Ephesians

Today I simply read Ephesians. It was refreshing to remember that we Gentiles have been brought into the covenant promises of Israel – promises of which we had no part – by Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is the One who teaches us to know God, and the fact that we know God through Jesus Christ is therefore proof that we have the Holy Spirit, who guarantees our inheritance.

 

One section stood out to me today: Eph. 4:22-24 – "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."

 

What especially stood out to me was that there is a verse 23. It would have been simple for Paul to write that we were taught to put off our old selves and put on our new selves without mentioning anything in the middle. But instead Paul wrote, in between taking off our old selves and putting on our new selves, that we are to be made new in the attitude of our minds.

 

Putting off and putting on, in this passage, seem to be our work. We struggle to set aside our twisted desires and to live righteously, even as Christians. What Christian hasn't wondered how he can continue to be so sinful even with the Holy Spirit having changed his life? Well, that's what verse 23 is talking about. Christians do still live in their earthly bodies, which is exactly why we still struggle with sinful desires. But our change so far has come about in the way described in verse 23: we have been made new in the attitude of our minds. Righteousness is our consistent aim. We actually love God! When we seek righteousness, we do so knowing that we deserve nothing at all because we are sinners through and through. But we do so also with a hope that we will one day live completely righteous lives, a hope that comes from the new attitude Christ has made in our minds by His Holy Spirit teaching us to trust Jesus Christ and the Father. That new attitude is the basis for our righteous actions. We don't do good simply to feel better about our lives. We don't do good simply to avoid pain in our lives. We don't do good just to try to maintain a good image in other men's eyes. We do good because we have a good God who has called us to a righteous life in Christ Jesus, a good God who loves us and has commanded us to love others! We do good because we are His servants.