“The Battle of the Selfs”
(Ephesians 4:17 – 5:5)
Series: Christ and the Church [on screen]
Rev. Matthew C. McCraw, EdD
First Baptist Church, Bartow, Florida
February 28, 2021
The Passage
Ephesians 4:17 – 5:5
17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.
20 But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.
25 Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
5:1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. 4 Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. 5 For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Introductory Comments:
Can you think of some of the most famous battles in history? The Allied powers versus the Axis powers. Tom versus Jerry. Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader. A diet versus Thanksgiving Day. Ford guys versus Chevy guys.
Well, today we’re going to learn about one of the most important battles in the life of a Christian: the battle of the selfs.
Remember, in Ephesians 4, Paul has shifted his discussion from being highly theological to being highly practical. Paul is telling us how to live as followers of Jesus.
Before we dive into today’s passage, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us.
(prayer)
Last week, we studied Ephesians 4:1-16. We learned what we can do to help maintain unity in our church. Paul ended that section by speaking about how we can grow into maturity and the proper working of the church. Paul pointed out that the way we live matters to unity.
In today’s passage, we’re going to hear further reason as to why it matters how we live. Primarily, that it matters how we live because we are new.
So, let’s look at three sections of the passage this morning. First, . . .
I. The Old Self (4:17-19) [on screen]
Paul has just spoken about growing in unity, love, maturity, and truth, now he explains what that opposite of that is. Paul describes the way that we used to be; he describes the old self. Look at verses 17-19 of chapter 4:
4:17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.
Paul wants them to know that he has something to say to them and that it is from the Lord. He says, “I . . . testify in the Lord.”
Here is the main truth he wants them to know: they, “ . . . should no longer walk as the Gentiles do.”
Now, why does Paul say this? After all, the Ephesians are Gentiles. How can they no longer walk as Gentiles?
The group that Paul is talking about here is the Gentiles who are without Christ. Remember, before Jesus brought redemption to the earth, the Jewish people were the only ones who followed God’s ways. The Gentiles had no access to, or understanding of, God. These are the Gentiles whom Paul is speaking about: those without God. The Ephesian Christians, and the Floridian Christians, are no longer to walk as those without God.
Paul then goes on to describe some characteristics of those who are without God.
First of all, Paul says that they are, “ . . . in the futility of their thoughts.” In other words, their minds are utterly useless when it comes to the things of God. In verse 18, Paul describes what it looks like for them to be in the futility of their thoughts.
“They are darkened in their understanding . . . ” [on screen in list form] They are not in light, they are in darkness. They don’t see the truth of God because they can’t see anything correctly; they are in darkness.
They are “. . . excluded from the life of God . . . ” [on screen in list form]They are not part of life with God; they are not in Christ. They are excluded from life with God.
“. . . because of the ignorance that is in them . . .” [on screen in list form] They are not full of the truth and knowledge of God; they are full of ignorance; they are without knowledge.
“. . . and because of the hardness of their hearts.” [on screen in list form] Their hearts are not soft and moldable to the ways of God, their hearts are hard and un-moldable.
Paul goes on to say in verse 19, “They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.”
This word callous is important in communicating what Paul is saying. The King James Version says that they are, “past feeling.” The New International Version says they have “lost all sensitivity.” The New Living Translation says they “have no sense of shame.” Paul is saying that those without God have given themselves over to sin so much that they don’t even recognize it as sin any longer. That’s a scary place to be, church.
Because they are calloused against sin; because they no longer recognize sin as sin; they, “gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.”
We must recognize this, church: sinners can get so caught up in sin that they become insensitive to the truth, they can become calloused to sin, and they may not even realize that they are sinning any longer. What a frightening reality that is!
Listen to this: these are all things that are part of the old self. Paul says, “You should no longer walk . . .” in these ways. This is how we were before we were in Christ. This is how we were before Jesus changed us. This is how we were before we experienced the beautiful realities of the election and adoption of God. This is how we were before we were sealed with the inheritance of the Holy Spirit of God!
This is the old self.
Next, let us look at . . .
II. The New Self (4:20-24) [on screen]
Paul starts off this next section by pointing out the contrast between the old self, or the self without God, and the new self. He says in verse 20, “But that is not how you came to know Christ.”
