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Building The Body Study 14 - Living in the Body

  • 3 days ago
  • 20 min read

Ephesians 4:17-32 NIV 

[17] 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. [18] 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. [19] Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. [20] That, however, is not the way of life you learned [21] when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. [22] 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; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. [25] Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. [26] “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] and do not give the devil a foothold. [28] Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. [29] Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. [30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [31] Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. [32] Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

When I was a boy, before computer games and mobile phones were around, board games were often how children amused themselves. A popular game was ‘Guess Who’, where you had to guess a selected person by asking questions about their physical characteristics: were they male or female? Did they have a beard? Were they wearing a hat? Was their hair long or short or were they bald?  


It was a simple game that could keep children occupied for longer than you might think. 


You could spend quite a while asking questions about a completely imaginary person. 


So let me ask you a very tricky question: what does a Christian look like? 


Many churches have entirely superficial answers to this question. I have been in churches with a dress code who insist that Christians must dress a certain way. I still remember the days when it was mandatory for women to wear dresses and men to wear sharp suits and carry large Bibles, preferably leather-bound. 


I used to joke that they looked like a ‘Holy Mafia'. 


Let me tell you: clothes do not alter the character inside. When those clothes were mandatory, it was also compulsory for members of deeply unloving sectarian societies to attend a local church. So among those who were dressed in those fine suits were people who were driven by passionate hatred of those who did not belong to their particular denomination. 


They were no more a Christian than a child dressed as a fairy for Halloween could fly and grant wishes. 


So let me go back to my question: what does a a Christian look like? 


In pretty much all of Paul’s letters to churches, he follows a distinct structure. The first half of his letter is filled with theology. The second half is the practical application of this theology. Both parts are important. Both parts need to be properly understood. Because what Paul is effectively saying is that because you believe the theology in the first half of the letter, you should do the things in the second half. There is a causal link. 


Now, right away that contradicts with the spirit of our age. We are taught that we can believe whatever we want, say whatever we want and do whatever we want  


Which is, of course, a complete and utter fantasy. An illusion. 


A blatant and obvious lie. 


So Paul starts by telling us what Christians should think before telling us what they should do. 


Now, I don’t doubt for a second that some of what I am about to cover in the next six studies in particular will be controversial and challenging. We should comfort ourselves that it was no lass controversial in Paul's day than it is in ours. As a conservative former Pharisee, Paul's teaching is about as counter-cultural in his day as it was possible to be. 


So if you are offended by anything in these next six studies, I would plead with you to live your life by what you see in the Word of God rather than what you see in your culture. 


Where the Word of God and culture collide, it’s culture that needs to change. 


The verses we are examining now come from a very simple, but deeply profound, concept that lies at the centre of all Christian teaching, but is much derided by those who don’t understand it and don’t even bother to try. It’s this concept, straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ Himself: 


John 3:3 NIV 

[3] Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.3.3.NIV)


We must be born again. And what is the sign that we have been born again? Is it a spiritual buzz or an increase in church involvement or a smug, inane grin on our face? 


No, it’s this: 


Mark 1:14-15 NIV 

[14] After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. [15] “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” 

It is repentance. It is a changed life. You were living one way; now you are living another. 


That is the concept Paul is outlining here, and one that we will seek to explore. 


Let’s start with The Godless Life. 

 

The Godless Life 

Ephesians 4:17-22 NIV 

[17] 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. [18] 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. [19] Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. [20] That, however, is not the way of life you learned [21] when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. [22] 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;  

Sorting things into categories is one of the most fundamental skills we learn as children. In his letters, Paul does that with behaviours and attitudes: he sorts them into those that belong to the life we had before we followed Jesus, and those we should have now because we are following Jesus. 


In Galatians, for example, he wrote this: 


Galatians 5:19-21 NIV 

[19] The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; [20] idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions [21] and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

He is pretty unequivocal about where these lead, even if some of them are widely accepted or even praised in our world. 


To the Colossians, he wrote this: 


Colossians 3:5-10 NIV 

[5] Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. [6] Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. [7] You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. [8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. [9] Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices [10] and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.5-10.NIV)


And to the Ephesians, this: 


Ephesians 4:25-31 NIV 

[25] Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. [26] “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] and do not give the devil a foothold. [28] Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. [29] Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. [30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [31] Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  

These are mirrors to our soul. They show us who we are. We might not like what we see, but instead of changing the mirror we should seek to change ourselves. 


