Community Group Discussion Guide

Ephesians 4:24 (I am New) – February 23, 2020

I. Starter Question:

Can you think of something you used to love to do that you no longer have a desire to do? What changed?

II. Discussion of Scripture:

Background & Context: The Book of Ephesians is chop full of tasty morsels for the Christian. It’s readily applicable passages are memorable and seem to speak to us in just about any of life’s circumstances. But the theology Paul brings in this little book is very deep and very comprehensive. It goes back before time began when God chose us in Christ and predestined us for adoption according to His will (1:3-6). It describes the amazing grace with which He saved us through faith in His Son (2:8-9). It then also tells us how we should live as believers in unity in the body of Christ (4:1-7) and as husbands and wives and children (5:22-6:4). God’s armor is our protection against the enemy (6:10-20) as we walk in unity, love and good works.

Ephesians 4:17-24 (ESV)

17 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. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Teaching Points and Questions for Discussion: 1. Paul says in Second Corinthians 5:17 that, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The

old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” Praise God!2. The Old:

a. A few weeks ago, we learned that before we became Christians we were dead in our trespasses and sins. We lived in the passions of the flesh, carried out the desires of our minds, and were by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:1-3).

b. In our passage this week Paul says that unbelievers live in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding. They are separated from the life of God

because of their ignorance. Their hearts are hard. They have become callous, given to sensuality and greed (Eph. 4:17-19).

i. The phrase futility of their minds literally means they chase after meaningless, worthless things (see the Book of Ecclesiastes) that, like vapor, cannot be grasped and cannot fill the emptiness in life that only God can.

c. Do you see these behaviors and traits in the lives of your unbelieving friends? d. Have you tried to talk to them about Christ or spiritual things? What was their

reaction? Could you see spiritual darkness, ignorance, callousness, hardness of heart?

e. Does Paul here describe your life before you came to Christ? f. BUT GOD…! (Eph. 2:4)

3. The New:a. When we were dead in our trespasses, God made us alive together with Him (Eph.

2:5). Paul said that he was crucified with Christ. It is no longer he who lives, but Christ who lives in him (Gal.2:20).

b. Paul also says that our old self was crucified with Him so that we would no longer be a slave to sin (Rom. 6:6).

i. What does slavery to sin look like in our world today? ii. Why don’t more people want to escape this slavery?

iii. Since Christ freed us from this slavery to sin, does that mean that we don’t have to sin anymore? (tricky, but read Romans 6:6-14).

c. Our new self is created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.i. In what ways is our new self created in the likeness of God?

4. And What to Do:a. We believe what the Bible says about God and what He has done in our salvation.

We believe that He has made us a new creation in Him. Our salvation was completely a work of God. But, we are given instructions about what to do in light of these biblical truths.

b. Key verbs are underlined in the passage above (Eph. 4:17-24).c. Paul tells us to “no longer walk” as we used to (v. 17). (See also Col. 3:5-9)

i. If we are a new creation, why would we be commanded not to live like we did before coming to Christ? Why wouldn’t we just live differently automatically?

d. As believers, we have heard and were taught in Christ to “put off the old self,” and “put on the new self.”

i. Christ’s lesson 1 – Put off the Old Self1. Grammatically, these verbs are in what we call the middle voice. That

means that the action is being done by the same person that it is being done to. We are to put off our own old selves, and put on our own new selves.

2. What does putting off the old self look like in our lives? 3. In what ways does our old self keep showing back up?

ii. Christ’s lesson 2 – Be Renewed in our Minds

1. This is a passive verb, meaning it is an action that is done to us by someone else. Compare this with Romans 12:2 – be transformed by the renewal of your mind.

2. What is the importance of the mind? (compare the unbeliever’s futility of their mind to the believer’s renewal of their mind)

3. Who is renewing our minds? 4. How does God renew our minds?

iii. Christ’s lesson 3 – Put on the New Self1. Again, this verb is in the middle voice, so we put on our own new self.2. What does this look like in our lives? (hint: read the next verses in

Ephesians 4:25-5:2)

III. Responding in Prayer: Pray for your brothers and sisters in your Community Group that you all would understand and

believe the truths in God’s Word about our new selves in Christ, and encourage each other to live it out.

Pray for yourself that you would learn from Christ to put off the old self and put on the new self in obedience to Him.

Pray for our elders, pastors and staff that they would all be faithful to the Lord to hear His will for our church and to lead the flock in the truth of God’s Word.