The Exchanged Life
Eph. 4:17-24
Intro. From the doctrinal teaching of chapters 1-3, chapter 4 begins to address the
practice or the actual behavior of believers in Christ. The chapter begins…As a
prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have
received. (4:1) To live right, we have to know the truth and believe right. So Paul
having explained the high calling and blessings that belong to us in Christ, he then
urges us to live worthy of these blessings. Such amazing grace demands something of
us. We can't receive grace with one hand and continue to sin with the other. Titus 2:1113 says, For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It
teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live selfcontrolled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the
blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…
In chs. 2, 3 Paul explained that Jew and Gentile once hopelessly divided have been
made one new man in Christ. 2:14, 15 - For He Himself is our peace, who has made
the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by
abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His
purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making
peace… Based on this oneness created in Christ, every Christian is urged to…Make
every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. - 4:3
As ch. 4 continues, Paul focused on the body of Christ and the grace the Lord has
provided for its unity, edification, and expansion. This grace is given in abundance like
an artesian spring. In vs. 7-16 each believer is urged to put to work the grace we
received. As examples of the grace gifts Christ has given, Paul explains that Christ has
given the Church apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor-teachers. These men
with speaking gifts were given so church members might be prepared for works of
service. Through works of service done by each member, the body builds itself up in
love.
Now in vs.17-24 Paul cites the impact Christ's truth should have on conduct. Words like,
thinking, learn, taught, truth, know and mind are predominant. And Paul floats a
radical idea! I mean, right after telling us men with teaching gifts were given to the
church…he dares to suggest we should actually learn something from them! Do you
think? And more than just learning, our lives should actually change by what we learn!
Wow…this is extreme!
This reminds me of a conversation I had when my son was a student at Taylor U. With
football / video / games / campus life / etc. etc., I said, "Hey Jim, I know I'm old school,
but I hope you learn a few things while you're in college." What a novel idea! School is
for learning! Wow, that's radical dude!
But seriously…having trusted Christ to save us, we can't remain the same. We can no
longer live like we used to live or like unbelievers around us. This was a huge challenge
for believers at Ephesus. Like Corinth, Ephesus was a leading commercial and cultural
city of the Roman Empire. It boasted the great pagan temple of Artemis or Diana, one of
the seven wonders of the ancient world. Some historians rate Ephesus as the most
immoral city of Asia Minor! MacArthur writes, "The church at Ephesus was a small
island of despised people in a giant cesspool of wickedness. Most of the believers had
themselves once been a part of that paganism." As believers went about their business,
they frequently came near places where they once caroused. Reminders of their past
life were everywhere including friends and associates they once ran with. The
temptation to slip back into old patterns of thinking and living was strong and relentless.
They urgently needed the encouragement given in vs.17-24. And so do we! v.17 - So I
tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the
Gentiles do… Though challenging, the change of behavior called for is entirely
reasonable. It's based on the fact that faith in Christ results makes us new.
Did you know that the miracle that happens when we trust Jesus is more profound than
the change that happens at death? I'm not sure we get that, but it's true! Salvation isn't
mere improvement or the refurbishing of something that previously existed. Salvation is
a new creation that involves a total exchange. In salvation an old condemned life is
exchanged for a new sanctified life. The wonder of this transformation is declared in II
Cor. 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has
gone, the new has come! This new life Christ is the basis for changed behavior.
1. The characteristics of the old life - vs. 17-19
So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the
Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their
understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that
is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they
have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of
impurity, with a continual lust for more.
Like the first chapter of Paul's letter to the Romans, Paul didn't mince any words when
describing a godless life. In vs. 17-19 he used 8 phrases to describe the unbeliever's
downward spiral from futile thinking to moral impurity with a continual lust for
more. He insists (with authority from the Lord) that believers must abandon what they
had been and what they had done in their former life. They must not live any longer as
the Gentiles around them who were without God and without Christ. Let's unpack these
verses by considering each downward step:

v. 17 - futile thinking - In this context, futility means empty and without any
purpose. Futile thinking is pointless mental activity. It represents teachings /
speculations / philosophies / and arguments that make noise but produce nothing
of lasting value. Futile thinking is worthless self-talk and countless hours of talk
show drivel. It's making life choices based on what feels right. This sort of
thinking is futile because it never delivers what it proposes because it can't.
I'm sure you realize that we are capable of believing what is entirely false and potentially
dangerous. Prov.14:12 - There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it
leads to death. So this is the first characteristic of the unsaved. In the words of
Solomon, their thinking is "meaningless, a chasing after the wind."