That’s sort of an obvious statement. Paul is basically saying, “You didn’t come to Christ by acting like godless people.” That’s profound, isn’t it?
Paul now points out a series of contrasts, or differences. He wants us to see the differences between the selfs.
Let’s look at the passage. Look at verses 20-24:
4:20 But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.
Paul says, that they didn’t come to Christ by living like the old self. Rather, they came by living like the new self.
Paul basically assumes that those reading this are followers of Jesus. He says in verse 21, “ . . . assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.”
Paul then goes on to describe what it means to walk in the new way of life. He says,
“. . . to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires . . .” [on screen in list form] Christian, our old selves are corrupted; we must get rid of them.
Paul continues, “. . . to be renewed in the spirit of your minds . . .” [on screen in list form] Our minds have been corrupted by the old self and our former futile way of thinking, so our minds must be renewed.
Next, Paul says, “. . . and to put on the new self . . .” [on screen in list form] After we take off the old self, we must put on the new self.
I love this idea of taking off the old self and putting on the new self. Recently I officiated a wedding. Before the wedding ceremony, I went to SyFy Bartow with my boys. I walked downtown in the sun, with food-truck-food cooking around me, three smelly kids with me, and the natural perspiration from walking. Before I went to that wedding, you better believe that I showered and changed my clothes. I took off the old clothes and I put on the new clothes. So also, Paul tells us to take off the old self, renew ourselves, and put on the new self. We are to change our spiritual clothes!
Next, Paul explains what kind of new self this is. In verse 24, he says the new self is “. . . the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.”
Our new self is to be created . . .
“. . . according to God’s likeness . . .” [on screen in list form] The new self is to be like God. We are God’s children, so the way that we live should reflect His character.
The new self is to be created, “. . . in righteousness . . .” [on screen in list form] The new self is to be a righteous self.
The new self is to be in righteousness, “. . . and purity of the truth.” [on screen in list form] The new self is to be pure, with a purity that is based on the truth of God in our lives.
So, we came to God by the work of Jesus on the cross, by hearing and understanding the truth, we are to take off the old self, and we are to put on the new self, which is a self created in the likeness of God.
This is the new self.
Finally, we can see . . .
III. The New Self VS the Old Self (4:25 – 5:5) [on screen]
After Paul describes the new self and the old self he then gives us a series of contrasts between the old self and the new self. He tells us how to act now versus how the old self acted.
Let’s look at the passage. Look at 4:25 through 5:5:
4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another. 26 Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the devil an opportunity. 28 Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need. 29 No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear. 30 And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.
5:1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children, 2 and walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But sexual immorality and any impurity or greed should not even be heard of among you, as is proper for saints. 4 Obscene and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. 5 For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
So, Paul has described the old self and the new self. Then he says in verse 25, “Therefore . . .” In other words, he is saying, “Since I’ve told you all these things, this is how you are to act.”
Paul covers several categories here, and for our purposes, we’re going to look at each of these categories with the old self way of doing things versus the new self way of doing things.
First, in verse 25, we see Lying VS Truth Telling. [on screen] Paul says to put away lying and instead to speak the truth. He teaches us that truth telling is crucial to us getting along with each other.
Second, in verses 26 and 27, we see Sinful Anger VS Self Control. [on screen] When we are angry, we are particularly tempted to act sinfully. So, we are not to “give the devil an opportunity” to tempt us to sin. We are to deal with our anger, or not “let the sun go down on” our anger. As we deal with our anger, we are to do so in a self-controlled way, free of sin.
Third, in verse 28, we see Stealing VS Generosity. [on screen] Think about the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ: the person who used to be a thief can now be someone who works hard so that they can bless others. How amazing!
Fourth, in verse 29, we see Foul Language VS Edifying Language. [on screen] Think about that. We shouldn’t speak in an inappropriate way. Instead, we should speak in a way that lifts others up, encourages others, and shows grace to others. That’s the way of the new self.
