Ephesians 4:17-24 (AMP)
17 So this I say and solemnly testify in [the name of] the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the heathen (the Gentiles) do in their perverseness [in the folly, vanity, and emptiness of their souls and the futility] of their minds.
18 Their moral understanding is darkened and their reasoning is beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God [with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].
19 In their spiritual apathy they have become callous and past feeling and reckless and have abandoned themselves [a prey] to unbridled sensuality, eager and greedy to indulge in every form of impurity [that their depraved desires may suggest and demand].
20 But you did not so learn Christ!
21 Assuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him, as [all] Truth is in Jesus [embodied and personified in Him],
22 Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion;
23 And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],
24 And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.
It is so easy to gain weight! It is much easier to gain weight than it is to lose it. I know! I've lost an entire person in my lifetime and yet I'm as big as I've ever been! Gaining weight takes very little effort and no restraint. All I need to do to gain weight is to listen to my body and give it what it wants! But to lose weight, I can't give in to all those desires. I have to deliberately change my way of life to produce the desired outcome. I have to be aware of my weight. I have to constantly monitor it. If I gain a couple of pounds, I must immediately take steps to correct it and lose the weight, or slowly, a pound at a time, I lose the battle.
Paul writes in Ephesians 4 and tells the people that they are looking more like "their old fat selves" than the "healthy body" that they were born-again to be.
19 In their spiritual apathy they have become callous and past feeling and reckless and have abandoned themselves [a prey] to unbridled sensuality, eager and greedy to indulge in every form of impurity [that their depraved desires may suggest and demand].
As I've read this passage and studied for the upcoming sermon, I am shamefully aware that Paul's words apply as much to me as to the Ephesians. Paul is genuinely concerned for the Ephesians because they are losing their first love and he is trying to "shake them up"! Later, in the book of Revelation, we find Christ talking to the same church and pronouncing judgment, saying "I have somewhat against you because you've lost your first love."
The instruction from Christ in Revelation and from Paul in Ephesians 4 is:
21 Assuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him, as [all] Truth is in Jesus [embodied and personified in Him],
22 Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion;
23 And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude],
24 And put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness.
I must return to the place of repentance from dead works and embrace, put on, the new life of holiness, righteousness and truth. I must determine to "lose the weight and the sin which so easily trips me up" and continually monitor my progress in becoming like Christ. Paul said "be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind". Through Satans deception, I have fallen woefully short of this instruction. I, we, must stop comparing ourselves to ourselves in order to feel good about ourselves, and start comparing ourselves to the "Author and Finisher of our faith" - Jesus Christ.
Using my weight analogy, my goal shouldn't be to be thinner than someone else. It should be to look like Jesus!
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