Ephesians 4:17-5:21

Today's passage filled me with mixed emotion. On one hand, I was excited at the idea that there is some sense of concreteness to the idea of transformation. On the other hand, how well I am doing with these concrete instructions sometimes falls way short of the goal. And the goal is right there in the middle of this passage. 5:1-2 says, "Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." That's the goal: be like God, especially in love.


One thing about this passage that I find encouraging is Paul's way of giving the list of commands. He shows the idea of transformation by following the pattern he sets up in 4:17-24. Don't do "this" like those who don't know God, but do "that" like those who are re-created after the likeness of God. Specifically, in verses 22-24, he says to put off the old self, your former manner of living; and put on the new self, living as an imitator of God. The context may blow your mind here. In Ephesus, there was a huge temple built for the goddess Artemis (also known as Diana). Artemis was a goddess of fertility, among other things, and part of the worship in the temple involved sexual practices with temple prostitutes. I find it so very interesting the language of 4:22-24. "Put off" means remove clothing; "put on" means to clothe yourself. Think about it, the sinful ways of life they knew about involved removing any sense of purity and righteousness in order to indulge the sinful nature. But Paul turns that around and says to put off the sinful way of life and to put on the pure, righteous way of life. Brilliant!!

To me the message is to make sure my life is different from my old way of life, in every aspect of life. Specifically, Paul says in honesty, righteous anger, responsibility, speech, attitudes, and forgiveness. He goes on in chapter 5 to give more areas of transformation: joking, social life, even our indulgences. I am so thankful for guidance from the Holy Spirit. I pray he is my indulgence!

I admit, I am not the best in these areas. I struggle with my speech, making sure it builds up. I struggle with my attitude at times. Even though  I struggle, I know that I am being transformed. But reading these things is a call to holiness. How does this passage affect you?