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Ephesians 4:17-19 (JDV)

Ephesians 4:17 Then I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer live like the Gentiles live, in the futility of their thoughts.

Ephesians 4:18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.

Ephesians 4:19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.

learning how to unsurrender

Remember that the inhabitants of Ephesus were mostly Gentiles. The descriptive terms that Paul uses here for the Gentile lifestyle are all too familiar to these believers. Most of them grew up living like this: futile, darkened, excluded, ignorant, hard-hearted, callous, promiscuous, impure, insatiable.

They had lived most of their lives surrendered to the enemy. Now they were learning how to unsurrender. It is not easy. We need God’s miraculous power to break that bondage.

Lord, teach us how to break the bonds that keep us living like unbelievers.