Lesson for December 3, 2023
The Battle for Your Soul
Lesson 9
Ephesians 4:20-32
Verses 20-24
“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, 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, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Learning Christ includes the entire Doctrine of Christology – why He came to earth, Who Christ was in Hypostatic Union, and the entire doctrine of salvation.
If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus means they had heard the accurate teaching of the Word of God. “If” is a first-class condition meaning “if and you have.” Believers hear “Christ” through doctrinal teaching from the pastor-teacher. This is how they come to know Him and how they come to the point of occupation with Him.
In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self means to stop living as if you are still an unbeliever. You are a new creation in Christ and your manner of living should be changing day by day as you learn and apply accurate Bible doctrine.
Which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit.The Greek word for corrupted is “phtheiro,” which means to be depraved, to decay, to rot, or to destroy. We all have a corrupt sin nature which needs to be controlled. The sin nature can be controlled by believers, but it will never ever be improved, which is why in our resurrection bodies we will have no sin nature. The sin nature in the Scriptures is referred to by many names and phrases such as “the old man,” “the flesh,” and “carnal.” One of the most common designations for the sin nature is “sin” in the singular, as in Romans 5:12, I Corinthians 15:56 and I John 1:8.
And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Renewed means to be restored which is a process just like sliding into reversionism is a process. The restoration takes place in the mind of believers as they learn and apply accurate Bible doctrine over a period of time. Recovery from reversionism takes time. (Romans 12:1-2)
And put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. These believers who Paul was writing to had rejected truth in favor of false doctrine. Put on the new self refers to getting back on track spiritually. They were new creations in Christ, but they were living like unbelievers. They had moved away from learning accurate Bible doctrine. Paul was urging them to return to the doctrine he had taught them.
The likeness of God has been created in righteousness refers to His perfect standard of righteousness. These reversionistic believers had the righteousness of God positionally, but they were not living that righteousness experientially. Practical righteousness can be produced in the life of believers who are in fellowship with God and filled with the Holy Spirit.
And holiness of the truth means the integrity of divine truth found only in the Word of God. Putting on the “new self” required these believers to start the process of spiritual growth again while rejecting the false doctrine that had seduced them.
Verses 25-32
“Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”
It is impossible to recover from reversionism if a believer continues to think human viewpoint. There must be a change in thinking before the process of recovery begins. Paul used several examples to illustrate this change in thinking. Laying aside falsehood means reversionism can be a lifestyle characterized by habitual lying to self and to others. When you begin to recover, you are to stop any habit of lying. This does not mean to tell a lie occasionally, but it means a pattern of lying. In place of lying, this recovering believer is to speak the truth (to self and others) which will be an indication that the recovery process has begun.
Be angry and yet do not sin, means that there are right times to be angry without sinning. “Be angry with righteous indignation” is the best translation. Anger without a righteous cause is sin and that may give Satan the opportunity to influence your thinking. This command includes letting that righteous indignation pass and leave it in the hands of God. Do not give the devil an opportunity means to not give the devil the opportunity to influence you with false doctrine and human viewpoint thinking.
He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. Stealing can be both an overt sin and/or a mental attitude sin. Stealing can refer to illegal business practices, taking things that don’t belong to you, stealing a person’s reputation, cheating on a test, etc. In this verse, it is referring to dishonest business practices. No longer steal but labor, performing with his own hands means someone was cheating in business.
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. But only such a wordas is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Reversionism recovery means a change in the way we speak to ourselves and others. The Greek word for unwholesome in “sapros,” which means rotten. Rotten words do not edify anyone, but wholesome, doctrinal words do. Rotten words have no doctrinal influence and are not good for building up a person spiritually. Giving grace to the hearer means being an example of a person who speaks words of encouragement – uplifting words.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Grieving means to bring sorrow, which is against the will of God, takes us out of fellowship with God, and we lose the filling of the Holy Spirit. This is a command to stop sinning and persisting in carnality and instead Rebound. The recovering reversionist must begin with Rebound before the recovery process can begin. (I John 1:6-10, 2:10-11) The sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit is the believer’s guarantee of eternal life. The Holy Spirit Himself is the seal or down payment of a future inheritance. It means that we are permanently identified as God’s own possession. (II Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30)
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. We have six words that describe the reversionist. Bitterness is the Greek word “pikria,” meaning antagonism toward others, wrath is “thumos,” meaning emotional upset, anger is “orge,” which is mental anger with a view to taking revenge, clamor is “krauge,” which means shouting or verbal brawling, slander is “blasphemia,” which means character assassination, and malice is “kakia,” which means a vicious character, meanness, or wickedness.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. The Greek word for kind is “chrestos,” which means good, pleasant, or gracious. The Greek word for tender-hearted is “eusplanchnos,” which means compassionate or good heartedness. The Greek word for forgiving is “aphiemi,” which means to send forth, send away. It means to forgive on the basis of grace, forgive on the basis of who you are in Christ. It does not mean to condone bad behavior. It means to forgive as Christ forgave. Following this pattern of behavior under the filling ministry of the Holy Spirit will help us greatly in winning the battle for our souls. (Matthew 18:21-22)