So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart: and they having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. (Ephesians 4:17-19)

This admonition was written to Christians in ancient Ephesus. It’s also written to us, so we need to take notice. And the question is: what does it mean to function in the “futility” of our minds? Does it mean that we shouldn’t over-think something and only look for a witness of the Spirit in order to determine how to do life? Elsewhere we are challenged to “walk by the Spirit” with the understanding that those who do so will not engage in sinful actions. (Galatians 5:16) And this suggests that we need to pay attention to the Holy Spirit residing within us. I’ve pointed out in previous posts that it is possible to agitate the Holy Spirit and we need to take steps to avoid that, functioning in concert with the Lord’s “leading” as we do life. However, I don’t think that the challenge to the Ephesians was suggesting that we should avoid thinking altogether as we engage the circumstances of our lives; as if to say there is something inherently wrong with human thought. There is, in fact, something wrong with us, but it’s not our minds essentially; rather it’s the manner in which we use our minds. One way of thinking about this is to evaluate what we fill our minds with. Do we read the Bible regularly? Are we watching too much TV? Are we engaging activities that are questionable? In some ways we might think it’s like summer camp where the object is to give the children so much to do that they don’t have time to get into trouble. If we keep busy with activities that are not sinful in themselves then we can avoid falling victim to misconduct. That seems to be one interpretation of Paul’s admonition when he says the “Gentiles” have given themselves over to “impurity with greediness.” And elsewhere Paul does associate improper behavior with sinful behavior. However, what I hear being emphasized is not so much what is being done but how it’s being done; making the statement that the source of their behavior is the “futility” of their minds that are functioning independently rather than in concert with the Lord.

Independence is a trademark of being an American. Independence from Britain was established through warfare; and the subsequent government that was established allows us to choose our own way of doing life—to a certain extent. Of course we could focus on what choices this freedom has led to, and criticize some of those choices, but the more fundamental aspect is the “approach” that is being engaged. What I mean is: how do people make their choices, and what is the Apostle pointing out when he suggests that the source of questionable choices is the result of depending on the “futility” of their minds? Does it mean we’re not supposed to use our minds as we determine how to live, as if our minds are essentially sinful? I don’t think so; rather I think it has to do what posture we’re in as we use our minds. Making a profit in our efforts to sustain ourselves isn’t inherently evil, but when our goal in making a profit goes beyond the basic effort of meeting our needs, we enter into the arena of what’s termed “greediness.” It’s that realm where we’re comparing our fortunes with other people’s fortunes, obtaining some version of self-esteem in the process. That’s greediness. And when our security is primarily derived from what we’ve accumulated through our greediness, that’s when we enter the realm of idolatry. And idolatry is sin, obviously. But our idolatry isn’t always apparent until we get to a place where it becomes obvious—in a moment of personal conviction perhaps, or when someone else challenges us to that effect. How do we avoid that? How do we prevent ourselves from getting to that idolatrous place “excluded from the life of God”?

First of all we need to watch what we’re doing. Pay attention! Later in his Ephesian letter the Apostle warns us to “be careful how you walk, not as unwise men(women) but as wise, making the most of [our] time because the days are evil.” And the days are evil, and today’s days seem to be especially evil given the accelerated manner in which ideas are conveyed to us today. We need to pay attention and watch how we go about our business, recognizing the nature of what we’re up against and avoiding the process whereby the accumulation of what we need turns into an expression of greediness resulting in downright idolatry. And how do we do that? The answer to that question, in part, has to do with what we’re relying upon. As Paul indicated above, we need to stop relying upon a mind that is left to its own devices. The Apostle isn’t challenging us to stop using our minds; he’s indicating the futile use of the mind that is not informed by the Lord. He refers to those who function in this manner as “Gentiles,” but he’s not talking about non-Jews. The letter is addressed to a Gentile community that embraced the Gospel, rendering them distinct from the Gentile non-believers of the wider community. These Gentiles had a relationship with the one true God, the same God who delivered the ancient Israelites from the bondage of the ancient Egyptians when they crossed the sea on dry land. Those ancient people relied upon the Lord for their deliverance, and Christians, Jew and Gentile alike, are relying on the Lord to deliver them from the powers that inform this world. It’s in that reliance that we’re able to navigate this “fallen” world. We use our minds as we make our way, but we do so in fellowship with our God.

A futile mind functions in isolation from God. The mind of a believer should function in fellowship with God. What does that look like? First of all our minds should be saturated with Scripture. It isn’t necessarily the case that we can quote everything we’ve read in the Bible, although memorizing key sections of Scripture is a blessing. What I’m saying is that we should know what the Bible says in broad strokes, and what we know should inform the way we think. And our understanding of Scripture needs to be balanced. Texts that are assessed in isolation lead to eccentric assessments. We can make the Bible say anything we want it to, but genuine revelation that informs our lives results from straight forward Bible study and the use of good resources to aid that effort. But it’s not just a matter of knowing what the Bible says: it’s a matter of knowing the One who superintends the revelation that the Bible presents. We’ve got to know who the Lord is and walk with Him every day, relying on Him to inform our minds rather than relying on our minds apart from Him. The “Gentiles” referred to in Paul’s letter relied upon themselves. Their ignorance was an ignorance that is the product of separation from God, and it’s a futile way of doing life. But as believers we’ve not only been forgiven for our sins, we’ve been given new life in Christ. Paul goes on to challenge the Ephesians, to “lay aside the old self” and “put on the new self” having been “renewed in the spirit” of their minds. This is a renewal that’s based upon fellowship with the Lord. The new self is someone who is engaged to the Lord, abiding in Him because apart from Him we can’t do anything that isn’t tarnished in some way. (John 15:4-5) That is the challenge for us: learning to stay connected with Him as we live out our lives.

In our current state of affairs our fellowship is compromised because we only perceive and know the Lord in a limited fashion. We see Him in a limited manner but we will eventually see Him face to face (1 Corinthians 13) But that doesn’t mean that we can’t gain in our understanding of how to do life in concert with Him now. We have the opportunity to get to know Him better and better as we move forward; listening to Him speak to us through the Scriptures and perceiving His leading within our souls through the Holy Spirt. In some ways it’s like being engaged to be married. Our fellowship with Him is real but limited until the day that we see Him just as He is, unencumbered by the influences of this world. What a joyous meeting that will be! In the meantime we can continue to learn of Him, and learn how to stay in step with Him; guarding what He’s placed within us as we continue to find our way. Just as an engaged couple learns how to function together, anticipating the day their marriage is consummated, so too, we as the bride of Christ learn how to function in concert with Him now, and anticipate unencumbered fellowship with Him when His Kingdom is fully realized.

It’s a wonderful prospect to anticipate knowing the Lord unencumbered by the limitations of this life! And even now He hasn’t just given us a set of rules to follow, ready to slap our hands whenever we get out of line. He isn’t a tyrant who dominates us in order achieve his own pleasure at our expense. He’s a loving Father who helps us learn His ways because His ways are what is best for us. Apart from Him we think we know what’s best and seek to achieve our goals only to find out how empty life is when we’re left to our own devices. The fact is that we’re inherently built for fellowship with God. Discovering that and reaching to achieve that fellowship is what life is all about, and He has provided the means for us to achieve that fellowship, starting with our engagement to Him now and the full realization of our consummation with Him when His Kingdom is established!

Praise the Lord!