WHAT TO PUT ON!
Ephesians 4:17-32
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.
You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 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; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ‘In your anger do not sin’ Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:17-32
When a person believes and confesses Jesus as savior and Lord, they are born again, and a transformation takes place in their basic nature. The change is more radical that the change that takes place at death. When a believer dies, they have already been made a citizen of heaven, a child of God. At death they experience the divine nature that has been present since their new birth, but now set free from the flesh.
We live in a world obsessed with fashion. It’s everywhere we go. The promise from the fashion world is sartorial regeneration, that is, new birth through clothing. And it sells, sells, sells! We’ve heard, clothes don’t make the man/woman, but they sure help! The problem is, clothing doesn’t make you, it covers you up. It may polish your image, but no help for your soul.
In our text tonight Paul talks about a godly wardrobe that truly changes ones life. He tells us what we need to get rid of, and more importantly, what to put on!
I need to tell you that I’ve had a couple of struggles preparing this message, some personal reactions as I studied this passage.
The first reaction I had is an attitude of self-righteousness. I’ve never been a Gentile so I don’t really know what Paul is talking about experientially. I’ve never been ignorant of God. My parents are missionaries, and I’m so grateful that I haven’t known anything else. I have no sense of having hardened my heart toward God at any time in my life. Although there have been a few calluses periodically.
I’ve not given myself over to, as Paul puts it, every kind of sensuality so that I’ve lost all sensitivity. As I look at Paul’s list of things, I don’t practice lying. I think my anger is fairly well controlled. And when I do express my anger, it’s righteous anger I express! I don’t make a practice of stealing. I don’t think of myself as engaging in unwholesome talk. So what’s this about being a Gentile? For that matter, what’s a Gentile?
The Jews used this term two ways, first to distinguish all other people from Jews. You were either a Jew or a Gentile. Second, to distinguish all other religions from Judaism. So, Gentiles referred ethnically to all non-Jews and religiously to all pagans.
Paul uses the term in it’s pagan meaning, so Gentiles here represent all ungodly, unregenerate, pagan persons.
Let me remind you of our setting. The church at Ephesus was surrounded by paganism and the immorality it bred. The city of Ephesus was a leading commercial and cultural city of the Roman empire. It boasted the great pagan temple of Artemis, or Diana, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was also a leading city in debauchery and sexual immorality. i.e. Amsterdam & Las Vegas
The temple of Artemis was the center of the wickedness. Like all pagan religions, its rituals and practices were extensions of man’s most perverted sins. Male and female roles were interchanged, homosexuality and every other sexual perversion were common. Idols of Artemis were seen everywhere. The silver ones were the most popular of artifacts. Because of Paul’s preaching the Ephesian silversmiths rallied against him and his fellow believers (Acts 19).
That’s the setting and context of the church to which Paul writes. That led to the second problem I had with this passage, you’re such a great group of people, it’s difficult to imagine that you have need of what is here in this text.
So I thought, I can approach this theoretically. There are two main parts to this message. There are the things you put off, and there are things you put on. That’s Paul’s basic two points in this passage. You put on the new self or the new attitude.
From lying to speaking the truth
Ever since the Garden of Eden lying has been a common characteristic of the fall of mankind. Our society today is so dependent on lying that if it suddenly turned to telling the truth our way of life would collapse. If our world leaders began speaking only the truth, WWIII would probably start.
Lying is more than telling falsehoods. It is also exaggerating, cheating in school or income tax returns, making foolish promises, betraying a confidence, flattery, and making all kinds of excuses. As believers we are to put off falsehood and speak truthfully to our neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Let me be clear, always telling the truth does not require telling everything we know. Truthfulness does not require breaking a confidence. Nor does it require that we unburden all our ill feelings about someone or something. Our concern is for God to deal with our wrong feelings and remove them, not to express them in some attempt at self justification.
From unrighteous anger to righteous anger
Paul says, in your anger don’t sin. It’s ok to be angry at evil, that which is done against Jesus and his will and purpose. It is anger that abhors injustice, immorality and ungodliness of every sort.
Jesus expressed anger at the hard heartedness of the Pharisees who resented him healing the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath.. He was angry that they had turned the Temple into money making enterprise. He was angry when in God’s name others were mistreated or abused.
Anger that is sin is selfish, undisciplined, and vindictive, and it has no place in the Christian life.
