Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:25. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:25

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour, for we are all members of one body.”

In the previous section, Paul talked about putting away our old nature and putting on the new nature in Christ. We are ”created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” He gives specific instruction in how the new nature should replace the old.

In this verse, he addresses the issue of truth and falsehood.

We are to put off falsehood and speak truthfully to our neighbours.

Some translations use the word lying here, but the idea is broader than that. Yes, we are to put away deliberate lies, but there are many ways to deceive, and all of them are opposed to God.

Deception is any attempt to cause someone to believe something that is not true. That includes lies ( whether “black” or “white” lies), omissions or half-truths, using words in such a way as to make a seem better than we really are.

We must always speak truthfully to our neighbour, even if it seems difficult or costly.

We are followers of Jesus who called himself “ the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Therefore, we are committed to truth-telling by virtue of the nature and authority of Christ.

Our culture is sometimes described as post-truth, that is sceptical or indifferent about issues about truth and falsehood. The argument is that there is no objective test of truth, and it is an obsolete concept.

Regardless of whether you seek truth or deny truth, the law of gravity still operates regardless of your opinion. It can be fatal to ignore some truths.

The Nazi propagandist Goebbels is credited with the statement that any lie repeated often enough becomes true. In our age of information saturation, people lack time or desire to investigate the veracity of political and commercial claims, and so blatant lies tend to become accepted as true.

We are not to live in this cynical way. We must remove all forms of deception and seek to be people of truth.

Paul now gives the reason for this as “ we are all members of one body.” This then raises the question “who is my neighbour?”

It might seem that Paul is limiting his definition of neighbour to fellow Christians. We have a duty to our Christian brothers and sisters to walk in honesty. Deception is about taking advantage of other people for our own game.

We must not use deception or falsehood in anyway in connection with the Christian family.

But Paul does not generally use the word neighbour to describe Christians. Jesus made it clear that to love our neighbour is to love everyone that we might interact with.

If we adopt this definition of neighbour, then Paul’s command here is open-ended. We must deal truthfully with everyone and not just our fellow christians.

In all of our business dealings, our family relationships, our friendships and so on, we must always speak truthfully.

This can be painful when we are filling in tax forms or don’t have enough cash to pay for items at a stall with an honesty box. It becomes very costly when we break the law and and are not caught.

Paul relates this commitment to truth in all situations to being a part of the Body of believers. God’s people are people of truth. Together we follow Christ, and He requires us to walk in truth. If one part of the Body is tainted by falsehood then the whole body is weakened.

Key points in this verse:

• We are to put off falsehood
• We must speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
• This commandment flows from the nature of Christ
• We have to speak the truth always, not just within the church

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:23-24. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:23-24

“…, 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.”

We are to be made new in the attitudes of our minds.

God is not impressed by our cognitive intelligence or academic abilities. He knows more than we can ever know. He desires us to have a new mind that is changed in its attitude.

Attitude describes our approach to life, to others, to God, and to ourselves.

An attitude of arrogance means that we have an opinion about ourselves that is higher than it should be. We treat other people as inferior, God as needing us, and our failure as somebody else is full.

An attitude of fear means that we approach life and other people as wanting to hurt us. We see God as a capricious judge ready to smite us if we step out of line.

An attitude of boldness means that we trust our own abilities, and talents to succeed in any situation.

These attitudes, and many others, are sinful. They belong to the old self, the old person. They are wrong because their emphasis is on self .

As Christians, our attitudes need to be renewed, made over, so that God is at the centre.

Arrogance should be replaced by humility that recognises that we are all made by God, and in that sense, I am no more entitled then any other person.

Fear should be replaced by faith. I am a child of God, and I can trust in His protection, provision, and direction at all times. If God is for us, who can stand against us?

Rather than being bold because of my own abilities, I can be confident in God’s purposes in my life .

Every self-centred attitude needs to be taken off and replaced by God’s attitude .

