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Okay, good morning everyone. Hope you’re all doing good. But we’ll continue our studies from the book of Ephesians. We’ll continue from where we left last Sunday. And we’ll turn Ephesians chapter 4 and for the better understanding of the context, we will read from Ephesians chapter 4 verses 17 till 24.
I thought that I will do the entire passage, that is till chapter 5 verse 2, but I think the time wouldn’t be sufficient, so we’ll just look at basically two or three verses this morning. We’ll read verses 17 till 24. “So this I say and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart, and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of
“every kind of impurity and greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, just as truth is in him, to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in the righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
The title of this sermon will be the same, Christians Walk in Christ’s Way. Look to the Lord for His grace. Heavenly Father, we thank You for this time. Thank You, Lord, for this precious opportunity that You have Lord, given us. And You are giving us, Lord, week after week to gather together as Your people. And Lord, we pray as we come around Your Word, look into Your Word, we pray for the work of Your Spirit in our hearts. We pray that You would Lord, illumine our understandings. We pray that you would give us grace to submit to the teaching of your word, Father.
We ask you for your grace, and we pray that you would build us up for your glory. In Jesus Christ’s name we pray. Amen. In verse 20, if you look there in your Bibles, Paul reminded these believers that they did not learn Christ in this way.
And in verse 21, Paul says that you have heard him and have been taught in him, just as the truth is in him. We have seen in our last study that none of these things are imperatives here, in the sense that none of these are commandments. But they are part of the teaching that they received as these believers accepted Christ as their Lord and received proper instruction about him. And as we have seen in the last study also, that learning Christ means knowing him, knowing his nature, his teachings, and his commandments. And they have learned Christ and learned the truth in Jesus.
And truth is in Jesus alone. And part of the truth that we are taught in Christ is the manner of life. And if we profess to know Christ, there is a way that we ought to live. Right? We cannot profess to be a Christian. We cannot profess to be the followers of Christ and live the way, whatever way we like, whichever way we like. Right? And the teaching about who Christ is, the teaching about who Christ is, his commandments, his word, his nature, his holiness, it affects our life. It affects our lives.
We are definitely touched by the influences of His grace. We cannot be untouched by His grace if we are in Christ. If we are in Christ, we will surely, certainly be touched by the influences. We are influenced by His grace. And part of the truth is that we cannot live how we once lived. We cannot tolerate the manners, the behaviors, aspirations and desires of the old sinful way of life. And the old way of life, the fundamental thing was, we didn’t know Christ. We didn’t know his nature, we didn’t know his commandments, his teachings. In that, in the old way of life, he would not influence by his grace. There was no element of grace in our lives, we were untouched by grace, and Christ was not the master of our lives, and our sin and our self were the masters. Sin ruled us, it
dominated our life, it controlled us, right? And we were selfish, carnal, evil, detestable and worthless in the sight of God. These are not my words, these are the very words of Paul in Romans chapter 3. We love sin and we embrace sin. Therefore, these truths which Paul mentions here, which they once received as part of their teaching, as a way of reminder, these statements like to rid of the old self in verse 22, to be renewed in the spirit of your minds in verse 23 and to put on the new self.
Though these are, in verse 24, though these are not imperatives here, though these are not commandments here, these are the teachings that they have once received. But nevertheless, these statements, these facts, these teachings have the imperative force where we are called to live by these facts, by these truths.
These truths shape the manner of our life. Right? We’ll consider these three statements today. Firstly, Paul assumes that his readers have learned the truth in Christ Jesus. Look at verse 22, “that in reference to your former way of life you are to rid yourselves of the old self which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit.” Now Paul reminds us to live differently as Christians in this world. And what does it entailed to live differently as Christians.
Now concerning the former way of life, Paul says we are to rid ourselves of the old self. It is the old system of life. Is Paul reminding them that we have to rid of the old self every now and then? This was a work which was accomplished once for all on the cross.
Right? We are not talking about the aspects of the old life, right, which Paul will speak about those things in verse 25 onwards. But here, Paul is speaking about the old self itself, the old man. As Paul many times reiterates in his epistles, that the old self was crucified with Christ.
