17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. 20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. 20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. 29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:17-32 (NIV)
Paul continues to address our duty as children of the King in our passage for today. The Bible was written to be obeyed not simply to be studied for head knowledge. We are to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. The apostle continues to describe these new standards which are expected of God’s new society, or the life that is worthy of God’s call. God is clear and He makes a clarion call to us even back in Isaiah 45:19 regarding how we are to walk for our own good and His glory:
19 I have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not said to Jacob's descendants, ‘Seek me in vain.’ I, the LORD, speak the truth; I declare what is right. Isaiah 45:19 (NIV)
Paul tells us this Truth is found in God’s Word:
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)
Paul first addresses the thinking of the non-believers as people will act as they think. They do not know God so they cannot think properly. The mind, whether fallen or reborn, is always biased, motivated, and impassioned by the state of the heart in general. The actions reflect the thoughts and the mind reflects the heart. Remember God tests our hearts, and He allows us to see – in small measure – what He saw all along. It can be sobering, grieving, and humbling, Amen?
We are not to live as the world lives with all its futility and blatantly evil desires – being void of any useful aim or goal and causing our foolish hearts to be darkened and hardened. Remember what happened to Pharaoh? He kept hardening his own heart in his dealings with Moses until finally Scripture states that God hardened his heart. There comes a time when God finally says “Enough!” We are not to harden our hearts towards God and His commands for our best in His Word. Exodus 10:20 states of Pharaoh:
20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go. Exodus 10:20 (NIV)
Without Christ, man is stark blind to the things of God. Stark blind. Every man has a heart of stone, insensible, inflexible and insatiable. It is a heart that is never satisfied. That’s why I always say the greatest miracle God ever does is to change the leanings of a sinful heart. An evil heart is an overruling master, and man is its willing servant. Unredeemed man is blind with a hard heart as Paul tells us in Verse 18 of our passage for today. Natural man is an enemy to the law of God and he therefore cannot please Him. He is dead in his trespasses and sins. Actually, he is worse than dead because his life is alive to further resist and rebel against God and there is nothing in his nature to carry him to grace. We are all helpless and hopeless without Christ. Our salvation comes from Him by grace through faith not by works. Just as Paul told us earlier in Ephesians 2:8-9:
8“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.”
..but thanks be to God! Who redeemed our lives from the pit and ensuing futility and gave us a firm place to stand. It is He Who gives our hearts new leanings and does the work on the life. We have been called in Christ (Ephesians 1:18); and we should therefore walk in unity (Ephesians 4:1-16). The fact that we have been raised spiritually from the dead (Ephesians 2:1-10) should motivate us to walk in purity (Ephesians 4:17-5:17), or, as Paul told the Romans, so that “we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4) which is a life fresh in character and conduct, life effervescent and one that is not constantly wanting, complaining, searching. We are now alive in Christ and “this changes everything”! God does not want us to waste our lives. His greatest desires are for us to walk in holiness and purity as well as in unity in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ and He empowers us through the indwelling Holy Spirit to do this great miracle. Flesh can never perform eternal works.
Yet as the redeemed, we still have the flesh clinging to us. He does not force us to walk in a worthy manner, we are not robots, we get to choose – His way or our own – and His way is best albeit often difficult. It was for Jesus and all the faithful who have gone before us too. And remember, if Satan cannot carry a soul laughing to hell, he will endeavour to making it go mourning into heaven. If he can’t keep you from being saved, he seeks to keep you from being used. He uses his arsenal of fiery darts of fear and temptations and discouragements and worldly longings and other loves as if the flesh needed any extra help, Amen?! Paul tells us, indeed he insists on it, that we are to be God’s witnesses - the Greek wording is “martyr” – meaning we are to “die to self” – and live for the Lord. We are not to be insensitive to nor ignorant of His ways. Our lives are to bring honor to His Son, through His power and for His glory.
