Open the Eyes of Our Hearts
A Study Through Ephesians - X
A Study in Ephesians
Ephesians 4:17-24
John Ryan

"A man can never really change who he is - it is impossible."
Dr. Gregory House from the show "House"

How We Once Lived - or Now Live Without Christ?
Ephesians 4:17-19 - 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you ...
The "Gentiles" in this context are all those apart from Christ.
"Futility of their mind" - refers to minds set on things that have no lasting consequence or eternal consequence. The things may be good and even moral by the world's standards, but they are not in line with holy mind of God.
* These people are separated from relationship with God due to the hardness of their hearts toward God. Sin is the cause of this. (vs. 17-18)
* These people are dead or numb to the things of God and alive and hungry for all that is sinful. (vs. 19)

How Are We to Live in Christ?
Ephesians 4:20-24 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!
"Learned Christ" - refers to the saving knowledge we receive in the Messiah - the name for the coming King who would save God's people from sin. (vs. 20)
"Taught in Him" - refers to two things.
1] "Taught" - is the idea of discipleship - ongoing instruction through word and model. We must be discipled - poured into by others who have gone before us. (vs. 20-21)
2] "In Him" - refers to the idea that all we receive and all the change that happens in us is due to the truth that we are "In Him" or "In Jesus". His power in us allows us to understand and be transformed. (vs. 21)

What are we to be taught that will affect how we are to live in Christ?
* We have a new nature in Christ that is completely different from our old nature (man) and allows us to live differently.

1) It allows us to stand before God now and forever completely accepted (righteousness and holiness) and to know the one true God. We can live without fear. We are accepted fully. We don't have to perform for God or others to be fully acceptable. In Christ, I am fully acceptable. We never again have to live wondering if our actions will be good enough..

2) It allows us to be constantly transformed (renewed in the spirit of your minds) into the likeness of God. Christ in us means that the Spirit of God that dwells in us will not stop until He has completely renewed the spirit of our mind into the likeness of God.
3) As we will see next few week, this then allows us to follow Christ in joyful obedience knowing that our actions don't just affect us. They bring glory to God and are used by God in His great story of restoration and redemption on this earth.
What Keeps Us From Living the Life Christ Has Called Us
To and What Hinders Our Transformation?

Ephesians 4:1 - I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,
Ephesians 4:17 - Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do ...

Ephesians 4:22-24 - 22 to put off your old self,?
* We must constantly live a life of brokenness. "Put off your old self"
Brokenness requires us to embrace the truths that we are fully acceptable and fully sinful at the same time. What does this practically look like?

1] A life of brokenness involves ongoing surrender to God's declaration of our acceptance and His control of our lives.
23 ...to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self

2] A life of brokenness involves ongoing repentance as God exposes and reminds us of our sinfulness. Specifically, as God shows us the things in which we have chosen to find our worth and acceptance other than God alone.
(We don't need sins to make us repentant. We just need to get a glimpse of our old nature. However, when we commit sins it reminds us that we are sinful and have an old man or old nature living within that is very much alive.)
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires

Our nature is corrupt and it breeds desires that are deceitful - it breeds idols that raise themselves up in front of God. Anything that captures our heart and allows us to hope or trust that our worth is in that thing is an idol. These are the deceitful desires that dominate our old life and still reside in the person who is in Christ.

Important Note on the Scripture Here:
The word teaches in verse 22 that this "old man" has once and for all been put off like a garment that is thrown off when we come into Christ. We know that it does not mean we are never tempted to go back to old ways or that we don't again live in the middle of our ways of sin. Verse one of this chapter makes it clear: Paul was saying - stop living this way. Our experience tells us as followers of Christ that sin is not put off forever. What does this mean? It means we are no longer subject to only one way of thinking - "futility of the mind". (Romans 6:6) We are no longer slaves to sin and finding our worth in everything but God. (Eph 2:1-2)
Now we can live in Christ for Christ. By His power in us, we can live and think differently and be a part of eternal things that matter for God's glory.

What does repentance look like for the follower of Christ?
1] Repentance always involves confession (agreeing with God) that we are fully sinful.
2] Repentance may involve confessing sins but more importantly we are looking to confess the deeper sin - the idols that allow us to find our worth in everything and anything but God. (I Corinthians 10:14; I John 5:21)
3] Remember: we do not confess to gain acceptance, we confess because we are accepted. We do not repent and confess to find approval and worth: God finds us worthy in Christ. We repent and confess so we can recognize what God knows and wants us to embrace: that idols lead us to live in our old nature of sin. This old nature is dying but it is not dead within us. We must constantly keep putting it off. What is the result?

* As we breathe out repentance - God Spirit reminds us we are accepted fully and He continues to renew the spirit of our minds and transform us into the likeness of God.

"As long as we are committed to overcoming our brokeness, we won't be able to do so...What we really need to do is surrender" (from "Plastic Jesus" - by Eric Sandras - pastor, teacher,author)

You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God. (Psalms 41:16-17 NLT)

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