So it was the old system of life, be it humanistic philosophies, evil agendas, immoral way of life, everything that pertains to that old self, old man, that Adamic life, was once for all crucified with Christ and we need to get rid of it.
Anything that does not have God as the center and the object is ungodly and it belongs to the old self. As believers, we should continually remind ourselves of the great work of Christ on our behalf and also in our lives. The old system of life, the pagan, ungodly way of life was circumcised by the divine work in us.
It entails to get rid of the old self. And the old self, as I mentioned, is the old man, the old personality which was ruled, dominated, controlled by sin. It is a life in Adam, and it refers to all we once were before we believed in the gospel, all we were, all we once were before we surrender our lives to Christ. It was our existence before we believed the gospel.
And Paul explained that state of life already in Ephesians 2, verses 1–3 and also Ephesians 4, verses 17–19. If you remember Ephesians 2, verses 1–3, we see there that Paul mentions that we were dead in our sins and trespasses. We were ignorant of God.
We were in rebellion against God. We walked in the, and also in Ephesians chapter 4, we were ignorant of God. We walked in the sensuality of our sinful nature and were insensitive to the commandments of God. That was our state. And when we believed in Christ, when we became the property of Christ, that old self was done away with.
It has no longer hold over our lives. Now look at the people in the world today. What drives them is their self. People live for themselves. Even the gods that they worship are for themselves. To make a name for themselves, they live to make money, they live to enjoy every pleasure that’s that sin gives. And the problem is with the human heart. And look at what Jesus, how did Jesus describes the condition of the human heart. And this is the state of the old man that we once possessed. This is the heart of that old man. Jesus describes it well in Mark chapter 7 verse 20 onwards till 23. Mark chapter 7 verse 20 onwards, he says, and he was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.”
“For from within, out of the heart of man, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” This is the condition of the old self. And these were the ingredients of that old heart.
And all these ingredients flow, all these aspects of the old self flow from that old heart and it causes defilement. And look at the characteristics of this heart, their old self. Do we wish to be influenced by these things still? Do you want these characteristics to be yours even now when you are in Christ? This is the condition of every person who is outside of Christ Jesus. No matter what morals you have, what values you have, all those morals and values will not change the human heart.
Every person outside of Christ is dominated by such a heart. Do you profess to be a believer and still live like the world? Like Paul mentions in chapter 4 verse 17 onwards. Futile ways. Do you want to be identified as one among the world?
Don't you have aspirations to be different? What is wrong with this old self? What is wrong with this old self? Paul says in verse 22. Look there in verse 23, it says that, "which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit."
That's the problem with the old self. Do you see there the problem? The old self is being corrupted. Corrupted. In the present tense. It is continually being corrupted by what? By its own deceitful desires. It is continually being corrupted by its own deceitful desires.
That's a continuous process that's taking place. And this is in the passive voice, which means we need not do anything, anything for this old self to be corrupted. Without your permission, it still gets corrupted. It is a self-destructive mechanism and you and I cannot do anything to renew this.
The only thing that we can do is to get rid of it. You cannot make it better by hypnotism, self-help methods, meditations, whatever out-of-body experiences. You cannot make it better. It is a self-destructive — there is a self-destructive mechanism, and the hallmark of that old self is lust.
Various evil, amoral desires or improper, deceitful desires. No? The corruption is in accordance to the lust of the deceit. And it has the capacity to trick you. No? Do you remember the words of Jeremiah in Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 where he so clearly describes the condition of the human heart?
It is desperately wicked. It is deceitful. It will make you believe that everything is fine while your heart itself is lost. And may I remind you that Christ did not come to redeem or to save our old self. He came to destroy that old self.
He came to destroy that Adamic life. Though as believers we still have that old nature within us, because of Christ's redemptive work, it has no power over us. If as believers, if we are still dominated, controlled by the sinful nature, it means that we have yielded to its control.
It has no power over us. Paul clearly says in Romans chapter 6 that it is no longer the master. We need not live under its impulses and desires. In Christ and Christ alone, there is a way out. The old self with his desires and aspirations, they are no longer ours. It is no longer our identity. They are crucified with Christ. And in Christ, we are stripped of that identity.
