Ephesians 4:14-24. “Put on the New Self”
This is a very important passage. At this time of year many of us are realising that the New Year resolutions we committed to are not so easy. That diet, that fitness drive, watching less television, they all seem so much harder now.
This passage is all about what should concern God’s people, becoming like the Lord Jesus. The fact is that we do not change easily. It is hard to make a permanent change in how we think and act. This passage is all about how we change to be the sort of people God wants us to be. This ambition is how our passage ends:
“ . . .to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24
Verse 14 begins with ‘Then’, so it links with the previous verses. We saw last week that God wants all Christians to be prepared or trained to serve the Lord Jesus. Our aim is that together the church grows both is numbers and quality (verse 12 says ‘may be built up’), so that we are united in living for the Lord Jesus and all become ‘mature Christians’. Paul summarises maturity as being the ‘fulness of Christ’ (verse 13), where Jesus fills all of our life.
Paul contrasts this maturity of verse 13 with immature spiritual infancy in verse 14 where people in the churches were being blown around by every new quirky doctrine that comes along. Do you remember how, not long ago people were told that to be a mature Christian you had to have certain experiences, such as being ‘slain in the Spirit’?
Our passage today tells us how this maturity will really come about. Although maturity is a corporate concept, describing the church as a whole, it will depend on each of us maturing individually. The apostles recognise that stormy times are coming for Christians, waves knocking us off course and winds blowing us away from our devotion to Jesus.
Note in verse 14 that it is false teaching that is the root cause of the churches problems:
“. . . blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”
The emphasis of this section comes under three headings:
1. Truth matters
2. Thinking matters
3. Living matters
1. Truth matters Ephesians 4:14-16
I well remember a friend at college who made a commitment to Christ and started well. He became a famous lawyer and even wrote a book that became a classic. It appears that his success went to his head, he was blown away from Christ, he stopped going to church and his marriage broke up. He wrote to me to say he had given up on those old beliefs. Unfortunately he has now died. Doubtless there were many factors that cause such people to reject the Lord and his rule over their lives. He was like Demas in 2 Timothy 4:9 who loved the world and left Christ’s church.
Other people never seem satisfied. They constantly church hop. They take up new fads and experiences thinking that these will change everything. Too often they are looking for what will satisfy them and so they seldom become effective servants, working hard for Christ. Listen to what Paul said to the Ephesian church:
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.” Ephesians 4:14
Christ and his apostles want us to know that Satan is doing his best to derail us and prevent us from becoming the sort of people Christ wants. Peter wrote:
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking for someone to devour. “ 1 Peter 5:8
Satan is out to seduce you and me. Deceit is rife so we need to keep our minds sharp. False teaching can so easily take us away from living for Christ and him alone. God’s truth revealed in Scripture is vital.
It is significant that Paul doesn’t say in verse 15 ‘believing the truth’ but instead ‘speaking the truth’. The truth that really matters is, as we have seen, Jesus himself. He is Lord of all and living for him is the basis of Christian maturity. The Bible teaches that every Christian must learn to talk about Jesus to those around them but to do so in a way that is not ‘naff’, our aim is to win them for Christ. Remember Paul wrote to the Roman church:
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10
It is all too easy for teachers to use Biblical words but for the meaning to be far from Biblical. In his second letter the apostle Peter longed for all God’s people to think clearly,
“Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Saviour through your apostles.” 2 Peter 3:1-2
Christians need to be constantly reminded what God is teaching us in His Word about how we should think and live.
Let me give an example. We can all applaud the desire of Charles III, our King, to bring the varied people of Britain into a harmonious United Kingdom. However it is not right to sacrifice truth for this ambition. In his Christmas Speech he said,
“The example that Jesus gave us is timeless and universal. It is to enter the world of those who suffer, to make a difference to their lives and so bring hope where there is despair. . . That is the heart of the Nativity Story and we can hear its beat in the belief of all the great faiths in the love and mercy of God in times of joy and of suffering, calling us to bring light where there is darkness.”
Biblical words were used but notice their meaning has been changed. Today many people are saying that Christianity is all about getting on well with other people. The King talked about the example of Jesus who suffered for others and suggests that it was his example of love for others that people should emulate.
He went on to talk about other faiths in a way that suggests Jesus is only ‘a Saviour’ and not ‘the Saviour of the whole world’. He then quickly returned to the doctrine that Jesus came to remind us to love others which he says is ‘the heart of the Nativity Story’ and then suggests is also the core of the teaching of ‘all the great faiths’.
No, no, no - the heart of the ‘Nativity Story’ is that Jesus is God in the flesh, the creator and Lord of all people, who has entered his world to save a people from the consequences of their rebellion against God, to pay for their sin against God.
