WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU THINKING? (Eph 4:17-24)

The Church’s Last Sunday in the Building and the Move to a New Location

Have an exciting day today. It's a little bittersweet. Most of you know.

This will be our official Last Sunday morning gathering as a people in this building. Nathan is wrecked about it. Yes, it this is it's bittersweet, isn't it? We've been in here for two years we've been blessed to have this space and and God in his faithfulness as we have prayed and sought the Lord saying where do you want us at this point?

He has provided and so starting next week. We will be at the new location with actual parking and actual restrooms. So Please come and join us for that. You can bring friends and family that can celebrate with us.

But also we have one more time to celebrate in this building. We will not have Wednesday night service this week, but we do have our Christmas party Friday night. Where is brother Danny at? He's All right.

Well him and miss Rhonda have been Preparing a Christmas party for us. This Friday at 6 o 'clock, I believe correct 6 o 'clock. It's going to be a chili cook-off. Bring your best chili and there's first second and third prize for the best chilies.

We it is ugly sweater. So apparently my wife has already ordered me an ugly sweater and she hasn't shown me what that is. So that's yet to be seen so ugly sweater what there's prizes for that. And then we also have.

It's dirty Santa ornaments. So bringing ornaments to give away as gifts. So looking forward to that that will be a time for us to be able to essentially say goodbye to this location. Celebrate together and in preparation for what God has next for us.

The Church Gathers to Worship and Pray for Emanuel Southern Baptist Church

So but in the meantime while we're here, we're here to worship because it doesn't matter where we worship. Does it what matters is, you know, you hear people make the statement? Well, the church isn't a building and they're so correct.

The church isn't a building but the church also isn't the church without the gathering and you need a place to gather. So we have to have somewhere to be but we are here today together not neglecting the gathering of the Saints and our desire is for each one of us both covenant members and Regular attenders first-time guests all of you.

Our prayer is that we would all grow in the knowledge and love of the triune God. Amen. Well before we start our official service off we always pray for another local church. And there's one that we've not prayed for here before but is near and dear to us.

Being that is it is a great connection to Pastor Jeremiah. It is his it is his grandmother's church in Salem, Arkansas and your aunt right his grandmother and his aunt. He talked to the pastor there Corey Snyder and said hey.

We'd like to pray for Emanuel Southern Baptist Church in Salem, Arkansas. And he sent some things that he wants he wants prayer for he was very specific about them. Which was great. He asked he asked that we pray for them as they they they emphasize this idea of Christ alone.

He's really trying to get the people in that church to fully grasp that to pray pray that they would understand that truth. Not just the doctrine itself, but the reality of the truth to live it in Christ alone.

They've also been looking at the seven letters and Revelation discussing the reality of Christ among his churches and They're examining their fellowship in light of Christ Interactions and seeking illumination on where they stand with him.

He asked that we pray for that they would Lay their corporate sins down that they would get exposed and properly repented and strive to please the Lord with all that they do. He also asked for safety as him and his family leave Thursday morning for Florida for vacation and then One of the former elders is going to be preaching there that day.

So he's praying that the truth proclaimed will have its salvific effect. That's a great prayer request, isn't it? Good list. So let's go to the Lord this morning and pray for Emanuel Baptist Church. Dear Heavenly Father.

We thank you all the all the Wonderful glorious gifts that you've given us. Not only have you Not only have you redeemed us your people by the blood of your Son. But then also you just continually provide for us.

As a good father does we thank you and God we we asked this morning for our brothers and sisters over in Salem Lord Emmanuel Southern Baptist Church God we lift them up to you this morning. It was as we think about these prayer requests as they've been as they've been striving to fully grasp Not just intellectually but but spiritually and live out this this great truth of Christ and Christ alone Lord as they've been walking through looking at the warnings to the seven churches and Revelation and Discussing this this wonderful reality of Christ being amongst his church.

His church is all as one and that fellowship in light of Christ interactions and Lord, I pray for illumination for them. That they would see Areas in their life as a church that may not be in line with the head of that body, which is Christ.

