Hindrances

Ephesians 4:20-32 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.

In our study of the Love of God, we are at the phase of examining some things that would prevent the Believer from appropriating that love, or would prevent the Believer from demonstrating the Love of God.

Love is a characteristic of God's person, or one aspect of His essence. Love and holiness are inseparable motives and generators of every action of God, and must be in perfect harmony with each other as well as all the rest of God's essence. God cannot act in love unless He is also acting in holiness.

1 Peter 1:15-16 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

The study of the Love of God is an outgrowth of our study in Ephesians. Therefore, we need to go back to our base often. It is here, in chapter 4 of Ephesians, that we find a warning of one of the greatest causes of the Believer's inability to appropriate and demonstrate the love of God.

In the middle of this great passage, Paul says in Epehsians 4:27, "nor give place to the devil". We need to get the setting or the context of this phrase, to see what it means to "give place to the devil", and most of all, see how we can prevent such an act.

Let's get a running start at v. 20. Paul says, of these people, that they had not learned Christ in that way, but instead they heard Christ (not heard about Christ), and were taught By Christ (not taught about Christ), because the truth is in Jesus. Before we find out about this truth that is in Jesus, we had better go back a little further and see how we should not be taught. To get the clearest picture, we really should make a full review of Ephesians to this point, but that is out of the question.

Ephesians 4:17-19 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to licentiousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

The natural person, called the old man in the passage, learns of religious things through the futility of their mind.

futility (Greek)
inutility of transientness flowing from moral depravity

That was perfectly clear, wasn't it? It would be, if we still used those old English words. Let me try to put the definition in more modern terms.

futility (cw expanded)
there is no purpose beyond their aimless moving from one fad to another, this purposeless learning is based on and fueled by a morally depraved nature, totally empty of any spiritual quality

That is the mind-set of the natural man, or the Gentile as referred to in our passage. Their understanding of spirituality is in a total black-out. They couldn't see any spiritual truth if they wanted to, because they have no spiritual light to see it with.

Spiritual Ignorance

This condition is true because of the spiritual ignorance that is in them. Remember that phrase, that is in them. It will be paralleled in the next portion of Scripture. This spiritual ignorance is perpetuated because they are continually hardening their hearts. This continual hardening comes as a result of giving themselves over to the works of the flesh. In a very small nut shell, that is the spiritual or religious learning process of the Gentile, or the natural man, or the old man.

Ephesians 4:20-27 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.

Look again at our passage in Ephesians 4:20 and following. It does not say, this is the way we learned of or about Christ, but learned Christ. These are not facts we are to study and learn. The Bible also commands us to study, memorize and rightly divide the Scriptures, which involves facts. However, the type of learning mentioned in Ephesians 4:20-21 does not come through the study of facts or information, as such. This type of learning comes by experiencing the reality of Christ's Person. That experience comes by being with Him, by experiencing and observing His very essence through such things as "walking through the valley of shadow of death with Him" (Psalms 23), and the such like. Because of this relationship with Christ, His essence is to become part of our being.

Those who have been married for some time can understand this concept a little better. You have learned the moods, thoughts, actions, etc. of your spouse. You know how your spouse will respond in certain situations. You know when they are happy, discouraged, trying to work through something, etc. This knowing of your spouse has not come about by book study, or even memorizing verses from their diary. You have been taught by your spouse. This teaching comes not so much from words, but by experiencing life with them.

In a similar manner, we are taught by Christ and have heard Him. If you are not walking with Christ, in the light as He is in the light (1 John), you will never experience this being taught by Christ. This type of fellowship does not replace our study of the Scriptures and rightly dividing them. Both are needed, and one will have far less value without the other.

Ephesians 4:18 "having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;"

Spiritual ignorance is the norm of the natural person. Spiritual ignorance is in them. It is second nature to them. The natural person or the old man does not have to try to be ignorant. The natural person or the old man operates constantly by means of spiritual ignorance.

Spiritual ignorance is in them, it is a very part of their essence or being. Spiritual truth is in Christ. This truth in Christ, must be in us in like manner as spiritual ignorance is in the natural person. Spiritual truth should be second nature to the Believer. The Believer should not have to stop and think to function within spiritual truth. Spiritual truth should be the most natural thing and the most comfortable way of operation for the Believer. This can only happen when we have in us the same qualities that are in Christ.