But beneath this flurry of negative actions and attitudes there is a simple principle, outlined in two laws Jesus taught: 


Matthew 22:35-40 NIV 

[35] One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: [36] “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” [37] Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ [38] This is the first and greatest commandment. [39] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ [40] All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” 

Love is the line between obedience and disobedience. 


Every single one of these actions or attitudes is on the wrong side of this line: they are an act of contempt and hatred towards God, our neighbours or ourselves, and often all three.


That is what makes them so very wrong. 


But we can’t just look at these lists and become complacent if we don’t believe we are guilty of any of them. The standard of obedience is not whether or not we are guilty of any of these offences, but wherever or not we have ceased to love God, our neighbours or ourselves. 


That is when we make ourselves guilty. 


That is why Paul could say this to the Romans: 


Romans 3:23 NIV 

[23] for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.3.23.NIV)


And we are no different. 


Look again at Ephesians: 


Ephesians 4:17-19 NIV 

[17] 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. [18] 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. [19] Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed. 

Paul here is not using the word ‘Gentiles' as a pejorative or to cast aside the non-Jewish races. The word here can also refer to groups of people who do not know God. We could equally translate it as ‘pagans'. 


It’s the description of how they live that is very striking for me.  


These are people who are on a downward spiral towards hell. 


They don’t understand the Gospel. 


They don’t understand it because they have wilfully chosen not to understand it, and this has hardened their hearts. 


They have become callus, unfeeling, apathetic. 


They have given themselves over to sensuality, surrendering their freedom and agency to carnal lusts. 


They get involved in every kind of impurity. 


They do so with ever-increasing craving, covetousness, greed. 


They remind me of a group of people. If you are caught in any of those sins outlined above, you are not going to like this comparison. It may even shock you. But sometimes we need to be shocked. 


When I was a teenager, under the influence of David Wilkerson's books about his evangelism among violent gangs of New York, I spent time with young people of my own age who were getting drunk and taking drugs on the streets of my town. Their lives were actively being thrown away. They were playing dice with their future every night they were out there.  


They would stand outside an off-licence, cigarette in their mouths, bottle of disgusting fortified wine in one hand, clinging to it as if it was a life preserver when the opposite was true, waiting for their drug dealer, and do you know what they would say? ‘Do you think I'm an addict? Do you think I'm an alcoholic? I'm not! I can stop any time I want. I just don’t want to stop today.’ 


That is the sinner’s logic. It’s no different from the logic of the teenage alcoholic and junkie.


Don’t they say, ‘I've got this. I’m in control. I can stop this whenever I want. I just don’t want to. Not yet.’?


While each day the thrill of sin disappears like dew on stone wall on a summer's morning.


And each day they need to spiral deeper and deeper to find it and dull that ever increasing sense of emptiness and futility, that yearning inside. And the further they plunge, the worse things they do, and the worse they  feel. 


Is that how you feel right now? 


Then this is your wake-up call. 


This is not how it feels to follow Jesus. Not one bit. 


Because this is not following Jesus. 


This is a Romans 7-type addiction to sin. If it could happen to Paul, it can happen to anyone. 


It doesn’t matter if you've been a Christian for five minutes or fifty years, or if you're just reading these lines because you're curious and you just want to find a little hope, if these words have scared you then you are in the right place. 


Because this is it. 


This is your open door out of the hellish prison of sin. 


This is your freedom from slavery. 


This is where your new life begins. 


Because after our deeply unnerving look at the Godless Life, we now turn to The Great Transformation. 

 

The Great Transformation 

Ephesians 4:20-24 NIV 

[20] That, however, is not the way of life you learned [21] when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. [22] 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; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

When you live in a rural party of the country, pest infestations are a realistic prospect. My boss once had a squirrel infestation in his house. They got everywhere – including in the wall cavity.  


We once stayed in the apartment above our church and had to deal with a rodent infestation. That was not fun. 


I've heard of people having to deal with bees or wasps or even bats on their property. 


Back when I was a child, if we had an infestation, we would simply kill the invaders.


Nowadays there are humane options. Then it was deadly force: ‘kill or be killed’ (or at least slightly irritated). Less therapy session, more American action movie. 


In our days of tolerance, we often have an easy, relaxed approach to sin. ‘I'm having a good time. I'll fix it when I'm older’, we say. 


