The most miserable people on the planet today are not sinners, but believers who are out of fellowship with the Father. They are miserable, and they like to share their misery. [VB064 Podcast Notes]

[VB064 Podcast Notes]

The first part of this chapter described the believer’s relationship to the church. Now Paul deals with the believer’s relationship to the world. Certainly we are “in Christ” and a part of the body, but we are also in the world, where there is temptation and corruption. We have a responsibility to witness to the world, but we must walk in purity and not allow it to defile us.

Paul starts with the negative: Don’t walk the way the unsaved pagans walk. He explains the reasons for their godless walk: (1) their minds are darkened because they believe lies and have not received the truth; (2) they are spiritually dead; (3) they have surrendered themselves to do all kinds of sin. Compare this description with Eph 2:1-3 and 2Cor 4. We could summarize their predicament by saying they were walking in the wrong way, because they did not know the truth, and had never received the life.¹ Only Jesus can meet their spiritual needs. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (Jn 14:6).

Eph. 4:17 (NKJV) – This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,

Gentiles^[1484]ethnos (eth’-nos) The nations, earthlings, those outside of Christ.

Futility^[3153]mataiotes (ma-tai-o’-tees) vanity, depravity, worthlessness.

Mind^[3563]nous (nous’) the intellect, thinking.

Back in verse one were told how to walk. “Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.” Now we are told in verse 17 how not to walk, “as the worldly walk, in the vanity of their thinking.” Everything you do is based on your way of thinking.

This is not just human advice. Paul says, “I testify and affirm in the Lord that this is what must be done.” This is God getting right to the point – to the root of a human problem. STOP walking like Gentiles – the nations, or earth-creatures, those outside of Christ!

Paul is starting to explain something that has confused Christians for a long time. Christians can look and act just like sinners. When a Christian becomes carnal, he is no longer led by the Spirit of God, but is controlled by the flesh and can sin just like the world. There should be a difference between the outward life of a Christian, and that of a sinner. God hates sin, and verse 17 is a direct order to not act like worldly people.

Paul is the apostle to the Gentiles. The Ephesians are Gentiles. We too, were Gentiles and familiar with sin. We live in a sinful world. Earth has been corrupted by the devil and his world system. But as Christians, we should show a distinction and a separation in our outward lives because of the knowledge of God and His Word in us.

The born-again experience is the beginning of a growing process, which leads to the place of laying aside every sin. God’s incorruptible seed begins to grow as you study the Word and pray. As the Spirit feeds the mind, the new life begins to manifest in the outward life as the mind matures. Walk each day in the knowledge you have, and the Lord will forgive the sins you commit in ignorance. When you sin and you know it, quickly ask the Lord to forgive you. He has promised He will (see 1Jn 1:7,9).

The Lord has commanded you to learn when you are born-again:

Mt 11:28-29 (NASB) – “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] “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.

Knowledge brings growth. Like a child growing up, you will come to the place where you no longer stumble and fall. You can “walk circumspectly” (Eph 5:15). The number of unknown sins decreases each day as you gain knowledge of His will.

When the Word is in you in abundance, you have no excuse for sinning. Your life is to be an example to the world. This verse tells you, believers can act like the world. It should not be this way, but it is. Believers have been given the Holy Spirit – the power of God to overcome all temptations, and cannot blame anyone but themselves when they become carnal.

The church has not known what to do with the carnal Christians for years, but the pews are filled with them. Nearly all churches are naïve when it comes to a Christian getting out of line. The church thinks this is impossible, and comes up with one of two answers – either he has lost his salvation, or he was never born again in the first place. These conclusions are usually wrong. The person is born again, but he is carnal and out of fellowship with God. He has not lost his relationship with the Lord, but he has lost his fellowship. Relationship and fellowship are not the same thing.²

A father and son have a relationship – the son was born of the father’s seed. As the child grows up and disobeys the father, the relationship is still there, but the fellowship has been broken. The son needs to repent, so the lines of communication can be restored.

Psalm 66:18 tells us, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This verse was written by John. We know he was a Christian. He said, “If we.” This means that John had missed it and sinned as well. This verse was not written to sinners, but to Christians.

The most miserable people on the planet today are not sinners, but believers who are out of fellowship with the Father. They are miserable, and they like to share their misery. The worst people in the Bible were not sinners, but believers who became carnal and refused to get back into fellowship with the Lord. This always brings discipline from the Lord (Heb 12:6,) which is for our good, to bring us back into alignment with Him to reestablish our fellowship.

Remember the more you act like the world, the more conformed to it you become, and the more difficult it is to escape it’s hold on you. It keeps getting more difficult to realign fellowship with the Father.

Again, Ephesians 4:17 – Paul says, “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind.”

We really do need to, “walk worthy of the calling with which we were called,” and make a difference in the world – instead of allowing the world to make a difference in us.

If you think like the world thinks, eventually you will act like the world acts. Unrestrained thoughts produce unrestrained actions.

So control your thoughts and make them obey the Word of God. Program your mind with the Scriptures. The Word is Spirit and Life. When your mind is saturated with the Word of God, your will becomes stronger to exercise authority over every ungodly thought and evil habit. Don’t let the devil deceive you into trading the glory of God in your life for a few moments of self-indulgence and sin.

Guard your thought life. Meditate on the Word, instead of your own selfish thoughts. Keep your mind and eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith.

Now read Second Corinthians 10:4-5 and Psalm 119:11-18.

In the Name of Jesus! Amen.

¹Hammond, Studies In Ephesians, Our Step-by-Step Walk To Victory (Cornerstone, 1996)

²Yandian, Bob. Ephesians: A New Testament Commentary (Tulsa: Harrison House, 2016), 88.

God bless you my friend,

— Dwight Hammond