The Lord's Day Bible Message Outlines
September 20,
2009
Pastor Dana Johnson
"...that you put
off...the old man...and that you put on the new man...."
-Ephesians 4:22-24
That you put off, concerning your
former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to
the deceitful lusts,
23and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24and that you put on the new man which was
created according to God, in true righteousness and
holiness.
1. A real, observable,
verifiable and experiential change had taken place in the
lives of the Ephesian believers. The reason: Jesus
Christ.
a. They heard
Christ.
Hebrews
1:1-2 - God, who at various times and in various ways
spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,
2has in these last days spoken to us by His
Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through
whom also He made the worlds.
b. They were taught
by Christ.
Matthew
11:25-27 - At that time Jesus answered and said, "I
thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You
have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and
have revealed them to babes. 26Even so,
Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
27All things have been delivered to Me by My
Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor
does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one
to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."
2. The old man is NOT
our sin nature, but our unregenerate life before
salvation.
Ephesians
4:22 - That you
put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which
grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.
Romans 6:2, 7 - Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin
live any longer in it? 7For he who has died has
been freed from sin.
a. It was the
life we lived in our former conduct.
Ephesians
4:17-19
-
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, 18having their
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of
God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of
the blindness of their heart; 19who, being
past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to
work all uncleanness with greediness.
b. It was a life
that was getting worse not better.
3. The new man is our
regenerate life after salvation.
Ephesians
4:24
-
And that you put on
the new man which was created according to God, in true
righteousness and holiness.
a. It was
created by God.
b. It is
characterized by righteousness and holiness.
4. Putting off the old
man/putting on the new many (using the imagery of a change
of dress) is not something we must do continually as a
regular activity of sanctification. Instead, it happened
once at salvation when we were first taught by the Gospel of
Christ.
a. Consider
the past tense of the parallel passage in Colossians
3:9-10.
Colossians
3:9-10 - Do not lie to one another, since you have put
off the old man with his deeds 10and have put
on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to
the image of Him who created him.
b. Grammar lesson
one: The three infinitives (verbs acting like nouns) are
all connected to the main verb "taught."
c. Grammar lesson
two: "put off" and "put on" are in the tense which means
one-time action. In contrast, "be renewed" is in the
present tense.
5. We do not have to
continue putting off the old man and putting on the new man.
That was already one once at salvation. But we DO have to
continually put away sinful behavior and replace it with
Godly behavior.
Ephesians
4:25-32 - Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of
you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of
one another. 26"Be angry, and do not sin": do not
let the sun go down on your wrath, 27nor give
place to the devil. 28Let him who stole steal no
longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands
what is good, that he may have something to give him who has
need. 29Let no corrupt word proceed out of your
mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it
may impart grace to the hearers. 30And do not
grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for
the day of redemption. 31Let all bitterness,
wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from
you, with all malice. 32And be kind to one
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God
in Christ forgave you.
(All
Scripture quoted is from the New King James
Version)
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