so that we gain a desire to live according to our Spirit

• As we are renewed in our minds, Paul says in v.24 we will put on a new self

  • This is the second key verb of action in this passage

    • In the first case, Paul said lay aside the old self, the old coat that hides our new spiritual self

    • That was a verb of action, calling for us to take steps to disassemble the old ways of life

    • But we are not to learn Christ in the old way

  • The old way hears the Bible say lay aside the old self, and we start making lists, drawing up plans, pledging commitments, etc.

    • Certainly some of these steps may be sensible and warranted in the face of ongoing sin

    • But real, lasting progress doesn’t come from what we do in the flesh

    • We don’t learn Christ this way

  • Instead we learn Christ spiritually, Paul says

    • And the key to setting aside the old is to obtain Christ-like thinking, which only comes from spiritual training in His word

    • And by that renewing we will put on the new self which is in the likeness of God

• Paul is presenting a beautiful picture that contrasts our spiritual reality to our outward appearance

  • We learn Christ through an inward change of spirit, which is a work done by God alone

    • This is the saving work of knowing Christ by grace

    • Initially, at the moment our new spirit arrives, it’s obscured by our old, sinful flesh that covers the new inner person

    • In that sense, our sinful lifestyle is like a filthy garment hiding our new nature

  • So God asks us to lay aside the old self and put on the new self

    • Or in other words, we are called to make our outer appearance agree with the inner truth of who we have become in Christ

    • And it’s a process of renewing our mind so that we think like Christ

    • Because if we think like Christ, we’re more likely to act like Him

  • A few years ago it became fashionable to wear clothing that said WWJD (What would Jesus do?)

    • The idea was to stir our conscience to think in godly ways to promote godly behavior

    • It was a nice idea, but it had the wrong approach

  • The bracelets should have asked WDJS (What did Jesus say?)

    • The key to obtaining a more godly walk is to begin to share Christ’s thoughts and desires

    • And that transformation of our mind comes from allowing God’s word to replace our own thoughts 

    • Soon, the renewing of our mind leads us to a change in desires and a change of behavior

    • In time, we take on the likeness of God created in holiness, righteousness and truth, Paul says

• Perhaps you consider yourself a student of the Bible…I certainly like to think I am

  • And if so, you may be questioning this promise

    • You may look at your life and see plenty of sin

    • You know you continue to stumble and you’re struggling to gain hold of it

    • And even as you continue to study scripture you continue to make the same old mistakes

  • So perhaps you wonder if renewing your mind in God’s word is truly working in your case

    • May I suggest that the very fact you recognize your sin and are unhappy with it is proof in itself that the word of God is working in your life?

    • Furthermore, have you forgotten the various sins God has already removed from your life?

    • The behaviors you’ve already laid aside, the “threads” of the old self that you set down years ago?

  • Sanctification is a life-long process, and it takes time

    • I’m not excusing laziness or neglect in our walk, but I’m saying what scripture says

    • Ever more, continue laying aside that coat

    • And let the renewing of your mind affect that change over time

  • How many stories could we tell here at OHBC over the past 30 years?

    • How many people have come through these doors, sat under the teaching of God’s word for years

    • And in the course of time, lives were changed

    • Marriages healed, addictions broken, lusts removed, hurts forgiven, anger cooled, resentment mollified, relationships restored

  • Was it excellent preaching or stirring messages?

    • No, it was the simple truth of God’s word faithfully preached in season and out of season

    • It was the renewing of our minds, learning Christ spiritually instead of simply making an outward show of religion

• And these are the things Paul expects to see changing in a church that sets its mind on learning Christ in the right way

  • A walk with Christ means changing a thousands areas of our lives, but some sins are particularly harmful to the proper operation of the body

    • Since the start of this chapter, Paul’s been emphasizing the need for unity in the body

    • So now he turns his attention to five sins that especially work against unity

  • Paul gives the church advice in countering these five sins against unity

    • Each command has three parts

      • Paul gives a negative command

      • Followed by a positive command

      • Then finally a justification for the positive command

Eph. 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
Eph. 4:26 be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Eph. 4:27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
Eph. 4:28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
Eph. 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
Eph. 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Eph. 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Eph. 4:32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

• First, Paul asks the church to set aside falsehood, or deception in the Greek

  • Deception is more than a spoken lie

    • It includes anything that misrepresents reality, even flattery

    • Deception runs counter to the unity of the body, because it causes us to lose trust in one another

    • It’s like that old garment re-emerges to cut us off from one another

  • Instead of deception, Paul gives the positive command to speak truth to one another 

    • He quotes Zechariah when the Lord told Israel something similar

    • God wanted Israel to unify around the truth, just as Paul wishes the same for the Church