Study Time Not Share Time

Let me pause in this phase of our study, and comment on something that is not directly connected with this subject, but has a great influence on the subject of not "giving place to the devil", and will determine, to a great extent, the outcome of the Believers struggle in this realm.

In this day and age of modern media, some Believers seem to think that unless there is something new and different, or even spectacular, they have not experienced Bible study, or at least that Bible study was of little value. I've had people tell me that they know enough of Bible, already. What they need to know is how to apply what they have learned. (There is a measure of truth in the statement, but partial truth is not truth at all.) Because they think they know all the Bible they need, they want Bible study time to be a share-time of how others have applied the Word to certain situations of life. In the first place, those share-times usually end up with far more time spent on the details of personal experiences than teaching the Bible.

Bible study is for the study of the Bible, not so a person can vicariously live in the sins or experiences of others as the details of those things are described. If you are looking for that type of vicarious living, there are plenty of shows on TV built on that very purpose.

We need, we must hear, see, live, etc. the very basic principles of the Word of God over and over again and again. We must become very familiar with those basics, and those basics must become second nature to us. When Biblical basics become second nature to us, we can apply them normally, naturally and automatically without stopping to think about what to do, when situations that need such spiritual actions present themselves. Until those Biblical basics become second nature to us, we cannot use them to move into the deeper things of God, either.

If you only took the time to see new, different and spectacular things about your spouse, or you try to learn to live with your spouse by seeing how someone else responds to your spouse,, Well, you may as well check the Yellow Pages for a good divorce attorney.

You learn to live with your spouse by seeing the little things over and over again, until those things are so natural that they seem to be just the normal way of life.

If when you hear something in a Bible Study that you think you know well, and you give that truth the ho-hum treatment, you are sealing your spiritual downfall. If you feel that real Bible study must be something different, unique, spectacular, emotional, you will soon be mesmerized with the differentness, the uniqueness, the spectacularness and the emotionalism, and the Bible, itself, will become only a reference book at best. More likely than not, under those conditions, the Bible will become only a good-luck-charm, but not the living Word of God.

Not Giving Place to the Devil

Ephesians 4:18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;
Ephesians 4:20-27 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil.

There are 80+ references in the New Testament to things and qualities that are in Christ. One of the more familiar passages is,

Philippians 2:5-6 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

The immediate context of many of these references to things and qualities that are in Christ, also tell the Believer how we are to let or allow what is in Christ to be in us. Certainly the context of Philippians 2:5 gives such instructions. It would be profitable to look at the how of letting the mind of Christ be in us. We've looked at that in times past, and I trust you will review it on your own.

The context, of our present subject of "not giving place to the devil", starts as it should, with the Believer not only knowing the truth, But having the truth in them. The truth that is to be in the Believer is the same truth that is in Christ.

Old Man Grows Corrupt

Next the Believer is to put off certain types of conduct that were associated with their former manner of living. It is necessary to put off and keep putting off these things, because even though we have been born again, our old man, or our old nature continues to grow in corruptness.

Time and time again, we hear of some seemingly strong mature Believer doing some of the worst things, simply out of the blue. The reason for that is, all the time that Believer was living by the new man, the old man was continuing to grow in corruptness. Therefore, when the Believer chose no longer to live and operate by the new man, the old man, now even more corrupt, is only too glad to provide that Believer with the go power to do things that are worse than before they accepted Christ as Savior. Christ give an illustration of a similar situation, in,

Matthew 12:43-45 When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.

Ephesians 4:20-24 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.

The old man, or the old sin nature is of its father the devil. The new man is the spiritual life created and given to us by God at salvation, called Eternal Life, or God's life.

John 8:44-45 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me.
Colossians 3:9-10 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
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.
Ephesians 4:23-25 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, each one speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.

Lying

Besides seeing that the old man is of Satan, and the new man is created by God, notice something else in these passages and elsewhere that we can't spend a great deal of time on in this lesson. However, it might be a very good thing to spend months on the subject, because it is a plague among Believers, but I will only take time to point it out, now. Notice how often, as Believers, we are told to stop lying. Beside the simple fact that it is sin, there is another big reason. It indicates that the essence of Satan, the father of our old man, is showing through our actions.