Or ‘It’s not really so wrong if I’m not hurting anyone’. 


Or ‘If everyone else is doing it, it can’t be that bad.’ 


Here’s what Paul said about it: 


Colossians 3:5 NIV 

[5] Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.5.NIV)


He is not saying that we should invite our sin out for a nice lunch so we can tell it nicely that we'd rather it didn’t hang around. No, he said we should be utterly ruthless with it. He said we should put it to death. He said we should treat it as ‘kill or be killed’. 


As he said elsewhere: 


Romans 6:11-14 NIV 

[11] In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. [12] Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. [13] Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. [14] For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. 

In other words, do you know that phrase people sometimes yell when they've had a falling out with someone, ‘You're dead to me!’? 


That is what sin is supposed to be to us: dead and gone. 


But how do we get there? 


Look again at our verses in Ephesians: 


Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV 

[22] 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; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Do you see it? Contained in these verses are commands to take off and put on. When you take off one set of clothes and put on another, unless you're putting on a uniform, you’re doing so because you have a choice. You choose to do it. 


The unnerving reality that we have to face is that sin is a choice. We are not blameless drones doing the will of another. We choose to do wrong. 


We are culpable. 


We are responsible. 


But the Bible tells us a wonderful truth about this: 


Jesus has set us free to not choose to do wrong and to choose to do right. 


Romans 8:1-2 NIV 

[1] Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [2] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/rom.8.1-2.NIV)


John 8:36 NIV 

[36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.8.36.NIV)


How does this work? 


Let’s imagine that you have been justly convicted for your sins and are in a prison cell. Not one of those nice prison cells with painted walls, a comfortable bed, a flat screen TV and a games system. I mean one of those dank dungeon cells. You have no hope at all of getting out. You deserve everything that’s coming to you. 


If you have not accepted the work Jesus has done for you, that is your fate. 


You can bang on the prison walls, rattle the prison bars and try to escape by building s tunnel with a teaspoon all you want, you will never evade justice. 


But what of those who have trusted Jesus' work on the cross? 


They are in the prison cell. The door is open. The jailer is standing in the doorway, keys jangling in his hand. He says to you, ‘The price for your crimes has been paid. Your record is clean. You can go free.’ 


The question is: will you go free? Will you see your sin as dead to you? Will you take off those old habits and put on new ones?  


In short, will you repent? 


That is what Paul told the Ephesians to do. 


Will you do it? 


Apart from the Godless life and the great transformation, we also see The Godly Application  

 

The Godly Application 

Ephesians 4:22-32 NIV 

[22] 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; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. [25] Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. [26] “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] and do not give the devil a foothold. [28] Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. [29] Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. [30] And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. [31] Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. [32] Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

In southern Spain there is a town with a very interesting name. It’s called La Linea – The Line.


It’s so called because it lies right on the border between Spain and the long disputed British territory of Gibraltar. People cross that border every day for commercial reasons. They are either on one side, in Spain, or on the the other side, in Gibraltar. You cannot live in both at the same time. You have to choose.  


If you find yourself on the wrong side of the love line, if you know you have thought or done things God clearly says are wrong, you will be asking yourself what you should do next. 


This is far from a new question: 


Luke 3:10-14 NIV 

[10] “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. [11] John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” [12] Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” [13] “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. [14] Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” 

If you find yourself on the wrong side of the line, it stands to reason that the best course of action is to cross the line to the right side.  Listen to what Isaiah taught, centuries before John the Baptist: 


Isaiah 1:16-18 NIV 

[16] Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. [17] Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. [18] “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 

In other words, if we repent and do things God’s way, believing in Jesus and following Him, then our sins will be forgiven and we will become clean in His sight. 


What that doesn’t mean is that we just stop doing wrong. That’s not enough. We need to start doing right. 


If we know that we are heading in the wrong direction, it’s not enough to stop. We must also set off in the right direction. 


Look at what Paul taught the Ephesians: 


Ephesians 4:25 NIV 

[25] Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.25.NIV)


Do you see? Put off falsehood; tell the truth.

 

Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV 

[26] “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] and do not give the devil a foothold.  

Instead of permitting anger to drive you to sin, stop it and resolve the issue calmly. 


Ephesians 4:28 NIV 

[28] Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.28.NIV)


Instead of stealing, do honourable work. Earn, don't take.