Verse 30 is sort of a halftime in the great battle between the old self and the new self. Paul says, “And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption.” Remember, part of our salvation is a sealing and a guaranteed inheritance secured for us by God’s Holy Spirit. Even though the Spirit is working in our lives, we can grieve Him by rejecting His ways and instead going back to our old way of life. Let us not do that!
Ok. Let’s go back to the battle. Fifth, in verses 31 and 32, we see Unkind Behavior VS Kind Behavior. [on screen] We are to take off anger, wrath, shouting, slander, and malice. We are to put on compassion, kindness, and forgiveness. We are to love other people in a way that is modeled after the way that God has loved us through Jesus.
At the beginning of chapter 5, Paul shifts his language a bit, but he is still giving us contrasts. Again, he says for us to model our love after the love of Jesus. So, we see this sixth set of contrasts in verses 1 through 3 of chapter 5 Sexual Immorality VS Love. [on screen] Sexual immorality was a huge issue for the people of Ephesus as it was a major city in the Roman Empire. Obviously, sexual immorality is a big issue in our world today. Paul says that rather than take advantage of people, exploit people, and use people for our own selfish pleasure, we should instead walk in love. We should live a life of love.
Seventh, we see in verse 4, Unwholesome Speech VS Thankfulness. [on screen] Paul names these several types of unwholesome speech: obscene talking, foolish talking, and crude joking. The follower of Jesus should avoid these things and instead display thankfulness.
Finally, Paul concludes this section by pointing out in verse 5 that a person who displays the types of behavior that are indicators of the old self is not really a follower of Jesus. Look at verse 5 again:
For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral or impure or greedy person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Paul is saying that if you continue to live as the old self, then clearly you have not received the new self; you do not have the inheritance of God’s Holy Spirit because you have not really been changed by Jesus. This is not really a new message for us, is it, church? We’ve learned from James, we’ve learned from Jesus, we’ve learned from Paul, and we’ve learned from other biblical authors that if someone does not display evidence of God’s grace in their lives then it is probably an indication that they have not been changed by God’s grace.
Now, listen, church: at first glance, these contrasts listed by Paul may sound like a list of rules that you should follow if you want to be a Christian. However, that is not the point. The point is that we are new creations; we have a new self; we have been changed by Jesus! Paul is giving us a picture of what it looks like to really be changed by Jesus. We should want to be far away from the ways of the old self and we should want to nestle right up close to Jesus and the new self. Like verse 13 of chapter 4 says (from last week), we should want to be, “ . . . growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” [on screen]
Church, we should desire to put off the old self and put on the new self. We should desire to be less like sin and more like Jesus.
The battle of the selfs is a reality for us all. Let us be aware of this battle and prepared for this battle. Let us flee sin and follow Jesus.
Concluding Thoughts:
Remember this one foundational truth from today’s passage. Remember this bottom line:
Bottom Line: In Christ, you have a newself that is in God’slikeness. [on screen]
(repeat)
Look again at verse 24. We are to, “ . . . put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness . . .” We are to be more like God created and redeemed us to be, His children in His likeness.
One commentary that I read said this, “As a child imitates parents, so ought a believer imitate God.” God is our heavenly Father, we ought to desire to be more and more like Him. In Christ, we can do so.
Challenge yourself this week to do so in the following ways:
Weekly Challenge: [on screen]
1. Change your clothes! [on screen]
Just as you wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) go to a wedding wearing the same clothes that you worked in all day, so also, we need to take off our old self like a pair of old dirty clothes, and put on the new self.
Some of you may still be wearing those old clothes. It’s time to change your clothes. Make a change in your life to follow God more faithfully, receive the incalculable riches of Christ, and live for the glory of God alone by God’s grace alone.
2. Take someone shopping for new clothes! [on screen]
There are people still walking in the old way of life. They are still wearing old clothes. You have within your possession an unlimited gift card to purchase new clothes for those who need them. Show people the new and better way offered through the work of Jesus Christ. Point them to the inheritance available through God’s Holy Spirit. Bring them to their heavenly Father to receive their adoption.
Share the love of God. Share the truth of God. Share the hope of God.
Take someone shopping for new clothes.
Closing:
Have you been made new? If so, live according to the new self. If not, be made new today.
(Gospel presentation)
(closing prayer)
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