And all believers died with Christ on the cross with our former identity in Adam. All humans are created in the image of God, but that image is permanently marred by sin. All humans, every person who is born into this world, is affected by sin. And according to God there is nothing that can be done to repair that old Adamic nature but to crucify it. So the point of the Paul is that we acknowledge the teaching that we received regarding our old self. We are and we ought to be controlled by that teaching, that there’s nothing can be done about this old self now.
Only thing that we can do is get rid of that old self in Christ Jesus. Everything that pertains to that old Adamic life, get rid of it. That's the number one point. Secondly, Paul assumes that his readers have learned another aspect of the truth in Christ.
And the truth is in verse 23. 23 says that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. See, these are not to get rid of, as I mentioned in the last study, renewed to put on the new self. These are not the verbs. These are the infinitives. If you do not know what infinitive is, go back home, open the Google, and study what is an infinitive. Right? We must have learned these things in our school, but these are very important as we study our Bibles. We need to know what infinitives are. Right? So, they are the verbal nouns.
They become the subject of that sentence. These are the statements of facts. Right? So the point is that you are to be renewed. To be renewed in the spirit of your minds. And to be renewed again is in the present tense. It means that we are undergoing the process of renewal.
It began at one point of time when we were united with Christ Jesus. At the time of our regeneration, it began. And that process of renewal continues till we meet our Master. Right? It is in the present, it’s continuing. The word renewed again is in the passive voice. It implies that God is the agent of that renewal. God is the agent of that renewal. God is working on our lives through His Spirit. He is influencing our new nature. And that renewal is taking place where? What is the location of that renewal? In the spirit of your minds. How do we understand this? What is this spirit of your minds? No, do our minds possess a spirit? What does it mean? That’s the — that’s the exact no rendition here. You know, many New Testament scholars find this expression to
be unusual in the Greek literature or in the original writings. In Greek literature, the words mind and heart are always interchangeably used and it could refer to our inner man or our inner being, which Paul already mentioned in chapter 3 verse 16. It’s a new life that we received in Christ Jesus at the point of our regeneration. Paul may have used this expression, spirit of our minds, hence, primarily to contrast with the former corrupted futile mind, which he mentions in the preceding verses. Look at what Paul says in the parallel passage in Colossians 3, verse 10.
If you read Ephesians and Colossians, it almost appears to be similar. No, and many scholars say that he may have written at the same time from the same prison. And look at Colossians chapter 3 verse 10. He says, “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.” See, basically it refers to the inner man, the self which was created according to the image.
Or the new man in Christ Jesus in contrast to the old self. And the new man is a result of our regeneration and justification in Christ Jesus. And sanctification begins immediately in the new man. The sanctification begins immediately in the inner man. And this process of sanctification is referred to here as renewal. And according to chapter 3 of Ephesians verse 16, God works in us through His Spirit in the inner man. Look at verse 16 in chapter 3, “that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man.” The work in the inner man, or the renewal of that inner man, is by the Holy Spirit.
He works in us. Now look at Titus chapter 3 verse 5. Titus chapter 3 verse 5. It says, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit.”
See, this process, this work of renewal began at the time of regeneration. And it continues. It continues. So the implication of the Spirit of God’s working is that we are changed. We are renewed so that the motivation and the direction of our thinking are changed.
Because of the Spirit's work of renewal, we will not come under the influences of the sinful carnal mind of this world. So the point is that as believers we must be aware, we must be conscious of these truths, of what's happening in us, what began in us. And we must, we must live according to that, those aspects, these aspects of the truth. Right? The Word of God also teaches us the Spirit actively — if we walk in the Spirit, or in the direction that the Spirit shows us from God's Word, we will not fulfill the desires of the, of our sinful nature. Thirdly, Paul assumes that his readers have learned another aspect of truth in Christ.
The truth is in verse 24, “and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and—” Now Paul describes the new man in contrast to the old man. New self in contrast with the old self. Contrast to the old self, corruption and righteousness.
It occurs again with what Paul mentions in Colossians 3 verse 10. He reminds us, Paul says there that you have put on the new self. You have put on a new nature. This verse obviously corresponds, verse 24, corresponds to what was said in verse 22.
