Would you open the Word of God with me, please,
to Ephesians chapter 4, where our text today
is verses 20 through 24. How to walk is something
we must all learn in our early days. We learn
to walk basically in three ways. First of all,
by watching others. Trying to avoid those big
feet that you see around you as they, mom and
dad, march across the floor. And suddenly begin
to realize as an infant that they move faster
than you do with that callus on your tummy and
on your knees. And you begin to look and see
that they walk on their legs. By watching, you
learn to walk. And then by experimentation. As
they say, practice makes perfect. In between
the stitches on the forehead and the bruises
that appear on the body, practice makes perfect.
And so that little one that you once were got
up and began to try to walk. But thirdly, there
was training. There was instruction given. Maybe
it was Daddy who put that little child that you
were over beside the coffee table and said, now
come to Daddy. And held out those arms. And as
that child fell forward, that was not a fall.
That was the first step, you see. And so Daddy
keeps instructing. This is how you do it. This
is how you walk. And you take the little child
and hold him and let him move his legs. And in
that way, the child learns to walk. By example,
by experimentation, and by instruction. This
part of the book of Ephesians tells us as Christians
how to walk. That's the theme of chapters 4,
5, and 6. What our behavior, that is, should
be like as God's children. God wants us to know
how to walk, how to conduct ourselves as believers.
And that walk is something that we must learn,
and we learn it by three things. We learn it
in the first place by the example of others.
We watch others to see how we should conduct
ourselves as believers. The Apostle Paul exhorted
those whom he won to Christ to follow his example,
to walk as he did. And then we learn also by
experimentation. We try things, some succeed,
some fail. By the way, never be afraid to try
something. just because you might fail. There
are times that we learn more in our failures
than in our successes, don't we? And so you and
I learn to behave as believers by experimentation.
But then we learn thirdly by instruction, instruction
that is from the Word of God. It is that particular
point that is emphasized in our text today, this
matter of being taught, being instructed in the
things of the Lord. He says, beginning in verse
20, But you did not learn Christ in this way,
that is, the way of the world which he has just
described, the pagan way of life. You did not
learn Christ in this way, if indeed, or better
since indeed, you have heard him and have been
taught in him, just as truth is in Jesus, 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, and that
you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and
put on the new self, which in the likeness of
God has been created in righteousness and holiness
of the truth. What we have learned by having
heard Christ And by having been taught in him
is how we are to conduct ourselves. I want to
point out to you those words, those interesting
words that are found in verse 21. Paul says to
these Ephesians, you have heard him. Not about
him, but he says you have heard Christ. The same
thing can be said to you today. If you have attended
a Bible preaching church. For we hear Christ
speaking when we read and hear the word of God.
That is what Paul is saying. He says to them,
you heard Christ. When? When Paul taught them
the Bible. And he says, you have been instructed.
You have been taught in him. Just as truth is
in Jesus. So we are gathered here today to see
what Jesus Christ would tell us. I believe that
what we need to learn is just what the Ephesians
had learned, and that is the truth about ourselves.
Understanding the truth about ourselves will
enhance our walking worthy as God's called -out
children. You see, what you know determines how
you live. Did you realize that? What you know
determines how you live. Now, by know, I don't
mean just knowing intellectually. By know, I
mean that which the Spirit of God has written
on your heart, that which you have actually been
taught by Him, not in a classroom, in a college,
or in a Sunday school, or even in the sanctuary
of the church. but rather what you have been
taught by him and you know from the classroom
of your communion with Christ and the classroom
of your daily experience with him. What you know
determines how you live. Paul has told us already
that the pagans are ignorant and are darkened,
therefore they are sensual. But Christians are
not so. There are two truths that every child
of God needs to be taught by the Spirit. As we
know these truths, we will live the way God wants
us to live. The first truth is the truth about
the old self, the old man. He mentions that individual,
that person in verse 22. What does Paul mean
when he talks about the old self or the old man?
