Ephesians 4:22-24 - You Can Change Your Mind.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (NLT) throw off your old
sinful nature and your former way of life, which is
corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the
Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on
your new nature, created to be like God - truly
righteous and holy.
Ephesians 4:22-24 (MSG) Take on an
entirely new way of life - a God-fashioned life, a
life renewed from the inside and working itself
into your conduct as God accurately reproduces
his character in you.
COMMENTARY PEARL
Lasting change requires new thinking. The
battle for change is won or lost in your mind!
Ephesians 4:23 says, "Let the Spirit renew your
thoughts and attitudes" (NLT). Spiritual renewal
takes place in your thoughts and in your attitudes
- or, in other words, in your mind.
Here's how it works: Feelings aren't
feelings in themselves. They are a response to a
thought. Its what you think that determines the
way you feel. And what you feel determines the
way you act.
If you want to stop a self-defeating
behavior by changing the way you act, then you first
must change the way you feel. But you can't just
change your feelings and tell yourself, "I'm just
not going to feel that way anymore." That
doesn't work. The only way you can change a feeling
is indirectly - by going to the root of it,
which is a thought.
In other words, you can change the way
you act by changing the way you feel. And you
can change the way you feel by changing the way
you think.
There's a biblical word for this process:
repentance. The word repentance comes from a Greek
word, metanoia. Meta means to change, and
noia means mind. Repentance simply means
you change your mind. That's all there is to
it!
You tell God that you want to go a
different direction, and you ask him to help you
choose to think about right and good things. If you
change the way you think, it will change the way
you feel, and the way you feel will change the
way you act. Its a reversal of your mindset -
a mental U-turn.
The Bible says in Philippians 2:5, "Think
the same way that Christ Jesus thought" (CEV).
What you think is a choice. And choosing
is the beginning of changing. When you put on
the mind of Christ and begin to think about the
things he loves, then you will start to see your
defects in a very different light.
Ask God to help you see him, others, and
yourself the way he does, and you will start to see
the changes he wants to make in your life.
[Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
COMMENTARY
No man receives holiness as a birthright, or
as a gift from any other human being. Holiness
is the gift of God through Christ. Those who
receive the Saviour become sons of God. They are His
spiritual children, born again, renewed in
righteousness and true holiness. Their minds are changed.
With clearer vision they behold eternal
realities. They are adopted into God's family, and they
become conformed to His likeness, changed by His
Spirit from glory to glory. From cherishing supreme
love for self, they come to cherish supreme love
for God and for Christ 6BC 1117
The grace of Christ is essential every day,
every hour. Unless it is with us continually, the
inconsistencies of the natural heart will appear and the
life will present a divided service. The
character is to be full of grace and truth. Wherever
the religion of Christ works, it will brighten
and sweeten every detail of life with more than
an earthly joy and a higher than earthly peace.
6BC1117
When we submit ourselves to Christ, the
heart is united with His heart, the will is merged
in His will, the mind becomes one with His
mind, the thoughts are brought into captivity to
Him; we live His life. This is what it means to
be clothed with the garment of His
righteousness. COL312
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Ephesians 4:22-24 - Gods Goal: Your
Character, Not Your Comfort.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210511-0946.html
Ephesians 4:22-24 - In Step With God.
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200306-0903.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