And that they would repent strive to please Lord. I pray first safe travel for for pastor Corey and his family next week. And Lord is that as that other gentleman stands in that pulpit to proclaim your word I pray he does so boldly and I pray that you use that word to penetrate to the hearts and minds of your people.

Calling those to yourself and sanctifying those that are yours. We thank you in Christ name. Amen. Let's officially start our service this morning with our call to worship Which comes from Psalm 103. It's the first eight verses Bless the Lord on my soul.

It's a song a psalm of David He says bless the Lord. Oh my soul and all that is it within me. Bless the Lord on my soul and forget not all his benefits Who forgives all your iniquities who heals all your diseases who redeems your life from the pit?

Lord is merciful and gracious.

Sorry.

The Lord works righteousness we got it.

This is user error, come on. All right. He made known his ways to Moses. The Lord is merciful and gracious. Praise. The Lord is abounding and steadfast. Love. Let's go to him in a prayer of adoration as we prepare to sing.

Adoration of the Triune God and the Call to Worship from Psalm 103

Father we bow before you. The one who is abounding and steadfast love. God you are love. We only know love. Because it is who you are and you have expressed that that Amazing love to us through sacrificing your own son to redeem us and you are good.

You are merciful and gracious. You were kind. You're worthy of praise this morning and we asked it as we sing as we read your word as we pray as we As we proclaim these truths as we fellowship. God I pray that you would mold our minds and hearts towards you renewing our thoughts Conforming them into What what you've called us to be and to do Into the image of your great son will be honored in our worship this morning in Christ's name.

The reading comes from first Peter 1.

13 through 15. For Peter is calling us to be holy. He says therefore Preparing your minds for action and being sober minded let your hope fully. Or set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

As obedient children do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance But as he who called you is holy.

You also be holy in all your conduct. Good morning.

It is a privilege to stand before you today and be able to Expand on God's Word. I'll tell you I've really been looking forward to it and it's not up there yet. But we will be in Ephesians 4 17 through 18.

And no Mike, that's not a misprint or a misnomer. Eight verses. So if I go a little long How about a little grace? Considering somebody preached seven sermons on three verses I figure I should get just a little but I hope hopefully to be able to Cover this an adequate amount of time in this section.

Paul is focusing and what I want to focus on is What went on in your thought process before you were saved? What changed that thought process and What should your thought process be today? What should it be today?

So as we go through this I kind of want you to focus and I will kind of elaborate on what's going on in your mind. That's what Paul is talking about and I named this sermon after probably one of the most frequent asked Questions, especially if you're a parent and you have a child that's anywhere above the age of reasoning.

I'm sure You've asked them this. What in the world were you thinking? And usually you get the response. I don't know. It's a hard somebody say that that's right. But you know the funny thing about that question is the question actually answers the question.

Because usually when you ask that they're doing something wrong, right? They were thinking in the world. So what in the world were they thinking. They were thinking in the world. So let's jump in Ephesians 4 17 through 24 now this I say and Testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as Gentiles do in the futility of their minds.

They are darkened in their understanding alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance. That is in them due to the hardness of their heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality.

Greedy to practice every kind of impurity, but that is not the way you learn to Christ. Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus to put off the old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and To be renewed in the spirits of your mind and to put on the new self.

Created in the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness if you abound prayer, please Lord God. Heavenly Father, I Just pray that you will guide us in preparing our minds for action. That we would be sober minded setting our hope fully on the grace that will be brought to us at the revelation of your precious Son Jesus Christ.

That we will be obedient children and not conform to the passions of our former ignorance. But as he who has called us as holy. We will be holy in all our conduct father. I ask that you give me the ability to communicate What is good?

What is right? What is true and in doing so expose what is false? Amen. Well, as I said the apostle Paul here is focusing on what we're thinking. What what is going on in our minds and he is focusing on the contrast between the sinner Who has thinking about what is false.

What is a lie and Christians that are thinking what is true? What is the truth and this is a great contrast in the Bible? We've talked about this a lot of times as Paul likes to say it the difference between light and darkness.

