I meet Christians on a regular basis who struggle with breaking away from their former lives. This battle usually stems from being tempted by some addiction or some flawed temperament from their past. Challenges with temptation and even struggles with assurance of their salvation are often expressed. The fight against lusts, ungodly demeanours and a love of money is very real, and the struggle shouldn’t be underestimated. All Christians have temptations and trials, and God knows this. This is why He left us with exhortations on how to confront these desires. The rest of chapter four in Ephesians is one of those places in scripture that Yahweh has left us on how the walk the Christian life in the midst of these writhes. Much like the believers in Asia Minor, we are no longer to walk as Gentiles but act as new men. Paul spends the rest of this chapter describing what the Christian life looks like in light of the contrast between the former life and the new life. How does a spiritually resuscitated Kingdom man walk in comparison to a Gentile or an unsaved Canadian man? What does the Christian life look like from the morally negative to the spiritually positive? He will exposit the differences of the mind and of the heart between the old man and the new especially in terms of their desires. In the second half of this chapter (vs. 25-32), we will show how that works itself out in interactions with others. We should remember that this epistle was written to churches as a whole and not necessarily to individuals hence this urging is probably meant to be corporate, familial, and individual in their proper place.
The Text
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just 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 with 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 Jesus, that, in reference 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 righteousness and holiness of the truth. (Ephesians 4:17-24)
Inspired
In v.17, Paul states that this I say, and affirm together with the Lord. If you think this exhortation is merely the opinion of the apostle, think again! While Paul is writing, God is speaking (Matthew 22:31). The purpose of this clause is to highlight the authority behind his words. These are inspired writings that are both humanly expressed but at the same time divinely authenticated (1 Thessalonians 4:1). This is largely how inspiration works. His exhortation is not based upon his own desires but comes directly from the God who calls them to be holy as He is holy. But what we don’t want to miss is that this call isn’t something that just happens suddenly like being zapped, it requires a word from God and a working of the Holy Spirit to apply that word in our lives. It also compels us to desire to learn how to walk in this way!
Walk Away
To deal with the challenges of the temptations of the former life, we need to firstly acknowledge what that life really was. It was a life against God’s righteousness and in return, a life lived for self, sprinkled with a little idolatry. Paul will spend the rest of this chapter identifying it in not so flattering terms. Paul begins with a call to walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind. In other words, this is a call to walk away from their former lives. Remember, these were Gentiles who were the primary audience of this letter. They walked the walk of unrighteousness in their pre-salvation lives. They were now to live as men who were alive to God, not as those who still walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air but as men of the new creation (Ephesians 2:1-2, 10). With Paul absent from the congregation, the dangers of temptations from outsiders was very real. Paul tells them to walk in a different way. But what did this walk as Gentiles look like? While elsewhere, Paul calls it the fleshly mind (Romans 1:18-32), here, he refers to it as the futile mind. The mindset of their former life was in opposition to the spiritually minded. The spiritually minded are focused upon the uprightness of God’s righteousness and the true worship of the living God while the Gentile mind is full of unrighteousness and idolatry. When we begin to accept societal norms that are contrary to the law of God and grant people, ourselves or God forbid, a pagan god, a primary place of obedience above Jesus Christ, then we are living as the Gentiles.
The Darkened Mind Without God
Not only were their mindsets futile, but the Gentiles in Asia Minor who worshipped false gods were darkened in their understanding excluded from the life of God. The futile mind is accompanied by a darkened mindset especially of things revealed by the Spirit. They knew there was a God through the light that was revealed to them through His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20), but they didn’t honour Him and in return became futile in their speculations and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:21). They are those who hadn’t received the wisdom and insight that He made known (Ephesians 1:8). If you don’t believe that men have morally darkened minds prior to the new birth, look around you. See the idols your society has made, the perversions, the hatred of God’s creation, the complete disregards for human life, the disdain for His righteous law, and how they treat the gospel of grace extended to them.
