Ephesians 4:22-23 | “That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”
The book of Ephesians begins with this thought-provoking verse - “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus”
BY the will of God.
TO the saints…at Ephesus.
AND TO the faith in Christ Jesus.
Paul is one of my favourite ‘faith heroes’ in the Bible because of the conversion he had on the road to Damascus. He was a man who rejected God, who persecuted the saints of God. He hated the Christians. He even murdered them - remember the stoning of Stephen? Can you imagine having someone in Northern Ireland today like this and doing all that Paul did? We really get it so easy, yet we forget HOW God can save in the high ways and the by-ways. But what helped Paul grow in Christ?
As Christians like Paul, we need to renew our minds daily. Denying ourselves, taking up the cross and following Christ wholeheartedly (Matthew 16:24, Luke 9:23). In Ephesians 4:22-23, Paul reminds us, commands us to put off our old self. That means to completely discard our former nature - before we were saved, our hearts were drawn to worldly desires, to sinful pleasures, having corrupted hearts and minds. As children, our hearts are described as dark, black, dirty. BUT when Christ entered the world, He gave us a life-changing choice - to repent of our sinful life and to put our complete trust in Him.
Paul continues in verse 23 by saying we are to be renewed in the spirit of your mind. We are to be continually “renewed, having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude” as the Amplified Version paraphrases it. But how do we do that?
We can renew our minds by drawing near to God in worship and praise, in studying God’s word more deeply and by praying more earnestly in thankfulness, in repentance, by just asking and by submitting to the will of God.
Today, on the first Lord’s Day of 2023, ask God to give you that renewal of your mind through a burning desire to become more Christ-like and to seek the Kingdom first above all else.
P R A Y E R
Lord, grant me a renewed mind every single day, by encouraging me into Your Word and to privately and publicly worship with You and to You. AMEN.
Here is a note in my Bible from a great devotional, "My Rock, My Refuge"
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