This contrast is the most fundamental difference between those who are lost and those who are saved. And the reason for this contrast is because of a radical transformation. That takes place in a person when they come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

When they are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and they experience salvation. This radical transformation is supernatural. It's miraculous. It's a complete change in our nature. It is not an add-on to what we already have.

It's not an update such as your heart 2 .0 and it's not an improvement or a modification. It is a total Transformation that goes on inside us. Our heart of stone has been replaced with a heart of flesh.

It's a miracle of creation wrought by the Holy Spirit and by the power of God in our lives. Our Old heart has departed and now we have a new heart. We have a new mind. We have new knowledge new wisdom new Understanding a new perception we have new desires.

You now have knowledge of what is the truth? Where before all you had is what was a lie in 1st Corinthians 2 14. Paul talks about this. He says the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God for they are folly to him.

He is not able to understand them because they are spiritually Discerned so note here. He says they do not have the capacity or the ability to understand Things that are spiritually concerned. They don't have the ability to understand.

What is the truth? Well in the two verses preceding this he talks about the regenerate man. He says now we have received and not the Spirit of the world. But the Spirit who is from God that we might understand or we might know.

The things freely given to us by God and we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom. It's not from us but taught by the Spirit interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. See all of this points to a changed nature.

Our nature is no longer the natural person which by logic points to a changed behavior. And that is the outcome that Paul is seeking in the last three chapters of Ephesians. If you remember in the first three chapters of Ephesians, he's talking about doctrine principle things that were to apply to ourselves but now he's challenging us to change our conduct and The way we act in the way we behave and behind that is the way we think he's going from principle to practice from doctrine to application and from orthodoxy to orthopraxy.

The Old Self Walks in Futility, Darkness, and Impurity

Well, so let's get started in the first section. I've named it the old man walks in sin or darkness and that's verses 17 through 19. Now this I say and testify to the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds.

They are darkened in their understanding. Alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of heart. They have become callous have given themselves up to sensuality.

Greedy to practice every kind of impurity if you go a little bit further in Ephesians in chapter 5 Paul sums this up in verse 8 in seven short words at one time you were darkness. Now this doesn't say at one time you were in darkness or what one time you were of darkness.

It says at one time you were darkness. That was your nature.

Darkness.

So as usual Paul is starting off with the negative side here. He's talking about the Gentiles and this is the negative side of the contrast of darkness in life the sin the evil the unbelief. The futility of mind the ignorance the hardness the callousness the sensuality the greed and the impurity.

And he starts off by saying now this I say and testify to the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do. So Paul is calling attention to this important concept that he's trying to get us to understand and when he says he testifies In the Lord, he's actually Implying that he is in communion with the Lord.

He is speaking as one who has access to the mind of Jesus Christ. And of course, we know that he does he uses this term Gentiles and basically this is a term that's used in the Bible to Explain that the pagans are lost that these are non-jewish people and they are people that are lost.

But he uses this term walk. Do not walk as The Gentiles used to and this is not just talking about your outward life. But also your inward life. It's all the manifestations of life inward and outward.

Seen and unseen it's not only the way you act but your inward self. The way you think in your mind and the way you feel in your heart. Well, he goes on to say that this is how the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind.

So here we have this word what is going on inside their mind now this this word. The the Greek and the Hebrew when they use this term mind. You've got to modify that by their philosophy in the theology of the time.

The way this is the Greeks in the Hebrews thought and the way that they worshipped Hodges said and he explains it real well the use of this word involves the unity of the soul. Which forbids any such marked distinction between its cognitive and emotional capacities.

So he's saying there's no distinction between the way you think and the way you feel or your passions. He goes on to say the scriptures speak of an understanding heart and the desires of understanding.

They recognize that there's an element of feeling in our thinking and an element of intelligence in our feelings. Therefore the use of the word mind does not refer to the Intellect to the inclusion of feelings nor to the feelings to the inclusion of the intellect.

It includes the reason the understanding the conscience and the affection. So when he's talking about mine He's talking about everything that is in us the way we think the way we feel the way we process information and he says that these Gentiles are in the walk in the futility of their mind.

