EPHESIANS: For His Glory and Fame—Life As Church

 

A Change of Heart

Ephesians 4:17-24

March 23, 2003

Dr. Allan Effa

Introduction

Human beings share a universal longing for the ability to be transformed into something else.  It is part of the folklore of nearly every culture on the planet.   I checked out a web page on Global Legends and found an interesting write-up about werewolves.  Legends about people being turned into werewolves are found in many places.  In Brazil – the 7th consecutive male born to the same mother  and father.  He changes into a "lobisomem," for the first time when he is 13 years old. Just for two hours: from Midnight to 2:00 am . Always on Friday during Lent.  The Finnish people believed that some people who had transformed into werewolves could be brought back to their human states again, but would keep their tales until they died.  That’s why some Finnish saunas have holes in their benches to accommodate the ex-werewolf’s tale. 

In many tribal societies of Africa there is widespread belief that certain individuals are able to become leopards, lions and even elephants who can steal neighbours’ chickens or sheep or trample their crops in vengeance for a wrong suffered at their hands.

Eastern religions hold forth the promise of a better incarnation in the next life, or the achievement of a state of enlightenment or nirvana at the end of this life.

Many of us boys in North America grew up wishing we could transform ourselves into Superman by finding the right telephone booth and emerging with a beautiful red cape and a body of steel.

The desire for transformation lies deep in every human heart.  This is why people enter therapy, join health clubs, read self-help books, attend motivational seminars and make New Years’ Resolutions.  The possibility of transformation is the essence of hope.

The message of the Gospel is that ordinary people can receive power for extraordinary change.

The Book of Ephesians is a celebration of God’s program of transformation – he is in the transformation business.  1:4 “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”  2:1 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live… 2:5 “But God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ.”  2:13 “Now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”  2:15 “His purpose was to create in himself one new man, out of the two, thus making peace.” 

There is no greater proof of the power of the gospel than a life that has been transformed by the grace of God.  A few weekends ago I was speaking at a men’s retreat in Caroline.  Went for a run with an attorney I met there.  He began to open up his life to me – Married for 22 years to his drinking buddy – drank themselves drunk every night for 22 years.  About 4 years ago developed a cocaine addiction.  Got so bad that his wife locked him out of the house, he lost his practice and found himself hungry and living on the streets of Edmonton , his body withered by malnutrition and abuse.  Then he encountered the transforming power of God – and his life has been totally turned around!  Tears rolled down my cheeks later on that evening as I saw him standing with his arms stretched outward to God, worshiping and praising Him for the change in his life. 

 

A Hardened Heart

There are two natural divisions to the passage of our Scripture Lesson.  In the first, Paul describes the old mindset:  it reads like a downward spiral.  “The futility of their thinking” – is kind of the overall general description of the old mindset.  There is no purpose, no real meaning to life.  Life becomes a routine of going through the motions – we get up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, relax, get a good night’s sleep so we can go to work again.  We work so we can eat and we eat so we will have strength to go about our work… it is meaningless.  Many films capture the longing for the sense of meaning that is so elusive to our experience.  About Schmidt stars Jack Nicholson who, in its opening scene, is celebrating his retirement from a career as a somewhat successful life insurance salesman.  As he surveys the years he has devoted to his work, grapples with his mediocre relationship with his wife, and stares into the uncharted future – he finds himself lost in a world without meaning.  It’s a theme that tugs at all of our hearts because we have all known that struggle.

Paul goes on to describe the components of the futile life: 

Darkened in their understanding – 2 Corinthians 4:4,  “The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.”  In the old mindset spiritual truth cannot be apprehended because that part of our minds has become dead, or separated from the life of God.   There is an ignorance of spiritual realities because people have hardened their hearts. 

 We are all born with a spiritual heart disease – and unless it is treated it will be fatal!  Hardening of the heart refers to an unwillingness to listen to pay attention to the truth – to the voice of God calling us to turn and come to Him.  This is where the work of transformation has to begin! 

 Henri Nouwen made a profound observation that the first movement of the spiritual life is a movement from an Absurd Life to and Obedient Life.  That word “absurd” comes from the Latin word “surdus” which means “deaf.”  The word for “obedient” is related to the Latin word “audire” – which means “to listen” – and from which we get words like “audio” and “auditory” and “audit” (they just listen).  God’s work of transformation is to take us on a journey from an absurd life to an obedient life; from a life that is deaf to God’s voice and truth, to one that listens.

 An absurd life, that arises from a hardened heart and a darkened mind finds its expression in sensuality and lack of sensitivity.  Sensuality can never be satisfied.  You cannot impose limits on sensuality.  This is partly because the effect of engaging in the practices of sensuality is to deaden feeling, to lose sensitivity.  Our meaningless, absurd lives give birth to a relentless drive, a desperate need simply to feel – to feel something.  Because we are cut off from the life with God (our spiritual side is dead) – all we have left is the feelings that come from the sensuality of the body. This is the natural outcome of a life that flees from God. The drive to self-gratification opens up into a life without boundaries – yet, without satisfaction.  