But even righteous anger can easily turn to bitterness, resentment, and self-righteousness. So Paul says, don’t let the sun go down on your anger and give the devil an opportunity.
From stealing to sharing
No one is completely free from the temptation to steal. Children go through a phase of thinking it is fun to steal. That is an attraction of taking something that does not belong to you.
Shoplifting, falsified cost overruns, embezzlement, padding expense accounts, reporting more hours than were worked, taking dad’s money off the dresser, not paying fair wages, all forms of stealing.
It is God’s plan for everyone to work who is able to do so. If a man will not work, he shall not eat. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 The purpose of working is so that we will have something to share with others who are in need. Always being ready to give.
From unwholesome words to wholesome words
Here’s were God began to deal with my heart. As I opened my heart to what the Spirit of God was saying to me, it turned out I wasn’t as good as I thought I was.
There’s a precedent for persons sharing their fears in the spiritual life. Paul’s own example in 2 Corinthians 3:13 where he talks about the veil that Moses wore. Moses put on the veil because he had such a glory in his face as a result of having encountered God and people couldn’t bear to look at him. So they asked for the veil to be put there.
Paul lets us in on a little secret about Moses that the Old Testament never tells us. That is the day came when the radiance of his face began to fade. Moses got up one morning and looked in the mirror and said, my glory has slipped today! I don’t want people to notice the fading of my glory so I’ll put the veil on as before.
Paul says that Moses kept the veil on so that the diminishing radiance could be in effect hidden. He then goes on state an important truth, and we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18
As we have the courage to take the mask off in order that by being honest with one another we might give each other the freedom for change in our lives.
I believe I’ve told you before that I have to live the message that I preach each week. There are some areas in my life the Lord pointed out that were uncomfortable. Occasionally, all of us have a problem with anger. We forget that the Lord has more important priorities than the thing we thought was the most important.
Verse 29 says, do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths. I have always thought of that as swearing, cursing, saying something awful. But that’s not it at all. Do not let unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to your needs. Paul is saying, unwholesome talk is whatever tears someone else down.
I don’t like it when scripture comes at me this way. I like it better when the Lord speaks to me about things I’ve already worked through. Anger has been cropping up. Here’s how I’ve rationalized it, Dan, you’ve had a lot of pressure the last few months. With that has come stress. When you have so much stress and responsibility a certain amount of irritability can be expected. That’s how I explain it.
Then the Holy Spirit steps in and says, That’s not the problem at all. It isn’t the pressure, responsibilities, or stress. It’s that you’ve moved a little too far away from me in your inner life. You need to get back close to me. Ouch!!!
Maybe you’re going through some of the same things. You’re not a heathen at all. In terms of the classic description of someone totally indulging in sensuality. But you are irritable, mean, and petty. Some degree of irritableness, meanness and pettiness have crept into your life. The Lord is saying to you, put off the old and put on the new. Just as God forgave you, forgive one another.
My only right to be able to minister to you on this whole subject today is that I know something of the Lord’s forgiveness and his correction. I realize that we’re in danger in our life if we ever reach the point in our spirituality where we can’t be corrected by the Lord.
The Holy Spirit is very gentle, but firm, when he points out things in our lives that need correction. Then, when he has finished doing that, he steps in and restores us. It’s the difference between the Lord’s work in our life and the suggestions of our enemy, Satan.
When we have sinned and done wrong Satan always comes and remind us, What a failure you are. You’re such a lousy Christian. Whoever told you, you could be a pastor. You can’t even speak honestly to your neighbor. What gives you the right to be a pastor? You ought to write it off because you’ll never succeed. That’s what the enemy does.
The Holy Spirit comes along and says, You have done wrong. Now repent and let your relationship be restored. The enemy is never interested in restoring your relationship with God. He’s never interested in your putting on the new nature. He just wants to remind you of how bad your old nature really is. But God always wants to bring us to a fresh and vital relationship with him.
God wants us to realize that underneath and supporting the whole ministry of this church is a mighty rushing river of his Spirit. That is the foundation on which we base everything we do, that God will move by his Spirit. As the Holy Spirit moves, the things in our lives that need to change come to the surface. It’s not pretty, it can be rather ugly and painful.
As we take care of the things he asks us to, then he is free to give us a new revelation of his presence. He is then free to give us a river in our lives which washes away the old and brings in the new. A river of his Spirit. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. John 7:38
Paul says that we are to really live as children of light. So, Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