We take off our old self in order to put on a new self. The word here in Greek is kainos, which means something completely new. It is a new species, a new type, not something renovated and made new again.

In Christ, we have a new mind, a new nature, a new self. We might think of Christ’s resurrection body which was recognisable (most of the time) but had new powers that his old body did not have. Our new self has continuity with the old person, but we are something completely new and different.

We are told to put on this new self. This is not “reinventing myself” as some try to do. To put on the new self means that we co-operate with the Holy Spirit to get rid of all those qualities which Paul ascribes to the Gentiles and to become more like Christ.

This new self is created to be like God in true righteousness and true holiness.

This new self is being fashioned by God to imitate him. This is not a sausage factory cloning process in which we are all forced to be a particular personality. God creates unique reflections of His nature which we carry in a unique way.

The core of this new self is true righteousness and true holiness.

Righteousness is doing what is right all the time. We were once sinful people, but now we are righteous. We have been declared righteous by God through our faith in Christ. We now have to become righteous, that is to live out that state in our daily living.

There is a self-centred form of righteousness, which seeks to draw attention to itself, often by pointing out the failings of others. Self-righteousness is the self declaring that it is right and other people are not.

True righteousness, on the other hand, is the ability to live God’s way without drawing attention to the fact. It is a form of humility in which the person just gets on with living their own best life without seeking recognition or reward for doing what is right.

To be holy is to be dedicated to God’s use. A holy vessel is one which is set apart for worship .

To be a holy person means that my life is dedicated to God’s purposes, set apart for him. I no longer make any attempt to direct my life the way I want. My plans and ambitions are surrendered to God.

This does not mean that we stop aspiring to achieve things or to seek promotion. It does mean that we allow the Lord to set the parameters for every part of our life.

False holiness seeks to be recognised for religious deeds. This is a kind of fake religion which Jesus derided. He told us we are not to pray on the street corners or announce our giving with a fanfare.

True holiness seeks God for who God is, not for the accolades of men and women. I fast for God’s glory not for mine. I pray to seek God’s will not to impress others.

True righteousness and true holiness keep their focus on their source which is God. My good deeds, such as they are, flow from my relationship with God not from my own strength of character.

Key points in this verse:

• God is remaking our attitudes so that He is our focus not ourselves.
• We need to put on a new self which glorifies God rather than glorifying ourselves
• We are created to be like God in a unique way.
• True righteousness and true holiness flow from God as we seek Him for who He is

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:22. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:22

“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.”

We were not taught about Christ in terms of sin and worldliness. No, we were told about a Christ who was different, and the lifestyle we must follow is also radically different to the old nature.

Our way of life before we knew Christ was self-directed. We did what we thought was right, or more likely, what we wanted to do.

The old way living is now a former way of life. It has passed away because we died in Christ, and therefore have been raised in Him. The former way of life must remain in the past as we follow the way of Christ.

We have to” put off the old self” – literally it says to put off the old man, or old person.

The analogy is to taking off old worn out clothes in order to put on Christ, and our new nature in Him. but here Paul says we have to take off the old person in order to put on the new nature in Christ.

For some people, this is scary, and for most people it is difficult. How can I take off the old person that I was before Christ? I am quite attached to my self, and I can’t imagine being without my self. Does that even make sense?

Before we knew Jesus, our nature was corrupted by sin. Everything we did was polluted by sin. Our old nature is destined for death.

But then we came to know Jesus, and we were attracted to him so much that we asked him to come in and make us new. Part of becoming new is getting rid of the old.

This is not something we have to do ourselves. If we take up our cross to follow him, we will die to ourselves. The Holy Spirit takes our dead old nature and brings us back to life. The old man is gone and the new has come.

To put off our old nature is dying to ourselves, presenting ourselves to God as a living sacrifice. We bring ourselves to God with all of our sinful desires, and we say, “ Lord it is all yours. Do what you will with me.”