As we shed the old and put on the new man in Christ. Right? Once that old self is done away with decisively by the gracious work of our Lord Jesus Christ, you know, God has clothed us with a new nature, a new man. We have this new nature, we have donned this new nature. What is this new self? This new creation again is experienced in the inner man. It talks about the inner man of the believer, through the operation of the Holy Spirit. The old self is life in our old existence in Adam, and this new self is a new existence in Christ Jesus. And
the new life is lived by faith in the Son of God. Every moment we believed in the gospel, when we first encountered the gospel, we believed in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and throughout our lives we continue to believe in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Look at what Paul says in Galatians chapter 2 verse 20. He says, “I have, I've been crucified with Christ. And it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
I live by faith in the Son of God. This is how we live. As Christians, we don't, we don't become superhumans, right? Our life is always characterized, and should be characterized, by a faith in God. Nothing less than that. We always look to the cross of Jesus Christ, look to the finished work of Jesus Christ, and move forward. And the church is that manifestation of the new man in Christ Jesus.
We have a new identity, but more than that, we have a new nature. Our physical bodies remain, but God has created a new person within them. Consider these verses in Romans chapter 7 verse 22, where Paul says, “For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man.”
2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 16, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but through our, though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” There's a process of renewal which began and it continues. It continues. And as believers, the implication is that we cooperate with that work. We move in the direction of the Spirit's work.
Right? We don't love and like things, whatever comes to our mind. We move in the direction of the Spirit. How do we know the direction of the Spirit? It's through the Word. It's through the Word alone. Don't think that God will speak to you in a dream or a vision.
If you are waiting for those things, you will be easily deceived, tricked. We move in the direction of the Spirit only when we are in the Word, when we give ourselves to the Word. It's important that we move in the direction of the Spirit it so that the renewal work which is happening in the inner man, we comprehend that work.
May not be fully, but we know that we are maturing. We can say with Paul that the outer man is being decayed. And we are renewed in the inner man day by day. And look at verse 24 in Ephesians 4. Ephesians 4:24.
“To put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God, has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Our new existence is now characterized by what? Look at those last phrases there. “Which has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Our new existence is now characterized by righteousness and holiness of the truth. In contrast with the former way of life, as we have seen in chapter 4 verses 17–19, it was characterized by callousness, sensuality, impurity and greediness.
But this new life in Christ Jesus is characterized by righteousness and holiness of the truth. If you claim to be a believer, what are the dominating desires in your heart? Each and every day that you wake up, what are the dominating desires? Callousness?
Are you apathetic in your Christian life? No desire for word? No desire for righteousness? No desire for holiness? No desire for God and His ways? Is your heart sensual? Impure? Filled with greediness? No contentment in God and His ways? What are the dominating things in your heart that shows under whose control you are?
If you are moving in the direction of the Spirit, our life will be shaped by righteousness and holiness of the truth. There will be more longing to be like our Master, to be conformed into His image. More longing for righteousness and truth. You know, the original word here used here for holiness is only used here in the New Testament. It’s not hagios here. The meaning appears to be piety or devotion.
It is sacred observance of all duties towards God. That’s the actual meaning of the word here for holiness. Sacred observance of all duties towards God. It is a devotion to the truth. So it properly means a disposition to observe the divine law day by day. Are you, how you driven by this thought? Are you motivated by this? You have this disposition to observe the divine law, to live by the divine law. No matter what happens to me in this world, at my workplace, wherever I am.
I need to be governed by the divine law. The most important person that I need to please as a believer is not my boss. Is not my neighbor. Is God. Who is working in me. Who is saving me. Are we motivated by these thoughts?
It is a devotion to the truth. And from this devotion flows a right conduct. As a whole, the word holiness is possible here, because when we are devoted to the truth, we are actually living a holy life. We are set apart for God and His word. Holiness is possible here. But if you simply put holiness, that sense of devotion can be lost.
Just as deceit was the origin of the evil desires that continually corrupt the old self, as we see in verse 22. So now Paul says that righteousness and devotion or holiness is the characteristic of this new man, new self, which is being renewed, which is according to the gospel truth and the divine law.
