Ephesians 4:17-24 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. 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. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 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; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
In the above verses, Paul insists that the Christians in Ephesus clothe themselves in Christ and put off the clothing of the old man. The old man is full of deceit and self-willed thoughts and activities. The innate nature of men and women because of the sin of Adam is filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. (Romans 1:28) Paul iterates this theme of the depravity of mankind in the above verses. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. This fallen state of man, away from the purity, holiness, and eternal nature of God is a recurring theme in Paul’s letters. Paul knows in his own life, even when thinking he was doing good in his zealousness for Judaism, he was full of hatred toward others, persecuting both men and women of the Christian sect, raising his hand for their execution. This obstinate nature of separating ourselves from God’s goodness and love remains endemic in mankind. Even today in a supposedly civilized, advanced, well-educated world, we see the sinful nature of mankind manifesting itself in wars, killings, rapes, and the abuse of others. However, in this caldron of sin and exploitation there is Good News. Paul proclaimed this Good News of salvation to the Jew and Gentile. Christ Jesus can change the hearts of men and women; He can free people from their Adamic nature. He can clothe them with Godly attributes: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14) In this letter, Paul emphasizes to the Ephesians, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. How can such a transition happen? Jesus said it was impossible for individuals to change themselves. Men and women are not going to find a godlike goodness within themselves and then somehow let this goodness rise to the top as almost all religion and cults believe. No, He said you must be born again. There must be a new creature with a new heart within men and women, a new purpose for life, a generator of goodness that does not come from human efforts. Good intentions, good teaching, good philosophies, beautiful makeup on the old man and woman will never make a new creature. Only those who accept God’s gift to mankind: Jesus Christ, will become new creatures. These people only will wear the new clothing of God’s attributes. This message of Good news, newness IN CHRIST, was Paul’s ministry to the Ephesians and to the world.
As Paul works with the Gentiles, he knows their present state of being away from God came to them because of the hardening of their hearts from the very beginning of creation. Jesus talks about this way of living in his story of the farmer who became very prosperous. The farmer’s life was focused on his fleshly pursuits: eat, drink and be merry. When he found himself well off, he determined to live his life for himself. This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.’ (Luke 12:18-20) Of course the resolution of this story is frightening: You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. When sin entered the world at the beginning of time, living only for self became an central part of life. Our focus today describes this self-willed attitude as being full of greed. Humans were made in God’s image, displaying love, caring for others, selflessness. Adam and Eve were given the assignment to take care of all that God put on earth. They were designed to focus outwardly, not inwardly. But sin entered the world, and the fleshly pursuits of self became predominant in the lives of men and women. Satan informed Eve she could have a better life, a more informed life if she would just eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She ate of this tree and found herself destined for death, for evil became part of her existence. Later on we see the human race inflicted completely with this virus of death, for violence permeated the whole world. The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. (Genesis 6:5) The hardening of the heart infiltrated man’s nature. As with all people, the Ephesians carried this fleshly nature of the heart, willing to live without God in their lives. Now we see Paul telling them to concentrate on the new man or woman who has accommodated God in their hearts. He is insisting that they must live by the dictates of the new heart and not by the hardened heart. They must not live subserviently to the old heart's nature, but to the new heart in Christ Jesus. They are to live unto Christ, taking on his Spirit of love and caring for others. As new creatures IN CHRIST they are completely free from the consequence of sin, which is death. Therefore, they should use this freedom of a new life for the purposes of God. You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. (Galatians 5:13-15) Paul is encouraging the Ephesians to display God’s nature in their lives so they might please the Holy Spirit within them.
The Ephesian Christians comprehend the way of life: they know the truth of the gospel that Jesus Christ died for all people. They recognize that God, who is rich in mercy, made us (them) alive with Christ even when we (they) were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. (Ephesians 2:4-5) They know their old way of life brought only conflict and self-willed actions. They understand everything about the Good News in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. However, Paul did not want them to function in life with one foot in the world and one foot in faith. Paul’s total life reflects that Christianity is a complete commitment to Christ, not just a lifestyle of the flesh, with Christ added to a mixture of selfish pursuits. A new creature IN CHRIST is a servant of Christ in new clothing. The Ephesians as with all Christians today must appreciate that IN CHRIST they have died to this world and now IN CHRIST they are alive to God in a new dimension of grace and mercy. God has placed us in heavenly places, for we are new creatures that will never experience eternal death. Now we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10) Gentile, Jew alike are God’s handiwork. No longer is there a separation between those who received the glorious, perfect law and those who lived by their conscience of right and wrong. All people whether inheritors of the law or the possessors of right or wrong in their minds need to be new creatures to be right with a holy, perfect God. Everyone has rejected God’s absolute control over life. Rather than reflect God’s love for others, revealing God’s goodness to people, humans have sought their own will of self-interest. People from the time when sin entered creation have gone their own ways. When there seems to be no god in the land it is like it was for the Jews when there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Judges 21:25 KJV) But, there is a God in the land today. He is in the hearts of men and women through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Now, in the hearts of born again men and women is the abiding presence of God through the Holy Spirit within them. New life exists in the land of the living. No longer must life end without people knowing God. For God has come to men and women in the form of Jesus Christ. No one has to live in ignorance about God and his purposes. Christ through his blood has cleansed all who take his sacrifice of death for their own death. No longer is the penalty of death on the sins of people who fail be like the eternal God. Righteousness has come to mankind through the cross. The Ephesians fully recognized that salvation had come to them because of God’s grace poured out to them through the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ had ransomed their souls. Paul encouraged the Ephesians since you know the way of life, live it as instruments of God’s nature to the world. We who are sitting around this breakfast table know also that we are to be instruments of the will of God in our lives, but sometimes we need encouragement to discard the clothing of the old man, and to put on the new clothing of the born again. We have been resurrected with Christ; now we are resurrected IN CHRIST. Let us live as Paul encouraged the Ephesians, in new clothing that belongs only to new creatures. This clothing does not depict death, but eternal life! Amen.
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