Trading Spaces Series

How many of you are familiar with the television show “Trading Spaces”? It is my wife’s favorite show. If you are not familiar with it, let me explain it to you.

Two couples who are neighbors and friends (hopefully) appear on this show. Each couple is paired with an interior designer and given $1,000 to work on a room in their neighbor’s house. So, family A goes to completely change and overhaul 1 room in Family B’s house, while family B goes to completely change and overhaul 1 room in family A’s house. They work on it for two days, and at the end, they each get to see their own new room. The best thing about this show is the “reveal”, or the reaction of each family to their new room. You see, outside of some very limited input (like “Please don’t touch the fireplace”), they have no idea what their new room will look like. Most of the time, the families like their new room. Other times, well, it doesn’t turn out so well.

I can tell you when it’s on television, because it’s on quite frequently at our house. I know when it’s 4 oclock or 9 oclock if it’s on television.

Several weeks ago I started a series on Spring Cleaning. We left it for three weeks, but I’d like to come back to it this morning. We looked at Ephesians 5:17-22, and the importance of getting rid of your old junk. We talked about the junk that we hold onto in our lives, how it really is junk compared to what God wants to give us. Yet we still hold on to our old way of living—the junk, the SIN—instead of enjoying the great and abundant life that Christ has to offer us.

Today, we are going to look at Ephesians 5:22-24, and see that God invites us to our own personal show of trading spaces. You see, he wants inside of our lives—he wants to get rid of all the old junk. He wants to change your thinking about how you approach your life. And finally, he wants to give you a makeover, and give you the fullness of his abundant life. But he doesn’t just want to do it with one aspect of our lives. He wants access to all of your life. It won’t do to just do part of your life, he wants it all. Let’s read together Ephesians 4:22-24.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Now before we get into the process of trading spaces this morning, let’s look at the final result. You see, you don’t even get this on the show—you never see the final result beforehand. Here, for us, God wants us to see His blueprint. He has nothing to hide from us, he has the best in mind and his design is what we should desire.

created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

You see, the end result is that we would be like god in righteousness and holiness. Isn’t that something to be desired? I hope it is for you.

Now, it doesn’t say that we will be like God in power and majesty. It doesn’t say that we will be like God in all knowledge. Rather, in true righteousness and holiness. Matthew Henry says that this is the fulfillment of all of God’s commands for us. Righteousness concerns itself with the last five of the great commandments, the second tablet. Holiness concerns itself with the first five of the great commandments, the first tablet. Righteousness deals with men, while holiness deals with God. In other words, if we let God do this work within us, we will be pleasing to Him, perfectly dealing with both our fellow men and with God.

Now, how does this work? Let’s go back to the passage, and read it through again carefully.

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

We have to put off the old self—get rid of the old man. Get rid of the junk of the old way of living. We hold on to so much junk. I showed you a t-shirt the last time, signifying the junk that we individually hold onto in our personal lives. In fact, the words, “to put off” refers to the removal of clothing.