July 8, 2012: Ephesians 4:17-32
Notes:
After Paul emphasizes unity among the believers, he challenges them to live a practical Christianity that stands out among men, so as to draw others to Christ. Paul’s challenge includes:
- An encouragement to walk in the newness of Christ, not as Gentiles (vs. 17-19)
- A challenge to learn and demonstrate the new life in Christ (vs. 17-24)
- A description of the characteristics of the new life vs. the old life (vs. 25-32)
An encouragement to walk in the newness of Christ, not as Gentiles
Paul calls to reminder the experiences of the Ephesians from their past and brings to mind the manner in which the Gentiles live:
- The Ephesians are encouraged not to walk (live) as they had in the past, and as other Gentiles live. (v. 17)
- The characteristics of the Ephesians past life are listed in verses 18 and 19:
- lack of understanding (v. 18)
- separated (alienated) from God through their ignorance and blindness to the Truth (v. 18)
- lasciviousness (lewdness, obscene, lustful) (v. 19)
- unclean works (v. 19)
- greed (v. 19)
- These characteristics not only apply to the Ephesians, but were statements of our lives before we were made clean through Jesus Christ, our Savior.
A challenge to learn and demonstrate the new life in Christ
Paul immediately points out that the manner of living of the Gentiles did not come from Christ, but there was a new walk that came through the new life in Christ:
- The Ephesians did not learn to live like the Gentiles, or to backslide to their old ways, from Christ. (v. 20)
- Rather than live as other Gentiles do, the Ephesians should recall what was learned from Christ and adjust their behavior to walk in the newness that Christ brought them. (v. 21-24)
- As Paul instructed the Ephesians, God’s Word so instructs us. We are new creatures through Christ and we should walk in newness of life and with a purpose that He has wrought in our hearts.
- Put off (reject) the lifestyle of our past
- Be renewed through the Holy Spirit and by the reading of the Word of God
- Put on (accept) the new lifestyle Christ has given us through His righteousness and a call to be holy
A description of the characteristics of the new life vs. the old life
Paul provides a detailed list of how not to live and how to live in a description of the old man vs. the new man…:
- Things we should clean up and avoid:
- Reject lying (v. 25)
- Be careful regarding anger and wrath toward others (v. 26)
- Don’t allow the devil a place in your life (v. 27)
- Don’t rob or steal (v. 28)
- Avoid corrupt communication and evil speaking (v. 29)
- Avoid bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor (noisy shouting or raucous behavior), evil speaking, and malice (desire to do evil to others) (v. 31)
- Things we should do in newness of life:
- Be honest and truthful (v. 25)
- Settle disputes quickly without anger (v. 26)
- Work and earn a living in order to be ready to give to others in need (v. 28)
- Speak in a manner that edifies (lifts up) others and spreads grace (v. 29)
- Recognize the importance of the Holy Spirit and depend upon Him (v. 30)
- Be:
- kind
- tenderhearted
- forgiving (v. 32)
- Keep in mind how Christ has demonstrated kindness and forgiveness toward us (v. 32)
- Recognize that by backsliding or choosing to live as we have in our past and not allowing the newness of Christ to shine forth in our life, we can grieve the Holy Spirit and limit the work that God does in our life. While this hinders the work of the Holy Spirit in our life, it does not diminish the fact that we are saved (assuming that a person has truly trusted Christ by repenting of their sin and accepting God’s gift of salvation). Once a person is truly saved, their salvation is sealed (forever) by the Holy Spirit. (v. 30)
- By demonstrating the newness of Christ, we allow the Holy Spirit to guide and direct our life to further growth in likeness of Christ.
Questions
- What relationship does a Gentile have with God? How does a Gentile live compared to the Ephesian Christians?
- What does Paul mean when he compares the “old man” (v. 22) to the “new man” (v. 24)?
- How would you expect a saved person to be different from an unsaved person?
- How can a Christian teen (or an adult Christian) “learn Christ”?
- What are some characteristics of a Christian teen (or adult) who has gone back to their “old life”?
- If you were to find yourself slipping back to some of the habits you had prior to trusting Christ for salvation, what are some of the things that you could do to help reject those habits and grow in your new life with Christ?
- Considering the list of characteristics that Paul instructed the Gentiles to “put off” or reject, do any of those apply in your life today? If so, how will you put those things off?
- How would you grade your new life in Christ (A, B, C, D, or F) based on the characteristics Paul gave of walking in newness of life?
- Can a person continually live a life that has no changes from their past and be a born-again Christian? Explain.
- What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit? Is it possible for a person who is truly saved to grieve the Holy Spirit to the point of losing their salvation? (see note on v. 30 above)