Neighborhood Study Guide

Ephesians 4:17-24

Introduction

Paul tells us that Jesus has changed the world and everything in it: - our relationship with God, once conflicted, now at peace. - our relationship with each other, once separated, now reconciled in grace - and even our own hearts - we who were once spiritually dead, are now spiritually alive! For those who trust in Jesus, everything has changed! But the implications of this change are hard to see. How do these deep changes get worked out in our lives? That's the topic that Paul turns to now. Introductory Question Can you think of an occasion when you really tried to change something, and you failed? What went wrong? How did you feel afterwards? Read Ephesians 4:17-24

Ephesians 4:17-24 17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!- 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Questions
In verses 4:17-19, Paul describes the walk, mind and heart of the person without God. He refers to this as the Gentile (non-Jewish) way of thinking. That's Paul's shorthand for living without God.

1. How do we walk and think without God? (See also Ephesians 2:1-4.) 2. Paul says the end of all this is due to a hard, callous heart and being given over to sensuality. Callousness means losing sensitivity. Do you think you understand what Paul means by a callous heart? 3. What does it mean to be 'given over' to sensuality? Can you think of examples of being 'given over'?

Paul certainly describes a complicated and difficult human condition. Change is needed. By God's grace we have enormous resources to navigate this process of change. Once we understand and use these resources, we find the power to change.

I saw a parable that illustrates this with my brother, who once had his luggage lost by an airline. My brother, who is in sales, understands call centers and had a great skill in navigating the complexity of a call center. Without losing his temper, he kept using the following phrases that might illustrate for us how we might approach transformation. 1. 'That's unacceptable' - decisively say no to those things which are against the will of God. (Putting off the old self) 2. 'Help me to understand' - see a clearer vision of what our future in Christ is. (Putting on the new self) 3. 'May I speak to the manager' - we need to draw closer and closer to the one with authority to change us (Being renewed in the spirit of our minds [or our imaginations]) Paul tells us to 'learn Christ'. The phrase is unique. Nowhere else in all of ancient Greek are people urged to 'learn someone'.Yet Paul says that we should learn not about Christ, but actually learn Christ himself. Paul says this learning Jesus means putting off the old self, putting on the new self and renewing the spirit of our minds in Christ. If we use these three statements as a guide to transformation, we may not find ourselves beating the air quite as much!

4. The tense of 'put off' is a definitive past (aorist) - as in a once for all action. Clearly we don't leave our old selves completely behind, so what does Paul mean about 'decisively putting off the old self'? Why might we be tempted to hang on to the old self or see it as acceptable? 5. When Paul tells us to put on the new self, he says the new self is "created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." This is a pretty high calling! Why might we avoid 'putting on the new self'? 6. Finally, Paul says we must learn Christ, by being renewed in the spirit of our minds. This is often thought as getting more closely acquainted with Jesus through filling our minds with truth and emotion. How is this different from simply learning more information about Jesus? Practical Question What resources do you find helpful in renewing the spirit of your minds? Share them with each other.