God does not honor what the world lauds. The Father in heaven delights to honor His Son and it is only the life of the Lord Jesus Christ – His activity, clothed with our humanity and displayed through His power in our lives that will ultimately find the approval of God. All else will burned up in the fire that will test the quality of each man’s work. Why would we want to pour out our lives on what is going to be mere ashes? Paul tells us in Colossians 3:17:
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 (NIV)
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)
We are to keep our hearts and minds on things above not on earthly things. Our desires, thoughts and motives are uber important. Many Christians remain stunted and dwarfed in spiritual things, so as to present the same appearance year after year. They exist but do not “In all things grow up into Him” as Paul told us earlier in Ephesians 4:15. They are satisfied to believe in Christ and say, “I am safe,” without wishing to know in our own experience more of the fullness which is to be found in Him. It should not be this way. We are to live near to Jesus – in His Presence – ripened by the sunshine of His smile and holding sweet communion with Him. Then we shall find ourselves advancing in holiness, love, faith, hope and joy. And hope does not disappoint. We are the losers if we forgo this great Treasure offered us. Believers, why should it always be wintertime in our hearts? We have gone through many trials, but never to our detriment, always to our advantage. Later in Ephesians 5:8-14 Paul tells us:
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10 and find out what pleases the Lord. 11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5:8-14 (NIV)
We are not to be wooed by this world into the fleeting pleasures of sin. Remember, all sin carries with it a death sentence. Rather we are to embrace our eternal joy in God – allowing Him to be our sufficiency and strength — which is what the goal of this salvation is, making every effort, through the power of the indwelling Spirit, to stand firm in all the will of God mature and fully assured. God loves us. He forgives, accepts, protects, strengthens and guides. He sacrificed His Son on the cross to die in our place giving us this amazing free gift of righteousness – His unearned, unmerited favor. God’s wrath towards those in Christ has been removed replaced by acceptance, blessings and the smile of God. Further we are not to neglect the indwelling Holy Spirit and the fellowship and friendship of the living Christ; the radiance of God’s glory in the face of Jesus; the free access to the throne of grace; and the inexhaustible treasures of God’s promises. Further, as Surgeon writes, we are not to forget the wonder that He has engraved us on the palms of His hands. Isaiah 49:16 states:
16 See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:16 (NIV)
Spurgeon adds:
“What can be more astounding than the unfounded doubts and fears of God’s favored people? The Lord’s loving word of rebuke should make us blush. He cries, ‘How can I have forgotten you, when I have engraved you on the palms of My hands? How dare you doubt My constant remembrance when the memorial is carved upon My own flesh?’ O unbelief, what a strange marvel you are! We do not know what to wonder at most—the faithfulness of God or the unbelief of His people. He keeps His promise a thousand times, and yet the next trial makes us doubt Him. He never fails; He is never a dry well; He is never as a setting sun, a passing meteor, or a melting vapor; and yet we are as continually troubled with anxieties, molested with suspicions, and disturbed with fears as if our God were a mirage of the desert. ‘Behold’ is a word intended to stir our admiration. Here, indeed, we have a theme for marveling. Heaven and earth may well be astonished that rebels should obtain such a closeness to the heart of infinite love as to be written on the palms of His hands. ‘I have engraved you.’ It does not say, ‘your name.’ The name is there, but that is not all: ‘I have engraved you.’ Consider the depth of this! ‘I have engraved your person, your image, your circumstances, your sins, your temptations, your weaknesses, your wants, your works; I have engraved you, everything about you, all that concerns you; I have put all of this together here.’ Will you ever say again that your God has forsaken you when He has engraved you on His own palms?” Charles Spurgeon
Having described the world and all its darkness, alienation and futility, Paul now exclaims that we “did not come to know Christ in that way” (Ephesians 4:20). This begins Paul’s introduction into what is going to be an extensive description of the Christian life. It is important to note that the Apostle begins with a reference to Christ Himself. Real change in a life can only come from Christ. We cannot muster up a new life within ourselves. It is His power within us transforming us into His image. We must be attached to the vine. In John 15:1-5 Jesus tells us:
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:1-5 (NIV)
The only true transforming power that has ever come into the world is that of the person and teaching of Jesus Christ, and the only true and lasting changes that ever take place in an individual life take place through believing in and learning from Him. Jesus wants us to “Follow Him”, learning His ways, His work and His will. He sought always to please His Father. 1 John 2:6 gives us a “heads up” into what the Father desires:
6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:6 (NIV)
To learn of Him surely means more than simply learning about the historical Jesus. It probably refers to Jesus’ words to His Father in His great prayer recorded in John 17:3
3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3 (NIV)
It means that Christians are Christians because they have entered into a
personal and saving relationship with the living Lord Jesus Christ. It is a learning of Him that changes them at the deepest possible level.
