Here’s the notes and audio for “Put Off, Put On” (Ephesians 4:17-24) preached at Cross of Christ Fellowship in Naperville.
Eph 4:17-24 “Put Off, Put On”
INTRO: Viking River Cruise: explore the world in luxury. Sit back and relax, and they’ll do all the work.
-This is not the normal Christian life=one of coasting, cruising, and leisure.
-Normal Christian life is one of active effort, by God’s grace, through the Holy Spirit to be holy.
-Becoming a Christian= death to life: God does all the work and makes us spiritually alive
-Growing as a Christian= CLOTHING—we put off old ways of thinking and living and put on new ways of Christ.
-Christian’s daily call: put off the old ways of living and thinking and put on the new ways of Christ.
*M.I: The normal Christian life is one of putting off the old ways living and putting on the new ways of Christ
CONTEXT: Application portion of the Letter. (Eph 1-3 is doctrine, while 4-6 is application)
-Eph 4:1-16: Live worthy of your calling!
-Be like Christ in your relationship, pursue unity in the church
-Spiritual growth comes about by God’s grace, utilizing His gifts, shaped by God’s grace.
TODAY: A call to actively live out our new identity in Christ.
*The normal Christian life is one of putting off the old ways living and putting on the new ways of Christ
- Don’t Live like an Unbeliever Any Longer (17-19)
Apostle Paul gives an express command to us a Christians: Don’t live like an unbeliever any longer!
-Don’t Live Like an Unbeliever Anymore (17a)
– Leave behind the old ways of thinking and living.
-Christians live differently from the world around them.
–ROME: Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. I will be shaped by teaching of Christ, not Roman culture.
–SUBURBIA: Christ is better than Comfort and everything else. Shaped by Christ not culture.
-Different values, different goals, different perspective: one shaped w/Christ at the center.
-High Schooler: Non-Christian vs Christian
-A HELP FOR US: Remember the Rottenness of Your Life Before You Came to Christ (17b-19)
-Satan wants to make sin appealing and tantalizing. Bible helps us see its true colors.
-Here Paul helps us remember the rottenness of our former Christless condition.
-in the futility of their minds.
-Sin affects our minds and thinking
-Sin makes us stupid!
– 18 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.
-Hardness of heartàignorance of Godàalienated from the life of God=Darkened in their understanding.
-Great tragedy of sin: ‘alienated from the life of God’
-To be cut us and alienated from God is the greatest tragedy we can experience.
–19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
-Callousness leading to a sensuality, which is expressed in a greedy desire to practice ‘every kind’ of impurity
-Pornography; Greed; Obsessive idolatry of things in this world; Speech;
-4:22 former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
-CORRUPT=A Christless life is a corrupt life.
-DECEITFUL DESIRES= Our desires leading us away from the truth of God and ultimate reality.
*OBJECTION: This sounds a bit harsh, surely not every non-Christian is this bad.
-ANSWER: Though not all as expressly wicked in behavior, Paul shows that this actually is the life without Christ
CLARIFICATION: Does not mean there is no beauty, goodness, or truth there. (Common Grace)
-But does inform our overall view: There is no life there, but only in Christ.
-This is true even for kindest, most generous dog walking, tax paying, non-Christian neighbors
APPLICATION: Let the Bible shape how you think and view a life apart from Christ
-See again: the Rottenness, emptiness of our old way of living.
-Let that help you turn away from your former manner of life.
- When you Became a Christian, You Learned a Different Way (20-21)
The Ephesians Christians already know that following Christ means leaving their old ways behind.
-In Ephesus, as now, new Christians are instructed on how to live and follow Christ
-This shows the importance of local church and discipleship.
-You learned a different way when you became a Christian! (20) 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—
-“learned Christ” =the way of following Christ
-A new savior and way of living= walking in the light!
-Assuming you Really are a Christian (21)
21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,
-Not everyone who hears this letter read may have heard or were taught about gospel.
-Going to church does not make you a Christian!
-If you live and values are indistinguishable from world around you, probably not a Christian.
*QUESTION: Are you a Christian? Have you placed your faith and trust in Jesus? Is God 1ST in your life and heart?
NOTE: “as the truth is in Jesus”
-Strengthens our faith and assurance=Truth about ultimate reality is found in Jesus.
APPLICATION: When life seems perplexing, remember again that ‘the truth is in Jesus’
III. This is the Way of the Christian (22-24)
Star Wars Mandalorian: ‘this is the way’
When I was a music major, there was in a sense a new identity I took on with new practices to embrace (daily practice)
3 Parts to the Way of the Christian
1. PUT OFF (22)
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
-Put off your old self=Old ways of living and thinking.
-Daily, conscious decision to put away ungodly attitudes and actions and DESIRES.
*QUESTION: How is God calling you to put off the old ways of thinking, hoping, feeling, living?
2. RENEWAL OF YOUR MIND (23)
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
-Letting your thinking and feeling, hopes and fears, dreams, be shaped by a God-centered vision of reality
-Reading, Meditating, Soaking in God’s Word until you behold and embrace the truth
-Wisdom Pyramid by McCracken—we have more information than ever but are unwise.
-Food pyramid instructed on what to take in body, so wisdom pyramid to take into mind
-Bible and church are indispensable.
*QUESTION: Are you daily allowing God to renew your mind through His Word?
3. PUT ON (24)
24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
-Actively putting the ways of godliness and Christ-likeness.
-Our new self is “created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness”
-Becoming more beautiful, good, and true as we become more and more like Christ!
*QUESTION: how is God calling you to put the ways of the new man?
APPLICATION: Believer, embrace this daily pattern: Put off, Put On.
-In work place or school.
-In our marriages or singleness
-How we handle our money, health, time
-How we relate to each other in the church and those outside the church.
CONCLUSION:
The normal Christian life is one of putting off the old ways of living and thinking and putting on the new ways of Christ.
