Off with the old! On with the new!
Scripture reading for August 28: Ephesians 4
“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!–assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:17-24
Paul wrote plainly to the Ephesian converts about the process of transformation from pagan Gentile to righteous ‘new creation’ in Christ. It can be summed up by “off with the old and on with the new.” In their former lives as Gentiles, the church members were living in darkness because of ignorance and hard hearts that mark those outside of God’s family. Their lives were ‘futile’, that is without meaning or real purpose. Their hearts were callous and hardened to God and others because of selfishness and greed that marked their thinking and actions. Impurity was a way of life that alienated them from the life of God and set them up for judgment. This way of living must be put off like an old set of dirty clothes.
Believers who repent and put off the old man must now choose to clothe themselves with the ‘new man’. We renew our minds by gathering with God’s people to study His Word and learn from others how to live victoriously by faith. This new creation self is hungry for righteousness and holiness, reflecting the Holy Spirit from God Who is now leading us. As we consistently renew our minds and allow God’s grace to transform us, we reflect the likeness of God in ever-increasing measure.
How have you experienced this process of transformation from living in futility to a life of hope and joy? How do you seek to renew your mind each day? Do you feel that you have successfully taken off your old set of spiritual ‘clothes?’ What might you take off today in response to God’s Word?
Prayer: Father God, lead me daily by the Holy Spirit to remove any clinging ‘old clothes’ and to become fully ‘clothed’ with the Spirit of God. Use me to help others in the renewing of their minds through teaching and preaching Your Word. Amen.
0 thoughts on “Off with the old! On with the new!”