Ephesians (W8D1) No Longer
Week 8. Monday: No Longer
PRAY: Ask God to speak to you from His Word.
READ: Ephesians 4:17-18
17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.
UNDERSTAND: get a deeper understanding of the key words
Insist (Greek: martyromai): to affirm in God’s name
Live (Greek: peripateō): this word literally means “to walk”
This word is also used to mean; to make progress, to conduct one’s self
Paul also uses this word in Romans 6:4 and 13:13.
As the Gentiles Do: referring to pagan or worldly living
Paul is writing to Gentile believers in a very pagan city.
The command is for the Ephesians to live differently than those around them.
Futility (Greek: mataiotēs): devoid of truth, depravity, perverseness
Paul is referring to the mindset of the pagan culture in Ephesus.
The way that we think controls what we do and how we live (Romans 8:5).
Darkened (Greek: skotoō): refers to being blind in the mind
Ignorance (Greek: agnoia): lack of knowledge or wisdom, moral blindness
The Gentiles were not familiar with biblical morality.
Also see Acts 17:30 and 1 Peter 1:14.
Hardening of their Hearts (Greek: pōrōsis autos kardia): callused internally
This phrase can also refer to being stubborn and cold-hearted.
Paul uses the phrase to explain the condition of a sinful heart.
APPLY: What is this passage calling me to do?
Before God called us to salvation we were ignorant of how we should live. Naturally we live for ourselves and have to be taught how to live for God’s glory. In this passage, Paul is commanding the Ephesian believer to live differently than the culture around them. Paul also warns that if we live in ignorance for long enough, our hearts can become hardened to the things of God.
What in your life as a believer is different from your former way of life?
What parts of your life still needs to change?
PRAY: Ask God to help you live differently than the culture around you.