The answer to that is this. Paul is referring
to all that you were before being saved. The
old man is the you that was in Adam. It is the
person or the essential being that you were by
your natural birth into the world. That is your
essential identity as one who is lost and unregenerate,
one who is a child of sin and of the devil. That
is the old self. Now I want to say before I go
any further that if you do not know Jesus Christ
as your Savior, this is the only self there is
for you. You are still what is called here the
old self for the Christian. You are still lost
in your sin. And your essential identity is with
Adam and with sin and death. And you are in need
of being saved. But for those who have trusted
the Lord Jesus Christ, we can speak of this self
in Adam as the old man, the old self. Now what
does he say about the old self here? Well, he
says, you lay aside. the old self to lay aside
means to put off to remove as though you were
removing garments or clothing he says you lay
aside take it off get it away from you now the
question that really is brought to us in the
text here is is paul commanding us to lay aside
the old self Or is he reminding us that we have?
Now it goes down to the verb, of course, that
Paul writes here. It is an infinitive, and it's
aorist. Now that doesn't mean anything to you
unless you have studied something of the Greek
language. But grammatically, grammatically speaking,
this verb here can be rendered, and I think should
be rendered, as something that has taken place
in the past and it's complete. That is the way,
for example, that Kenneth Wiest took it. He was
a Greek scholar who taught for many years at
the Moody Bible Institute. He says it means you
have put off once and for all the old self. John
Murray and Lewis Sperry Schaeffer Likewise, say
that this is past action completed, and they
put it this way, you did lay aside the old self.
And so I don't think that the New American Standard
Version, which I'm using, or most of the other
English versions, really treat this verb in the
right way. Because I believe that what the Apostle
is saying here is this, that at the point of
salvation, The Christian did lay aside the old
self. Now that agrees with the parallel passage
to Ephesians 4, and that's Colossians 3. I'd
like you to turn over there with me, and notice
that the apostle says something very similar.
It's really a different verb. He writes it differently,
grammatically. But I believe the truth is intended
to be the same. Colossians 3 and verse 9. He
said, Do not lie to one another. Now why? Since
you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.
Now here there is no question that he's talking
about a past event that has once and for all
been completed. Now, if there is some question
as to how Ephesians 4 should be rendered, I think
Colossians 3 .9 solves the problem for us. Paul
is not going to, in one place, command us to
do something that in another place, he says,
has already been done. So the point is this,
that Paul is telling us, going back now to Ephesians
4, that we laid aside, we did lay aside the old
self once and for all. When? At the moment that
we were saved. Now the point that Paul is making
here is this. Why should you and I walk worthy
as he has commanded us to earlier in this chapter?
Why should we walk no longer like the pagans
as we talked last Sunday? Here's the answer.
Because you are no longer what you were. Therefore,
don't revert to a manner of life which does not
represent the true you as you are now, because
you laid aside that old man when you trusted
Jesus Christ as your Savior. So don't live a
manner of life that corresponds to what you were.
What a tragedy that would be. But he goes on
to say, live like the new person that you are
in Jesus Christ. Now there's another passage
that I want to look at in connection with this,
because it too is parallel. It's Romans chapter
6, where the apostle speaks about this old man,
or the old self, once more. Look in verse 6.
He says, knowing this. Now what do we begin by
saying? What you know determines how you live.
Paul is saying this is something you must know.
That our old self was crucified with him. That
our body of sin might be done away with. That
is rendered powerless, inoperative. That we should
no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died
is freed from sin. What is Paul saying to us
in Romans chapter 6? Essentially the same thing
as he says in Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3. And
that is that that old man, that old self that
you were in Adam, was put to death. It was executed
at the cross. who was crucified with Jesus Christ,
that sin within you might be dealt with, that
you might no longer be slaves to it as you once
were, but now you have the capacity by the power
of God to say no to those sinful impulses within
you because you're a new person now. You are
not what you used to be. You're something new.
Going back to Ephesians, the Apostle says to
us that that old self is corrupting. It seems
to be pictured here as a corpse that is decaying,
that is growing increasingly putrid. He tells
us that that is ripe for being discarded, for
being laid aside. It is becoming rotten waste.