 Because our drive for sensuality is accompanied by a loss of sensitivity – it results in dehumanization.  We come to see others as objects for our own satisfaction.  We will pursue relationships for the sake of the satisfaction we can gain for ourselves, with little regard for the other person’s well-being.  Everywhere we go we meet people who have been scarred and wounded by sensuality without sensitivity;  physical intimacy without relationship.  Men, in particular, have shared the greater guilt in this.  There are times I am deeply ashamed of the pain my gender has inflicted upon women.

 A New Heart

Now we move to the second part of the passage:  the new mindset.  Just as we first turned away from God in our thoughts, so it is in our thoughts that the first movement toward a changed heart occurs.  Salvation begins with repentance and repentance is fundamentally a change of mind. 

 One of the first signs of repentance is that we “put off the old self” – the old way of thinking.  “As we think, so we are.”   God wants to transform us – but he won’t do it without our active cooperation.  We have to be determined not to fall back into the old ways of thinking again!  As humans we have great freedom in controlling the things our minds think upon.  Not total freedom – but much freedom.  We can certainly make choices as to what we are going to allow into our minds.  What we take into our minds ultimately shapes how we view the world around us and has an impact on our behaviour. We have to be ruthless here because our minds are bent in such a way that they are particularly good at remembering certain things and poor at remembering other things.

 Our minds are particularly susceptible to sexual images and ideas.  Much of what we see we forget…  How many of you know who won the Super Bowl in 1994?  (49ers Beat Dallas 38-28). How many of you watched it?  Who won the Stanley Cup in 1993? ( Montreal beat Los Angeles 4 – 1) Why is there no recollection?  No imprint.  Oh, but I can close my eyes and replay scenes from movies I should have never seen when I was 18 years old – and the images come back in crisp Technicolor.  They are imprinted!

 The renewing of our minds not only requires us to stop the inflow of garbage – but we must seek a new intake – “to know Christ, to be taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.”   It is only as we come to know Jesus Christ – in all his power and purity – that we can find the power to be transformed in our inner beings.  Know – a personal relationship with him – not just an accumulation of facts about his life and teachings.  You can learn a lot about Sir Winston Churchill by studying his biographies and letters – but you will never know him personally because he is dead.  But today, my friend, you can begin your journey of renewal by becoming a follower of Jesus! 

 The transformation of our minds is a lifelong process of having our life shaped by the powerful Word of God.  It doesn’t happen by just an occasional morsel here and there.  Dallas Willard in his “Divine Conspiracy” says, “To dribble a few verses or chapters of scripture on oneself through the week, in church or out, will not reorder one’s mind and spirit – just as one drop of water every five minutes will not get you a shower, no matter how long you keep it up.  You need a lot of water at once for a sufficiently long time.  Similarly for the written Word.  John 17:17 – “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.”  Ephesians 5:26 speaks of Christ’s work of cleansing us as his bride, he wants to “make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” 

 (Illustration of pouring water into a glass contaminated with dirty water)

 What is your plan for Scripture intake?  Have you ever read through the entire Bible in a year?  It seems like an overwhelming task – we’ve never read a novel that long – but it only takes 15-20 minutes per day to do so.  One of my most vivid memories of church while growing up was the time our little church in Brazil put on a NT Reading Marathon …  One friend of mine reads a passage of scripture each morning and writes one verse on his hand as a continuous reminder.  David Hubbard of Fuller – pledged to study a different book of the Bible each year – 40 years of Bible Study!

 Our Scripture passage concludes with the encouragement to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” – it’s the language of dressing ourselves, putting on a new clothing.  Have you ever noticed that what we wear affects the way we behave?  A couple of weeks ago I bought a new pair of bright white running shoes for $120.00.  I brought them home and Scotchguarded them. I’ve only taken them out for a couple of runs – but I find myself being extra careful about where I place my feet – avoiding all the puddles and muddy slush as much as possible.  Several places in the Bible our transformation is described as the putting on of white garments.  I spent 8 years living in rural Africa where the men often wore long flowing white robes – in a place where the dirt was red and the dust from the Sahara filled the air for months at a time.  It always amazed me what care they took to ensure they kept their clothes clean.

 I wonder what it would be like to develop a daily morning discipline – while putting on our clothes, to pray a prayer something like this:  “Lord Jesus Christ, as I dress myself for this day, I dedicate myself anew to you – to walk in your ways, to speak your words, to think your thoughts, to be your hands and feet.  I pledge to keep myself from evil and to carry you everywhere in my heart.  May your Spirit empower me to fulfil these my desires. Amen.”

 Maybe you have felt the Spirit of God nudging you toward transformation – a new heart today.  We are all at different places in that journey.  For some: 

1. Repent – a change of mind – put the old mindset aside and determine no longer to feed the old desires
2. Turn to Jesus – enter into relationship with Him, begin to learn from Him
3. Replace the old with the new – embark on a plan for studying God’s word
4. Continue to grow in the daily discipline of patterning our life after Jesus Christ

 

© 2003, Dr. Allan Effa