Charles mentioned ‘redemption’ in a way that makes it mean the redemption of human relationships. Again no, in the Bible redemption is a uniquely Christian teaching and refers to what Jesus entered this world to do, to buy back lost people so we can enjoy a relationship with God. He did this by paying the price that our sin deserves. He became our substitute or scape-goat so each of us can be acceptable to God.
Other faiths suggest that if we live good enough lives God will accept us but the Bible repeatedly rejects this. It teaches that no-one can think and live as God requires and that our sin separates us from God. Our only hope is to be ransomed or saved by God himself. This is what Jesus did for his people when he died for us on the cross. Those who become followers of Jesus become his chosen people whom he will firstly save and then empower to live with him both now and in eternity. The Bible is clear that those who reject the rule of Christ in their lives will be eternally separated from God.
This Protestant Biblical message is certainly not the core teaching of all great faiths and to suggest that it is is wrong.
How can the head of the Church of England be so mistaken? Who advised him over his script? At his coronation King Charles was given a Bible,
“We present you with this Book, the most valuable thing that this world affords. Here is Wisdom; this is the royal Law; these are the lively Oracles of God.”
The King gave a promise to uphold the Protestant faith given us in the Bible. He was asked:
“Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant ReformedReligion established by law?”
To this the King replied:
“All this I promise to do.”
How can he now claim that the faith of the Bible is similar to ‘the belief of all the great faiths’. Buddhism does not even believe in a God. The teaching of the Qur’an is very different to that of the Bible. The teaching of Jesus is built on the rock of truth whereas, as the coming book ‘The Origins of Islam’ indicates, Islam is built on very shaky sands. The Bible is clear, without a personal faith in Jesus there is no salvation.
Someone may be thinking,
‘How can you be critical of our king, the head of the Church of England?’
Surely that title is a misnomer. Look at verse 15 again:
“ . . . we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is Christ.” Ephesians 4:15
Everything good in our society depends on finding and following the truth. For anyone to have a relationship with God they must understand that Jesus is the rock of truth.
Jesus is the truth that Christians must adhere to. Paul continues,
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every aspect the mature body of him who is head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15
A healthy church is being constantly fed on the truth of God’s word. This truth is not just academic truth. It is also a practical loving truth. Whenever we talk about the truth we must do so with much love, people must see that we not only love them but that we also love Jesus.
2. Thinking matters
It is all very well being taught God’s truth but we then need to think it through and put it into practice. We Christians must think it all through deeply and not be like non-Christians. Hardened hearts do influence both how we think and what we accept as true.
Paul continues,
“So I tell you this and insist on it in the Lord, that you must not live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” Ephesians 4:17-18
Even secular psychologists tell us that our lives are steered by ignorance. ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ is a 2011 popular science book by psychologist Daniel Kahneman. The book's main thesis is a differentiation between two modes of thought: ‘System 1’ are the fast, instinctive and emotional reactions we all make. ‘System 2’ are the slower, deliberate thoughts where we weigh up all the evidence. We all select the information we will accept and this affects our judgments. We react as if we know everything relevant but in reality we don’t. What makes someone decide to take drugs, have an affair, watch pornography or steal? The reason is that people are not thinking clearly.
This ignorance is more than logical errors, look at next verse:
“Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” Ephesians 4:19
Our sinful natures and our emotions can so easily override what is clearly true. I remember a patient of mine who was in her 30’s. She had a large breast tumour and needed a mastectomy. In the end we did a mastectomy and reconstructed her at the same time. After the operation we were talking and she told me that she had decided to commit suicide if she had lost her breast. I explained to her a simple truth that she had not included in her thinking.
“Don’t forget that when we die we will all face God in judgment. So it wouldn’t be sensible to speed up your death if you are not ready to meet him yet.”
This led on to a fascinating conversation, but the point is that we mustn’t let our emotions and other factors such as our moods, our likes and dislikes control how we think and the actions we take.
It really does matter whether Jesus is the one true God or not. To accept him as my Lord will mean that he controls how I behave. If he doesn’t control how I think, how I talk and how I behave then he is not yet Lord and I am not yet a Christian. Repentance is vital if we are to be saved by God. After turning to Jesus we must start living a new Christ-centred life. Our passage continues:
“So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.” Ephesians 4:17-19
Adherence to a religion does not produce this inner change but Jesus does bring this change when we allow him to be our Saviour and Lord. Inner change only comes when we serve Jesus, not from turning to religion.