He says that it is dominated by deceitful lusts.
Sin works in it to entice, saying sin will satisfy,
but it never does. It's deceitful. And so the
apostle says, have nothing to do with this whole
mess any longer. There was a time in one civilization
when there was an abhorrent punishment for murder.
If a man killed another, His punishment was that
the corpse of the dead man was tied to him. He
was laid down and the corpse was put on top of
him and across his body that corpse was tied
with the head right here. And his punishment
was that he had to bear that corpse until it
rotted away from his body. Paul is drawing upon
a picture like that. And he says, don't carry
that corpse around anymore. That old you have
nothing to do with it. It is corrupting according
to the deceitful lusts. Be done with it, he says,
because you laid it aside at the point of conversion.
Paul has said to us that truth is in Jesus. One
truth in Jesus that you and I need to get into
our hearts, we need to get a hold of is this,
that at the moment of our salvation we did lay
aside the old self. Old things passed away. We
are no longer to have anything to do with that
which is rotting and corrupting. But the second
truth in Jesus is the truth about our new self,
the new man. What is this new self? Well, there
are some who would say that it is a spark of
divinity that is in every man and which has been
fanned into flame. That's baloney. There is not
a spark of divinity in every man. There is something
of the image of God in every man, an image that
has been ruined and marred by the fall into sin.
But there is no spark of divinity in every man.
What is this new self that you and I are? Well,
it's the new creation that we have become. This
new self is the new identity. It is the new you.
It is the new person that you have been created
to be in Christ Jesus. Paul puts it this way
in Galatians 2 .20. It may be good for us to
turn back there and look at those words so that
we see them with our eye gate too. Galatians
2 .20. Notice he says, I have been crucified
with Christ. It is no longer I who live. Now
who is this I? This is the old man. That he was
an Adam. He says, I, the old I, was crucified.
with Christ. It is no longer that old I who live,
but Christ lives in me. And the life which I,
now here's the new I, the new I, the new self,
the life which I live now in the flesh, I live
by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered
himself up for me. Paul is saying that he is
a new person, that it's Christ in him. That moment
that you were saved, your old self was executed
with Jesus Christ. And within you, a new you
was created. We can say Christ is in you, the
hope of glory. Christ lives in you, not to dominate
or submerge your personality, but really to fulfill
your personality as the new you. Now what does
the Apostle tell us in our text today about the
new you? Well, again, we have the same verb form
used. And so we understand Paul to be saying
this, you did put on the new self. You did put
it on once and for all at salvation. And he tells
us that this new you was created. It was not
brought into being through self -generation.
This new you is not the result of turning over
a new leaf. It is not self -reformation. But
he's saying literally there was a new you created.
In Christ Jesus. That's why old things are passed
away. All things have become new. Because you
are a new creation. You are a new person. A new
self. In Jesus Christ. Paul says something similar
earlier in this epistle. In verse 10 of chapter
2. When he says we are his workmanship. his poem,
as it were, created in Christ Jesus for good
works. We are his work, his work of art, if you
please, his poema, created in Christ Jesus. Again,
I point out that this is not the work of yourself.
This is not... Yours through self -fulfillment
or self -realization. This is the work of God.
It is the work of grace. Creating a new you when
you trusted Jesus Christ. Now he describes this
new you with terms like these. You were created
in the likeness of God. That means according
to what God is like morally. God is the pattern
for the new you, not the old Adam, which was
the pattern for the man you were, the person
you were. But God himself is the pattern for
the new person that you are. Morally, you have
been created in the likeness of God, and he gives
two specific ideas. He says, in righteousness
and in holiness. Righteousness has to do, first
of all, with that which is put into our account
when we're saved. It is imputed to us. At the
moment that you were created in Christ Jesus,
there was put into your account in heaven perfect
righteousness that can never run out. But that
righteousness also is more than just in a legal
account. But it's righteousness that God desires
to work into your life. In your actions of daily
life. It is your duty to your fellow man. God
has created you in Christ Jesus, first of all,
in righteousness. To be a righteous person. Not
the kind of a person described earlier in these
verses, like the pagans. Sensual. and greedy,
and impure, but righteous. That's what God's
created you to be. And not just righteous, but
also he has created you in holiness, as a holy
person. That doesn't mean that you're sinless.