In conclusion, we have seen three statements. And what are those statements? That we are, what are those statements? In reference to our former life, we are to rid ourselves of the old self. Number two, that we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds.
to put on the new self which is in the likeness of God. Right? In conclusion, let us once again consider what those popular theories of grace propagate. As we have seen in the last study. The free grace theology which says simply believe in Jesus, whether there is sorrow for sin or not. Just believe in Jesus, whether you’re a disciple or not, whether you have yielded to Christ’s Lordship or not. Simply believe in Jesus, you are saved.
How can we sensibly believe in the true gospel without considering the ramifications of sin? And how can we truly turn to God without experiencing sorrow for sin? How can we do that? And what is the point of believing in Jesus if there is never a sorrow for sin?
According to the hyper-grace theology, how can we not repent and confess our sins to God when there are explicit commandments to confess our sins? How can we not repent when our outer man is wearing out and the truth renews the inner man?
How can we not repent when we offend the Holy God? When we break His divine laws? How can we be unmoved when we grieve the blessed Holy Spirit with whom we are sealed until the day of redemption? How can we not repent? Are we not faced with the corruption of our old self daily?
Are we not confronted with the truth of God’s word daily? Will not the truth of God’s word weigh us down if we do not repent? How can we reduce sanctification to mere contemplation of the work of Christ on the cross like the radical grace proponents?
Should we put effort to grow in holiness? Shouldn’t we obey the truth of God’s word? Shouldn’t we practically put off the old deeds? This is the hallmark of true Christian life or true Christian faith. Genuine justifying faith in the finished work of Christ Jesus always produces fruit of sanctification.
Whether that sanctification is weak or not, or strong, doesn’t matter. But there is sanctification. We grow, we move forward, we repent. The New Testament scholar S. M. Bohr says, “It must do so because it flows from the sanctifying power of God which was unleashed in us through His Spirit.”
Do not view the work of Christ Jesus on the cross as some dramatic event. But it is an act of God where he unleashed his severe anger against our sin. When Christ hung on the cross, bearing our sins, every sin on the cross. And God put out his anger which was burning against every sin upon Lord Jesus Christ. And he crushed Jesus
under his severe anger. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered in our place under the anger of God. He once for all dealt with our sins in his death. With the resurrection of Jesus, we have hope for the newness of life. What have you been trying to free yourself of the misery of your soul?
Positive thinking? Think positive, think positive, think good about yourself, don’t think about evil, don’t let evil things come about yourself upon your tongue, what have you been doing? Nothing will work. None of these have the capability to destroy the power of sin.
Make-believe system will not destroy the power of sin. And that power to destroy sin is only found in the gracious work of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Come to Jesus. Believe in Jesus and his work on the cross.
Put your eyes upon Jesus. Fix your eyes upon Jesus. And with your sins you repent and believe in the ability of Jesus to rescue you from your sins. You are saved. As believers, we must remind ourselves of this truth that we have put on the new man in Christ Jesus.
Our new man is being renewed daily so we must flee from the corruptions of the old self daily. Do not entertain the ways of the old self. Instead we must be devoted to truth and bear the fruit of sanctification. The fact is, just as justification is by faith alone, the same faith in Christ’s finished work is also the essential means for the growth in sanctification and the new life of holiness. The cross before me, the world behind me, should be a daily song. The cross before me and the world behind me. How long should we live this way, fighting sin every time? This is the goal of our Christian life. Ephesians 4 verse 13 is the goal of our Christian life. I’m reading it from the NIV version for clarity.
“Until we reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” That is the goal that we become like our Savior. Until then, we must fight sin.
Until then, we must get rid of everything of that old self. Until then, we must move in the direction of the Spirit of God who is renewing us day by day. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the work that you have begun in our lives.
We thank you, God, for the work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, His finished work on the cross, His death, burial and resurrection. Because of His finished work, Father, we have hope that we can be saved from sin, because now our Lord lives forevermore. Oh dear Master, we have hope that we can walk in the newness of life.
And because of the indwelling person of the Holy Spirit, we are fully sure that all the promises that you have made in Christ Jesus to your people are yes and amen in our lives. Pray, Father, that you would give us grace that we would move in the direction of the Spirit of God daily. Father, we ask you, please build our lives in Jesus Christ’s name we pray.