v. 18 - darkened understanding - All behavior originates in the mind or the
understanding. The Greek word for darkened indicates a chronic condition that
gets worse and worse. Jesus characterized unbelieving humanity as people who
love darkness instead of light because their deeds are evil. - Jn. 3:19
American psychologists, Samuel Yochelson and Stanton Samenow maintain that
criminal behavior is the result of warped thinking. "It is remarkable," they write, "that the
criminal often derives as great an impact from his activities during non-arrestable
phases as he does from crime. The criminal's thinking patterns operate everywhere;
they are not restricted to crime." What these psychologists mean is this…a criminal can
lie in court as easily as he cheats at golf. He will use and manipulate people in every
relation inside jail and outside. You see, self-centeredness and greed are so engrained
they affect everything about his life. This is what is meant by darkened in their
understanding. It describes people who have resisted the light of truth so often and so
effectively, they've become accustomed to the darkness. These two Yale graduates
conclude, "It's not the environment that turns a man into a criminal, it’s a series of
choices that he makes starting at a very early age." They affirm what the Bible has said
all along. Prov. 23:7 (KJV) - …as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

v. 18 - separation from the life of God - By rejecting the only reliable source of
truth, the unsaved drift farther and farther away from God. The life of
God…which refers to His attributes / character / and will…are revealed in the
Bible. But having ignored the Bible, the unsaved man is left alone in the
universe…separate from God. To be separated from God is to be disconnected
from the source of mental / moral / and spiritual health.

v. 18 - inherent ignorance - v.18 says, They are darkened in their
understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance
that is in them…Several cause and effect relations are contained in this verse.
Their understanding is darkened because they are ignorant. Now ignorance
doesn't mean stupidity, it means to be uninformed.
I noticed a man seated next to me grinning as I struggled to open the little bag of
peanuts. I looked over at him and said, "What's wrong with this picture...I can build a
house but I can't open this little bag?" He nodded as he struggled with his own bag.
Eventually the stewardess came along and showed us where to tear the bag and guess
what?... We weren't stupid, we were uniformed. We didn't know. Yet worse than being
uninformed is to choose to remain that way.

v. 18 - hardened heart - In the next cause-effect relation, the ignorance that is
in them is traced to the hardening of their hearts. General education and higher
learning are more available than ever before, but people are increasingly
uninformed about God. And they like it that way. God is too restrictive! God
interferes with our plans! Jesus said human nature loves the darkness of
ignorance instead of light because our deeds are evil. Conditions in the world
today match II Tim. 3:7 which says people in the last days will be always
learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. And here's the frightening
thing…when a person hardens their heart…there comes a time when God
hardens it so they cannot believe.

v. 19 - insensitive conscience - As the downward spiral continues, v.19 begins,
Having lost all sensitivity… The Greek word translated sensitivity is a medical
term which implies a paralyzed conscience. This is speaks of a conscience that
is dulled or desensitized. It's calloused and unfeeling. We could cite numerous
examples of terrible crimes committed without sorrow or remorse. But less
dramatic is a condition hard to diagnose but epidemic in its devastation. It's what
Karl Heim points to when he writes about the "serene secularist." He writes, "Dull
in sensitivity and conviction, such persons ask no ultimate questions and are not
even concerned that they are not concerned." This is where many people are.
Sinful behavior has become so acceptable, it isn't even recognized as sin
anymore.