Look again at John 8:44. The Lord Jesus Christ is speaking here. Speaking of the devil, Christ says that there is no truth in him. Christ also states that when Satan speaks a lie, it comes from his own resources or essence. Christ goes on to say that Satan is the progenitor or the father of the lie. When a Believer speaks or lives a lie, that Believer is speaking or living from the source or the progenitor of lies, Satan.

In association with that truth, look at the other two passages we have before us Colossians 3 & Ephesians 4. In Colossians 3 it says, "Do not lie," because it is of the old man that was fathered by Satan. In our current passage in Ephesians 4, we are told to "put away lying..." in the context we are told that it is of the old man. This truth is prominent throughout the New Testament. We Believers would do well to take heed, and follow the divine instructions.

Ephesians 4:20-24 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.

We have a few more items we need to see that are very important in the context of our passage in which we find the command "nor give place to the devil". I am not putting these things in a physical categorical list. Instead, I am giving them as mentioned in our passage. I trust you will retain these things in your minds and/or your notes. They will be needful and very helpful when we get to the body of our subject in the next lesson. (This next lesson will be the first in the series Satan vs. the Believer.)

We are to learn Christ, be taught by Him, take off the old man. We are also to be in a continual state of renewal in the spirit of our mind. This is a Biblical subject far to vast to even outline in a short time. Let me give you just a few highlights from the Scriptures.

We are to have the mind of Christ, as we saw earlier in this lesson. I'm going to give you some passages without a great deal of explanation. These are to establish and expand this truth mentioned here in Ephesians 4:23. I trust you will take these few passages, study them well, and continue to follow this truth throughout the Scriptures.

Romans 8:27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Philippians 1:27-28 Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

Put On the New Man

Take a quick look at Ephesians 4:22-24, so it will be fresh in our minds

Ephesians 4:22-24 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in righteousness and true holiness.

We are to learn Christ, be taught by Him, put off the old man and be continually renewed in spirit and mind. Not only are we to put off the old man with the conduct or manner of living associated with that old life, But we are to put on the new man and the conduct that is associated with that spiritual life.

Once again, I will not have the time to make any detailed comments on these passages, and I only have time to give you a few passages that deal with this important subject. I trust you will take these and do further personal study from them.

Romans 13:10-14 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
Ephesians 6:10-19 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,
Colossians 3:8-15 But now you must also put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. 12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

We looked at a small portion of Colossians 3 earlier, but let me point out a few things that relate, in a special way, to putting on the new man and the conduct associated with the new man. In this passage, under the subject of putting on the new man, there are at least two other categories of things we are to put on.

Notice v.12 therefore because we are in Christ, we are to put on certain things that relate to other Believers in this same body of Christ. I wish we had the time to examine the Greek meanings and usage of each of these in detail, because that would bring an explosion of information and understanding to this subject.

Time only allows for the basic listing of the things that the Believer is to put on, literally, before the new man can be put on, or at the same time it is put on. Remember, this is a list of things we are to put on that are directed primarily towards other Believers.

I can't help myself I must give you the basic Greek meaning:

tender (Greek)
intestines, when used in conjunction with emotions or physical action indicates the deepest and most sincere tenderness

Our attitude towards other Believers is to be the type of mercy that is the deepest and most sincere type possible. If it isn't, you ain't! If your mercy to others is not of this deep and sincere type, You don't have, or haven't put on the new man and its conduct.

Please note! Forgiving is the only one of these that is repeated and expanded. Not only does that show the importance of this factor, we have additional information concerning it, beyond its definition and use. We are to forgive in the same manner as Christ. It would take a long time to make any proper study of that subject.

Look at the closing remark of this whole list, "you must do", This is not conditional. This is not optional. It is not to be enacted after the other repents or makes restitution or anything else. If you aren't doing it, You ain't - If you are not forgiving other Believers in this manner, you have not put on the new man. Listen to the Word of God, Christians, This is a most dangerous area!

Matthew 6:9-15 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. 14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

I didn't write it! I only read it. What you do with what Christ said is between you and Christ.

Matthew 18:29-35 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.' 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. 33 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?' 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. 35 So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.