Call to Holiness: Behold, A New Person- homo sapiens christos

Text: Ephesians 4:17-32

Dr.Alex Tang

Introduction

Hi Saints

(Eph.1:1-2)

|

The Godhead

Spiritual blessings in Christ

(Eph.1:3-14)

|

Prayer and Thanksgiving (Eph.1:15-23)

Alive in Christ

(Eph.2:1-10)

|

One in Christ

(Eph.2:11-22)

|

Mystery Reloaded (Eph.3:1-13)

Prayer for the Ephesians (Eph.3:14-20)

UNITY IN CHRIST

Call to Oneness (Eph.4:1-6)

Call to Maturity (Eph.4:7-16)

Call to Holiness (Eph.4:17-32)

Bible Exposition

Paul has described our personality before we come to know Christ as the old nature, the old man, the flesh and the old self. After coming to know Christ, we put on a new nature, new man, holiness or new self. When Paul use the term as putting on and taking off, we often imagine Paul as implying a change of clothes. But I think Paul mean more than a change of clothes. Understanding the importance Paul places on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Paul is more likely to mean a change of management. Change of management often means a transformation in the running of an organisation so that eventually it reflects the policies and philosophies of the mother company. Another example is Rome conquering a country. It means an internal and external change.

1.                  Old Self: homo sapiens adam (v.17-19)

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, with a continual lust for more.

2.                  New Self: homo sapiens christos

20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way.  21 Surely you heard of him 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.

Paul further expanded his thoughts on the new self in Rom. 12:1-13:14. It can be summarized as ‘Put on the Lord Jesus Christ’.

3.                  Characteristic of the homo sapiens christos

3.1              From lying to speaking the truth in truth (v.25)

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

“Oh, what a tangled web we made, when we first start to lie” Lying traps us in a vicious cycle. One lie leads to another.

Why do we lie? To hide form others who or what we are.

We should not lie because we are all members of one body.

3.2              From unrighteous anger to righteous anger (v.26,27)

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.

The anger (parorgismos) first mentioned is not the outward boiling loud anger that we often associate with. It is a deep seated , determined emotion to seek revenge. “Vengeance is a dish best served cold” quoted by Noonan Singh Khan in the movie, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan.

The second anger (orgziō) is a verb. Do not hold on to your anger for it will create bitterness and exclude the peace of God.

3.3              From stealing to sharing (v.28)

28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands,  that he may have something to share with those in need.

Turn from a harmful occupation to an acceptable one.

Do not take what is not yours.

Work so that you may share with others. Most of us work to provide for our families or ourselves. How about working to provide for others? To support missionaries and mission organisation? To help the poor?

3.4              From unwholesome words to wholesome words (v.29,30).

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.

What we say often reflect the inner state of our heart.

No foul language.

But also no hurtful words disguised as constructive criticism. Under guise of wanting to help, you stick a knife into the person, a verbal knife. “That’s the unkindness cut of all” as Mark Antony said of Brutus stabbing Julius Caesar in the play by William Shakespeare.

The motive behind these unwholesome words grieved the Holy Spirit who is helping us to put on our new self.

3.5              From animosity to kindness (v.31,32) .

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.

Bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, malice are all signs of the old self.

Kindness, compassionate and forgiving are signs of the new self.

The change has to come from inside out, not outside in. Hence the thinking of a certain religious leader that wearing religious clothes will reduce crime is false. Change has also to come from the inside and it involve our mind and will.

Lessons for us

Our new self in Christ ( homo sapiens christos) has a mind to learn,

a will to change and the Holy Spirit to help.

1.                  A Mind to Learn

Paul has always emphasized the importance of our mind- our thinking and worldview. Rom 12:2  2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

“the mind is its own place, and in itself

can make a heaven of hell,

a hell of heaven”

Paradise Lost, John Milton

A story is told of two prisoners looking out of their windows through the bars. One sees the ground and the mud and the grime. The other sees the sky with the moon and stars.

1.1              Willingness to learn.

The Christian life is about learning. A disciple is a learner. We grow in our spiritual life by learning. One of the saddest thing I ever hear is for someone to say ‘I do not need to learn anymore’, which by implication is that the person know it all. Let me tell you a secret: we never stop learning. The only time we stop learning is when we are dead. Every second, our brain is processing millions of bits of information. And this information is learning, whether consciously or unconsciously. There is formal and informal learning. Formal learning is going to school or attending a course. Informal learning is learning by other sources. When we become the new persons, we have to relearn a lot of things. Becoming a new person does not automatically give us all the knowledge of God. Hence the need for spiritual formation which is the process of growing or developing our new nature.

1.2              What are the sources of our learning?

(a)               The Word of God.

The Bible

Christian classics

Teachings in Holy Light.

Courses from Seminary and Universities.

(b)               Our Experiences

(c)                Other Christians

Fellowship.

Association. John Maxwell said that we learn by association. He told a story that about a coach who told his professional hockey players that they must only associate themselves with winners. By close association, they will acquire the winning spirit. He even went as far to say that if they cannot find a winner, stay alone rather than associating with losers.

Biographies

(d)              The World

1.3              Reflection on our learning

(a)               Meditation on the Word.

(b)               Making the right choice.

2.                   A Will to Change

“We are not now that strength which in old days

Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;

One equal temper of heroic hearts,

Make weak by time and fate, but strong in will

To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

Ulysses, Alfred Lord Tennyson

From lying to speaking the truth in love.

From unrighteous anger to righteous anger.

From stealing to sharing.

From unwholesome words to wholesome words.

From animosity to kindness.

2.1              Start with small changes.

2.2              Persistence.

3.                  Holy Spirit to help

Closing Remarks

Sow a thought, reap an act,

Sow an act, reap a habit;

Sow a habit, reap a character;

Sow a character, reap a destiny

Soli Deo Gloria