New Life in Christ
Ephesians 4:17-32
Main Idea: Our new life in Christ empowers us to live in a transformed way.
I. A New Identity (4:17-24)
The “once… but now” pattern of Ephesians shows up again here. Paul urges the church to no longer walk as the ‘Gentiles’ (speaking morally, not ethnically) do. He compares their old and new selves:
1. The Old Self (4:17-19)
Their mind was futile and darkened, their hearts were hardened and callous, and their actions were impure, immoral, and insatiable. The totality of who they were (head, heart, and hands) was ‘alienated from the life of God.’
2. The New Self (4:20-24)
Paul reminds these Gentiles that they have been taken to the “school of Christ” (4:20-21), where they have learned him, heard him, and taught him who is himself the truth. Because of Christ, we have a new way of thinking, a new way of responding, and new behaviors.
“If a man becomes Christ’s disciple by conversion, he must remain Christ’s disciple, throughout the rest of his life, by sitting at his Master’s feet, and receiving instruction from him; for it is only as we are taught of God that we shall be able to keep up the high spiritual distinction between ourselves and the rest of mankind. We are under the tutorship of the Holy Spirit; he has taken us into his school; he has taught us something already, he is teaching us more now, and he will keep on teaching us more and more till we shall know even as we are known.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
Just as we get dressed and put on clothes each day, we are to “put off the old self” and “put on the new self,” which is Christ himself (Rom. 13:14, Col. 3:9-10, Gal. 3:27). This putting off of the old and putting on of the new has already happened decisively at salvation, and we now live out this new reality daily.
2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The bridge between this “putting off” and “putting on” is to “be renewed” in the present. This is the work of the Spirit who is conforming us into the image of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). This is the sanctification process of the Christian life, where we become functionally who we already are positionally in Christ.
II. A New Way of Living (4:25-32)
Paul now practically applies this new identity to a new way of living, marked by ongoing repentance, faith, and gospel transformation. “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.” ~ Martin Luther
This new way of living is described in the same pattern in these verses:
Repentance (negative: stop doing this…)
Faith (positive: instead, do this…)
Theological / gospel motivation
1. Truth-telling (4:25)
Repentance: Put away all falsehood
Faith: Speak the truth with our neighbor
Theological: We are members of one another; the body is strengthened and united by truth, not falsehood (Eph. 4:15-16)
2. Anger (4:26-27)
Repentance: Turn from unrighteous anger
Faith: Live with righteous anger
Theological: Do not give an opportunity to the devil, who is the Father of lies and a murderer from the beginning (Jn. 8:44)
3. Work (4:28)
Repentance: No longer steal or work dishonestly
Faith: Work hard and honestly
Theological: We work hard in order that we might be generous toward those who are in need
4. Speech (4:29-30)
Repentance: No more corrupting speech (cf. ‘rotten fruit of Mt. 7:17-18)
Faith: Edifying speech for building up, full of grace
Theological: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, who has sealed us and is transforming us from the inside-out
Luke 6:45: The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
5. Attitudes (4:31-32)
Repentance: Bitterness, wrath, (unrighteous) anger, clamar, slander, and malice must be put away
Faith: Be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving to one another
Theological: Christ has forgiven us and acted toward us in this very way
When we realize that Christ has treated us in all of these ways out of his grace, kindness, and mercy, we begin to realize the power to change and be transformed. The gospel does not call us to a list of moralistic activities, but to a new life and a new way of living marked by Christ himself (5:1-2).
