The church of Jesus Christ will somehow display a unity in the midst of a hostile world. We often de­spair of such a unity, but it is a fact despite the fact that there are all manner of branches of that one church of Christ. The Bible speaks of that unity often and there must be a display of it so that the world may also know the work which Christ Jesus has come to do.

Living the Faith⤒🔗

Now, therefore, i.e., because of all that has gone before, (Paul will emphasize, not only his own view of the matter, but he speaks in the name of his Lord) believers are to seek that unity of which he spoke by their manner of life. The believer must indeed be­lieve that which is straight, which is true, which is orthodox, but that true belief must be accompanied by a life which is in tune with the doctrines believed.

Therefore they are not to live as the gentiles. But, were these not gentiles to whom he is writing? He uses the term "gentiles" in two different senses. All those who were not Jews were gentiles and there­fore these people in Ephesus, to whom he was writing, were indeed gentiles. However, one may also use the term in a different way to indicate those who are ungodly or uncivilized. It is in the latter manner that he uses the term here. The people Paul addresses have heard and believed the gospel, they were converted, they belong to Christ and conse­quently to His church, therefore they may no longer live as though nothing had taken place in their lives. They must walk in conformity to the faith they pro­fess. How often this teaching is found in the Apos­tolic writings! It is one thing to profess the faith which has been proclaimed — it is a different matter to walk according to that rule.

Futility of Pagan Life←⤒🔗

But, the readers of this epistle will certainly realize that the way of life which the Apostle has shown them is the only logical way. One who pro­fesses the true faith and then walks as the gentiles, is a living lie! The gentiles walk in the vanity, or futility, of their minds. They expect much of this world and this life, but it is vain and futile. It is dis­appointing. Nothing is adequately rewarded. In con­trast, the life of the believer is rewarded far above anything he would ever be able to expect. The Lord pays well! It is also the only logical and consistent way of life. It is really a sad commentary on the be­liever's way of life that the Apostle must emphasize this matter so strongly. It ought to be a matter of course! In gratitude he ought to live a God glorify­ing life.

Ignorance of Unbelief←⤒🔗

To make it even clearer why the believer is not to live as his unbelieving neighbors do, the Apostle gives a characterization of the life of the unbe­lievers. They are darkened in their understanding. That is, the unbelieving world which thinks that it has all wisdom and is therefore able to get along very well without God. Paul says their minds are dark — they live in intellectual gloom! They always were darkened in their minds and still are. The reasoning of the unbeliever has been affected by sin. This is a part of total depravity. He has spoken be­fore of the fact that these Ephesian Christians had once been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel etc. Now he says of the gentiles around them that they are alienated from the life of God! That is much worse. Why is it so much worse for those who are now still gentiles? Because the gospel has come to Ephesus and they have, in their ignorance, spurned that gospel. Then it hardens. The gospel leaves no one the same. It is either a savor of life to life or it is a savor of death to death. Consciously these people had hardened themselves against the gospel. They consciously rejected it. These are now alienated from the life of God and have no part in the blessings given through Jesus Christ!

Moral Degeneracy←⤒🔗

When this hardening occurs, it does not only af­fect the relationship to God and the gospel, no, it corrupts all relationships! This must never be lost from sight. Often the unbeliever is a "nice" person. Those who have hardened themselves become past feeling, they become calloused. Then they are basic­ally not even "nice people" anymore. When people are beyond feeling they no longer realize their duties to fellow men. It is so strange that they then give themselves up to all uncleanness, i.e., on the surface. Why does this happen? When one con­sciously turns against the gospel of Jesus Christ and rejects it, he descends from that which is truly human to the animal level. Christ has come to fulfill, to complete the law of God. Only when men walk ac­cording to the law their God has given them will they attain to their true humanity. Therefore, when­ever someone turns his back on the gospel he de­humanizes himself and gives himself to all manner of lewdness and covets iniquity.

