Ephesians 4,5 (Part 7)
Dr. Roberto Miranda
(Audio: English)
SUMMARY: In Ephesians 4:17-5:2, the Apostle Paul calls for believers to live a life of holiness and separateness from the ways of the world, as they serve a holy God. He insists on this call to holiness and urges believers to no longer live as the gentiles or ethnics of the world do. Paul links this call to the earlier call in chapter 4, verse 1, to live a life worthy of the calling received. He then goes on to break down what he means by this, offering specific ways in which to live out that maturity and solemn, high calling. Christians must live in that tension of aspiring to be a holy people and not resigning themselves or yielding to anything that is not of God.
The church must not be afraid to speak about the radical call of the Kingdom of God to live differently from the world. This transformation starts with the renewal of the mind, which is the seat of emotions, will, and intellect. The Bible emphasizes the importance of the mind and the sinfulness of human kind in having futile and darkened thinking. Man has turned God into his image rather than being transformed into the image of God. This leads to the degradation of the body and exchanging the truth of God for lies. The knowledge of God is often disregarded in favor of man's own knowledge.
The process of holiness begins with the mind, the will, and the emotions. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to break us and transform our thinking. This process is mysterious and cannot be done by pastors or teachers alone. We must participate in the process by asking the Holy Spirit to purify us and open our hearts. We need to pray for forgiveness for not living up to our calling and embrace the call to holiness. We need to be living sacrifices and pure vessels for God's anointing. We need to ask God to cleanse our minds, wills, and emotions and lead us into intimacy with Him.
The church must not be afraid to speak about the radical call of the Kingdom of God to live differently from the world. This transformation starts with the renewal of the mind, which is the seat of emotions, will, and intellect. The Bible emphasizes the importance of the mind and the sinfulness of human kind in having futile and darkened thinking. Man has turned God into his image rather than being transformed into the image of God. This leads to the degradation of the body and exchanging the truth of God for lies. The knowledge of God is often disregarded in favor of man's own knowledge.
The process of holiness begins with the mind, the will, and the emotions. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to break us and transform our thinking. This process is mysterious and cannot be done by pastors or teachers alone. We must participate in the process by asking the Holy Spirit to purify us and open our hearts. We need to pray for forgiveness for not living up to our calling and embrace the call to holiness. We need to be living sacrifices and pure vessels for God's anointing. We need to ask God to cleanse our minds, wills, and emotions and lead us into intimacy with Him.
Ephesians
Series on Ephesians
10 Ephesians 4
16 Ephesians 4,5 (Part 7)
17 Ephesians 4:17 Called to live holy
18 Ephesians 5 - A call to purity
19 Ephesians 5 - Slaves and Masters
20 Ephesians 6
Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 17 and we’ll go on from there. The Apostle Paul speaking to his readers in Ephesus:
“….So, I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the gentiles, the ethnics, the people, the tribes, you know, of the world do, in the futility, another word might be vanity, in the vanity, in the futility, the emptiness of the thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God. Why? Because of the ignorance that is in them, and where does that ignorance come from? 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 make 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 rather 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 mouth 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.”
“….So, I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord that you must no longer live as the gentiles, the ethnics, the people, the tribes, you know, of the world do, in the futility, another word might be vanity, in the vanity, in the futility, the emptiness of the thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God. Why? Because of the ignorance that is in them, and where does that ignorance come from? 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 make 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 rather 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 mouth 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.”
