The need for the new birth – Bible study
Preaching Outline on Ephesians 4:17-24 – But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus; that you put off the old man, which is corrupted by the lusts of deceit, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which after God is created in true righteousness and holiness.
Introduction to Ephesians 4:17-24
Why was the Lord Jesus so direct when dealing with Nicodemus, telling him that he had to be born again to inherit the kingdom of heaven? Why doesn’t God accept man as he is, even if he does good? What is the new birth and why is it necessary in order to stand before God?
Development
1- The Bible says that God made man from clay (his body), and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (man’s spirit) and he was made a living soul (an individual with his own will, feelings and personality). Man was created in this way and given a type of “biological” life (bios) that was under the influence of time (Gen 2:7).
2- After all this, God planned to give man another kind of life, an uncreated life, his own life, eternal life (zoe). But God didn’t just want to give man this eternal life, the Lord wanted him to freely choose eternal life using his free will.
That’s why God placed before man two elements of trial, two options that were totally contrary to each other: the Tree of Life, which was the path to eternal life in the presence of the Lord, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which led to a life independent of God and eternal death.
3- God suggested that man choose the Tree of Life, but man, influenced by the serpent (the adversary), disobeyed and chose the second option; from then on he was deprived of the Glory of God and began to live according to his own passions and desires, becoming a slave to the flesh.
God’s original plan was for man’s spirit to govern his soul (will and feelings) and his body (which would relate to the material world). What man became after he ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was what God didn’t plan for him, what the Lord warned him to avoid.
4- That is why everything that man has done since that day, whether good or evil, cannot be accepted by God, because it all stems from and is the product of his act of disobedience to the Word of the Lord. Even man’s so-called acts of righteousness are like filthy rags before the Lord (Isa 64:6), for they all come from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
Being born again
In short, God does not accept man and everything he produces because of his fallen and independent nature, which seeks to establish its own will in place of what the Lord has planned for him. In order for man to be accepted by God again, he needs to be Born Again and transformed, because the old creation has fallen away and been cast aside (Rom 6:6).
5- So that the terrible problem of man’s fall, death and perdition could be solved, God sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus (Rom 5: 19), the last Adam, who was made the life-giving Spirit (I Cor 15: 45 – 48), so that through his total obedience to God and through his death and resurrection, he could annul the effects of the fall, death and perdition in the lives of all those who believed in him, leading them to a unique experience, a total transformation of their lives through the power of his Holy Spirit: the New Birth.
Jesus made it possible for all men to have access to Eternal Life through his Blood (his Spirit) and his Word (Rom 6: 22).
6- Today man is in the same situation as Adam; he has before him the chance to choose once again, and for the last time, the path of Eternal Life, which is Jesus (the Tree of Life) or the path of death, which is the world (the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil). In order for man to be accepted by God and received as a son, he must:
- Believing in Jesus;
- Being begotten again by the Holy Spirit; and
- Living in obedience, stripping off the old man.
7- When man believes in Jesus, he receives forgiveness of his sins and the Holy Spirit regenerates him spiritually, transforming him into a new creature through the New Birth. This miracle is performed by God and not by man’s own willpower. It is something that takes place in the depths of the human spirit, which was mortified by sin, but which has been revived by the power of the Lord.
From then on, man’s nature is transformed and he receives the ability to carry out the Works of God through faith in Jesus (Eph 2:10). He also begins to live according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh (Gal 5:16 * I Pet 1:23 * Eph 4:23, 24). Only in this way can man be accepted by God, remain in his presence and receive Eternal Life.
Conclusion of Ephesians 4:17-24
Only those who have been born again can be baptized in water and become members of the church. Those who have broken with the old nature, with the world and with sin. Baptism symbolizes our death to the old creation, and our resurrection to a new life with Jesus, through faith and obedience to his Word.
Baptism is a public testimony that one has been born again, and not just a meaningless ritual. For someone to be baptized, they need to experience conversion and transformation, so that they can become part of the body, the church that has been separated from the world and the life of corruption (Rom 6: 3-5).
Bible study on Ephesians 4:17-24 – But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus; that you put off the old man, which is corrupted by the lusts of deceit, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, which after God is created in true righteousness and holiness.
More Preaching Outlines
