Paul’s Case

Eph.4:¹⁷ “With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.”

Whereas in Eph.4:1 Paul said, “I beg you…”, in Eph.4:17 he says, “With the Lord’s authority I say this…”. We see a graduation from the picture of a father talking to his children, “I beg you…”. if you have children and you know their actions will get them into trouble, you beg them not to do it. But by the time we get to Eph.4:17 Paul says, “With the authority of the Lord…”. Paul was saying, I am using the authority of the Lord and I am saying, “Do not do it!” Eph.4:^18-19 “Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.”

Eph.4:²⁰ “But that isn’t what you learned about Christ.” In other words, this behaviour does not align with Christ, it does not. Eph.4:²¹ Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.” The picture Paul paints for us here is one of the sinful nature being like a shirt you can just take off and throw away. God says, ‘throw off the old sinful nature, get rid of it’. Eph.4:³⁰ “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.”

Eph.4:1, 17 & 20 shows us the cases that Paul is making. The first one is, “I am begging you”. For some people, when their father begs, it is enough to yield. The second case is, “I am instructing you”. Some people do not yield to begging, it must be an instruction. Then Paul makes the third case which is, “It will hurt God if you do it, it will grieve the Holy Spirit if you do it”. Some people do not want to offend God, so this is the only case that will appeal to them. Eph.4:³⁰ “And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live…” Paul is saying to us that how we live can make God happy or make God sad and that is really big.

Sometimes, it is erroneously taught that once you are under the blood, it does not matter how you live. God sees Jesus and He accepts you. That is 100% true in acceptance. Eph.4:³⁰ “…Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.” God is saying who you are and how you live are inseparable.

Prayer: Father, I embrace my identity as Your own, therefore by Your Spirit let my life and the way I live, reflect my identity in You, in Jesus Name. Amen!