    • Which is Paul’s justification for his positive command, that we are members of one another

• Likewise, unrighteous anger drives a wedge between members of the body

  • Notice Paul starts by saying be angry

    • Anger in this context means having a healthy sense of righteous indignation against sin

    • We should get a little angry when sin exists in the body, just as God shows wrath against sin

  • But then Paul gives the negative command not to sin

    • Paul makes a distinction between righteous forms of anger and sinful forms of anger

    • Anger itself is not wrong, as even Jesus displayed anger at times

    • But when the cause for our anger is not in keeping with righteousness, it is an expression of sin

  • If we become angry for righteous reasons, we must seek to resolve the issue “before the sun goes down,” Paul says

    • I don’t believe Paul meant literally before nightfall

    • Rather it’s a colloquialism meaning in a timely manner

    • This is Paul’s positive command in the context of anger, and it ensures we don’t let anger get control or lead us astray

• We can’t let anger fester because it gives opportunity for the devil, Paul justifies in v.27

  • The devil has no spiritual power over us

    • Our spirit has been born again and united with Christ’s spirit

    • Therefore, the enemy’s dominion has been broken in our life

  • Nevertheless, he desires to see God’s people operate according to their old nature rather than in the new nature they’ve received

    • So he’ll use any rope we give him to hang us

    • Anger may begin righteous, but if we fail to resolve the issue that created our anger in a timely manner, we take a risk

  • The enemy may turn our righteous anger into sin by leading us to grow resentful, jealous, spiteful, vindictive or worse

    • What may have begun as a righteous response to someone’s error has turned into sin itself 

    • And these consequences of misplaced or unresolved anger will split a church apart in no time

• Thirdly, Paul says thieves must stop stealing

  • Obviously, theft is wrong, but it can be especially devastating in the body of Christ

    • And that’s the implication here

    • Paul is concerned about those who make a dishonest living and bring that behavior into the church

    • It’s likely that behavior would only continue in the church, like with Judas among the apostles

    • This is another quick way to destroy the unity of the body by casting suspicions and distrust

  • Instead, everyone should labor performing his own work in a good and acceptable fashion

    • Not only will we avoid casting shame on the name of Christ, but we also restore trust and unity in the body

    • Moreover, if we all work in honest ways, we are adding to the combined resources of the church body

    • Rather than one person stealing from another, everyone is gaining

  • Which leads to Paul’s justification that it means the church will have that much more to share with those in need

    • For that is central to the mission of the church to care for those who enter in by faith

    • Earning an honest wage is a part of meeting that mission

• Fourth, Paul directs that we not let an unwholesome word leave our mouths

  • The Greek word for unwholesome is literally counterfeit or worthless

    • Counterfeit currency is literally worthless, and so are certain kinds of speech

    • Gossip, innuendo, crude jokes or unfair remarks all have the potential to injure and weaken the body of Christ

    • Even an idle, unthoughtful word might fall into this category

  • So we should think carefully before speaking 

    • Paul’s positive command is to speak only what’s good for edification according to the need of the moment

    • Edification means the strengthening of the body

    • And there are times when saying nothing is the best thing we can do to edify the body

  • And our purpose in this command is simply to give grace to everyone

    • Grace means being nice to that person who hasn’t necessarily been nice to us

    • Refraining from a criticism against the person who deserves critique

    • Listening patiently to the long-winded laughing at the joke the tenth time you’ve heard it

    • Showing grace to another by using carefully chosen words that edify

• Your Bible may not reflect this accurately, but Paul’s justification for not speaking out of turn continues into v.30

  • In Greek, v.30 begins with the word “and” indicating Paul is connecting this thought to the prior thought

    • We wish to show grace to all in our speech because to do otherwise is to grieve the Holy Spirit

    • Since we have been shown grace through the Holy Spirit living in us, don’t grieve the Holy Spirit by failing to show at least grace to others

  • In this context, grieving the Spirit is similar to the parable Jesus taught in Matthew 18 of the man who was himself forgiven a great debt but was unwilling to forgive a small debtor

    • Jesus said that the Lord expects us to be as ready to show grace to others as He was to us

    • This is a service we provide to God in thanks for His mercy

    • So if we fail in that regard in something as simple as a kind word, we grieve the Holy Spirit

    • The very One Who seals us by God’s grace

• We will cover Paul’s fifth command next time as we move into Chapter 5

  • That leaves us for this morning reflecting on the need to lay aside the old, and put on the new by renewing our mind in the word

    • And as we walk our new walk, give special consideration to those sins that interfere with the unity of the body

    • For our participation in the body of Christ is the first mission of every believer

    • And it is your spiritual service of worship