Scripture
In preparation for last Sunday’s morning message on Ephesians 4:25-32, that I called “Living the Christian Life,” I read several commentaries, including one by Dr. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones titled, Darkness and Light: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:17-5:17. In that commentary he has a chapter titled, “How and Why the Christian Puts on the New Man.” I found that chapter helpful to me, and decided to share the essential message of that chapter with you.
Ephesians 4:25 begins a fresh subsection about the new life in Christ. In Ephesians 4:17-19, Paul talked about the non-Christian life. Then, in verses 20-24, Paul talked about the Christian life. Paul’s general principle is that we put off the old self and that we put on the new self.
But Paul doesn’t just set down the general principle. He applies the general principle to particular aspects of conduct and behavior that are characteristic of the new self. And that is what he begins to do in verse 25, and he continues to do so until the end of his letter to the Ephesians.
So, with that as background, I would like to read all of Ephesians 4:17-32, although our text for our consideration today is Ephesians 4:25:
17 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. 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. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 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. 29 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. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:25)
Introduction
The Apostle Paul’s argument, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones puts it, is that “you are no longer what you once were, indeed you have become something that is entirely different; now then, put off in every way everything that is suggestive of what you once were, put on everything that really does belong to, and is true of, this new man that you are in Christ Jesus.” This is the application of the principle that Paul gave the Corinthians in 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.”
Lesson
In this lesson, then, let us examine how and why Christians put on the new self.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. How Christians Put on the New Self
2. Why Christians Put on the New Self
I. How Christians Put on the New Self
First, let’s look at how Christians put on the new self.
A. Christians Put on the New Self by Applying the Truth
First, Christians put on the new self by applying the truth.
Paul wrote in verse 25a, “Therefore….” Paul had just written about what was true of the non-Christian and what was true of the Christian. Christians have put off the old self and have put on the new self. “Therefore,” he implies, the truth must now be applied.
Truth is not something that is to be regarded objectively and enjoyed intellectually; it must be applied. That is important. Dr. Lloyd-Jones writes, “I remember once an occasion when a man preaching with great eloquence, said a very striking thing. As a result certain people in the congregation spontaneously broke out in applause. They clapped their hands, and the good preacher, man of God as he was, pulled them up and said, ‘The truth is not to be applauded, it is to be applied!’”
How true that is. The purpose of doctrine is to lead to application. Jesus once said, in regard to putting doctrine into practice, “If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:17).
B. Christians Put on the New Self by Recognizing That a Correct Understanding of the Truth Always Leads to Application
Second, Christians put on the new self by recognizing that a correct understanding of truth always leads to application.
The Apostle Paul, and indeed other biblical authors too, set down doctrine and follow it up with application. That is why we see the word “Therefore” so often in Scripture. As someone has said, “Whenever you see the word ‘therefore’ in the Bible, see what it is there for.”
Paul writes with wonderful clarity, power, and perspicuity about one or other doctrine about our glorious salvation. And then he says, “Therefore….” In other words, if a person has really understood the truth, he must of necessity apply it. Application is the inevitable result of a correct understanding of biblical doctrine.
C. Christians Put on the New Self by Applying the Gospel to Every Area of Life in its Every Detail
And third, Christians put on the new self by applying the gospel to every area of life in its every detail.
Paul wrote in verse 25b, “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” But he goes on in the rest of the letter. Don’t lie, but speak the truth. Don’t be unrighteously angry, but have a righteous anger. Don’t steal, but do honest work. Don’t use rotten language, but speak in such a way as to build up. He goes into details about how husbands and wives are to live. He addresses parental responsibilities. He talks about relationships regarding superiors and inferiors. Paul touches on every aspect and walk of life.
We need to recognize that the Christian gospel touches every area of life in its every detail. We must not compartmentalize our lives so that we behave one way on Sunday and a different way during the week. Or, worse, we must not compartmentalize our lives so that we behave one way in public and a different way in private. You see, when we put on the new self, it affects every area of our lives, as the Apostle Paul shows us in his letter to the Ephesians.
Now, we mentioned this last time when we studied Ephesians 4:25-32 in detail, but it bears repeating. Paul’s method in applying the gospel to every area of life in its every detail is fascinating. He does so by using a definite scheme: negative, positive, and reason. So, for example, look at it in Ephesians 4:25, “Therefore, having put away falsehood [the negative], let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor [the positive], for we are members one of another [the reason for the action].”
There is a very important principle here. The Ephesians had been unbelievers, and so lying, anger, stealing, foul language, and so on, had been natural for them. That belonged to their old self. It was normal for them to do these things. But now that they had become Christians, they were new creatures in Christ. Their new life in Christ was to be characterized by the new self. And Paul very clearly tells them what belonged to their old self (that was the negative), what belonged to their new self (that was the positive), and stated the reason for their new action. It is marvelous!
And notice, that Paul did not say to them that they should pray about the issue that characterized their old self. No! He says, “Stop doing it! Put it off!” So, with respect to lying, he doesn’t say, “Pray to God that you will stop lying.” No, he says, “Stop lying! See to it that you always speak the truth to others, for this reason.” As Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, “You and I are called upon to do these things—to apply in actual practice the teaching that we claim to believe, and always to know why we are behaving thus, and to be able to give a reason for our conduct.”
