The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
September 26
Ephesians 4:17-32
Commentary by Nick Boork
September 26
Ephesians 4:17-32
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September 26 – Ephesians 4:17-32
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
At this point in Paul’s letter he transitions his readers from deep spiritual doctrines to ultra- practical applications of what it means to be a Christian. He takes us from truth known to truth lived and from living as the old man to being renewed in our minds and putting on Jesus Christ in our behavior and relationships. He begins this transition by reminding us what we used to be back in B.C. times, lol, “Before Christ” saying now that we’re Believers we should no longer walk as the rest of the Pagan unregenerate world does. How do lost people live without Christ? Here the Scriptures describe people as being:
Paul says you didn’t learn this kind of life style from Christ because the Lord teaches us to put off the old man with the sins we used to live in. The new inner spiritual man is created in God’s image, the new man is regenerated having been born again by the Holy Spirit in true righteousness and holiness. You may say, wait a minute, I really don’t feel so righteous and holy. Well, if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then he has given you the gift of righteousness, you have been justified by faith. You’re now a new creation in Christ, old things have passed away and all things are made new on the inside spiritually. Now positionally, you’re a son or daughter in Christ and have been made the righteousness of God in Christ.
So the question is; how do we put off the old man and put on the new man in Christ? One of the first things we need to do is realize that our old man has been crucified with Christ and the power of sin in the flesh has been broken. Romans 6:6-7 in the Contemporary English Version says: “We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know that sin doesn’t have power over dead people”. This also is ours positionally in Christ but we need to make it ours practically by believing it and acting like it’s true because it is!
The struggle is not in the spiritual realm but it’s with our minds. As we renew our minds with the thoughts and moral values of God we can see both the old and new self in the Word of God. The Word of God acts like a mirror reflecting God to us but also reveals the darkness and sin in our lives. The Word also acts like water that cleanses us as we will see this principle later in this same book of Ephesians. We put off the old man by being renewed in our minds and we put on the new man in Christ by agreeing with God’s Word and deciding to live at a higher level walking with God by faith in the Spirit. Paul covers some of the areas that we need to deal with concerning the old man and change our behavior to reflect Christ living in us.
Lying – If we were in the habit of telling lies before we came to Christ then we need to change that by deciding to only be truthful. Christians should be known for their integrity and being honest in their relationships with everyone including friend’s family and work associates. This also means that when you say you’re going to do something you follow through as the Bible teaches us that we are to let our yes mean yes and our no mean no. In other words we become people of our word.
Anger – If you have a short fuse and tend to blow up and express anger as a way of dealing with frustrations and pressure then you need to stop that and deal with it. This is why it says to be angry and sin not so we do not give place to the devil. We should never allow ourselves to go to sleep with an angry attitude. This is why it says do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Uncontrolled anger can be a very destructive force in relationships and especially among family members. As Christians, God wants us to reflect his love in our relationships and not walk around perpetually angry at everyone.
Stealing – Taking the property that belongs to others just isn’t right! As a believer in Christ if you have the habit of stealing then you need to repent from that and do as the Bible says and work so that you become a positive force to provide for yourself your family and even have enough to bless other people in need. There’s no need to steal anything because now God is our provider. People don’t trust a thief and that kind of lifestyle will get you many enemies and possibly cause you to be arrested and spent time in jail. So Paul encourages believers to not steal anymore but trust God to meet your needs and be willing to work hard to make an honest living and God will bless you.
Bitterness, anger and malicious gossip about others – Bitterness is a root that no Christian can afford to allow to remain without cutting it out! Bitterness is one of the most destructive forces to wreck relationships in the world. It manifests through hatred, anger and speaking evil about other people. The Bible teaches that roots of bitterness can spring up and trouble many people. Bitter people are very miserable people and they cause everyone around them to live on edge because they never know how they’re going to act or if they’re going to blow up. If you struggle with bitterness, anger and maybe even cussing out people and cursing all the time then you need to repent and ask God to help you change because he did not make you to live in that horrible condition.
Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit – Grieving the Holy Spirit is what happens when we disobey God and allow sinful ways and negative attitudes to control our lives. For the born-again Christian, the Holy Spirit desires to work a total transformation inside of us and cause us to develop the fruit of the Spirit through us that glorifies our heavenly father and blesses all of our relationships. The number one fruit of the Spirit is love then peace followed by the joy of the Lord.
Be kind and walk in love with everyone – Choosing to be a kind person and showing that you care is contrary to the way that many of us were brought up but we can change. To be kind means that you make other people feel welcome around you and that you’re not annoyed or hostile in their presence. To show people love is to except them for who they are without criticizing them or putting them down but rather encouraging them and lifting them up. If you are filled with love people will want to be around you and with the help of the Holy Spirit you can show people genuine love as a predictable character quality.