So he's given a description of what this mind these emotions these thought processes are and he says it's a futility or another word that means the same thing in Greek is Vanity of their minds and this is talking about a mind which fails to produce the desired result that which never succeeds.

That which is useless or Amounts to nothing. So he's saying when they're using their minds it amounts to nothing. He's stating that the regenerate in regenerate or lost person thinks and resolves Everything based on his own thinking on his own experience on his own self.

Everything that he believes originates from within him within them. They have become their own Authority they determine everything by their own standards and we see that today everywhere around us in the world.

What they identify is. Some identify as a cat. What their reality is? Well, my reality is what I think. My truth is my own truth they say and then of course what their truth is their their truth is based on their own thinking and their own Emotions.

And what is the result of this? The lost is walking in their own darkness and that's what Paul says in the next verse. Verse 18 they are darkened in their understanding alienated from the life of God.

Because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. Paul talks it kind of expands on this in 2nd Timothy in Chapter 3 says always learning never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

So these men are also opposed to the truth men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. So they do not know the truth. Their truth is their own selves and what they think they're corrupted in their mind and they are disqualified regarding the faith.

Here Paul gives us the mark of the natural man the old man what we once were they have become the blindness of the mind their own mind and the hardness of their own heart and This is due to original sin.

What happened back in creation? When man fell because of original sin. Man became dead and trespasses in sin. They experienced a spiritual death. They lost their ability to see the facts as they really are.

They exchanged the truth for a lie. They lost the ability to reason on a spiritual level. They became darkened in their understanding. They were separated from the truth. They were alienated from God and they have now a heart of stone and that's their hardness of heart.

See in the beginning man was created in God's image. And we'll talk more about that in verse 24 where it says talks about the likeness of God. But as a result of original sin that image was distorted.

It was blurred. It was blemished. A Scholar said when he's talking about what was lost at original sin says being estranged from God by sin. He was likewise deprived of his share in the blessing which can only be had in God.

Instead of wisdom holiness truth and righteousness. The endowments with which in his likeness to God he was clothed. There came upon him the dreadful plagues of ignorance weakness filth Vanity and Unrighteousness and I really like the way he describes this in the likeness of God.

He was clothed and we will visit that a little bit more in some of the following verses the most Devastating effect on the fall of man is what happened in his mind. He lost the ability to understand to reason beyond himself.

He can only reason With what's within him not anything beyond himself. Second Corinthians 4 4 says in their case the God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers. To keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ Who is the image of God their minds are blinded and now in the next verse verse 19?

This explains the tragedy of unbelief the tragedy of the person who makes himself his own God. It says they have become callous and have given themselves up to the sensuality greedy to practice every kind of impurity and This is a result of a darkened understanding.

They have become callous. This is speaking of a moral and spiritual Callousness they no longer care. They've become numb.

Apathetic.

Insensitive their conscience has become seared and they no longer have the ability to restrain themselves. They get to a point where they just don't care about what they're doing and this word consciousness Which is a very important word for us to understand literally means knowledge with or co knowledge.

The idea testifies to the fact that man has an instinctive Built-in sense of right and wrong and Paul talks about that a lot in Romans. That man has this built-in consciousness that tells us what's right and what's wrong, but there's Consciousness has become callous.

It is God's early warning system for the soul concerning evil. I once listened to a really good sermon that Jeremiah Johnny Mac preached and he was talking about the four restraints of evil that God has given society.

And he outlined them. He said well God has given us the family and this is a relational restraint and the force behind this restraint is Discipline. When you discipline your children you're teaching them right from wrong.

Another restraint is civil order or authority and that's a cultural Restraint and the force behind it is jail or death. Then God has given us the church. Which is a spiritual restraint and the force behind that of course is a changed heart.

Or a transformed heart and then he's given us a conscience and that's a personal restraint and the force behind that is guilt. So when man's Consciousness becomes seared or callous that guilt is no longer there.

