Off with the Old, On with the New

 

Visual

Read Ephesians chapter 4 in it’s entirety several times to remember the overall context. Then focus in on Ephesians 4:17-24.

 

Define

Use Strong’s Concordance to define the following:

• Futility
• Blindness
• “put off”

 

Embrace

In this passage of Ephesians 4, Paul addresses what he terms as “the old self”, that being who we were and how we acted in our sinful past.  He gives 4 characteristics of the ungodly ways we should avoid as believers in Christ (page 166; Ephesians 4: 17-19).

Although Paul is once again reminding us of how it used to be in our past, he transitions to showing us what we should be doing as “the new self” (vs 24), which we will discuss in depth in Lesson 3 of Section Four.

As you look at the ungodly characteristics listed on pages 166-168, do you recognize any that you still struggle with? Although it may be tempting to immediately reply “Of course not!”, let’s take a few moments to really take an inventory of our heart and thoughts.

Do we struggle walking in a manner that embraces God’s truth or do we still tend to believe the same lies because it is more comfortable/familiar for us?

Do our daily actions and words represent our relationship with Christ or do we keep that part of us hidden?

Do we see the need to repent daily or have we become numb to sin?

Do we sacrifice ourselves and give to others or do we continue to seek to satisfy our selfish desires?

It’s easy to compare ourselves to someone who is unsaved and living an obvious sinful life and convince ourself we are far different, but when we really take inventory to see if we are presenting the “new self”, we might find remnants of the “old self” clinging to the corners of our heart.

If you find yourself struggling with any areas from your past, I would love to pray with you. This week is the National Day of Prayer and Real Women Ministries will be spending time in prayer. If you would like prayer, please feel free to send your request to me either in the comments below or you can visit our prayer room. If you have a particularly sensitive request you would prefer to keep private, you may contact me directly by email through the contact form.

Whether you struggle with the ‘old self’ or not, share with us some practical ways we can “put off” (vs 22) these behaviors and renew our mind?

Share your Wow moment from Ephesians 4: 17-24

 

Return to Dive Deeper study outline