by Dennis Stackhouse<\/p>\n
Addressing the Christians in Ephesus, Paul wrote:\u00a0“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind”<\/em>\u00a0(Ephesians 4:17).\u00a0 The apostle begins by aligning his authority with that of the Lord; in other words, this is God’s authoritative message.\u00a0 And that message is that Christian people are not to conduct themselves in the same way that people of the world (Gentiles or sinners) conduct themselves.\u00a0 There is to be a difference in the person who has dedicated himself or herself to following Jesus.<\/p>\n A further description of the Gentiles is given in Ephesians 4:18-19:\u00a0“Being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”<\/em>\u00a0 What a horrible way of life this is. \u00a0Can we imagine being darkened in our understanding and excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance we possess?\u00a0 And with hardened hearts, such will only continue because we would be callous (lacking pity, mercy, or feeling), giving ourselves completely over to sensuality and the practice of every kind of impurity.\u00a0 Paul does not paint a pretty picture of the sinful lifestyle for his readers.<\/p>\n Fortunately, there is good news.\u00a0 Notice what we have in Ephesians 4:20-21:\u00a0“But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus.”<\/em>\u00a0 Paul was very much aware that the Ephesians had been introduced to the pure gospel message when he was initially with them in Acts 19.\u00a0 They had heard about Jesus, they had been taught in Jesus and they discovered that truth is in Jesus.\u00a0 For that reason, Paul could continue to say in Ephesians 4:22-23:\u00a0“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.”<\/em><\/p>\n Here is what Paul really wants the Ephesians, and us, to understand: there must be a noticeable difference between the life one lives prior to becoming a Christian and the life one lives after becoming a Christian.\u00a0 The counsel Paul is giving any Christian is that “you lay aside the old self”<\/em>\u00a0because\u00a0“it is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit.”<\/em>\u00a0 In other words, the former lifestyle is not consistent with the Christian walk.\u00a0 The Christian is to focus on\u00a0“being renewed in the spirit of your mind.”<\/em>\u00a0 The change in lifestyle must be visible to anyone we come in contact with.\u00a0 The conclusion, in Ephesians 4:24, is unmistakable: “And put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”<\/em>\u00a0 In very simple terms, the old self is to be laid aside as the Christian takes on the characteristics of God and Christ, living a life of righteousness and holiness that is inseparably linked to the truth found in God’s word.\u00a0 If we want to be pleasing to God, the old self must die.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Dennis Stackhouse Addressing the Christians in Ephesus, Paul wrote:\u00a0“So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind”\u00a0(Ephesians 4:17).\u00a0 The apostle begins by aligning his authority with that of the Lord; in other words, this is God’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[390],"class_list":["post-46696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-conversion"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":93088,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-such-a-divide-in-america\/","url_meta":{"origin":46696,"position":0},"title":"Why Such a Divide in America?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 7, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton There is a huge divide in our country. 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Hamilton \"For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles -- if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":94790,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/walk-as-wise\/","url_meta":{"origin":46696,"position":2},"title":"Walk as Wise","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edwin Crozier Text: Ephesians 5 Outside of Christ, we Gentiles walked in the futility of our minds. That is, we followed our own think-sos, pursuing the desires of our flesh and minds (see Ephesians 2:3). In Christ, instead of walking in futility, we are to look carefully how we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":31291,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-sensuality\/","url_meta":{"origin":46696,"position":3},"title":"What is sensuality?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 27, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello, I'm trying to find all the information I can on sensuality, but am coming up short on it, I get that it's the gratification of the flesh's desires but how does one repent of that, I'm not in any sexual immorality, I don't eat too much, what else\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":86893,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-study-the-old-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":46696,"position":4},"title":"Why Study the Old Testament?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Naomi Works \"What is the point of studying the Old Testament? We're not under that covenant, Jesus only appears in the New Testament, and Leviticus-Deuteronomy is just plain boring!\" I feel so sorry for people who think that way. They're missing out on so many incredible lessons that will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14518,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-gods-foreknowledge-only-apply-to-groups\/","url_meta":{"origin":46696,"position":5},"title":"Does God’s foreknowledge only apply to groups?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just read your article on the subject of predestination and foreknowledge. I very well understood the difficulties and struggle of trying to explain subjects like these and wish to appreciate your efforts I just want you to look at Acts 13:48 and Ephesians 2:10. 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