Theme: Christ has made a new person out of every believer, but wants to unite every believer to that newness. We must consider who we are not any longer, what we’ve learned of Jesus, and who we are in Him.

Overview

• Who you are not.
• What Jesus taught you.
• Who you now are.
  • 5 areas of behavior change Christ won for you.

Who You Are Not (17-19)

17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.

17-19 The Gentiles: Paul uses this as a reference to the unbelieving world, describing in general terms how far gone parts of the unbelieving world had become.

So Paul describes the terror of sin and its decaying and petrifying effects.

• 17-18 Futility of their minds / Darkened in their understanding: Step one — Minds darkened.
• 18-19 Alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous…: Step two — Hearts hardened.
• 19 Given up themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity: Recklessness embraced.

Paul elaborated on this suppression of the truth and rush toward sensuality and impurity in Romans 1:19-32.

• The suppression of the truth in Romans 1:19-23.
  • Truth suppression #1 — There is a majestic God who is above all of us (Romans 1:19-20).
  • Truth suppression #2 — This majestic God deserves our worship, honor, and thanks (Romans 1:21).
  • Truth suppression #3 — No one and nothing else deserves our worship, honor, and thanks (Romans 1:22-23).
• Rush to sensuality and impurity (Romans 1:24-32):
  • Phase 1 — Increased and widespread sexual immorality (Romans 1:24-25).
  • Phase 2 — Increased unnatural sex (Romans 1:26-27).
  • Phase 3 — Increased practice and approval of all types of sin (Romans 1:28-32).

17 You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do: No longer walk in that old way — but “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called” (Ephesians 4:1).

What You Learned (20-24)

20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,

Paul reminds the Ephesian church (and I will remind you) of what they had learned.

• Christ / About Him: He is the substance of Christian teaching. His cross paved the way for this new nature of ours.
• Taught in Him: By Him (HCSB, NKJV). He is the the teacher. Not hard to see the connection — Jesus is the ascended head of the church. He gave word-based messenger gifts to the church. But the idea is to hear Him through them.
• The truth is in Jesus: When the environment of the teaching is around Jesus, confidence that it is Christian teaching can increase. The less He is the focal point, the less confidence there can be.

22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

What was a major truth Christ taught us? What do we learn of and in Christ?

22 Put off your old self: Romans 6:11 (ESV)—11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

He will tell us of some “old self” categories in a moment.

23-24 Be renewed in the spirit of your minds / Put on the new self: Word / Prayer / Conversation / Worship / Holy Spirit

Who You Are (25-32)

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

We have five exhortations of what to to put off (22) and put on (24). Each exhortation has three parts: (1) a negative command, (2) a positive command, (3) and a reason for these commands.

v25 Be truthful and reliable.

• 1 Negative command: put away falsehood.
  • Proverbs 12:22 (ESV)—22 Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.
  • Our society is struggling to know who to believe. Search engines have populated fabrications. Social media networks have promoted lies. Elections are doubted. Nations aren’t trusted. Leaders are suspect.
  • The church has a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate honest behavior.
• 2 Positive command: speak the truth with your neighbor.
• 3 Reason: we are members of one another.
  • Paul brings it back to a doctrinal reason — we are a church body. Honesty helps the community, while lying hurts the community.

v26-27 Be free of anger.

• 1 Negative command: Be angry and do not sin (from Psalm 4:4).
• 2 Positive command: Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
  • Idea: do not enter into sin by indulging anger.
• 3 Reason: Give no opportunity to the devil.
  • He will gladly use anger festering inside you.

v28 Be industrious and generous.

• 1 Negative command: Let the thief no longer steal.
  • Rampant among Gentiles — many from the criminal class had come to Christ.
• 2 Positive command: Let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands.
  • Types: Regular / Time / Passion / Laziness / Money / Resource
  • Proverbs 10:26 (NEW LIVING TRANSLATION) — 26 Lazy people irritate their employers, like vinegar to the teeth or smoke in the eyes.
  • Be less obsessed with clock-watching. Be teachable and moveable. Improve your skills. Bring a positive attitude into the workplace. Put the team before yourself. Be reliable.
• 3 Reason: So that he may have something to share.
  • This goal was brand new to them.

v29-30 Be edifying.

• 1 Negative command: No corrupting talk come out of your mouths.
• 2 Positive command: Only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
  • Have you ever been crushed or encouraged by a simple word?
  • Proverbs 12:25 (ESV)—25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
• 3 Reason: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.
  • He has sealed us for the day of redemption, meaning He is involved in our beginning and our end, our start in justification and our finish in glory.
  • In the meantime, don’t bum Him out. He is trying to help you communicate better, so be sensitive to Him.

v31-32 Be healthy and forgiving.

• 1 Negative command: Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
  • Six deadly vices.
• 2 Positive command: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.
  • All of these are very much like Jesus.
• 3 Reason: As God in Christ forgave you.
  • Base Motive: Christ forgave us.

Close

Theme: Christ has made a new person out of every believer, but wants to unite every believer to that newness. We must consider who we are not any longer, what we’ve learned of Jesus, and who we are in Him.