Paul next tells believers that we heard of Jesus and were taught in Him in accordance with the Truth of His Word and through preaching and teaching. When we read the Bible or hear the Word of God preached and, suddenly, sometimes quite unexpectedly, we become aware in our spirits that Jesus is speaking truth to us personally. This is not mere subjectivity; it is supernatural. Jesus speaks to us through His Word to change our lives and thinking. To conform us into His image in ever increasing measure. Remember Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Truth is timeless. Truth was true then and is true now and will be true forever, because Truth is not a dogma or a creed. Truth is a Person. Truth is not just a theology, the study of God, but a theocracy – being ruled by God. That means for us there are no decisions to make rather instructions to obey. Jesus Christ Himself is the final exegesis of all Truth. He is all that we need to know about God, and He is all that we need to know about man. This is why we are to keep our gaze constantly upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:1-4:
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NIV)
The writer of Hebrews adding in 12:2-3:
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV)
When Jesus came to earth, He came as fully God and fully man in the fullest sense of both terms. Man as God intended man to be. He behaved as God intended man to behave, walking day by day in that relationship to the Father which God had always intended should exist between man and Himself – just as Adam and Eve had before the fall. In John 14:6 Jesus states:
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 (NIV)
When Jesus said, “I am the way”, He was telling us, “I am how you can become a Christian, for I died for you.” When He said, “I am the life,” He was telling us, “I am how you can be the Christian you have become.” Jesus is the Truth about the Way and the Truth about the Life.
In all His activities, in all He reactions, in every step He took, in every word He spoke, in every decision He made, He did so as Man, even though He was God. He knew that in His perfection as Man, He had been vested by the Father with all that God had originally intended to vest in man, which is “all things”. John writes Jesus Words to us in John 16:15:
15 “All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.” John 16:15 (NIV)
Paul adding in Romans 8:32:
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:31-32 (NIV)
All things are given to believers to equip us to walk in a manner worthy of the Gospel. In other words, a functional man has an unlimited call upon the inexhaustible supplies of Deity. Amazing. That’s why Jesus tells His disciples that they will do even greater things than He once they receive the Holy Spirit. Jesus tells us in John 14:11-14:
11 “Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” John 14:11-14 (NIV)
“In My Name” means to ask according to God’s will.
If we seek Him He will be found by us. He will show us the way we are to go. We are to approach God’s Word with great anticipation of meeting Him there. Pray that He will open our eyes to wonderful Truth’s found in His Word and enable us to apply them to our lives so that we will be more and more conformed into His image.
Next, Paul tells us we are to shed our old way of life putting off our old selves with all its deceitful desires and longings and put on the new self, created to be like God in all righteousness and holiness. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
No one was more able to reflect on that transformation than Paul who switched from a persecutor of Christ to a proclaimer of Christ. He was in Christ (a phrase Paul used repeatedly in his epistles to speak of a believer’s spiritual relationship to Christ) because he believed the message of the gospel and was identified by faith with Christ. To be in Christ is to be a new creation. We are told in Galatians 6:15:
15 Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation. Galatians 6:15 (NIV)
This new creation is brought about by the Holy Spirit, the Agent of regeneration and the Giver of divine birth. God’s new creative work, begun in each one who believes in Christ, will one day be consummated on a universal scale. The old life of slavery to self and sin has gone. The new life of devotion to Christ means that one has new attitudes and actions. We are no longer to blend with the world rather shine like stars in the universe as we hold out the Word of life.