v. 19 - sensual indulgence - since the human conscience is a God-given
faculty, the farther humanity moves away from God, the more the voice of
conscience is silenced. The more the conscience is silenced, the more sinners
are set free to indulge in sensual gratification.
After the 747 Avianca airliner crashed in Spain in 1984, investigators made an eerie
discovery. The black box revealed a shrill computer synthesized voice speaking English
that said, “Pull up, pull up, pull up!” Without explanation, the pilot snapped back, “Shut
up Gringo . . . shut up Gringo!” as he flipped off the warning device. Moments later the
plane slammed into the side of a mountain and everyone on board perished. That how
many people respond to their conscience. With conscience disengaged, Paul writes,
they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of
impurity…They are at last liberated to do whatever they want to do…like crash their
plane into the side of a mountain! Liberty like this isn't liberty at all, its bondage. It's
slavery to our fallen flesh nature and its appetites. Ask a drug addict / an alcoholic / a
workaholic / or someone addicted to pornography…ask them if they're free.
They say they can quit anytime they want to! But they've told themselves a lie. Only
Christ can set us free from the bondage of sensual indulgence. In Jn. 8:34 Jesus said,
"I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin." Two verses later Jesus
said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." - Jn. 8:36

v. 19 - continual lust for more - the final and most desperate characteristic of
the unsaved is an insatiable appetite for more. The billionaire Howard Hughes
was once asked how much money it would take to make him happy. He
responded…"Just a little bit more." That's how it is for those who gratify the
cravings of their selfish sinful nature. They always want just a little more and then
a little more after that.
So these verses reveal a downward spiral that begins with futile thinking. Not every
unsaved person has fallen this far. We all know unbelievers who live respectable lives
free from enslaving habits. But every unsaved person has a creed. Every person
believes something…even the atheist. If we don't embrace God's truth, thoughts about
ourselves / about God / and eternity, are futile and empty. Jesus said, "I am the way
and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - Jn.
14:6 On a long flight, it doesn't matter if you start out 1 degree or 15 degrees off course.
As we've often said, "the unsaved are often not as bad as they could be…but without
Christ, they are as bad off as anyone can be." So in v.17-19 Paul describes the
desperate conditions Christ saved us from. Then in v. 20 he abruptly turns to…
2. The Christ-taught life - 20, 21 - You, however, did not come to know Christ that
way.
Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him in accordance with the truth that
is in Jesus.
To be a Christian is to have a Christ-taught life. In Matt. 11:28, 29 Jesus gave a sweet
invitation. He said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. From the moment we trust
Christ, we enroll in a school designed to make us like Jesus. Look at three phrases in
vs. 20, 21. In v. 20. To know Christ literally means to learn Christ. In other words,
Jesus Himself is the subject of Christian education. In v. 21, the second phrase,
heard of Him, is literally, you heard Him. This means Jesus is the teacher who speaks
to us through His Word and the Holy Spirit. The third phrase, were taught in Him,
means that because we are in Him, Jesus is also the school, the very environment
where the learning takes place. So when we put this together, Jesus is the school / the
teacher / and the main subject! Do you get it? It's about Jesus.
But here's Paul's point…If you're a Christian enrolled in God's school, you didn't learn
the ways of world or the ways of the old life from Jesus! In Christ, our minds are no
longer darkened / we're no longer alienated from the life of God / our hearts are no
longer hardened and impure. We were delivered from futile thinking by the truth that
is in Jesus! Praise God for that! Imagine how tragic it would be to stake your life on
something entirely false? That's where many people are. They don't think about God or
where they'll spend eternity. They think they're OK. Like the cars and trucks blinded by
white-out conditions last week, they speed along with the traffic ignorant of the danger
ahead. II Cor. 4:4 - The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so
that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God. Yet believers are new people in Christ. As Paul wrote in I Cor. 2:16 We have the mind of Christ. Because this is true, we must not live the way we used to
live or the way unbelievers live. We know the truth. So Paul concludes this section by
reminding us how truth has delivered us and set us free.
3. The characteristics of the new life - vs. 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. In Christ we
receive…
 deliverance from false perception - v. 22 - You were taught, with regard to
your former way of life… Notice that Christ's teaching confronts our former
way of life. It causes us to think truthfully about the way we lived before we knew
Christ. We felt we were OK. We weren't doing anything our peers didn't do and
we could always find somebody whose behavior was worse than ours. But the
truth in Jesus shows us how God views sin and what righteousness is. The truth
delivers us from false perception. Jesus spoke about perception in Matt. 6:23 But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then
the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! Apart from the
miracle of the new birth, we had bad eyes and needed spiritual glasses. We
didn't see or perceive things the way God does. The Word of Christ penetrates
our darkened understanding and reveals truth as it is, not as we wanted it to be.
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged
sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it
judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. - Heb. 4:12 So Christ delivers
us from false perception…but He also grants…

