THINK RIGHT. Ephesians 4:17-24 Unity and maturity are two goals for the church that stem from the sacrificial work of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the next part of the chapter, the focus is on individual purity for everyone in the church. Without God in one’s life, a person leads a meaningless existence that can be intellectually frustrating and essentially useless. When we lack goals that give life significance, we are living in darkness concerning our very existence.
Building up God's people in love isn't just about knowing who we are and where we fit in the body of Christ. It also involves practical holiness that links doctrine and daily life. This is what Paul taught those who came from very ungodly backgrounds and were then seated with Christ in the heavenly places by faith. Teaching influences our thoughts. Thoughts shape our faith. Faith guides our actions. Our actions reflect our teaching. Nothing is more lifeless than unpracticed theory, and nothing is more alive than putting true theory into practice. The practical side of holiness in everyday life—business, home, and even entertainment—makes true Christianity uniquely attractive because it is genuine. Real happiness and authentic living in every part of life are what most people desire.
To teach the principles of this new life in Christ, the Ephesians were reminded of the negative side of life and the darkness from which they were rescued. Those who are not believers in Christ still find themselves in the same state today. There is a godless walk that people are pulled toward because of their sinful nature. All unsaved individuals face similar problems in some way. When the mind is blinded, life becomes aimless and useless. Emptiness always seeks to fill the void when life lacks purpose. A person recognizes when there is no real progress in life, and we are essentially without fruit. Some wealthy individuals donate money out of their abundance to try to find meaning in life, but that often just passes on what they have received from others. True fruitfulness comes only from within us.
Hardening of the heart and moral responsibility result when we lose our sensitivity to God's righteousness. The baser part of our being hardens us against what our conscience tells us and prompts us to do whatever we want. This passage first shows us how not to live. A lack of sensitivity to right and wrong leads to immorality, impurity, and greed.
A blindness of the mind makes a person unable to understand spiritual things. When someone rejects the knowledge of God, everything around them becomes an illusion, and we are simply accidents of fate. The principle of sin at work in a person causes them to go their own way, like a lost sheep. Ignorance of God is a choice that people make. There is a God-consciousness within every person that must be deliberately rejected. Those who are ungodly are "like chaff," driven away with a loss of sense and knowledge of God by their own choice because they are willfully ignorant.
When intelligence is blinded and the heart is also closed off, people become hard-hearted. They reject the light of creation that testifies of God. Their own conscience becomes callous, and when they once felt guilty about what they have done and what they have become, they are now shameless. They suppress the pain of wrongdoing and accept what they once knew was wrong as simply "the facts of life." Because there is no longer a sense of guilt or pain over ungodly actions, they drift further into paths of "lasciviousness"—sordid behavior.
Immoral and depraved practices foster a craving for what is wrong. People become addicted to sexual immorality, pornography, and indecent behavior. When indecency persists, it leads to all kinds of uncleanness, with people making a business of immoral activities. They seek their pleasure in these things. Their minds start focusing on what is wrong, and they end up hooked on evil and perversions that are insatiable. They are never satisfied, and their desire for what is forbidden is never fulfilled.
In that state, they are judicially condemned by God and are without hope in themselves. That was who the believers in Ephesus were before they were saved. Paul wanted them to understand the dangers of thinking like they once did and why it was important for them to realize what they had been brought into. There is no reason to boast about the evils of our past lives. Doing so may only attract our children and others who are not saved, to desire the same things. Our judicial position as believers is no longer in that darkness. "Ye have not so learned Christ."
That kind of living was not what they learned when they heard the Gospel and were saved by God’s grace. Knowing Christ opened a new life that is Christ-like. The Holy Spirit teaches us this right at the beginning of our new life when we put on the new nature. This begins in our minds because the power of sin has been defeated by the power of God. We cannot do this with our own willpower, but the righteousness of Christ is given to us so we want to and can please God.
What a difference there is between those who are lost and those who know our Lord Jesus Christ! This isn’t just about learning facts about Christ; it’s about knowing Him personally, as in a living relationship with Someone who is alive, with whom we share life. All who know the Lord Jesus Christ recognize Him as holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. We come to know Him through faith. Because of our new nature, we desire to be like Him and find our joy and purpose in Him. Through the Word of God, we seek to follow Him because we believe where He leads us is right and blessed. This happens when we are taught by Him through His Word. We are not left without guidance or understanding of what life is meant to be when we walk worthy of "the calling wherewith ye are called." Our walk should be "in the light as He is in the light." So, we have been taught by Him.
Now, we are called to walk in Him. This means our way of life has changed from what it was before. When we were saved by God's grace, the old self with its nature was cast off like a complete set of clothes, and a new set was put on. The past includes all the garbage and evil associated with it in thoughts, words, and actions. We need to consider it dead, just as God does. However, this must be seen as a practical reality. The old way must be completely discarded; simply removing it is not enough. Otherwise, we remain vulnerable to anything that comes our way. It’s not only about shedding the old, but also about putting on the new.
It is our responsibility to intentionally “put off” our old life and “put on” the new man. Unconditionally renouncing sin demonstrates that a person is a new creation in Christ Jesus. Our minds are renewed as we read, meditate on God's Word, and apply what we learn. This process helps us understand spiritual truths and enables us to think the way God desires. God works within us to align what we believe and do with our position in Christ.
This starts with renewal in our minds. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." "Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ." Our minds must be constantly guarded to truly change from immorality to holiness. When the mind is transformed, actions follow. The deception of the old self still lingers, so we must deliberately feed our minds and hearts with things that nourish the new man, who is clothed in righteousness and holiness. These things must be chosen and consistently practiced through our walk.
It is a well-established fact that each believer has been made a new person in Christ. This makes us acceptable to a holy God who desires us to be holy because He is holy. We are created anew to resemble God. The "new creation" is not just wishful thinking but an actual reality. When we were made new, the power of a changed mind and changed actions was a spiritual reality. The fact and reality are meant to be the same in the lives of God's people. This new man is how God wants His testimony to be visible to an ungodly world. He still loves sinners but not their sin. He still desires "all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth." That truth is that we have been recreated to demonstrate Christ to the watching world of men and angels.
It was not possible, when sin was our master, to live as God intended. The ways of the ungodly world and grace cannot coexist. Emptiness of mind and darkness of understanding; willful ignorance and sinful desires prevent those who are “past feeling” from being drawn by grace. The Spirit of God brings light where sin, with its chains and unfulfilled evil needs, has taken away the meaning of life. Something changed that dark picture, or rather—Someone.
Into the darkness came the joyous news that God the Father sent the Son, appointed by God to take on humanity and be our Savior. Everyone was welcomed who had an ear to hear; God was in Christ reconciling us to Him. There is "a way back to God, from the dark paths of sin." No one needs to despair because the door is open to all who come in repentance and call on the Savior.
We've heard Him through reading His Word and have been taught by Him before; He deserves our trust. We learn from Him when we are converted. The past is gone when we receive the truth and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. He did the saving when our minds are enlightened; we know what is right. Now, in the new man, we walk with Him in light. Now, we are created anew in Christ, and life as it is meant to be begins. In righteousness and holiness, we are made alive in Him.