Ephesians Study Chapter 4 - New Life

• Gentiles:
  • Know God but refuse to follow his commands
  • Alienated from God
  • Callous - have no conscience
  • [1 Tim 4:3] living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
  • Greedy
  • Thinking is in vein with no purpose.
  • Futile because because it is darkened.  Believes they are enlightened because they reject the Bible and believes the latest philosophies but they are in the dark.
  • Satan blinds the unsaved so they won’t see the truth in Jesus.
  • Put off the grave clothes and put on the grace-clothes! (Wiersby Bible Commentary) 
  • [v. 22] Give up earthly natures (above)
  • [v. 24] We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
• Christians
  • Do not lie to each other. Since we are all baptized into the body of Christ, we look to God for truth and are given the means to determine right from wrong.
  • Don’t act out in anger.  If you have a problem with someone, go to them and fix it.
  • If we don’t forgive and stay angry this gives the devil a way in.
  • Stop steeling and work so that you will have something to share with the needy.
  • [1 Tim 4:9-15] Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
  • Don’t speak in anger, malice, slander, and filthy language.
  • [1 Tim 3:8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.
  • Be encouraging and build each other up with our words
  • Don’t resist the Holy Spirit.
  • Be kind and compassionate; forgive as Christ forgave you.
  • [v. 20] Taught in Christ not about Christ. 
  • We can be taught about Christ and still never be saved.
  • Taught in Christ means we have a personal relationship with Christ that grows every day.
  • Christians haven’t just changed our minds but our citizenship.
  • Illustrated in the story of Lazarus.
    • [John 11:44] The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
• Remember the motives for walking in purity:
  • Satan wants to get a foothold in our lives.
  • We should share with others
  • Build one another up
  • Shouldn’t grieve God (push him away)