It is the Holy Spirit who makes it possible to put off the old self, the old person. All we have to do is die to our own ambitions, and let God do His work in us.

The old nature is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.

If we hold on to our old persona, then its deceitful desires will continue to corrupt us. If we demand that our old nature be allowed to live, then it will corrupt us and destroy our new life in Christ.

Our old nature is a breeding ground for corruption and sin. it is like an incubator for a deadly virus which ultimately kills everyone that touches it.

The corruption comes from the deceitful desires of the old nature.

We all have desires, some of which are healthy, and some of which are not healthy. A desire for food is good, but so easily corrupted into greed and obesity. A desire to be significant is a good thing, but can be switched to arrogance, pride and control .

Our desires are deceitful in a number of ways.

Firstly, they can distract us from what is really important. if I constantly give in to my snacking desire, I get nothing done for the Lord .

Secondly,they deceive us into thinking they cannot harm us. “ A little pawn might liven up my marriage.” “ A glass or two of wine never hurt anyone.” We find ways to justify those deceitful desires.

Thirdly, the desires of the old nature are deceitful because they pull us away from godly things. A favourite TV show does not come with the warning that we could be spending that hour in prayer. My need for social interaction may take precedence over the call of the Holy Spirit to spend a period of time in solitude and meditation.

This old person or former self must be put off. The desires which lead us away from God seem so appealing, until we learn that they take us away from the abundant life in Christ.

Key points in this verse:

• The way to deal with our old way of life is to put off our old self
• We must take up our cross and die so Christ’s life can fill us
• The desires of the old nature are deceitful and will lead us away from our new life in Christ.

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:20-21. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:20-21

“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.”

In verses 17 to 19, Paul describes the depravity of the Gentile unbelievers. living in darkness and ignorance, and therefore slaves to every form of sensuality with a lust for more.

Now Paul says, ”You did not come to Christ that way.” In other words, their knowledge of Christ is the light that broke through their ignorance and changed their thinking and behaviour.

Before we were saved, we may not have had any knowledge or interest in the person of Jesus Christ. His name, the Name above all names, may have just been a meaningless swear word. If we thought about Him in anyway, we might have assumed he was just a person like us.

But, Paul reminds us, Jesus was not a person just like everybody else. He certainly was not a person who lived in the depravity of thinking that Paul has described.

As we get to know Jesus, as we are taught in him, so our understanding of Jesus grows. We see a life lived in simplicity and holiness.

Paul now offers us a choice of two lifestyles – that of the unsaved Gentiles marked by sin and self-direction, or the life of Jesus marked by holiness and God- direction. These two diametrically opposed and cannot be mixed together .

To follow Jesus is not to adopt some kind of religious ideology or theory. Christianity must never be understood as merely a set of dogmas. Following Jesus or being “ in Christ” means that our lifestyle and worldview must undergo radical changes so that we live, speak, and think in a way that is consistent with the way of Christ.

To be “taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus” means firstly, a teaching of facts. The historic Creeds were an attempt to describe the basics of what Christians believe.

The facts, by themselves are not enough. We need to remember that we are following a person. This truth that is in Jesus must be seen in the words and actions of Jesus. in particular, we must absorb the reality of his death on the cross. The gospels show this clearly with each one describing incidents from the life of Jesus in the first half, and then moving to detailed descriptions of his trial, death, and resurrection in the second half.

To be a Christian, we must first know who Jesus is and why his death is important for us.

To follow Jesus we must also learn to have an ongoing personal relationship with him. This is the purpose of the Holy Spirit, given to us when we are born again.

Christianity is about imitating Christ, becoming like the “Son of Man.” To do this, we need both the truth about who Jesus is and a personal connection with Him so that He can direct our daily walk.

Key points in this verse:

• We did not come to know Jesus as a sinful person, but as the divine Son of God
• Christianity is more than a set of doctrines
• We need an ongoing personal relationship with Jesus in order to follow him.