Discovering and Implementing the Power of Jesus

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting
Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. Info: (651) 283-0568 www.dtminc.org Today’s Date: July 10, 2005

Discovering and Implementing the Renewing Power of Jesus
by Dan Trygg

"…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." Ephesians 4:22-25


As we survey the NT, it is not surprising to find that the apostle Paul repeatedly referred to certain key concepts which he felt were necessary to communicate to the various groups of believers with whom he corresponded. Among these repeated themes is his teaching about our union with Christ in His death and resurrection, and how that is to be practically applied in our lives. How do we come to practically experience Jesus in our lives? How do we come to experience the power of His life in us? By comparing and cross-checking his writings, it becomes evident that there are four steps Paul refers to that will help us to implement Jesus into our experience. Note the emphasis on choice. If we do nothing, little will happen. God wants us to partner with Him in our own personal struggles, as well as the work of advancing the Kingdom.

1.) Choose to consider yourselves to be dead to sin (i.e., without any need to fulfill its demands) and alive toward God (i.e., open, available and ready to do His will). This is the practical result, the realization, of our union with Him in death & resurrection.

2.) Choose to "put off" or "put distant" the old self, and the behaviors characteristic of our former life. Do not keep on making yourself available to express the old patterns of life, or to fulfill the desires of sin. In other words, as often as you are conscious of a tendency to do things in the old sinful manner, put that aside and consciously implement a new way of living life.

Of course, you cannot choose a different course of action unless you are aware of other possibilities, which leads to the next principle, our topic for today:

3.) Choose to renew your minds.

In Ephesians 4:23, the focus of our study, the NASB translates the beginning phrase of the verse as "and that you be renewed...". In the Greek, however, the phrase begins with the word "but", i.e., "but to be renewed in the spirit of your mind". Our first observation about this verse is that Paul intended to set at contrast what he is about to say here from the "former manner of life" spoken of in the previous verse. Verse 22 admonishes us to "put away from ourselves the former manner of life". In contrast to that old, negative way of living, the apostle now begins to tell us in positive terms how to live life differently.

The verb form here is a continual, ongoing-action infinitive. The NASB translates it as though it were passive, "to be renewed". By form, however, it could also be understood as being in the middle voice, "to renew (for yourselves) in/with/by the spirit of the mind/perception of y'all", or even, "to renew (yourselves) in the spirit of your minds".. The middle voice would indicate that we must be intensely involved in the process. To renew the mind will take our active effort, and will obviously affect us, change us and limit us.

The word translated as "mind" (nous) is the same as that used in verse 17 to describe the lifestyle of the Gentiles. They walk about "in the futility of their mind". By using the exact same word (there negatively, ...and now as the focal point of change), we cannot escape the emphatic contrast he is setting up. The old mind was futile, empty and vain. It needs to be reprogrammed.

It is amazing how much of the New Testament teaching is directed to the thinking process, the habitual thought patterns, discernment, deception, world view and self-concept, etc. The word for "mind" (Gk. – nous) means more than just the organ of the intellect, however. It is also the faculty of perception, attitude, imagination, and discernment. From the beginning, our encounter with the truth demands a change in world view. The word for repentance is metanoia, another word from the same root. Metanoia literally means to "change your mind, change your perception of reality". Coming to faith is accepting a paradigm shift, seeing reality in a way that includes the gospel truth of God, and choosing to live life according to that new perception. From that introduction to a new, drastic shift in the way we see reality, we are to continue in the process of clarifying our understanding and perception of it. There are three aspects to this:

(a.) "...be renewed in the spirit of your minds" -- Eph. 4:23. This would seem to address the attitude or orientation of the mind (e.g., I Cor. 4:21). This also is a conscious decision, which means we must evaluate whether we have an attitude that is spiritually in tune with God, or not. If not, we must learn to readjust our focus to see things from the God-perspective. This will change our attitude.

The word "spirit" also could literally mean "wind or breath". If you substitute this idea into the phrase, how does the word picture change for you? "Be renewed in the breath of your mind." Doesn't that sound like "take a breath of fresh air", mentally? Be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated in your minds, which have previously been stale, stuffy, and lifeless in their previous thought patterns.

It is interesting that Paul uses a little bit different word for "be renewed" here than in the other passages about renewing the mind. There (e.g., Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:10; Tit. 3:5) the apostle uses a word meaning "to renew, make-different-again". Here, the word choice means to renew in the sense of "to-make-young-again". This fits the image of "to re-fresh" very well. Our attitude can easily become jaded with sarcasm, cynicism, fear, bitterness, etc. due to the painful experiences we may have had to deal with, or as a result of our exposure to the "spirit of the age" in advertising, movies, television and other media. We need to recover the innocence and freshness of a youthful spirit in the attitude of our perspective on reality. Otherwise, we will continue to live in the old, empty perceptions of life, and will have difficulty putting on the new person.

(b.) "Set your mind on spiritual things" -- Col. 3:1-3; cf. Rom. 8:5-9. It is interesting to note that Paul uses a different verb to express this thought. The Greek word, phroneo, describes more the thinking process than nous does, i.e., the thoughts themselves, more than one's total perception or understanding. It describes what you have in your mind, or what you give your conscious attention to. To set your mind on spiritual things means think spiritual thoughts. Choose to incorporate the reality of the work of Jesus into your daily life. Think about spiritual concepts and how they relate to you. Exercise an awareness of God's presence in your life, and expand your horizons to include "the things above". Think about the spiritual warfare going on around you and others, and the fact that God wants you to use you to affect that conflict. This brings a new perspective by which all of life can be reinterpreted.

(c.) Renew your perception or world view -- Rom. 12:2; Heb. 5:14. This component deals with not only the content of our belief-system (theology), but also how we see and interpret the world around us. In practical terms, it presents renewal of the mind (nous) in the context of learning to discern God's purposes and desires for your life, and, at times, for others as well. The Scriptures are a record of God’s revelation to us to teach us about Him, His love and provision for us, as well as His general purposes for us. That is why it is so valuable a resource for us. We need to study His Word, and ask the Holy Spirit to teach us (Jn. 14:26).

It is important to see that, according to Rom. 12:2, the change in one's world view (including self-concept) is to lead toward the discovery by experimentation of God's pleasure for us as individuals and as a group. The words of Paul, "that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good, acceptable and perfect", indicate an active, learning-by-doing and trying-different-options to find what works for you. God gives us permission to experiment. In fact, experimentation is the only way to learn some things, including discovering God's will for your life. The end result of the process will be a mature, discerning person, one who has trained their faculties of discernment by exercise and experimentation to be able to discern good from evil, right from wrong.

4.) Choose to process honestly with other people in the Body – Eph. 4:15,16; 5:18-20; Col. 3:9,10,16; Heb. 3:12,13; Jas. 5:16; I Pet. 2:1-3. You can see that the process of renewing the mind is a very large, comprehensive endeavor. It will require not only education and informational learning, but also introspection and active experimentation. Because we are on the inside looking out, there is a lot about our attitudes, thoughts and abilities that we simply cannot see clearly. That is why these verses are set into the context of community. We need the instruction, interaction and feedback of others to help us in this process. We need the exposing, convicting, revealing, healing and empowering ministrations of the Holy Spirit through the people of God to really make us new. It is normative for God to use the Body (our brothers and sisters in Christ) to minister to us in these ways (I Cor. 12-14).