Purity - Ephesians 4:17-32

Ephesians 4:17 begins the second of the walks that Paul talks about in chapters 4, 5 and 6. We've already discussed walk in unity verses 1 through 16. And now Paul talks about walking in purity verses 17 through 32. This I say therefore, he says in Ephesians 4:17, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness or the hardness of their heart.

Now the word Gentiles here means heathen. Paul is saying to these people, you're Christians now. You've been called by the Lord Jesus Christ. You have experienced the miracle of being born again. Now, don't live the way you used to live. Don't live the way the world lives. You're different. You have experienced newness of life, and therefore your life, your walk ought to be different. He summarizes this over in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when he says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. This is what we mean by conversion. When you convert something, you change its direction. A man is walking east and he converts and turns around and walks west. To convert means to change directions, to turn around.

There was a time when you were walking on the dark, broad road that leads to destruction, but then you met Jesus Christ and you've turned around, you've trusted him, and now you're walking on that bright, narrow road that leads to life. To convert means to change the use of something. Perhaps you convert a truck into a camper. Or you convert a barn into a studio. Now there was a time when Satan was using you, but then you were converted. Your use was changed. Instead of being a vessel unto destruction and dishonor, you have become a temple of the living God. A change has taken place. A Christian is a person who has experienced a change. Not just simply a change in his mind, not just simply a change in his outward life, but a deep, abiding, inward change. He has become a partaker of the divine nature. God lives within him.

Now because this is true, I say this therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth, now that you're saved, walk not as other Gentiles walk. And here he describes the walk, the everyday life of the unsaved person. Now perhaps you're listening to me right now and you never have been born again. You might go to church. I'm glad you do. You might even be interested in spiritual things. I'm glad you are. But you have never surrendered to Jesus Christ. Now here's your picture. Ephesians 4:17-22. We are given an X-ray, a spiritual X-ray of the unsaved person, the inner man.

Now I've heard people say, well, I, I live as good as anybody else. So and so's a member of the church, so and so's a professing Christian. I live as good as he does. Maybe you do. Maybe he needs to do some growing. But the important thing is what are you like on the inside? Man looketh on the outward appearance, says 1 Samuel 16:7. God looketh on the heart. What's on the inside? Here is a description of the unsaved person.

They are walking first of all in the vanity of their mind. The word vanity means emptiness, shallowness. There's something wrong with the unsaved person's mind. Now back in Romans 1, Paul tells us about how that the unsaved person doesn't want to retain God in his knowledge. There's no fear of God before their eyes, and the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Now an unsaved person may have a high IQ intellectually, but when it comes to spiritual things, his mind is vain and empty.

John 3 is a perfect illustration of this. Nicodemus came to Jesus. Nicodemus was the teacher of the Jews. He stood at the head of the university. He was the one to whom everyone looked for Bible knowledge. And Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. Someone has said he came by night because he was in the dark, and he surely was. And he asked the Lord Jesus some simple questions, and Jesus said to him, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. He said, Nicodemus, you don't understand these things. Nicodemus could not understand the new birth, what it meant to be born again. Now here he was, a religious man, a good man, a moral man, an educated man, one who was a teacher of religious truth. And yet he did not understand the ABCs about going to heaven. The unsaved person has a vain, empty mind.

Having the understanding darkened. Not only is his mind empty, but it's dark. This reminds us of Genesis 1. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. That's a perfect picture of the unsaved person's life. Empty, dark, without form, until the Lord Jesus comes along to change it. The vanity of their mind, the understanding darkened.

Now this takes us back to 2 Corinthians 4:3, where Paul says this in verse 3, if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. If you don't understand the gospel, if you don't know what the gospel really means, you're lost. In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not. The devil, the God of this age, this one whom Paul called the spirit of disobedience back in Ephesians 2:2, he blinds your mind. Now the devil uses many different tactics in blinding people's minds. Sometimes he blinds them with false religion. Sometimes he blinds them with prejudice. Sometimes he blinds them with the hypocritical life of some other person. The word of God makes it very clear that the natural man, the unsaved man, does not understand the things of the spirit of God. 1 Corinthians 2:14, but the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. The understanding darkened.

Thirdly, they are alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. Alienated, separated from the life of God. Now here you have a dark, vain mind. Here you have death, being alienated, separated from the life of God. This means they are not only intellectually and mentally dark, but they are spiritually dead. We saw back in Ephesians 2:1, where Paul said, and you hath he made alive, hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Now hear me. If you've never been born again, you are mentally dark, you are spiritually dead, and morally decayed. The word of God says, you have given yourself over to ignorance, blindness, and lasciviousness. Ephesians 4:19, who being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, dirty living, to work all uncleanness with greediness. Now this is an awful picture. Here we have a stark, unadorned, unretouched photograph of the inner man of the unsaved person. Intellectually dark, spiritually dead, morally depraved, the blindness, the hardness of the heart, past feeling. It's as though this person so gave himself over to wickedness and sin that he became paralyzed. Nothing touched him anymore. Then the spirit of God comes in. But ye have not so learned Christ, says Paul. If so be ye have heard him, and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. When you learn about Jesus Christ and when you come to know Christ, all of this changes.

Let me point out once again here, these people are mentally in the dark. They are walking the wrong path. In Ephesians 4:17, there's something wrong with their walk. In Ephesians 4:18, there's something wrong with their mind. In Ephesians 4:19, there's something wrong with their life because they are dead. They need Jesus Christ.