Paul goes on to say that the Gentiles were excluded or alienated from the life of God. The term excluded is used also in Ephesians 2:12 to depict those that were excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and those who are of a hostile mind and engaged in evil deeds (Colossians 1:21). To be excluded from life is in essence to be excluded from eternal life given by God. While unbelievers may exhibit certain Godly principles because they are created in the image of God, they lack the unity with God and in return refuse to give Him glory. Paul gives the reason for this intellectual and spiritual darkness, mainly that they are ignorant and have hard hearts. When Paul went to the Gentiles, he declared that God is willing to overlook the times of ignorance and that these times were extended for men of all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). They needed to repent from this ignorance to have this eternal life. This repentance brings wisdom, obedience, and a shunning away from the former lusts (1 Peter 1:14). The darkened mind of futility still lusts after the former life of debauchery and doesn’t subject itself to the righteousness of God (Romans 8:7). Those who possess the life from the Spirit of God on the other hand are alive to righteousness. But it isn’t simply their ignorance that creates this polluted ideology, it generates from the heart. In this instance a heart that is hardened towards God and His Son. This is reflective upon the human will hardening itself against a walk in the truth.
The Outflow of a Hot Iron
To describe the hardness of heart, Paul then refers to them as being callous (KJV- Past feeling). They are those who’s conscience has been seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:2). They lack the capacity to feel remorse or any sort of Godly conviction. We see the outcome of this callousness in that they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of impurity with greediness. This hardness comes from a will which was subjected to bondage, to express itself naturally. Paul states elsewhere that they are slaves of sin… slaves of impurity and lawlessness (Romans 6:18-19). Hardened hearts act this way comfortably and naturally. Remember the rush you felt when enacting these things! On the other hand, the one who has received a spiritual heart transplant feels the unrighteousness in it (Jeremiah 31:33). We practiced sin without any spiritual conviction or understanding of our demise. This is not the way to walk as believers. He states in Colossians: consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry (Colossians 3:5). This is exactly the opposite of what God has called us to (1 Thessalonians 4:7).
The Learned Christ
In v.21, Paul now points to the fact that if they are walking in this manner, then they did not learn Christ properly. Learning Christ changes things in an extreme way. It creates a life to be lived in contrast to the Gentile way of life. It is the sheer opposite of living with a futile mind, in darkness and with a hard heart that produces impurity and greed. How does one learn Christ? To learn Christ is to understand the character of His person and in return how He lived. He lived a life of holiness, subscribing to the law of righteousness with a motive to please God and to demonstrate a life of selflessness and sacrifice. This is if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus. If these believers were walking in a manner that was pleasing to God, it was because they walked in light of the truth that was in Christ. To hear Him is synonymous with believing Him and receiving His teachings intellectually, morally and in their heartfelt desires.
The Old Guy vs. The New
Now, hold on tight for a moment since I’m going to talk briefly about some grammar. Vs. 22-24 have three infinitives that summed up serve as imperatives. These commands are to lay aside, to renew and to put on. The old man in v.22 is the one who acts in the manner which we just described. He desires to bring back to light the sinful practices of old for which Christ died. Elsewhere, Paul tells the Romans to cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12 NKJV). These are things such as anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech (Colossians 3:8). We are exhorted to lay aside these sins that entangle us and run the race freed from these obstacles (Hebrews 12:1). Sanctification is a battle whereas the old man continues to attempt to dominate the new man but we are commanded to mortify that old man.
To lay aside our old life, we have to continuously be renewed and replace the old man with the new. As Paul says: be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self. This is something you can do, but not alone. It isn’t us who renew ourselves, but the spirit that renews us. This renewal is a transformation of the mind (Romans 12:2). This is how He saved us and how we are to walk in Him (Titus 3:5). This transformation is progressive, unto the likeness of Christ from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The new man not only refrains from the actions and desires of the old man but clings on to righteousness and holiness. Like putting on a robe, we are to cover ourselves with this newness. The “new man” previously mentioned in Ephesians 2:15 was referring to a corporate body where two entities became the one man. While corporate, the focus is still upon the individual putting on the new man in contrast to his former life. We know this because of the term Gentiles, which describes the life they are to forsake. This new creation man is in the likeness of God and much like the new temple, it must characterize the holiness and righteousness that it represents. As Christians, if we are a workmanship created in Jesus Christ to do good works, then those need to be manifested with the moral attributes that are found in Him. We mustn’t forget that while this is an imperative, God is involved in the process so we are to work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:12-13).
Conclusion
So, if you are a believer who is experiencing challenges with former lusts and ungodly demeanours, the first thing you should consider is to look back and see these things for the foolishness that they are. Repent from these sinful activities in a continuous sense until they are fully out of the way and cling on to the life we have in God. Look to Christ whom you’ve learned and if you feel you haven’t learned Him, start now. Learn His sacrificial life and character and in return mimic Him. Lay aside the old and put on the new in action and demeanours that are both holy and righteous