“That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.” Ephesians 4:20-21
When will Christians, and especially Christian leaders start to talk about Jesus and stop using the word ‘God’ instead of Jesus? God is such a broad word and can mean almost anything you want. It is the divine Jesus we serve. Clear thinking is very important today. People need to be taught not just that there is truth, truth being defined as concepts compatible with God, but we need to use our God-given minds to separate the truth from what is untrue. Part of this thinking is to recognise that the old way of living, ‘corrupted by evil desires’ is wrong. Our thinking needs to be changed,
“ . . . to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 2:23-24
Paul is challenging all Christians to think straight. Logic in the discovery of truth is vital but alongside this must go an inner determination to become a holy God-pleasing person.
Did you notice that the phrases in this section all evoke the image of a school;
“You learned Christ” verse 20
“You heard him” verse 21a
“You were taught in him” verse 21b
They must refer to the catechismal teaching all new Christians received after their baptism.
In the first phrase, ‘You learned Christ’, Jesus is the substance of Christian teaching. Evangelists preach Christ and their hearers ‘learn Christ’ and receive him. They received the tradition taught by the apostles about Jesus. They would learn of Jesus’ life on earth but also that ‘Jesus is Lord’ and this remains the essence of the church’s message today, ‘Jesus is Lord.”
Secondly, Christ, who is the substance of the teaching, is himself also the teacher, ‘You heard him’. The Greek is clear, we do not hear about him, we hear him as he teaches us. As we hear Christian teachers we hear Christ himself. Christ is teaching us about himself.
Thirdly they were ‘taught in him’. Jesus is not only the teacher, not only the substance of the message but is also the context in which the teaching was given. We live in Christ’s world. When Jesus Christ is at the same time our teacher, the object of the teaching and the environment in which we learn, we can be confident that this teaching is truly Christian. Jesus is the embodiment of truth and one day we will see him in his.glory. Verses 22-24 tell us that just as heathen darkness leads to reckless uncleanness, so the truth of Jesus sets us free and leads us to righteousness. To learn Christ is to grasp the new creation that he has made possible and the entirely new life which results from having faith in him.
We must teach people to think about the Jesus Christ. And that ‘Jesus is Lord’.
3. Living matters
The test of how we really think is the way our thinking influences the way we live. It is so easy for us to be hypocrites. We can say we believe the Scriptures are God’s word to us, but do we study it and share with others what we have learned? We may say that prayer matters but are we sharing with the Lord throughout the day all that is going on and praying for those we meet and talk to. Do we really think that corporate prayer is important? If we say we do we ought to try to be at the church prayer meetings before the services. Falsehood and hypocrisy are very similar.
When we are taught from God’s word we soon realise that being a Christian means living a radically new kind of life. Look back:
“That, however is not the way of life you learned . . .” Ephesians 4:20
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires . . .” Ephesians 4:21
You can see how the argument goes, truth matters, thinking matters but this must then lead to new Christ-centred lives. If, at home or at work, we allow ourselves to get angry, to gossip maliciously about others, refuse to help with the chores and spend time with people then we have a problem. Truth must result in Christ-like lives. Paul explained the change that occurs in God’s people in his letter to the Colossians,
“But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” Colossians 3:8-9
If we keep failing in these areas, it is possible that we have allowed Satan to let us think that such ungodly ways of behaviour are alright. The Scriptures say clearly that they are not.
Can all of us pray these words at the end of our section asking the Lord Jesus to help us think Christianly. Let us make it personal and ask Jesus to help us:
“ . . to be made new in the attitude of your (can you put my?) mind; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:23-24
You may be conscious of having failed the Lord in many of these ways. The joy is that we can return to Jesus, repent and start again with him. If you can pray this prayer, if you do want Christ to live in you, then you have the mind of Christ and that comes from the presence of his Spirit in you. What joy and peace there is in this relationship with him – in holiness.
C.S.Lewis wrote in his ‘Letters to an American Lady’,
“How little people know, who think that holiness is dull. When one meets the real thing it is irresistible.”
The American evangelist D. L. Moody visited Britain when he was young and a man named Henry Varley said to him,
“The world has yet to see what God will do with one man who is totally committed to Him”
This phrase deeply affected him and it became a pivotal moment in his life and ministry. Moody was so struck by these words that he decided to make it his life’s goal to be that man. He reportedly reflected on the statement and concluded,
“By God’s help, I aim to be that man.”
This profound commitment drove Moody to devote himself fully to God’s service. As a result, he became one of the most influential evangelists of the 19th century, preaching to millions of people across America, England, and beyond. It serves as a reminder of the transforming power of total surrender to God’s purposes and the impact one fully committed life can have on the world.
“Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves . . . but will be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:14,23-24
