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Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Ephesians 4:17-32; Colossians 3:1-17; Zechariah 3:3-5; Zechariah 8:16; Isaiah 63:10; Romans 8:16, Romans 8:26-27.
Memory Text: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”(Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV).
Jose Antonio lived on the streets of Palma, Spain, as a homeless man for years. With gray, straggly hair and beard, Jose looked older than his 57 years. One day, Salva Garcia, the owner of a hair salon, approached Jose and proposed a complete makeover.
With Jose in the salon chair, a hardworking team cut, dyed, and styled the tangled bundles of hair and beard. Next, Jose then got new stylish clothes. Then came the reveal! As Jose sat in front of a mirror, tears came. “Is this me? I’m so different; no one is going to recognize me!” Later he would add, “It wasn’t just a change of looks. It changed my life.”
In Ephesians 4:17-32, Paul argues that believers have experienced a complete transformation. They have taken off their old selves and have embraced their new identity. Somewhat like Jose’s change, though, this is no mere external transformation. It includes being “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23, ESV), bringing into the life “true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24, ESV). This is the ultimate makeover.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 19.
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