deliverance from the old self with it's deceitful desires - v. 22 - Paul develops
a clothing metaphor in vs. 23, 24. It's important to understand that Paul isn't
commanding us to put off the old self / to be made new / or to put on the new
self. That would be self-salvation. The transformation called for here is not within
our power to pull off. Jer. 13:23 asks, Can the Ethiopian change his skin or
the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to
doing evil. Here in Eph. 4:22, 23 the three verbs are not in the imperative as
commands, but in the indicative as statements of fact. They explain not what we
must do, but what Christ did for us. Through faith in Christ, the old life was put
off. At salvation, the believing sinner sheds his/her old filthy garments and puts
on clothing that is fresh and new. This means that Jesus clothes us with His very
own righteousness!
So Paul urges us to think seriously about that. Do you do yard work wearing your
Sunday best? Do you paint a room or make an automotive repair in the finest clothing
you own? Maybe one time! (I'll never forget the crime our puppy committed. Peggy and I
were travelling cross country when we stopped for gasoline. We let the puppy run.
Some ladies had also pulled in for gas. They were all gussied up like they were headed
to a wedding or something. One lady dressed in white snatched up Pooch not realizing
his paws were filthy with grease. We greeted the ladies and made a hasty exit.
Since Christ has clothed us in His very own righteousness, how should we then live?
Should we allow ourselves to be influenced by the same deceitful desires and
passions that once controlled us? No! In Christ we learn to live by means of His Spirit.
Gal. 5:16 - So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the
sinful nature.

freedom to think a new way - v. 23 - to be made new in the attitude of your
minds - The verbs put off and put on are in the aorist tense which signifies past
completed action. The exchange of our old self for our new self occurred the
moment we were saved. These verbs describe an action that is non-repeatable.
But the verb tense of be made new is different. It's a present infinitive which
indicates an ongoing process…the process of learning Christ. This sanctifying
process happens as we allow His Word and His Spirit to change our thoughts
and shape our behavior. Before a sinner trusts Christ for salvation, he/she has no
capacity for a new mind. I Cor. 2:14 - The man without the Spirit does not
accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually
discerned. The situation described here is like having God's Word on cassette
while having only an MP3 player. When we apart from Christ, God's Word meant
nothing to us. But by His indwelling Spirit, Christ has set us free to think a new
way!

freedom to live out the new self in righteousness - v. 24 - and to put on the
new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Here's
the other side of v.22. In Christ we off the old self but we also put on the new
self. By His grace, we exchange garments that are ragged and filthy for garments
that are righteous and holy. How should we then live?
How should the new life we received be expressed in our daily living?
This entire section continues the challenge of 4:1 - I urge you to live a life worthy of
the calling you have received. The unsaved are trapped in the downward spiral
described in vs.17-19. Their lives are shaped by futile thinking. Because they have
suppressed God's truth, their understanding is darkened. Having silenced the voice of
conscience by deliberate and repeated acts of sin, they are headed toward a mountain
at full speed and they don't even know it. While common grace keeps many from the
depths of depravity, to be without Christ is to be desperately lost.
So listen to me, Paul writes. You didn't learn Christ that way! In God's process of
sanctification, Jesus is the school / the teacher / and the main subject. By trusting Him
we put off the filthy rags of our past life and He clothed us in His righteousness. So how
should we then live? What sort of living is worthy of the calling we received?