Surely You Were Taught

Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV "But that is not the way you learned Christ! assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."

This scripture provides us with a picture of what the early Church taught converts. It provides a view into how they learned about Christ, and how they came to know him. Paul was reminding the Ephesians what they were taught when they came to know Christ. Each part of this passage of scripture mentions a topic that, to Paul, were fundamental assumptions about how Christians came to know Christ.

First, they were taught about Jesus. They were taught about Jesus because the truth is in Jesus (John 1:14, 1:17, 8:31-36, 14:6, 18:37). The truth is revealed through Jesus, through who he was, through how he lived, and through what he taught, and according to scripture the truth is revealed to us through our obedience to Jesus' teachings. John 8:31-32 ESV "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." Our only hope for knowing the truth and being set free is to become Jesus's obedient disciples. Therefore it makes complete sense for the Ephesians to have been taught who Christ was, how he lived, what he did, and to become his obedient disciples. This is line with Jesus' great commission. Matthew 28:19-20 NIV "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." And that's exactly what we see Paul doing in the book of Acts. Acts 14:26 NRSV "After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch." And in order to become his disciples, we would need to know what a disciple is. According to Jesus it is, among other things, one who denies himself, takes up his cross, and follows him daily; it's one who lays down his life for Jesus and the gospel, who loves Jesus far above all else, gives up everything, holds to his teaching, loves as he loved, and bears fruit (Luke 9:23, Mark 8:34-38, Luke 14:25-33, John 8:31-32, John 13:34-35, John 15:4,8).

Second, they were taught to put off the old self. They were taught to lay aside their former way of life. They were taught about the corrupting, destructive, and deceitful nature of sin. Sin damages us (Proverbs 5:11-14, 22-23), sin hurts those around us, and separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2). They would have been taught what sin was (Galatians 5:19-21, James 4:17), in order to be able to identify the sin in their lives and leave it behind. Ezekiel 18:28 NIV "Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live; they will not die." A great example of this turning away from sin is found in Acts 19:18-20 NIV "Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars. So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect. " They confessed their sin and radically turned away from it, clearly following the teaching of Christ by removing the things in their life that caused them to sin, even to their own loss. Mark 9:43-47 NIV "If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell"

Third, they were taught to be made new in the attitude of their minds. This is where they would have been taught about repentance. The word for repentance in Greek is metanoia, which when translated means mind change. Repentance is a change of heart, a renewing our of mind, a renovation. Its a transformation, a reforming of ourselves. Everything about us must change. Our rationale, our feelings, our thoughts, our decision making, our disposition, our affections, our emotions, our desires, our perceptions, our judgements, our intellect, our understandings, our reasoning, our purposes, our modes of thinking, our very will all need to change. Romans 12:2 NIV "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." A renewal of our thinking is foundational. Its a part of our learning about Christ, part of of our becoming Christians. And something we need to keep doing. A change so fundamental must and would in fact be accompanied by a change in behavior (Acts 26:20, Matthew 3:8, 2 Corinthians 7:10-11). This change is visible and obvious in our actions and attitudes. The mind shift is around who we are and who God is. Its centered around the kingdom God. Our life must be reorganized to reflect the reality of God's kingdom. Matthew 3:2 GW "Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near." God is king and we are his servants and subjects. He has all authority, and we must obey, serve, and submit everything to him. We are no longer in control of our lives; we are to submit that control to him. This is the mind change that so fundamentally changes us.