Though you are a new person in Jesus Christ,
the power of sin still dwells in you. You still
have temptations. You still yield to temptations.
You still do sin. But that does not negate the
truth that you are a new person in Christ Jesus
who was created in righteousness and in true
or holiness of the truth. What does it mean when
it says that we are created as a holy person?
It means that you have been created as one who
has been set apart for God. That's really what
holiness is all about. It's one who is set apart
for a special function and purpose. So God has
created you in righteousness to live differently.
He has created you to be his own in the midst
of this world, to set you apart to be different.
In contrast to the old you, which is decaying,
he says furthermore that this new you is being
renewed. Look at verse 23. That you be renewed
in the spirit of your mind. That new you is being
constantly sustained by the resurrection power
of Jesus Christ within you. But in addition to
that, you as the new you are being continuously
renewed in the spirit of your mind. that is in
that inner man which grasps the things of God.
You are being renewed by the work of God in you.
He uses the truth to renew you. Warren Wiersbe
puts it this way in his book, Be Rich. He says,
conversion is a crisis that leads to a process.
Through Christ, Once and for all, we have been
given a new position in his new creation. But
day by day, we must by faith appropriate what
he has given us. The word of God renews the mind
as we surrender our all to him. As the mind understands
the truth of God's word, it is gradually transformed
by the spirit. And this renewal leads to a changed
life. Physically, you are what you eat. But spiritually,
you are what you think. Proverbs 23, 7, As he
thinketh in his heart, so is he. This is why
it is important for us as Christians to spend
time daily meditating on the word, praying, and
fellowshipping with Christ. What is being said
here? It is this, that what you know about yourself
in your inner man determines how you're going
to live. How you think about yourself, what you
allow to be written on your heart as truth, that
directly impacts your conduct. That's what he's
saying. And so he says, look, here's what you
have heard Jesus say. This is what you have been
taught in him. And the truth is in him. Here's
the truth about you. First of all, you laid aside
that old man that you were. Therefore, don't
identify any longer with it. Don't conform yourself
to that manner of life. Because you later decide
it's rotting, it's corrupting, it's decaying.
Have done with it. He says, secondly, I want
you to know this truth. That you have been created
in Christ Jesus as a new person. You are a new
you in Jesus Christ. Created in righteousness.
Set apart for God's special purpose. And now
he says, cause your mind, allow your mind to
be renewed with this truth. Because as you fill
your mind with this truth, it will impact the
way you live. And you will walk worthy in Jesus
Christ. That's what he's saying. What is it that
you are allowing to be inscribed on your inner
man, on the spirit of your mind? What are you
accepting in your mind as truth? There are some
of us who are accepting self -destruction as
truth. And rebellion. and sexual impurity. You
say, no, wait a minute, I don't accept that as
truth. But if you fill your mind with it, that's
what's going to be written on the spirit of your
mind, on your inner man. That's why there are
some of us who are so concerned about rock music.
I don't think that there's a more direct route
to the spirit of your mind than music. The kind
of music that you and I listen to. And of course
it's not just rock music, although that seems
to be filled especially with self -destruction
and self -hatred and rebellion and sexual impurity.
But other kinds of music can be filled with that
too. Are you allowing that kind of stuff to be
written into your mind? I want to assure you
that if you are, that's the way you're going
to live. Because what you accept as truth about
yourself and about your world, what you thus
become, what you come to know, that is going
to determine how you live. What are you reading
and accepting as truth? What are you placing
into your mind? Because it is what is placed
into our minds and what we thus accept and allow
to be written there indelibly, what we thus come
to know that determines how we live. That's why
Paul says, no, your mind, let it be renewed.