Paul now gets to more specifics of our actions and begins to deal with Christian conduct – the practical applications of his doctrinal teaching. Paul tells Christians they are to put off the conduct associated with their former way of life - that life apart from Christ - and put on a new pattern of behavior. Paul also tells us in Colossians 3:9-10:
9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10 (NIV)
A Christian is to put on the new self – a new way of life or disposition. Hence his conduct should be in accord with his new position. This “new self” needs constant renewal or refreshing through the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. We are being renewed as we “grow up” in Him Who is our Head. This occurs by taking head knowledge and applying it through the Spirit’s indwelling power enabling us to keep victorious over sin. Paul is demanding a high form of behavior precisely because something decisive has taken place – we have been made new in Christ and we have received the power to live victoriously.
How then are we supposed to live? In verses 25-32 Paul lists five specific examples of what the new, higher standard of Christian conduct should be.
First he tells us to get rid of all deceit and speak the truth in love because we are members of one body. We are to put off falsehood and put on truth. In becoming Christians the believers in Ephesus had repudiated the lie and had embraced the truth. That is, they had turned from false gods, idols, or Satan to Jesus, who is the Truth. Gentiles do not know truth; they are darkened in their understanding. Christians do know truth – they have learned it from and in Christ. If we are to grow as Christians, one of the necessary ingredients is cultivating truthfulness. Lying was and is forbidden and God does not look lightly upon deceit. We must be careful to cultivate accuracy in our speech - speaking truth. We are to be careful to watch ourselves closely in this following God’s decrees.
While believers may at times be legitimately angry (with righteous anger against sin), they are not to sin. The way to prevent such sin is to “keep short accounts,” dealing with the anger before the sun goes down. In all actuality, it is best to nip any sin quickly as it will never get better only worse - sin always spirals downward unless nipped. The reason to nip anger quickly is that the devil would like to intensify a Christian’s righteous anger against sin, causing it to become sin itself. This then gives the devil a foothold (“a place”), and an opportunity for leading that Christian into further sin. Then anger begins to control the believer rather than the believer controlling his anger. Ager leads to malice and slander and these lead to many other destructive sins. We are to root it out quickly – it is not our friend.
Christians are not to steal, but are to work in order to give to the needy. A thief takes from others for his own benefit, whereas a believer is to work, doing something useful - “beneficial” - with his own hands for the purpose of sharing with those in need. This is true Christian charity. Work has many benefits: it provides for a person’s material needs, it gives him something useful to do (something that is beneficial to himself and others), and it enables him to help others materially.
Believers are not to speak unwholesome – rotten - words, rather helpful - good and beneficial words for the purpose of edification. We are to breathe life into others through our words – not tear them down but only say words that benefit – literally “give grace” or enablement to the hearers. One’s words are to be true and pure and also are to contribute to the benefit of others. Besides one’s conscience, the Holy Spirit also helps guard a believer’s speech. We should put our words through the sieve of: is it true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy, necessary before we open our mouths???? The fact that the Holy Spirit may be grieved points to His personality. His seal of a believer remains until the day of redemption, the time that a believer receives his new body.
Believers are to get rid of the six vices of bitterness, rage (“outbursts of anger”), anger (“settled feeling of anger”), brawling (“shouting or clamor”), slander, and malice (“ill will, wickedness”). Paul addresses several of these vices in Colossians 3:8 as well (repetition in Scripture red flags us to its importance):
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:5-10 (NIV)
The positive commands are three: (1) be kind, “what is suitable or fitting to a need” (2) be compassionate, “inner emotions of affection” (3) be forgiving, “being gracious”, “to give freely” or “to give graciously as a favor”. The reason for these positive commands is that in Christ God is kind, compassionate, and gracious to believers.
Remember ladies, our actions will reflect the condition of our hearts for out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks and the hand acts. Our actions are only external manifestations of either internal turmoil or peace. We can mask it for a while but eventually it will publish itself. Jesus wants the whole heart – no partial portions will do. Trust Him with your life and experience the blessed peace that passes understanding as you guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.