Ephesians 4:17-19 ESV
“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. 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. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”
In the verses prior to this we read about how the body of
Christ needs to work together for the building up of the body to maturity in
Christ, our Lord. And, we are cautioned against men in their deceitful scheming
who would lead us to go after every wind of doctrine so that we live
childishly, in self-indulgence, going after whatever our emotions and our flesh
lead us to do.
And, then we have this reminder that our salvation from sin
is not freedom to continue in sin without guilt, but it is freedom from slavery
to sin, so that we no longer live like we did when we didn’t believe in Jesus
Christ. We no longer walk in darkness, but now we walk in the light of Christ.
And, we are no longer darkened in our understanding, following the teachings of
men and the ways of our sinful flesh, apart from the life God has for us.
But many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ today are
still darkened in their understanding, and they are still living separate from
the life of God in Christ Jesus. For, they are following after a false god, and
a false hope, and a false salvation, and a false gospel of men who are liars
and deceivers, whose intention it is to get us to be tossed to a fro by every
wind of doctrine.
This false gospel, and this false communion with God, has
the appearance of being the real thing, though, for it is half true, but if
half a lie, it is a lie. For, it comes from the darkness, not from the light of
Christ, and it is under the control and the authority of the darkness, not
under the authority of God. And, it is a mixture of light and darkness, of
truth and deception, so it is tricking, and it is trapping many people in its
lies, for it is a deceiving spirit.
So, whereas we are to be imitators of God and to become like
God in his true righteousness and holiness, those who follow after this false
gospel can only reflect darkness, for they are not in the light, for they haven’t
come out of the darkness. They are still under the control of sin and Satan,
for they have not been delivered from their slavery to sin, for they are being
convinced that they can believe in Jesus and still live in sin.
For, when we believe in Jesus Christ, in truth, there is an
exchange which takes place within us, which is of the Spirit of God, which is
an exchange from the darkness to the light. But, this exchange of these men in
their deceitful scheming is an exchange from darkness to a mixture of light and
darkness, while still under the control of the darkness. But it is made to
appear as though it is an exchange from darkness to light. But it is false, and
so we need to test this deceptive spirit against the Word of Truth.
Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV
“But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Okay, so here we learn the truth. The truth that is in
Christ Jesus is that faith in Jesus Christ involves us, by the Spirit, putting
off our old self, which is full of corruption through deceitful desires. We die
with Christ to sin, in other words. For, Jesus died that we might die with him
to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 1
Jn. 1:5-9).
We put away that former life. For, Jesus didn’t die just to
forgive that former life, but he died to put it to death, so that we no longer
live in it. And, the purpose of our salvation is not just to put sin to death,
and it is not just to deliver us out of our bondage to sin, but it is to exchange
our life in the darkness for a life in the light of Christ. It is to transform
us, much like the process a caterpillar goes through when he is changed into a
butterfly.
So, we put off our old life of sin, we are transformed of
the Spirit of God in our minds and hearts, and now we put on Christ and his
righteousness, in the power of God’s Spirit now living within us. We were in
darkness. Now we are in the light. We were traveling one direction. Now we are
going in the opposite direction. We become something else. We don’t remain like
we were before, feeling like we are forgiven, and that heaven is our destiny.
And, this new self that we put on, which is in Christ Jesus,
is patterned (created) after the likeness of God in true righteousness and
holiness. So, this means we now walk in holiness, in purity, in honesty, and in
obedience to our Lord Jesus, and we no longer walk according to our sinful
flesh. We now live lives separate (unlike, different) from the world, not
blended in with the world, which is a mixture of light and darkness.
Ephesians 4:25-29 ESV
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. 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. 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.”
Okay, so now we have the practical application of the truth
taught us in the Scriptures above. This is how it is to be lived out in our
lives in all practicality, but still in the power of God and the working of his
Holy Spirit within us, and not of our flesh. So, this is not about behavioral
modification done in the flesh, of our own choosing, and in our own timing.
This is all still part of that exchange from darkness to
light. So, we used to steal from others? We don’t just stop stealing, but we must
become someone else. We must be ones who give to others. So, we used to be in
the habit of telling lies? We don’t just stop telling lies, but now we become
truth tellers as a matter of practice. And, all this is in the strength, wisdom
and power of God. And, the list goes on and on and on.
Ephesians 4:30-32 ESV
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
So, how do we grieve the Holy Spirit? We grieve him when we
ignore the word of God, and when we ignore the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
and we choose to sin against God and to do what our flesh desires, instead. We
grieve him when we live by our flesh and not by the Spirit, and when we decide
what we are going to do and how we are going to live, rather than us living by
God’s standards, in his power, and under his direction.
So, if we don’t want to grieve the Spirit of God, and if we
want to live lives which are pleasing to God, which is what He requires of us,
then we need to daily be putting the deeds of the flesh to death, by the Spirit,
and we need to be walking in obedience to our Lord in following him in his
ways, according to his truth.
For, if we don’t turn away from those sinful lifestyles, and
if we don’t put on Christ and his righteousness, then we don’t have eternal
life with God (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8;
Rom. 2:6-8).
So, don’t be fooled by the lies which are telling you that
salvation from sin is merely forgiveness of sin and the hope of heaven when you
die. Believe the truth that is in Christ Jesus that we must die with Christ to
sin and live with Christ to his righteousness if we want to have eternal life
with God.
But this isn’t just about wanting to have eternal life with
God, at least not just in the sense of going to heaven one day, but this is
about having life in Christ Jesus free from slavery to sin, living to please
God.
Footprints
of Jesus
Lyrics
by Mary B. Slade, pub. 1871
Music
by Asa B. Everett
Sweetly, Lord, have we heard Thee calling,
Come, follow Me!
And we see where Thy footprints falling
Lead us to Thee.
Though they lead o’er the cold, dark mountains,
Seeking His sheep;
Or along by Siloam’s fountains,
Helping the weak.
If they lead through the temple holy,
Preaching the Word;
Or in homes of the poor and lowly,
Serving the Lord.
If Thy way and its sorrows bearing,
We go again,
Up the slope of the hillside, bearing
Our cross of pain.
Then, at last, when on high He sees us,
Our journey done,
We will rest where the steps of Jesus
End at His throne.
Footprints of Jesus,
That make the pathway glow;
We will follow the steps of Jesus
Where’er they go.
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