It is no longer for there The way they behave when the restraint of consciousness breaks down and the consciousness becomes callous. Then the next progression in the sequel sequence of sin is Abandonment and that's what Paul tells us in verse 19 B.

He says they have given themselves up. They have abandoned God. They have given themselves up to sensuality greedy to practice every kind of impurity and The truth is when man abandons God. God abandons man.

If you were to turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 1 I want to read a section of this just to give you an idea of this cycle or this progression of sin and abandonment. Most of you are probably familiar with this passage and I believe this is Paul's mic drop moment on What the progression of sin actually is in the lost person's life.

So I'm going to start in verse 21. For although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

First time. Therefore God gave them up in the lust of their heart to impurity to be dishonored or be dishonoring their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and Worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator to dishonorable passions.

I mean who is blessed forever. I'm sorry. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions the second time God has given them up for their women exchanged natural relations for those who are contrary to nature and the men likewise gave up natural relations with Women and were consumed with passions for one another men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty.

For their error and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God the third time God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. So God has abandoned them. They did not see fit to acknowledge God.

They did not see fit to acknowledge the truth. And this is pretty sobering this progression of sin. But praise the Lord for his grace. Praise the Lord for what? Pastor Nathan talked about in chapter 2 two words, but God Praise the Lord for his grace.

Learning Christ and the Truth That Is in Jesus

So this leads us to the second point I have today and that's the regenerate man has learned Jesus or the truth. And that's in verses 20 and 21. But that is not the way you learned Christ. Assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him is the truth is in Jesus.

So this is a fourth time that we've seen in Ephesians that Paul uses this conjunction. But and it's used to introduce something that is contrasting to then what has been previously said. You know in Ephesians 2 for I just talked about he stated but God and this was after a big litany of Walking with a prince of power and living in sin and now he's saying but that is not the way you learned Christ.

So he is moving from one position to another and He's talking about learning Christ sort of the way you learned Christ and this word in the Greek can mean the process of learning. But it can also mean to come to know that you have come to know this the verb learned is Actually in the oris tense Adam I threw that in for you.

Which indicates a single Unrepeated act. So what Paul is talking about here is the same thing He talked about back in chapter 2 verse 4 when he said but God. What he is saying is you have learned Christ you have become regenerated.

You have received salvation. He's talking about that moment when you're thinking completely changed when your heart changed when your mind changed. It's when we've been given the mind of Christ by the Holy Spirit.

You see learning Christ knowing about Christ is not natural. It is not something that we can do on our own. It is not based on our natural ability. But we've been given the mind of Christ by the Holy Spirit, it's a supernatural act.

Peter talks about this in his second epistle in chapter 1 he says His divine power has granted to us all Things and you can plug in there the truth. His divine power has granted to us the truth that pertains to life and godliness through the knowledge of him Who called us to his own glory and excellence excellence by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises.

So that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires. So through this act of regeneration We've obtained the knowledge of the triune God within us.

It is in our very nature. Christ is in us and as we've been talking about All the way back to the first of Ephesians. We are now in Christ. 1st Corinthians. Paul says for who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him.

But we have the mind of Christ our mind has changed in verse 21. Paul goes on to say Assuming that you've heard about him and were taught in him as the truth Jesus.

Well this.

Assuming it is not necessarily talking about that. He's expressing doubt about something. But what he's doing is he's taking it for granted. He says I know and I take for granted that you've heard about him and that you were taught in him you have heard his voice and you've been taught by Jesus Christ and Received the truth with the understanding of your heart and your mind is what he's saying.

1st Timothy Paul writes this is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior who desires our people to be saved and Come to the knowledge of what? The truth. So we've been throwing this word around quite a bit this word the truth.

What what is the truth? Well, if you look up the definition in the Greek It says it is the reality lying laying at the basis of an appearance the manifested absolute essence of a matter. The manifested absolute essence of a matter and this is an objective definition.

Now I looked up in the Oxford Dictionary and of course they gave me a subjective definition, which is actually a definition based on feelings and Experiences or opinions and it says the fact of belief.