My testimony of God changing me – I was brought up around a lot of anger and cursing. An angry spirit developed within me as a young person. This emotion was very destructive. I used to blow up and get in fights at school a lot. After I was saved back in 1982, I had all kinds of roots of rebellion, anger, bitterness and rejection deep within my soul. Thank God He is very merciful, patient and has a plan to work out of us the evil and replace it with his character and goodness. Over a process of time, like many years, He has brought about a total deliverance and healing to my soul from all of these negative forces.
As I have traveled my Christian journey, God confronted me to deal especially with anger, negative attitudes and habits. I needed to allow the old me, the old Nick to be crucified with Christ to become like Jesus. I’m not perfect but I’m not what I used to be but I haven’t yet become what I’m going to be in Christ. Today I can say the Lord has healed and restored my soul! No matter what we bring from our old life before we come to Christ the Lord wants to open up that suitcase your caring and go through it and keep what is good but throw away all the bad and that’s what we’re talking about here concerning putting off the old man and putting on the new man in Christ.
I know that the Lord wants to use me to bless others and show people his love and kindness. Until a person comes to know Christ and his great love for them they really are lost not just in the sense of being destined to hell but they’re lost within their own messed up lives. The good news is if you open your life to God he’s going to come in and you will be amazed at the transformation that he brings about in and through you. So, don’t give up on yourself because God is not finished with you yet! He promises that if he began a good work in you he will faithfully perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) After we are saved God want us to be transformed into the image of his Son Jesus Christ.
2) Real transformation happens as we put off the old man and put on the new man in Christ.
3) Born-again Christians are the righteousness of God positionally now by faith in Jesus.
4) Put off the old man and put on the new man by renewing our minds to agree with God which produces His character in us and produces the fruit of the Spirit through us.
5) Take responsibility and confront the attitude and habits that come from the old man and make a commitment to work with the Holy Spirit to change and become like Jesus.
6) We grieve the Holy Spirit when we disobey God.
7) Remember that God is not through with any of us yet and he is faithful to mold us and make us into his own special people that reflect his character to the world, so never give up!
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
At this point in Paul’s letter he transitions his readers from deep spiritual doctrines to ultra- practical applications of what it means to be a Christian. He takes us from truth known to truth lived and from living as the old man to being renewed in our minds and putting on Jesus Christ in our behavior and relationships. He begins this transition by reminding us what we used to be back in B.C. times, lol, “Before Christ” saying now that we’re Believers we should no longer walk as the rest of the Pagan unregenerate world does. How do lost people live without Christ? Here the Scriptures describe people as being:
- Futile in their thinking meaning devoid of the true knowledge of God.
- Having their understanding darkened
- Separated from the life of God
- Living in ignorance
- Blindness of heart
- Being past feeling without a moral compass
- Existing to satisfy their evil carnal natures through more and more sinning.
Paul says you didn’t learn this kind of life style from Christ because the Lord teaches us to put off the old man with the sins we used to live in. The new inner spiritual man is created in God’s image, the new man is regenerated having been born again by the Holy Spirit in true righteousness and holiness. You may say, wait a minute, I really don’t feel so righteous and holy. Well, if you have received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior then he has given you the gift of righteousness, you have been justified by faith. You’re now a new creation in Christ, old things have passed away and all things are made new on the inside spiritually. Now positionally, you’re a son or daughter in Christ and have been made the righteousness of God in Christ.
So the question is; how do we put off the old man and put on the new man in Christ? One of the first things we need to do is realize that our old man has been crucified with Christ and the power of sin in the flesh has been broken. Romans 6:6-7 in the Contemporary English Version says: “We know that the persons we used to be were nailed to the cross with Jesus. This was done, so that our sinful bodies would no longer be the slaves of sin. We know that sin doesn’t have power over dead people”. This also is ours positionally in Christ but we need to make it ours practically by believing it and acting like it’s true because it is!
The struggle is not in the spiritual realm but it’s with our minds. As we renew our minds with the thoughts and moral values of God we can see both the old and new self in the Word of God. The Word of God acts like a mirror reflecting God to us but also reveals the darkness and sin in our lives. The Word also acts like water that cleanses us as we will see this principle later in this same book of Ephesians. We put off the old man by being renewed in our minds and we put on the new man in Christ by agreeing with God’s Word and deciding to live at a higher level walking with God by faith in the Spirit. Paul covers some of the areas that we need to deal with concerning the old man and change our behavior to reflect Christ living in us.
