The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 Without any ado: So... what? What had Paul been writing about immediately previous to this verse? What is the “so” there for? Paul has just explained the foundation of the unity of the body, which is Christ. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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, Paul also explained the function of the body, which is to grow up into spiritual maturity, which looks very much like Christ.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 In order to attain maturity, Christ has graciously given each believer a gift. Each believer has a function in growing every other believer into spiritual maturity. Spiritual maturity is centered on knowledge of God's Word, which explains all that God has done for us. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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, God's desire is that we as a body grow together, in unity and fellowship, into the image of Christ. God has graciously provided every means by which to accomplish this.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 Building off the unity of the Church body, Paul begins to speak of our individual maturity Do we ever put our individual growth ahead of the corporate growth of the body? Should we do so? J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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, Is it possible for any believer to effectively grow individually without taking part in the corporate growth of the body? Is the great benefit of church that we grow within it? or is it that we grow others through the body?

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 Paul is speaking with authority from God. He affirms (or testifies) with the Lord—i.e. with the Lord's authority. We listen to what Paul says because he faithfully commits to us what God has said. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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, “This I say” is singular. The exhortation Paul gives us here is one act, one event. Paul reminds us that, as believers identified with Christ, our walk (lifestyle) is categorically different than that of a non- believer.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 “As the Gentiles also walk” refers to what the Ephesian believers were before they believed. In chapter 3 Paul went to great lengths to describe how God had re-created us in Christ. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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, We are no longer Jew or Gentile. We are one in Christ. We are not now what we once were. Our lives in Christ will be different, since Christ is now in us. The outworking of His nature will be greatly different from the outworking of our sin nature.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 Buyer's remorse: Was it really that bad under the old man? Is the new model all that much better? What is the essence of the “old man”? J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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, Paul lists several aspects of the non-believer. Firstly, they walk “in the futility of their mind.” (KJV: vanity of their mind) The word for futility/vanity is similar to the Hebrew word used throughout the book of Ecclesiastes.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 “Mind” indicates their whole mind, not just their thinking, is aimless and purposeless. For the non-believer, the mind is everything. The Bible tells us, though, that the mind alone is nothing. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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, The non-believer may spend many hours studying and surmising, and conjecturing and contemplating. Yet, they are like a car whose tires are spinning on the ice. Is the mind itself any less futile for the believer?

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 “Being darkened in their understanding” can also be translated “their reasoning process being darkened.” (Hoehner) Not only is the non-believer spinning their tires, they are also searching in the dark for answers. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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; Finding a needle in a haystack is difficult. Finding a needle in a haystack when you are blind, and don't even know what a needle is is impossible. No wonder the non-believer is sure of nothing.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 The non-believer is “excluded from the life of God. John emphasizes that the difference between “Christians” and “non-Christians” is the life of Christ. Christians have it; the other do not. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, 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; Paul notes two factors that keep people from Christ: ignorance and rebellion. Romans 1 shows that anyone can know Christ. Those who do not know Him choose to ignore that which has been made clear.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 Verses 17 and 18 describe the mental state of the non- believer. Verse 19 shows the moral state that is the result of the mental state. The non-believer is callous (KJV: past feeling). J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. That they are callous reveals that they are insensitive to the ways of God. It refers to their moral apathy. Romans 1 describes how God gives these ones over to their desires. He allows them to have what they want. These have become slaves to whatever their sinful desires demand of them.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 The choice to become slaves to sin was fully their own. God is loving in allowing them this choice. “Sensuality (or indecency)” means “freedom with no boundaries.” These people do what they want to do, when they want to do it, without remorse or regret. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. “Practice” might also be translated “occupation.” These people seek to satisfy their insatiable appetites on a continual basis. “Greediness” literally means “desire for more.”

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 Someone once describe drinking for an alcoholic: “One is too many and a hundred is not enough.” The non-believer has chosen a never ending task. There will always be another desire that demands to be quenched. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. Each sin creates the desire for more sin. This is the life of the non-believer. This is what he walks in day and night. This is what he has to look forward to as long as he rejects Christ.

But...

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 As believers, our lifestyle is completely different. We do not have to live that way. That was what we were before we believed. But that is not the way we are now. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, But you did not learn Christ in this way, Notice what is a key here. It is not so much what we do, but what we know. The outward is representative of the inward. Notice as well what he have learned--we have learned Christ. We learned not a method, but a person. As believers, we do not start by learning how to live. We start by learning who Christ is.

The Epistle to the Ephesians Learning Christ—Ephesians 4:17-20 For most of the rest of the book, Paul is going to explain what the life of Christ, which is in us, looks like. What he gives us is not what we should do, but what Christ will do in us. J. Doan—Holly Hills—May 24, But you did not learn Christ in this way, The key difference between a believer and a non-believer is that the believer has knowledge of the truth. Are we not blessed that God has transformed us through the completed work of Christ? Are we not blessed to have a new kind of life in Christ?