Truth is a fact or belief. That is accepted as true. So I talked a little bit to Jeremiah about this about what's the deal here? They're borrowing from the deaf in the definition. They're borrowing from the word that they're trying to define when they say that is it accepted as true.

I mean, how can you do that because you you're trying to figure out what the definition is. But the basic thing here is it is not something that is real. It is a belief to them. It is what they think is the truth.

But the reality is the truth is completely outside of us. You cannot base the truth on Human experience or what is inside you? Truth can only be sourced in God. Now I want to make a profound statement.

Truth is directly tied to faith. Truth is directly tied to faith. Hebrews 11 one says now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation by faith.

We understand that the universe was created by the Word of God. So that what was seen what is seen was not made out of things That are visible and it's not by accident that he goes all the way back to creation.

What he's saying is Hey God created it. He's the only one that knows it. Truth has to be based on God. Faith is a firm conviction producing a full acknowledgement of God's revelation as.

Truth.

He must be the source of our truth alone. He knows all things that he created Jeremiah barring from Van Til exhaustively. We do not. The only thing we know is what God reveals to us through his Word. God is never changing.

The truth is fixed. It is established and this goes back to when God said I am.

That I am.

One of the things he was trying to get across when he said that was I will always be I am I will never change I am that I am as God is truth if we are to be true. He must be the basis the standard the foundation the beginning and Jeremiah the presupposition of our truth.

So where is this truth found? Well says it in verse 21 it is found in Jesus praise the Lord. We can find the truth in Jesus and I looked through the Bible and and I found where it speaks of three different truths.

It's basically the same truth, but in different ways that correspond with Jesus Christ. The first is the truth of Jesus and this is actually the Historical truth of the person and work of Jesus Christ that he actually came to earth.

He lived on earth. He died on earth and he was resurrected from the earth. So that is the truth of Jesus. John 6 38 says for I've come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will Of him who sent me.

Jesus was an historical figure. He was that is the truth and he was the truth. So we have the truth of Jesus and then we have the truth in Jesus and that is the moral Moral truth or the excellence or the holiness the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

This is the opposite of what is false or what is a lie or what is sin? Second Peter 1 3 says his divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, so we have the truth of Jesus.

The truth in Jesus and then what Paul says here the truth is Jesus. And that's what we've been talking about the foundation the standard of all things. Colossians 1 it states for by him all things were created in heaven and on earth.

Visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things and all things hold together. Jesus spoke of this in John.

He said I am The way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father through me Except through me. If you had known me you would have known my father also. From now on you do know him and you have seen me.

You see the Gentiles they walk in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding. Alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them and it's due to the hardness of their heart.

They have become callous giving themselves up to sensuality greedy they practice every kind of impurity but We have hearts that are encouraged knit together in love we've reached all the that have reached all the riches and full understanding of The knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ Jesus.

Putting Off the Old Self and Putting On the New Self

So knowing this Knowing what we were knowing what has changed us what has changed our way of thinking. What are we to do? Well Paul tells us in the next section the new man Walks in righteousness our light and this is verses 22 through 24 it says we're to put off the old self which belongs to your former manner of life and Is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind and to put on the new self Created after the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness.

So before I gave you the first part of Ephesians 5a where it talks about you were darkness. Now here Paul is summing this up in the second part of Ephesians 5a. He says now You are light in the Lord walk as children of light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and.

True.

So when Paul talks about to put on and to take off, I think it's obvious. He's talking about a change of clothes. They were to take off the old dirty ragged Filthy clothes and put on the new clean and soiled clothes.

So in the Greek here Paul has actually given us three infinitives. He's saying to put off to be renewed and to put on. Now when you look at this and several scholars pointed this out the use of the language in Greek and the context points to the one-time act of Regeneration it points back to what he was talking about in Jesus Christ.

But there are other scholars that say this also should be taken as imperatives addressed to Christians part of our sanctification and the reasons. For that is that if you go to verse 25, which is right after what we're talking about here Paul begins a long list of things to put away and things to put on he talks about putting away falsehood.