Renewed. And how is it renewed? By this. This
is the truth. The truth about ourselves, the
truth about the world in which we live, the truth
about values, the truth about the worth of life,
the truth about standards for living, the truth
about health and disease. This is truth. And
that's why the apostle says, be renewing the
spirit of your mind. That renewing takes place
as we commune with Jesus Christ in his word.
The greatest need that I have, the greatest need
that you have, is to hear Jesus and to be taught
the truth that is in him. And this is where we
find it. But so often what we put into our minds
and the truth that we begin to write in our hearts,
we get from television, and we get from magazines,
and videos. And what we begin to put there eventually
comes out in our actions. I believe the challenge
of our text today is this. Let the Spirit of
God tell you the truth about your old self. and
about your new self. Now that's not going to
be written deeply on your heart in one sermon,
I want to assure you of that. But if you can
somehow get a hold of a piece of that and get
it down into your spirit of your mind, and if
you begin seeking after that truth and seeking
to discover in God's Word the truth that is in
Jesus, the truth about you, And as you allow
that to be inscribed on the spirit of your mind,
it will change your life. And you will begin
doing just what Paul is instructing us to do
in this chapter. Walk worthy of the calling with
which you've been called. Why has Paul spent
three chapters of this book telling us who we
are in Jesus Christ? Because that's the truth
about us. And he wants us to know that truth
so that it can impact the way that we live. You
and I have been set free from the slavery to
sin. Paul says that we have died to it. We have
been raised with a new master, and that new master
is Jesus Christ. No longer should we therefore
go on presenting the members of our bodies to
sin, to obey sin. But he tells us in Romans 6,
we ought to present the members of our bodies
to Christ, to obey and to serve him. Now by the
members of our bodies, he's talking about the
members of our bodies, our capacities. But he's
talking, about more than just that too. He's
talking about the talents you have. He's talking
about the resources that God has given you over
which to be steward. He's talking about the spiritual
gifts that God has given you. I think he's even
talking about the potential that is locked up
inside of your life. What he is saying is, Present
all of that to God. You have been set free from
sin, not to do what you want to do now. Understand
that. But so that you are free to say no to sin
and to say yes to Jesus Christ. So I have a very
simple question for you in closing. Will you,
as the new you today, say yes to Jesus? I don't
know what sin may be enticing you to do. I don't
know what that corrupting, decaying mass may
be deceiving you about. But will you look hard
at it today and understand the truth about what
that is? and say no to it? And will you understand
who you are in Jesus Christ, a new creation,
a person who has been set free from bondage,
that you might be a love slave to him? And will
you say yes to Jesus and to everything he wants
in your life, whatever the cost? Let's pray together.
Our heads are bowed, our eyes are closed. Will
you say yes to Jesus today? Will you hear the
truth about you? Will you understand what he's
done for you and what he asks of you now? Present
yourself as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
to God, which is only your reasonable service
of worship. Will you write where you're seated
in the quietness of your inner man? Say yes to
Jesus. Will you say, Lord, whatever you want?
You've purchased me. I am yours. And I choose
at this moment to say no to sin. I choose to
say no to the manner of life associated with
the old me. Jesus, I say yes to you. Father in
heaven, I thank you for telling us in the Bible
the truth, because we live in a world of lies,
and we are so easily deceived, because we tend
to judge truth on the basis of how many people
believe this or that. Help us to understand that
truth is not in a popularity contest. But the
truth is what you say. There are some of my brothers
and sisters here who have been deceived into
thinking that they can never change. That what
they have struggled with in their past, in that
old man, they have to always be. Enable them
by the Spirit to know the truth and let it make
a difference. There are some of us on the verge
of being deceived into sin. Open our eyes that
we may know the truth. I pray that each of us
who is in fact a new person in Christ will say
yes to Jesus today. And the result of that will
be our walking worthy. of the calling that we
have in him. And I pray this in his name, in
Jesus' name. Amen.