And Forth, they were taught to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. As we have seen from the scriptures above learning about Jesus, becoming his disciples, turning away from sin, and repenting are all necessary for salvation, but these actions themselves are not the thing that saves us. To be sure salvation cannot be had without these things (Romans 10:13-14, John 8:31-36, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:17-31, Acts 26:17-18, Proverbs 28:13, Acts 3:19-20), but salvation itself is an act of God on our behalf. The question is when does this occur. God sent his Son to die for us, to take the punishment we deserve for our sin. Jesus's death on the cross provides the forgiveness we so desperately need. The reason why this needed to happen, is that we are irrecoverably broken because of our sin. We are guilty, its done, there is nothing we can do to make up for it. And we will never be perfect, our weak and sinful flesh guarantees that. We will always need forgiveness. Because of our sin, our old self is completely unacceptable to God. We, being sinful, cannot live with the holy God, we would not survive the encounter. The old man must die and a new man created in its place. Putting on the new self sounds like it would be a part of repentance, but as we see from Ephesians 4:24, the new self is created, and that can only be done as an act of God. However they were still taught to put on the new self. Therefore, it is an action to be taken by them in order to be recreated by God as the new self, the new self that is created in true righteousness and holiness as part of an act of obedience to a command. What action in scripture, taken by someone, gives them a new life provided by God, an old life ending, and a new life beginning, a rebirth? Lets explore a few scripture to answer that question. John 3:3-5 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit." We see here that you cannot enter the kingdom of God if you haven't been reborn. Your old life must end and your new life must begin. This is why Paul saw this as a fundamental teaching that someone would have been taught when they learned about Christ. We also see, from this scripture, how and when the rebirth takes place; we know that it involves both water and the Spirit. Titus 3:4-6 "But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior" Here it says we are saved through the washing, or literally the bath, of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. Within context we see that this is a salvation from sin, the very thing we need. And we again see water and the Spirit. A bath or washing is involved. A washing that causes a rebirth, an old life ending and a new life being created by God acting through the Holy Spirit, a renewal by the Holy Spirit. We also see that this is done through Jesus Christ our Savior. And continuing, we see, Titus 3:7 "so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" In this event, this bath of rebirth, this renewal, we are justified by his grace so that we can become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Being an heir implies being family. We'll see more of this later, but this event makes us part of the family of God and the inheritance that is waiting for us is eternal life with God. The amazing eternal life awaiting those who have been washed is described in Revelation 7:9-10,13-17. This washing of rebirth saves us, but it doesn't just save us, through it God also makes us holy. According to 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 this washing marks the end of our sinful identities, and in it the Holy Spirit sanctifies us and justifies us. This idea is continued in Ephesians 5:25-27 "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." Through this washing, Christ makes us spotless; he makes us holy, he sets us apart from the world for himself. We are entering into a sacred covenant, similar to marriage, with God. It therefore makes sense that repentance and a commitment to discipleship would be expected and taught before this washing. So what is this washing of rebirth, renewal, adoption, sanctification, and justification? When does it take place? Well, we see in Acts 22:16 the use of this same language of washing being used to describe the physical act of being baptized. "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name." The physical act of being baptized is the washing, the obedient action in which the rebirth, done by God, takes place. It washes away our sin. Not that sin is physical dirt and that physically needs to be washed off us. Baptism washes away our sin because it connects us to the redemptive act of Jesus's death and resurrection. 1 Peter 3:18-21 LEB "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust,in order that he could bring you to God, being put to death in the flesh,but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, who were formerly disobedient, when the patience of God waited in the days of Noah, while an ark was being constructed, in which a few—that is, eight souls—were rescued through water. And also, corresponding to this, baptism now saves you, not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ." It's God's resurrecting power having its effect on us just as it had on Jesus. He rescues our souls and our new life begins, as explained in Romans 6:1-7 "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin." At baptism we are connecting with the redemptive act of Christ dying on the cross. No wonder it has such an effect on us. He died, and in baptism our old self dies with him, coming contact with his cleansing blood. We see this power discussed again in Col 2:11-14 GW "In him you were also circumcised. It was not a circumcision performed by human hands. But it was a removal of the corrupt nature in the circumcision performed by Christ. This happened when you were placed in the tomb with Christ through baptism. In baptism you were also brought back to life with Christ through faith in the power of God, who brought him back to life. You were once dead because of your failures and your uncircumcised corrupt nature. But God made you alive with Christ when he forgave all our failures. He did this by erasing the charges that were brought against us by the written laws God had established. He took the charges away by nailing them to the cross." Again the word teaches us that we are buried with him and made alive with him in baptism. It specifically calls out that we are raised with him through our faith in the power/working of God. It is God making us new. He also connects baptism with God forgiving our sins, and that through the cross, which we come into contact with through baptism as we die with Christ. This forgiveness is exactly what we need. Our sin is disobedience against him, and in order for us to have an eternal relationship with him, those offenses must be wiped clean. This forgiveness makes us righteous, and this righteousness is from God through Jesus. Baptism and forgiveness are also connected in Peter's sermon that heralded in the beginning of the church. Acts 2:36-41 NIV "'Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.' When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, 'Brothers, what shall we do?' Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.' With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, 'Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.' Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day." Not only is baptism when our sins are forgiven it is also the point where we receive the Holy Spirit. So not only is the Spirit the one exerting power by which we are recreated and renewed, he also comes to live in us. Galatians 3:25-4:7 ESV "But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, 'Abba! Father!' So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." At baptism he adopts us as his sons, and because we are his sons he sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. The Spirit comes to live in our hearts at baptism, this too is from God. Baptism here is also shown to be when our identity changes from whatever we were and into his children. The relationship changes. We are now part of the family and share in the inheritance of eternal life with God and our Savior Jesus Christ. It also says that we are clothed with Christ. Jesus is the image of God and in baptism God recreates us in his image by clothing us with Christ. As we have seen, baptism is not a faithless work. Without faith, repentance, and a commitment to discipleship, baptism does nothing (Colossians 2:12, Galalatians 3:26-27, Acts 2:38, Matthew 28:19). It is an act of obedience, in which God, in an act of grace (Titus 3:4-7), raises us to a new life of holiness and righteousness. We aren't earning our forgiveness by repenting or committing to being Jesus' disciple. It is God, through his grace, doing the redemptive work, not us, we are simply obeying.

As God recreates us in baptism, he has in mind things for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." He wants us, who have been reconciled to him through baptism, to live out his will and to go and help others also be reconciled to him. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." So let us go and teach others about Christ and how to be reconciled to God and receive this new life.

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