Living a New Life

Ephesians 4:17-32. In our ninth week exploring the book of Ephesians, Matt concludes a three-part turning point in the flow of the letter. The first half of Ephesians spoke mainly of Who Jesus is and how his accomplishment on the cross changes who we are, but with the words in this passage, Paul begins speaking with directives, teaching the new believers of Ephesus what exactly it means in a practical sense to have your whole identity changed completely. This passage, along with the rest of the letter, can be misinterpreted as more rules to fill out a moral checklist. What Paul is really doing, however, is much more helpful and gets to the very hearts of his audience: he is filling out in great detail a picture of the New Life given to us in Christ.