Ephesians 4:20-24

Ephesians 4:20-24 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him 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.

Romans 6:11-14 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

Paul exhorts the Ephesians and us to put off your old self, and put on the new self, for we have been raised from the dead through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we should now live unto him and not to our flesh and its deceitful desires. As Christians, in every sense we have been made alive in Jesus Christ; consequently, we should no longer live in sin, which leads to death. Instead, we who are born again IN CHRIST should fully commit ourselves to God. If we sin or fail in ourselves, we should quickly repent and by faith proclaim Christ's life in us, for He is our righteousness, not our fleshly works. By faith, we count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God. As John says, all have sinned; if we say we have not sinned, we are liars. Yet what do we do with the sin that so easily afflicts us? We reckon our old selves dead to sin by not resting upon our works but proclaiming the efficacy of the cross that once and for all did away with our sins. We who are alive IN CHRIST are alive to God because Jesus who knew no sin became our righteousness and our great hope of salvation.

Paul asked the Romans, Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (Romans 6:1b) Never! As children of God, we bring ourselves under spiritual restraints, no longer allowing the flesh to do whatever it pleases. Paul taught the Ephesians to put off the old man and to put on the new self. As we curtail our carnal activities, we walk in freedom and do not let the old self rule our bodies. Self-discipline and counting ourselves dead to our old nature brings us closer to the Lord and makes us more like him. We pray, meditate, and fast for the glory of God. We learn his righteousness by doing his will and not our own, by serving his purposes, not ours. When we accept that there is no good thing in the flesh, we will attempt to live according to the Spirit in all ways, for his ways redeem and cleanse our lifestyles. His life makes us servants of God in our daily walk who bear good fruit and not the fruit of the flesh. The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:19-21) When we find ourselves bitter and angry, willing to strike out at others, we know we are in the flesh. If we exhibit love and compassion, even for our enemies, we know we are in the Spirit. The former leads to death, the latter to life everlasting.

Every day of our lives, we make choices. As sons and daughters of our Father God, we must choose according to his will, trusting in his sufficiency, knowing that Jesus Christ made us righteous. As obedient children, we bring our flesh under the constraints of the scriptures, and we listen to the voice of God, his Spirit. We no longer perform the foolish and sinful acts that come to our imagination. No, we display Christ's righteousness by living the best we can, and when we fall, we repent quickly, considering not the flesh but Christ's work in us through the power of the cross. We literally walk by faith and not by sight. When the old man undermines us, we consider him dead, and thank the Lord for his NEW LIFE IN US: Christ in us our hope of glory. In this faith-life, we do not allow the flesh or its exploits to get in the way or to hinder God's overwhelming redeeming power. Because of his saving grace, we get up from our beds with a thank you on our lips, and we joyfully run the race that God sets before us each day. We look toward the finish line when God will say, "Well done, my faithful servant."