Ephesians 4:29 NIV 

[29] Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/eph.4.29.NIV)


Instead of tearing people down so you rise up, build each other up. 


Ephesians 4:31-32 NIV 

[31] Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. [32] Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 

Get rid of harmful attitudes to others; be kind and compassionate to them instead. 


This ought to be obvious to us. It’s the very heart of the Christian Gospel. But we need to hear it as often as we can. 


Christ died to give us a way out of our addiction to sin. The prison door is open. We can go free. 


But freedom demands repentance. 


Will you walk through that door, friend? Will you enter into your freedom? 

 

Conclusion  

Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV 

[22] 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; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

We all know that sin creates harm. It ruins families with heartless addictions. It destroys relationships. It despoils our resilience. It is always a poison. 


I want to tell you other ways in which our sinful and addictive habits create harm, not just on a local, but a global scale. 


Cocaine is the most widely used party drug in the West. It is addictive and extraordinarily harmful. Between 7,000 and 10,000 metric tons of it are imported into the USA and around 500 to 800 metric tons are exported into Europe each year. There is no such thing as an ethical drugs trade. At every level of the supply chain, there is exploitation, violence and brokenness. Even countries used as trans-shipment locations find themselves with violence, increased rates of murder and addiction, family breakdown and a myriad of social problems they are ill-equipped to resolve. 


Then there are cigarettes and vaping. Exploitation, tobacco poisoning and the use of child labour are endemic, particularly in the global south, where this entirely unethical industry deliberately exploits addiction for profit and shamelessly markets addictive products to children. The harms from this evil trade cost the UK's National Health Service £3 billion per year.


What about alcohol? Well, I come from a country that’s famous for brewing whisky. The alcohol industry is well aware that it’s products cause harm. Yet they often lobby public officials to sell their product more widely, purvey misleading information and deny any responsibility for the harms they cause. It's said that alcohol-related harms cost the UK economy £33 billion per year.


What about gambling? This utterly cynical industry dangles false hope in front of addicts that someone they will one day win big, while ensuring that 'the house never loses'.1.7 million people in the UK have a problem gambling habit, which puts their lives and the lives and well-being of their families at risk, while gambling companies take in the profit.


Then there is pornography and the sex trade. This is one hundred percent exploitative all of the time. Not only does it cheapen the most intimate act a human being can do and reduce it to a saleable commodity, it reduces human beings to nothing more than a means of perverted entertainment. The damage this does to us is absolutely off the scale. There is no such thing as safe pornography or safe prostitution. In every way they cause harm on everyone who indulges. 


Why am I using these drastic and serious examples? 


Because sin always causes harm. Always. It spreads like a cancer. It kills like a poison. 


If we choose to play with it, the result will always be pain. 


I say these things because we must unmask sin and see it for what it is. God commands us to love. All sin is hatred. All sin is contempt. All sin objectifies. All sin reduces us to nothing more than a means to an end, than a mark to be conned, than a number on a spreadsheet.


It dehumanises. It despoils. It degrades. It destroys. 


There is no such thing as safe sin. 


That is why the Godless life will inevitably lead to pain: pain in this life, pain in eternity.

 

Because of the sacrifice Christ paid for us on the cross, we have the possibility for a great transformation: to leave the prison cell we find ourselves in due our addiction to sin and to leave a new life. 


The Godly application to this wonderful truth is to turn towards God and do the opposite of the hate-filled acts and attitudes we once did. 


I know this a hard lesson to learn. To stare at ourselves in the mirror and see ourselves as we really are is often profoundly uncomfortable. 


But it is necessary. 


While it is incredibly hard to realise that we have caused harm and are part of the problem, we now have an opportunity to become part of the solution. 


All it takes is to repent and follow Jesus. 


Will you do it today? 

 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, my heart aches when I see the harm I have caused by not obeying You and living a sinful life. I realise now that the consequences for myself and others have been serious. I confess that to You and ask for Your forgiveness. Set me free, I pray, from my addiction to son and shoe me where and how I should repent of my wrong actions and attitudes. Amen. 


Questions for Contemplation  

  • Why does Paul insist that the Ephesians do not live like the people around them? Where have they been going wrong? 

  • What about the sins Paul outlines? Take a few of them and ask yourself why are they so wrong? How do they demonstrate a lack of love for God, our neighbours or ourselves? 

  • How can you repent and be free of the sins to which you are addicted? 

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