Lying – If we were in the habit of telling lies before we came to Christ then we need to change that by deciding to only be truthful. Christians should be known for their integrity and being honest in their relationships with everyone including friend’s family and work associates. This also means that when you say you’re going to do something you follow through as the Bible teaches us that we are to let our yes mean yes and our no mean no. In other words we become people of our word.
Anger – If you have a short fuse and tend to blow up and express anger as a way of dealing with frustrations and pressure then you need to stop that and deal with it. This is why it says to be angry and sin not so we do not give place to the devil. We should never allow ourselves to go to sleep with an angry attitude. This is why it says do not let the sun go down on your wrath. Uncontrolled anger can be a very destructive force in relationships and especially among family members. As Christians, God wants us to reflect his love in our relationships and not walk around perpetually angry at everyone.
Stealing – Taking the property that belongs to others just isn’t right! As a believer in Christ if you have the habit of stealing then you need to repent from that and do as the Bible says and work so that you become a positive force to provide for yourself your family and even have enough to bless other people in need. There’s no need to steal anything because now God is our provider. People don’t trust a thief and that kind of lifestyle will get you many enemies and possibly cause you to be arrested and spent time in jail. So Paul encourages believers to not steal anymore but trust God to meet your needs and be willing to work hard to make an honest living and God will bless you.
Bitterness, anger and malicious gossip about others – Bitterness is a root that no Christian can afford to allow to remain without cutting it out! Bitterness is one of the most destructive forces to wreck relationships in the world. It manifests through hatred, anger and speaking evil about other people. The Bible teaches that roots of bitterness can spring up and trouble many people. Bitter people are very miserable people and they cause everyone around them to live on edge because they never know how they’re going to act or if they’re going to blow up. If you struggle with bitterness, anger and maybe even cussing out people and cursing all the time then you need to repent and ask God to help you change because he did not make you to live in that horrible condition.
Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit – Grieving the Holy Spirit is what happens when we disobey God and allow sinful ways and negative attitudes to control our lives. For the born-again Christian, the Holy Spirit desires to work a total transformation inside of us and cause us to develop the fruit of the Spirit through us that glorifies our heavenly father and blesses all of our relationships. The number one fruit of the Spirit is love then peace followed by the joy of the Lord.
Be kind and walk in love with everyone – Choosing to be a kind person and showing that you care is contrary to the way that many of us were brought up but we can change. To be kind means that you make other people feel welcome around you and that you’re not annoyed or hostile in their presence. To show people love is to except them for who they are without criticizing them or putting them down but rather encouraging them and lifting them up. If you are filled with love people will want to be around you and with the help of the Holy Spirit you can show people genuine love as a predictable character quality.
My testimony of God changing me – I was brought up around a lot of anger and cursing. An angry spirit developed within me as a young person. This emotion was very destructive. I used to blow up and get in fights at school a lot. After I was saved back in 1982, I had all kinds of roots of rebellion, anger, bitterness and rejection deep within my soul. Thank God He is very merciful, patient and has a plan to work out of us the evil and replace it with his character and goodness. Over a process of time, like many years, He has brought about a total deliverance and healing to my soul from all of these negative forces.
As I have traveled my Christian journey, God confronted me to deal especially with anger, negative attitudes and habits. I needed to allow the old me, the old Nick to be crucified with Christ to become like Jesus. I’m not perfect but I’m not what I used to be but I haven’t yet become what I’m going to be in Christ. Today I can say the Lord has healed and restored my soul! No matter what we bring from our old life before we come to Christ the Lord wants to open up that suitcase your caring and go through it and keep what is good but throw away all the bad and that’s what we’re talking about here concerning putting off the old man and putting on the new man in Christ.
I know that the Lord wants to use me to bless others and show people his love and kindness. Until a person comes to know Christ and his great love for them they really are lost not just in the sense of being destined to hell but they’re lost within their own messed up lives. The good news is if you open your life to God he’s going to come in and you will be amazed at the transformation that he brings about in and through you. So, don’t give up on yourself because God is not finished with you yet! He promises that if he began a good work in you he will faithfully perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) After we are saved God want us to be transformed into the image of his Son Jesus Christ.
2) Real transformation happens as we put off the old man and put on the new man in Christ.
3) Born-again Christians are the righteousness of God positionally now by faith in Jesus.
4) Put off the old man and put on the new man by renewing our minds to agree with God which produces His character in us and produces the fruit of the Spirit through us.
5) Take responsibility and confront the attitude and habits that come from the old man and make a commitment to work with the Holy Spirit to change and become like Jesus.
6) We grieve the Holy Spirit when we disobey God.
7) Remember that God is not through with any of us yet and he is faithful to mold us and make us into his own special people that reflect his character to the world, so never give up!
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll