WEEK THREE
Day Four
DAILY SCRIPTURE
Ephesians 4:22-24
LEADER GUIDE QUESTIONS
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Know: Read Ephesians 4:17-24
Note: Read slowly, carefully marking keywords- continue to mark the words from previous lessons—Mark keywords with a different color or with a symbol to differentiate them.
Hardness of heart
Learn Christ
Old self
Observation: Study notes below for context. Journal your thoughts or questions.
What: What does God say you are? Are you walking in this new reality?
“17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. 20 But you did not learn Christ in this way, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,” Ephesians 4:17-22
Nora was only twenty when she found herself alone- again. She was raised by only her mother, always having strange men in her home, some doing things she tried to forget. Having become a threat to her mother’s happiness, she was kicked out of the house by the time she was sixteen and on her own.
Soon, she met a man she thought would take care of her, but after a while, he became controlling and dictated her life so that she could not breathe.
With a baby on her hip, she determined she would take matters into her own hands and start over independently. She got a job at a strip club and began making quick money until her boss called her into his office and told her that if she did not lose weight, she would be fired.
That night, she began to think that her life was meaningless. Every time she tried to better herself, she failed. She was uneducated, lonely, and unable to make choices that would change her life trajectory.
She was strong in many ways, not allowing the world to steal her happiness- but the determination to be happy kept making her a victim.
All Nora had ever known was to make choices based on feeling. Nora did not have bad intentions, not like the people who took advantage of her, but Nora’s self-will, self-determination, and self-help failed because they were based on her own ability to help herself.
Paul said that to walk as the Gentiles walk is to walk after the old ways of the flesh (self) instead of the new way of the spirit. It’s living in response to the natural world (what we see, hear, and touch). The futility of their mind ruled them. (Futility (mataiotes) means vain, empty, and devoid of truth.) It is a disillusioned and disconnected way of thinking and living.
The natural life is devoid of the truth of God. The natural mind can only process what is in the natural world- feelings, experiences, self-will, etc. It is like trying to make a meal in a dark room; the utensils, food, and oven are there, but all you have are instincts and self-will, but no direction because of the darkness. You drop the knife on the floor, but it slipped under a cabinet; the oven is gas and requires a match but you don’t know where the matches are stored. While you search for the matches, you realize the room is beginning to have a sick-sweet smell. The gas had been left on too long, and the room was a ticking bomb; one light of the match and all would be lost.
This is what it is like to live in the futility and darkness of the mind. When one lives based on feelings and self-will, all they have is their own smarts to get them by. Some may do better than others based on intelligence and family background, but “self” will always deceive them.
Paul said that to live in the futility of the mind is to be excluded from the life of God. (Excluded in the original word (apallotrioo) means to be “shut out from fellowship and intimacy” or a “non-participant.”)
To be included in Christ is like trying to make a meal with all the lights turned on. Not only is the room brightly lit, but it is even better than that. Grace is like Jesus coming into the kitchen, telling you to sit down while He makes the meal for you and cleans up!
People are fumbling around in the dark because they don’t know that the kitchen is wired for light- they are ignorant of reality. All can experience the light, but they have to be aware of the truth and receive it. Stubborn unbelief keeps people in the dark; they either have never heard that there is some good news (the kitchen has been wired for light), or they just want to keep fumbling around doing it their way.
The old way is destined for failure.
Paul said, “Lay aside the old self.” When someone has received Christ, their old self was crucified with Christ. So why are we exhorted to lay the old self aside?
It is because many Christians, unaware that they died with Christ, are trying to reform their old selves. It’s a lost cause. Our flesh cannot be improved. What we need and what Christ offers is a brand new life-His life.
The supernatural and abundant life we’re called to live can only be received by faith and experienced by walking in the spirit. We don’t put off and put on to become spiritual; we do this because we are spiritual. Everyone born again is born of the spirit. Since we are already in the spirit, let us walk after the spirit.
“and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” Ephesians 4:23
To be renewed means that we are completely changed. We go from making choices based on “self” to making choices based on what the Spirit spoke to us. We start making wise decisions, and our lives go from hard to restful.
This doesn’t happen just by chance. We have some work to do; this “work” is to change how we think. On the day you were born again, a lot of things changed, but your way of thinking probably did not change. If you liked vanilla cake and drove recklessly before you were saved, then you probably liked vanilla cake and drove recklessly after you were saved. This is why the scriptures exhort us to put off the old and put on the new and be renewed in the spirit of our minds.
What you do follows what you think and what you think follows what you believe. Renew your thinking so that your thoughts align with what God says about you. You are what you believe.
“and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Ephesians 4:24
You are righteous and holy, so act like it. See yourself as God sees you. Be who you truly are. To put on the new man is choosing to walk in the new way of the spirit instead of the old ways of the flesh. We don’t put off and put on to become spiritual; we do this because we are spiritual.
You are Created in righteousness. You have been made into a new person, as righteous and holy as Jesus. You are not being made righteous or righteous by your behavior- that is what is called man-made religion.
Manmade religion defines righteousness as morally good behavior or holy and right living according to God’s standard. These are poor definitions for they suggest we can become righteous through proper performance. Provided we live according to God’s standard or laws, God will judge us righteous. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Righteousness in the new covenant is the state of being right with God. It is being able to say, “In Christ, I am holy, just, and right with God. I am loved by God, and God is for me.”
Jesus was made to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him ( 2 Cor 5:21).
Jesus was not made sin because he was a sinner, and you were not made righteous because you acted righteously. God did it all.
You were stamped righteous for all eternity when you put your faith in Jesus.
At one time, you were unrighteous, but you were washed, sanctified, and declared righteous in the name of the Lord.
To be made righteous means you have had a complete renovation.
For Nora, understanding and receiving the love of God means that she is joined with Him. He loves her better than any Father could have loved her and then spoils her with all the care she missed growing up. He speaks identity to her because she has learned to rely on his voice- the only voice that has ever been true to her. When He speaks, it always leads in the right direction, guides, and protects her. She is no longer making choices that lead her down paths of pain and betrayal, but they lead her down true paths. The trajectory of her life is changed, and she will grow to be a woman whose children will have a different story.
Righteousness means you are no longer the crooked person you used to be. While in Adam, you had inclinations that led you towards sin, no matter how hard you tried to avoid it.
In Christ, you are inclined to walk straight and true.
You desire to please the Lord.
It’s not that you are incapable of sinning. It is just that sinning no longer appeals. When you sin, it bothers you—“I wish I hadn’t done that”—testifying that this behavior is contrary to your new nature.