Ephesians 4:17-19 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. (18) They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. (19) They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.
After 4 1/2 chapters of doctrine, unity, and what it means to be a follower of Christ, Paul now goes into the way we are to live. As one who identifies their life as a Christian, we are to walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling. In these few verses he begins to identify what the old man looks like that has not been renewed by the Spirit of Christ.
Do not walk as the Gentiles do… in the futility of their minds. That paints quite the picture of how we think when we are “in the flesh.” Futility means useless, so before we were saved, the thoughts of our carnal mind were essentially useless and they led to darkness and alienation from God. I think about many of the people in the world today. Scientists, philosophers, astronomers, all trying to come up with reasons for our existence and purpose. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says this to the Ephesians… Futile! Because of the darkness that is in them they are ignorant and callous and alienated from God. That is not a good place to be!
If we simply read starting in the book of Genesis, it says, “In the beginning, God. created the heavens and the earth.” When we have hardened hearts we are callous to the ways of God, but when we are enlightened with the truth of the gospel, the truth becomes quite evident and the understanding of God penetrates us. As Gentiles, walking in our old ways, we are subject to the sins of the flesh. Sensuality and impurity are top on the list for Paul. In Galatians 5, he says it like this:
Gal 5:16-21 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (17) For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (18) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (19) Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, (20) idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, (21) envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
How we live as Christians is very important. Since we are crucified with Christ, we understand that Christ lives in us and we are no longer living for ourselves. If we give into our sin and temptations, we are essentially saying that Christ is not in us and we are separated from him. But the thought here isn’t that we simply try harder to be good Christians, but that we “walk by the Spirit.” In order to walk in such a manner one must first be born again and tomorrow as I study through the next couple of verses I will share what this looks like…
Do not walk as the Gentiles do is a great reminder for me today to keep my eyes on Jesus and to allow the Holy Spirit of God to be my guide as I navigate the paths I walk down today.
Be Blessed,
Keith