II. Why Christians Put on the New Self
And second, let’s examine why Christians put on the new self.
The Christian gospel is absolutely unique. It is unique because our Lord Jesus Christ is unique. Now, there are basically three categories of people in the world, as Tim Keller has stated. There are religious people. There are irreligious people. And there are gospel people, that is, Christians.
Religious people can be those who follow a formal religion, such as Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and so on. Each of these religions has its own moral and ethical code of conduct.
Irreligious people are those people, who are growing in number, who do not claim to follow any religion. And yet, every one of them, even the most vile criminal, follows some kind of moral and ethical code of conduct. It may be unique to the individual, but everyone has some kind of moral and ethical code of conduct.
In contrast to religion and irreligion, there is the gospel. The gospel, as I said, is absolutely unique. It is unique because Jesus is unique. Religious and irreligious people may say that they have a satisfactory moral code, and that while it is different than the Christian moral code, they don’t see any difference between their code and the gospel code.
However, there are essential differences between Christianity and every other form of moral conduct (whether religious or irreligious) that we need to recognize. So, let me list several essential differences between Christianity and every other non-Christian system of moral conduct.
A. Non-Christians Invariably Isolate Their Conduct as Something In and Of Itself
First, non-Christians invariably isolate their conduct as something in and of itself.
What do I mean by that? Well, non-Christians pick and choose certain conducts that they think should be practiced. And it is always impersonal and abstract.
But Christianity is fundamentally different. The reason Christians do not do certain things, but do certain other things, is always in terms of the Lord Jesus Christ! The Christian reasons that because Jesus Christ came into the world, and lived and died and has risen again, and has given him a new life, “Therefore…”! Dr. Lloyd-Jones writes, “Our reason is always personal, it always refers back to the Lord, who He is, what He has done, how He has done it, and why He has done it. The reasons are diametrically opposed and different.”
B. Non-Christian Systems Always Presume Natural Ability
Second, non-Christian systems always presume natural ability.
Non-Christians believe that they have power in themselves to behave in certain ways. And certainly, there are some people who seem to be able to live in ways that seem exemplary to us. But, the problem is that their system only applies to a certain kind of person, who has a tremendous amount of willpower. The non-Christian systems have nothing to offer to failures. If a person is unable to conduct himself in the way prescribed by the non-Christian system, they have nothing more to do with him.
Christianity, however, presumes one thing only, and that is that we are regenerated and have been given a new life. Therefore, says Paul, you must no longer walk in the way you used to walk, for you have been born again, you are a new creature in Christ, and you have the Holy Spirit of God indwelling and enabling you so that you are able to live in a way that is pleasing, honoring, and glorifying to God.
C. Non-Christian Systems Leave the Old Self Unchanged
Third, non-Christian systems leave the old self unchanged.
Non-Christian systems are simply trying to make the old self better. But, scratch below the surface and you will find the old nature, the old self. The non-Christian system is simply not able to change the old self.
The gospel, on the other hand, creates a new creature, a new self, a new nature, a new heart, and a new outlook. As Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, “Christianity goes back to the source of the stream and makes that pure; it goes down to the very depths, it produces a new creation, a new man comes into being.”
Dr. Lloyd-Jones gives a number of other differences between Christianity and every other non-Christian system of moral conduct. But, for the sake of time, I shall stop here.
Conclusion
Therefore, as we consider how and why Christians put on the new self, let us give thanks for the hope that is found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ to change us and give us new life.
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones tells the following story:
I am reminded of another similar instance. Some thirty years ago I stayed overnight with a doctor, who was then an old man, and he told me his life story after the evening service. He said, You know, I have been in trouble about my life right from its start; it started even when I was at home. My father was a member of an Anglican church; my mother was a member of a Unitarian church. And this, he said, was my problem. My father, while he was a very nice and good man, simply could not go to the local market every Friday and come home sober. My mother, as far as I was aware, never did anything wrong at all. She was highly moral, as Unitarians generally are. But you know, he said, I could not get away from it, there was something about my father, despite his big failing, that helped me and appealed to me more than the perfect correctness of my mother. I could go to my father when I had done wrong, but I never felt that I could go to my mother, there was this coldness. He then said that, when he later became a medical student his old problem was perpetuated. I used to go on Sunday mornings, he said, to listen to the great Unitarian preacher, Dr. James Martineau, who preached great ethical discourses; and I admired the language and the diction, and the division of the matter, and the thought, and the logic. And then, he said, I used to go on Sunday nights to the Salvation Army, where there was no formal service and no eloquence and many things that really were offensive to me as a man of culture; but yet, he said, my heart was warmed there; I used to feel there was something that would help me in my personal failures and my personal problems. In the morning service I sat and I admired, in coldness and intellectual detachment, but I was not helped with my personal, moral problems, and my heart was not warmed. But in the evening, what a difference!
As we who are Christians and have new life in Christ stop lying and start speaking the truth, as we stop being unrighteously angry and have righteous anger, as we stop stealing and do honest work, as we stop using rotten language and speak in such a way as to build others up, we must do it in such a way that the hopeless person meeting us will feel that there is hope for him or her. Let us live in such a way that we point people to Christ so that they might find the hope that we have received by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. Amen.