Christ's Pupils←⤒🔗

Having described the nature of the life of such gentiles, the Apostle warns believers not to imitate this kind of life. Not only so, he shows them that the very opposite way of life has been taught them. They have "learned Christ". By this he means that they have not only learned about the Christ of God, but that they have learned to know Him! They have not only learned Him, but they are bound to Him. The acquaintance with Jesus Christ, and, what is far more, the implanting into Jesus Christ prohibits the kind of life the gentiles live. They have learned to know Christ so that they realize that He demands a life of devotion to Himself and a life which is un­spotted by the sin of this world. They have learned to know Him as the One who leads to an essentially different outlook on life and goal in life. If they have learned to know Him they will flee from the kind of life they see the gentile living.

The things he is here contrasting ought to be clear to everyone who has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have heard the word, have they not? They have heard that truth is in Jesus, have they not? He (Christ) makes Himself known as the truth. Not only does He speak the truth — He is the truth! All the truths which are important to life are found in Him. Only He is able to make known the depth of man's sin. Of course, He is the only One who has made known the need and the nature of salvation. He too makes known to man the life of gratitude which he is to live before his God. Now, these are the essentials of knowledge. These are the things one must know both to live and die happily. The gentiles do not have the knowledge of any of these things. What is then the result? They give themselves up to all manner of sin and finally drown in their misery.

A Converted Life←⤒🔗

Seeing these Ephesian Christians have been taught to know Christ and to know that truth is in Him alone, they must break with their former man­ner of life. They knew what the Apostle had been speaking about. They knew from experience. Their former life was like the unbelievers around them at the present time. But they have been delivered from the bondage of that kind of life which those who practice it call freedom. They must realize that the salvation which they now embrace demands a complete turnabout of all of life. It is not only a religion of the mouth but of both word and deed. The whole outlook on life has been radically changed for those who believe in Jesus.

A Process of Putting off the Old←⤒🔗

The Apostle now uses terminology which he uses more often to show them how complete this change is to be. First of all, they must put off the old man. By this old man he means the former way of life, the life which was steeped in sin. Of course, basically they had put off the old man when they believed on Jesus Christ — when they had come to conversion. Then why this emphasis now? This is a very important passage to show us that everything is not com­pleted when we have come to conversion. This is one of the errors which is commonly found today. Let a person confess that he believes on the Christ of God and he has arrived! You can now go on to the next one! This kind of theology Paul condemns. Although something great has taken place when the eyes are opened and the Savior is acknowledged, there is still a long road ahead. One has to keep on putting off the old man — that which entices to sin. The believer is faced with the temptations to sin every day. Their former manner of life may not be lived anymore — but the temptation is there to do so. It is indeed one act of God whereby the believer has been brought from death to life, but for the believer himself there is a process whereby he becomes more Christ-like.

Put on the New←⤒🔗

The believer is, however, not only called to put off the old man but he is also admonished to put on the new man. Christianity is not only negative (it is that too) but it also has a very definite positive aspect. The old man was the product of sin; the new man comes out of regeneration. A new life has been created. This has to be evident in the life of him who professes to believe on Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The redeemed man must die to the old and be made alive to the new. He must turn from sin and seek holiness. He must learn to hate sin and love right­eousness. He must flee the chaos of lawlessness and must rejoice in the law of God. He has indeed be­come a new creature!

In these verses the Apostle has taught the people in Ephesus, and thereby the church of all subsequent ages, the true balance which must character­ize the life of those who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ. They must believe and work; they are faced with do's and don'ts; there is both the negative and the positive. Those who live according to the teaching of the Scriptures are not going to fall into the extremes which are so often seen. The Bible is to be our guide for all of life. It shows us the way of salvation and also teaches us how we are to live. When one tampers with the Bible he is undermining the faith and life of the people of God

Questions for Discussion:←⤒🔗

1. Paul judges the understanding of believers to be far superior to that of unbelievers. How does the modern world judge this?
    
2. How does the process of hardening proceed?
    
3. Do you think that there are people who would like to stop with justification and forget about sancti­fication?
    
4. How have we learned to know Christ? Is it impor­tant how we learn to know Him? Are there some who have or are learning to know Him in the wrong way?
    
5. Is the believer still totally depraved?
    
6. Do we usually emphasize either the negative or the positive in our Christian life at the expense of the other? How can we keep our spiritual bal­ance?