In retelling the story of the conversion of his audience, what essential main point is Paul getting across to them? (Ephesians 4:20-24).

Having described their former, Gentile existence (Ephesians 4:17-19), Paul does not say, “That is not the way you learned about Christ.” Instead, he exclaims, “That is not the way you learned Christ!” (Ephesians 4:20, ESV).

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Noting that the addressees “heard Him” [Christ] (NKJV), and were taught “in him” (Ephesians 4:21, ESV) or “by Him” (NKJV), Paul further advocates the adoption of a Christ-shaped life with the phrase “as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21). For Paul, coming to faith centers on a personal connection with Christ, one so vivid and real that it may be described as “learning Christ.” We acknowledge that the risen and exalted Jesus is alive and present with us. We are shaped by His teachings and example and exercise loyalty to Him as our living Lord. We open our lives to His active guidance and direction through Spirit and Word.

Paul tells us that the adoption of a Christ-shaped life requires three processes, which he expresses through clothing imagery: (1) to “put off” or turn away from the old way of life (Ephesians 4:22); (2) to experience inner renewal (Ephesians 4:23); and (3) to “put on” the new, God-like pattern of life (Ephesians 4:24). Paul’s metaphor reflects the use of clothing in the Old Testament as a symbol for both sinfulness (e.g., Psalm 73:6; Zechariah 3:3-4; Malachi 2:16) and salvation (e.g., Isaiah 61:10; Ezekiel 16:8; Zechariah 3:4-5).

In ancient times, men wore a knee-length tunic as an undergarment and a cloak or mantle to offer protection from the sun. Similarly, women wore a tunic and a robe. The cultures reflected in the Bible were subsistence ones. Garments were precious and expensive, and were kept for a long time. It would have been unusual to own more than one set of clothing. The quality and style of those garments signaled identity and status markers about the wearer. To change one’s clothes, exchanging one set of clothes for another, was an unusual and important event (rather than the trifling occurrence it is in many cultures today). Paul imagines the change in life to be as noticeable as exchanging one set of clothing for another would have been in this first-century context.

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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Join us as we discuss Lesson 7, The Unified Body of Christ.

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Compare Ephesians 4:17-32 with Colossians 3:1-17. How does Paul advocate for believers to live in a way that encourages the unity of the church?

In the prior section, Ephesians 4:1-16, Paul’s theme was the unity of the church. When we compare Ephesians 4:1 and Ephesians 4:17, we note how similar these two exhortations are about how to walk or to live. This resemblance suggests that Paul addresses the same theme — unity and the lifestyle that supports it — but from a new and initially more negative vantage point.

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In Ephesians 4:17-24, Paul contrasts Gentile lifestyle, which he regards as undermining unity (Ephesians 4:17-19), with truly Christian patterns of life that nourish it (Ephesians 4:20-24). As we read Paul’s sharp critique of the depraved, Gentile lifestyle, we should recall his conviction that Gentiles are redeemed by God through Christ and offered full partnership in the people of God (Ephesians 2:11-22, Ephesians 3:1-13). In Ephesians 4:17-19, then, he is offering a limited and negative description of “Gentiles in the flesh” (Ephesians 2:11).

Paul is not just concerned about specific sins or behaviors exhibited by Gentiles. He is concerned about a pattern of behavior that they exhibit, a downward trajectory of living in the grip of sin. At the heart of Ephesians 4:17-19 is a portrait of a calloused spirituality: “in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God” (Ephesians 4:17-18, NKJV). This calloused spirituality is the source of the darkened understanding highlighted at the beginning of the passage (“because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous,” Ephesians 4:18-19, ESV) and the depraved sexual practice underlined at its end (“and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity,” Ephesians 4:19, ESV). Alienated from God, they don’t know how to live, and, separated from His saving grace, they continue in a downward spiral of sin and depravity.

<–Sabbath Monday–>

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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.

Sunday–>

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The Mission program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an opportunity for us to understand the needs of others and share in supporting them. Please click on the image below to watch the Mission Spotlight presentation for this week: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACard5ophGg&w=560&h=315]

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