Life in Christ

Ephesians 4:17-32 - "'Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.  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.  They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.  But that is not the way you learned Christ!—  assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus,  to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.    Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.  Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,  and give no opportunity to the devil.  Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

When someone responds to the grace of God by placing their faith entirely in the person and work of Jesus Christ, a miraculous change occurs within them. This is what is being described in the first half of today's passage. God regenerates us from within and places His Spirit in us whenever we place our faith in Jesus. At that exact moment, we are justified before God, which also means saved or declared as righteous. This is only possible because we are relying on the imputed righteousness of Christ and not a righteousness of our own.

When Paul tells the Ephesian believers to not walk in the futility of their minds as Gentiles do, he is mirroring what he wrote in Romans 1. In Romans 1, Paul addresses the minds of unbelievers. He says that although they know God because of the general revelation God gives us through creation, the suppress the truth. They denounce and turn away from the things of God in favor of themselves, the world, and sin. They have hardened their hearts to the things of God in favor of sin. It is what John writes about in 1 John 2. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life ultimately have the heart of the unbeliever, whereas God has the heart of a believer.

So, if we are genuine believers in Jesus Christ, we walk in the newness of life He offers. We put to death the things of our old life, which was lived in spiritual darkness apart from God. When we receive the full gospel, which points to the person and work of Christ covering over our sins as we repent and believe in Him, surrendering to His lordship, we must be crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20). We must know Him in His death to experience Him in His life. This means we deny ourselves, die to ourselves, and take up our cross to follow Him (Matthew 16:24). This internal death and regeneration are most easily displayed in the act of water baptism. We are buried with Christ and raised into new life in Him when we place our faith in Him. This is what it means to be saved and is exactly what physical water baptism represents. It is us signifying that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). No longer do we walk in the unrighteousness of the world but in the righteousness of Christ.

Beginning in verse 25, Paul gives us some practical examples of Christian living. We get to see what it means to truly walk in the new nature. Here's what Paul has to say:

• Christians do not lie, especially to one another as we are members of the same body. We must speak the truth and do so in love. This means we must be willing to speak hard truth that others may not want to hear.

• When someone or something angers us, act on the anger (in a self-controlled way). Do not let anger simmer to the point you become a gossip or have an outburst of anger directed toward someone. Hanging on to anger produces bitterness and bitterness gives room for Satan to operate.

• Do not steal and work hard. Stopping stealing honors God and working hard honors Him even more. Working hard also allows you to bless others because of the abundance of the fruits of your labor. It is not sinful to be wealthy. It is only sinful when your wealth becomes your god.

• Let your words be spoken intentionally and carefully. No longer allow careless and rotten words flow from your mouth, but speak to build up others, especially those who belong to the body of Christ.

• Do not grieve the Holy Spirit by walking in sinful patterns or destructive behaviors. Let all that you do be done in a way that properly reflects Jesus Christ. Live worthy of the calling He has placed on your life, which is a calling of a progressive state of holiness that will be achieved in paradise.

• Walk in a heart of forgiveness. We all know the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35). God canceled our eternal spiritual debt, which should have cost us our eternal lives. We must be quick to forgive the debts others owe us because of sins in this life. When we begin to want to shut off forgiveness to others because they have wronged us in such a way that it hurts, we must find a mirror and remember that God forgave us. Without the forgiveness that comes from God, we would be hell bound and doomed to face God's eternal wrath. But He made a way for us to be forgiven. Never be slow to forgive someone for their wrongdoings. Forgiveness can be painful. But don't forget the pain Jesus endured to forgive you.

Which of these areas do you need to improve in the most? Maybe you're like me and it is all of them. The key to living these out is to truly live for Christ. Mirror Him. Allow the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you to work through you to bring about a God-honoring life.

My prayer for you is that your areas of struggle may be fully turned over to our Lord this week. Surrender your temptations, weaknesses, doubts, and struggles to Him. Read His Word, spend time with Him in prayer, and devote your life to serving Him.