Friday, July 13, 2012

Ephesians 4:22


Copyright Ó 2012 J. Neely
Ephesians 4:22

22 That ye [humas] put off [apotithemi] concerning [kata] the former [proteros] conversation [anastrophe] the old [palaios] man, [anthropos] which [ho] is corrupt [phtheiro] according [kata] to the deceitful [apate] lusts; [epithumia] KJV-Interlinear

22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,  NASB

Here we have the old man being referred to, and in the next couple of verses, we will see the reference to the new man.

You are to get rid of the old and put on the new, Rom. 6:6, Col. 3:9.

But these men, are not male people per se, they are attributes of your essence that need to be changed out or switched over.

Paul personifies the sin nature calling it the old man, which describes the sinful and corrupt nature of man (mankind).  This is the love of sin, the preoccupation with the sinful side of life, the pursuit or commitment to ones opinions, beliefs, ideas, habits, manner of life, lifestyle, day to day activities and so forth, as they are lived when outside of the will of God.

To put off, ‘apotithemi,’ refers to a complete change as one might remove all of ones clothes and then put on other totally new clothing with nothing left over or to chance.

Conversation, ‘anastrophe,’ refers to ones complete way of life as mentioned above.  What you do day in and day out, how you think, what convinces you that you are right or exempt from the mandates that God prescribes, or that you have a better way, or some acceptable way that God will recognize in you.

These ideas are false, thus the previous verse which we studied yesterday.  You cannot define your own path to righteousness.  You cannot design your own path to God or methods that you believe are acceptable to Him.

Good intentions, sincerity, emotional responses or reactions, none of these are legitimate methods for functioning in the spiritual life.

Corruption, ‘phtheiro,’ defines the sin nature as a method of corruption.  Sin is a corrupting, disintegrating, rotting path through life.  Sin is everything that is separate and apart from Gods mandated spiritual life.  You do not have to be a criminal or a social reject to be sinful.  The sinful life is full of righteous thinking people, or people that believe that they are righteous.

Every unbeliever is sinful by default.  Their entire life is lived in the carnal world and is ruled by their sin nature.

Every believer that does not live their life within the fellowship sphere, is sinful by default.  They do nothing more than imitate the unbeliever as far as their pattern of life goes, regardless of their do-gooder beliefs.

You habits and life's patterns do not determine your spirituality, but are the results of your daily life's choices.

Your spirituality is determined by your obedience to the mandates of God.  Namely, confession of sin on an ongoing basis, in order to get into and keep within the fellowship sphere.  The fellowship sphere is the one and only place where your spiritual life functions properly.

When you sin, you are immediately out of fellowship, and therefore carnal and under the control of your sin nature.  When you confess your sins, you are placed immediately in fellowship and operate under the control of the Holy Spirit.  Confession is for believers only and does not apply to unbelievers.

In either case, you cannot feel the difference, you cannot detect the difference, you cannot measure the difference.  There is nothing in this physical world that allows you to perceive or sense your spiritual status.

Again, from the previous verse, do not be deceived by good intentions or good feelings or preconceived ideas.  Doctrine comes to you by means of Gods defined method or learning and growth, not by means of your acceptance of ideas that seem convenient or popular at the moment.

Corruption indicates the continuing process of deterioration.  Sin is a state of deterioration.  And unless placed in check by some spiritual means, that corruption will destroy you.

The body is born with the sin nature, and that is why over time it degenerates with age, and then you eventually die.  The body wears out if it does not break sooner for some reason.

The soul likewise wears down, but unlike the body, God will preserve the soul with doctrine. The sin nature cannot infect the soul, but it can certainly influence the soul by means of your daily decisions.

Your daily infatuation with religion, philosophy, crime, sin, attitude, lusts and so forth is one of deception.  All of the world is a deceptive means tricking you with enticements, in an attempt at getting you away from truth.

The world creates delusion, confusion, compromise, ideas of what is acceptable, and so forth so that you will not look to the inner decay that is taking place within your soul.

Everything non-doctrinal is deception.  Everything doctrinal is truth.

Therefore, you are to remove that corrupting influence and control from your life, and remove it completely as God has defined its removal.

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