Rev Dr James Kwang
You were taught, with regards to your former way, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:22 to 24)
The apostle Paul in Ephesians 1:7 tells us that we have been redeemed and being forgiven of our sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. In the next chapter, he demonstrated to us the contrast between what we are “in Christ” and what we were before receiving Him into our lives – thus allowing us to take a look at who we were previously so that we can have a further understanding of God’s grace towards us in Christ. We need to recognize that God has been at work in our beings from the moment of our conception and that He has a unique design for our lives. We need to recognize that we are God’s workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
God created us for good work. But first, He begins by changing us – so that those who are in Christ are made new first (refer 2 Cor. 5:17). In Christ, we also gain the right of access to God and all His resources. For indeed, our Lord, Jesus makes a way out for us – a way out of prison into freedom, out of defeat into victory, out of loneliness into fellowship, out of sin into forgiveness, out of death into life and out of separation into the presence of God.
The promise to us is, God is able to do immeasurably more than we could ask or imagine if we are willing to let Him flow through our lives until He fills the entirety of our beings (Eph. 3:20). So often it is us, who block the channel preventing God from getting through, hence, preventing revival to come!
We are to walk in unity as Paul reminded us at the beginning of Ephesians chapter 4. Then, he turns to the necessity for those who are in Christ to live holy lives – and for us, who are called to live a life always going on to perfection in Christ.
Here in this passage of Ephesians 4:22-24, the apostle Paul wants us to grasp what it means to “put off” the old self and “put on” the new self. To put off the old self is to put off the inborn tendency towards evil. To put on the new self is to live a life of Scriptural holiness! For although the robe of righteousness was a free gift given to us by God as we accepted His Son, we must now make every effort to display it in our lives!
Servant of the Lord,
Rev Dr James Kwang