Ephesians 4 17-24 - Long Hollow Baptist Church … · 1 of 4 Rooted and Grounded, Week of June 3, 2018 LEADER GUIDE H E Ephesians 4:17-24 17Therefore, I say this and testify in the

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Ephesians 4:17-24 17Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer live as the Gentiles live,

in the futility of their thoughts. 18They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from

the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of

their hearts. 19They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice

of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.

20But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21assuming you heard about him and were

taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to take off your former way of life, the old self that

is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put

on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of

the truth.

EXPLAIN

Leaders: Feel free to use any of the “Explain” materials to guide discussion as it is needed or to expound on a certain area of the text as it comes up during your Life Group time, but the purpose of this section is to deepen your own personal understanding of the Word. Your members have access to all of this material as well.

Paul's epistle to the Ephesians is different than some of his other epistles: he was not writing to combat heresy or to correct a problem in a local church; rather, he was affirming things that they had heard about Jesus, reinforcing the Gospel, and, as we will see today, living the Christ Life. In today’s passage, Paul will show us the first step: putting on the new life in Christ.

v.17 When Paul says “Gentiles," he does not mean an ethnic people group, but rather the unconverted spiritual outsiders to God's Kingdom (because in Christ there is no Jew or Gentile—only members of God's Kingdom or not). Here, he begins to chart how unbelievers behave, as contrasted with how Christians ought to live. He begins by

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describing their mindset, characterized by the futility of their thoughts: they are useless, empty, purposeless, and transitory.

vv.18-19 The Greek word dianoia is here translated "understanding." It refers to what people do when they comprehend, use reason, and exercise intelligence. Since Paul has already addressed the futility of a non-believer's thought process, the next logical assumption is that their understanding is going to be tainted. He uses the word "darkened" to describe it—a shadow blinds unbelievers and makes them unable to discern spiritual matters.

He also clarifies the origin of their darkened perceptions: the hardness of their hearts. A hardened heart cannot distinguish between good and evil; it is insensitive and unresponsive to moves of the Spirit. This hardness they brought on themselves—they gave themselves over to passions of the flesh and they drink from cracked, drying wells rather than thirsting for the things of God.

vv.21-24 “But” turns the corner sharply. It is Paul saying, "All those things I just said? It doesn't apply to you, because you have something different. Let me show you what you have access to." The following verses take the reader through a logical progression:

They heard about Christ and were taught by Him through His Word. They took off their old selves and, with their old selves, the habits and hang-ups of their

former lives. With their old selves removed, they were renewed—made fresh again. Their hardened

hearts were stripped from them and replaced with hearts made new. They put on a new self which was made in Christ's image.

It is important that we wake up every day ready to die to our flesh and be constantly transformed by realigning our brand new minds with the mind of Christ. Once God replaces your "heart of stone” with a “heart of flesh” (Ez. 36:26), you are a new creation entirely. Be a good steward of the new person God is making you into.

APPLY Your Leader Guide will have material that the participant guides do not have. The bolded material is what the people in your group will have, the other material is only for you to help guide discussion.

This guide can be as strict a script or as general a resource as the leader needs it to be.

Read Ephesians 4:17-24 out loud as a group and answer some questions about it:

1. What do you think the point of this passage is? Make a note of all of the pronouns Paul uses. Who is he talking to and about in this section? How does Paul structure his argument? How does verse 20 shift from one part of his argument to the next?

Paul is a master at building an argument from the ground up and then delivering his point last, and this passage is a prime example of it. Notice that for the first part of the passage, he talks about “They”—those possessing unrepentant hearts. In verse 20, he switches to talking about “you”—those who have been born again, and how they are not in the same boat as the, as he puts it, “Gentiles.” He ends it with a charge to action, which continues to the end of the chapter: put on the new self.

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2. Read verses 17-19. What five ways does Paul describe the way “the Gentiles” walk? Modernize this. Where do you see these attitudes today?

He points out three things: They are “darkened in their understanding” and, as a result, “excluded from the life of God,” they became “callous” to the things of God, and they “gave themselves over to promiscuity” with a “desire for more and more." This is a lifestyle that we see just as readily today as Paul did in the first century. Promiscuity, practicing every kind of impurity, and desiring more and more of futile things may as well be a description of our current cultural climate.

3. Paul shows a downward progression in these beginning verses: ignorance -> hardening -> sensuality -> impurity.

Have you experienced this downward progression in your own life: either in yourself or in someone close to you?

How does this progression echo what Paul wrote in Romans 1:21-27? Why does this progression leave those in it ultimately unsatisfied?

In Romans, Paul describes the exact same thing he outlines in Ephesians 4:17-19, though just in more detail. He emphasizes in Romans that the ultimate end of this kind of thinking is idolatry—putting themselves, their own desires, and their own objects in a place where God should be. The reason that searching for satisfaction outside of God is ultimately useless is that we were not built to be satisfied by the transient things around us; instead, we were built to find our substance in the One who created us.

4. Read verses 20-24 out loud. What is the upward progression in these verses? Do you think that the progression has to go in that order, or can you skip steps? Why do you think

that? Is “putting on the new self” something that happens when you get saved or is it a process?

Just as Paul demonstrated a downward progression for the unrepentant heart, he shows the upward progression of the person saved by Grace, who is putting on the new self. First, they met and were changed by Jesus, then they took off their old self, received a new mind, and then put on a new self that looks like Christ. Jesus is the one who changes us—He is the one who reached out to us and He is the only one capable of renewing our minds, but putting on the new self is a daily action we take in order to become more like Him.

5. Read ahead a little bit through the rest of this chapter. What are some evidences of someone who has put on a “new self”? What are some other evidences that Paul might not have mentioned, but that you've observed in

other people who have been made new? Someone who has put on the new self will be continually looking more like Christ. They will demonstrate the fruit of someone who has been planted in Him: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. They will have a heart for the people around them and a desire to see God’s Kingdom grow. They will demonstrate Christ’s quiet strength and His passion for the things of God.

Take some time to talk about the qualities those in your group have seen in people who are Christlike. fire

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6. Read Galatians 5:16-26. How does this passage help us apply the things Paul said in Ephesians 4:17-24? What steps can we take to make sure we are always putting on the new self?

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul outlines both the things that ungodly people practice and the things that godly people strive for. The key to walking in righteousness, though, is not attempting to do it on your own strength. Relying on the Spirit to guide us and transform us into the image of Christ is a daily process, and one we will constantly strive for until we meet Him face-to-face.

7. How have you seen the new life Jesus brings take hold in you? What parts of your “old self" have been made new by Jesus? What do you need to do to daily renew your mind and fix it on Christ?

RESPOND Consider the following and respond either publicly or privately, depending on the dynamic of your group.

There are people all over the map when it comes to putting on the new self. No two people in the room you're sitting in are in the same place. Take an honest look at yourself:

Have you experienced the kind of life change that Christ brings? How do you know? What pieces of your old self are you clinging to? What is your next step toward conforming to Christ’s likeness?

Encourage one another through email, text messages, or coffee dates throughout the week to build up and encourage each other.