Now Jesus Christ says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Ephesians 4:17, they're walking on the wrong way, but Jesus says, I am the way. Ephesians 4:18, their understanding is darkened, but Jesus says, I am the truth. They are alienated, separated from the life of God, but Jesus says, I am the life. When you come to know Jesus Christ, you come to know him who is the way, the truth, and the life, and he changes all of this.

You recall the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15. The word of God tells us that he was dead spiritually. The father said, this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and was found again. He was ignorant. It says he came to himself. He finally woke up to how dark his mind really was. Here he is now, he was lost, he was ignorant, he was dead. But then he came to the Father. How do you come to the Father? Through Jesus Christ. He was lost, but Jesus Christ is the way. He was ignorant, but Jesus Christ is the truth. He was dead, but Jesus Christ is the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me.

Now I wonder if you have come to the Father through Jesus Christ. What about your mind? What about your life, your walk? Are you spiritually dead? Then you need to know Jesus Christ. Now he says, once you know Christ as your savior, your life will change. Ephesians 4:22, that ye put off concerning the former behavior, put off the old man, which is corrupt according to deceitful lusts. My, how deceitful lust is. It makes you think you're going to have liberty and it gives you bondage. It makes you think you're going to have pleasure and it gives you pain. It makes you think it's going to be bright and cheery. It gives you sorrow and judgment.

He says, now once you've been saved, the old life has to be put off. And you must be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Now the word of God often talks about the old man and the new man, or the old nature and the new nature. When you are saved, something happens within. You are given a new nature. There is life down inside. Now Paul says, just like changing clothes. By faith, you put off the old man.

Romans 6:6 tells us that our old man was crucified. When Jesus Christ died, we died with him. The old life was crucified. Colossians 3:9 tells us that we have already in Christ put off the old man. Now here we're to practice it. Jesus is saying to us through Paul, when I died on the cross, I crucified the old man. I made it possible for you to get rid of those grave clothes. Now put them off. I have already overcome.

It's a beautiful illustration of what we see in John 11 with Lazarus. Lazarus was dead. He'd been lying there in the grave for four days, and Jesus came along and said, roll away the stone. And they said, well, by now he smells. And Jesus said, don't, don't you worry now. If you believe, you're going to see the glory of God. And Jesus stood outside the tomb of Lazarus and said, Lazarus, come forth. And the dead man came out. But he was all bound in grave clothes. The next thing Jesus said was, loose him and let him go.

Now, too many Christians are still wearing the grave clothes. They have never put off the old man. Here they are alive in Christ Jesus. Here they are having been born again, created in righteousness and true holiness, and yet they're wearing the grave clothes. They smell like the old life, they look like the old life, they talk like the old life. And you wonder if the new creation ever really took place. Now no one wants to live with somebody wrapped in grave clothes. Lazarus could not walk in those grave clothes. He was bound. He couldn't work. He was bound. He could not see, he could not talk. The grave clothes had him in bondage and they smelled.

Paul is saying to you and me, now look, you've been raised from the dead. You hath he quickened who were dead. You've been raised from the dead. Now put off everything that belonged to the old life. The old lusts, the old practices, and put on the new man by being renewed in the spirit of your mind.

This reminds us of Romans 12:2, where Paul says, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. You see back here in Ephesians 4:17-18, Paul has been saying that these people have the wrong kind of mind. The vanity of their mind, the darkness of their mind. But when you're saved, God gives you a new mind. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, says Philippians 2:5. And over in 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul says, we have the mind of Christ.

Now a Christian has received a new nature, and this new nature includes a new mind. We start thinking spiritual thoughts. We start understanding spiritual things. The new mind. Now some Christians are worldly minded. Some Christians are carnally minded. Romans 8:6, Paul says, to be carnally minded is death. The flesh controls their mind, the world controls their mind. And unfortunately, some Christians are like Ananias and Sapphira, the devil controls their mind. And Paul makes it very clear that Christ should control our minds. We should be spiritually minded and put on the new man, which is created, here's the new creation now, in righteousness and true holiness.

Now there's a false holiness. There's a false holiness. The Pharisees had false holiness. Some religious people have false holiness. Satan is an angel of light. His ministers are ambassadors of darkness, but they appear to be messengers of light. There's a false holiness.

Now he goes on to name some of these grave clothes we ought to get rid of in Ephesians 4:25. Wherefore, putting away once and for all lying. Speak every man truth with his neighbor. We are members one of another. Lying. Christians ought not to lie.

Be ye angry, but sin not. Now there is an anger which is righteous anger. We should not be angry at people, but we should be angry at sin. Paul says, let's put away anger, losing our temper, violence. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. If you do get angry, settle it before bedtime. Neither give place to the devil. Lying and anger give place to the devil. We're opening the door asking him to come in.

Let him that stole, steal no more. Quit stealing. Don't steal things, don't steal money, don't steal time. Put in a good day's work. Don't steal somebody's homework. Steal no more. Rather let him labor working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. Dirty talking. Get rid of the grave clothes. Dirty stories, dirty language, worldly talk. But that which is good to the use of edifying, building up, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. Make sure your speech builds up and doesn't tear down.

Grieve not the Holy Spirit, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. How do you grieve the spirit? Here it is, Ephesians 4:31, bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, malice, these feelings in our hearts that grieve the Lord. These things belong to the old life. Put them away, and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Shall we pray? Father, we thank thee for the victory that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee, Father, that he has died for us and raised us from the dead. Help us now to put off the grave clothes of anger and lying and malice and bitterness and temper. Help us to wear the grace clothes of kindness and love. Help us to be tenderhearted. Help us to treat others the way thou hast treated us. And may we prove that we belong to the new creation by living a life of holiness to the glory of God. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.