Put on the New Man Eph. 4:17

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Put on the New Man



The Admonition (Eph. 4:17–19)There are some negatives in the Christian life, and here is one of them: “Walk not as other Gentiles walk.”
The

Christian is not to imitate the life of the unsaved people around him. They are “dead in trespasses and sins”

(Eph. 2:1), while he has been raised from the dead and been given eternal life in Christ. Paul explains the

differences between the saved and the unsaved.


To begin with, Christians think differently from unsaved people. Note the emphasis here on thinking:

mind (Eph. 4:17, 23), understanding (Eph. 4:18), ignorance (Eph. 4:18), “learned Christ” (Eph. 4:20).

Salvation begins with repentance, which is a change of mind. The whole outlook of a person changes

when he

trusts Christ, including his values, goals, and interpretation of life. What is wrong with the mind of the

unsaved person? For one thing, his thinking is “vain” (futile). It leads to no substantial purpose. Since he

does not know God, he cannot truly understand the world around him, nor can he understand himself. The

sad story is told in Romans 1:21–25. Our world today possesses a great deal of knowledge, but very little

wisdom.


Thoreau put it beautifully when he said that we have “improved means to unimproved ends.”

The unsaved man’s thinking is futile because it is darkened. He thinks he is enlightened because he

rejects the Bible and believes the latest philosophies when in reality he is in the dark. “Professing themselves

to be wise, they become fools” (Rom. 1:22). 


But they think they are wise. Satan has blinded the minds of the unsaved (2 Cor. 4:3–6) because he does

not want them to see the truth in Jesus Christ. It is not simply that their eyes are blinded so they cannot see,

but that their minds are darkened so that they cannot think straight about spiritual matters.


Of course, the unsaved man is dead because of this spiritual ignorance. The truth and life go together.

If you believe God’s truth, then you receive God’s life. But you would think that the unbeliever would do his

utmost to get out of his terrible spiritual plight. Alas, the hardness of his heart enslaves him. He is “past feeling”

because he has so given himself over to sin that sin controls him. Read Romans 1:18–32 for a vivid expansion

of these three brief verses.


The Christian cannot pattern himself after the unsaved person, because the Christian has experienced

a miracle of being raised from the dead. His life is not futile, but purposeful. His mind is filled with the light

of God’s Word, and his heart with the fullness of God’s life. He gives his body to God as an instrument of

righteousness (Rom. 6:13), and not to sin for the satisfaction of his own selfish lusts. In every way, the

believer is different from the unbeliever, and therefore the admonition: “Walk not.”


Warren Wiersbe

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