Unrecognizable

Ephesians 4:17 “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"


In this passage of Scripture, Paul explains the dangers and consequences of living like unbelievers as a believer. As Christians, we have been set apart from the rest of the world, but for some reason we don’t always live as new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even though the inner man has been regenerated, the outward man is still conforming to system and standards of the world. In this devotion, we will take a closer look at Ephesians 4:17 and let the Word of God speak to our hearts and allow us to ask ourselves these questions; Are we being conformed to the world? Or are we being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ?

Ephesians 4:17“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,”

The “you” that Paul is speaking about in verse 17 are Christians. If you are a Christian then Paul is speaking to “You”. When Paul says, “you walk no longer” he is actually saying, STOP WALKING”! If we are told to stop doing something, then we are obviously already doing it and need to cease. Paul is affirming together with the Lord that Christians need to stop walking a walk of conformity. But what are they (or we) conforming to? We are conforming to the walk (lifestyle) of the Gentiles. When Paul uses the word Gentiles he is talking about the unbelieving Gentile nations, people without God. Paul is telling Christians to stop living life as the unbelievers live. As Christians, our lifestyle should not be the same as the lifestyle of someone without Christ. Yet sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between the two.

An unbeliever lives a life of unbelief. They are enslaved to the sin nature and choose to be conformed to this world by living to satisfy the desires of the flesh. If the world says success leads to happiness, then I need to be successful in order to be happy. If the world says that prosperity is having the best house, cars, and clothes, then I need have to have those things, because I want to be prosperous. The question is, do we believe what the world tells us and begin to “walk” as world “walks”? If we do then we are walking a walk of conformity and Paul says, “STOP”!! Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

So why does the Gentile (unbeliever) walk like this, and why do we follow along? Paul says that it is because of the “futility of their mind”. Translated literally “futility” means an empty mind. What should be in there, the mind of Christ, is not. An empty mind is like a vacuum. What does a vacuum do? It sucks up dirt or filth. So the mind of the unbeliever sucks up everything false. False ideology, philosophy, and perspectives appear to be right to them. They live in the darkness of falsehood and not in the light of truth.

A believer that does not have his mind full of the truth of God’s Word will also suck up the lies from the world and in turn walk in the same way as unbelievers. As believers we have to be transformed by the (continual) renewing of our mind or else we too will conform to the false standards of the world. Are you walking as the unbelieving world walks? Do you blend in with world through conformity? Or are you walking like someone who “IS” set apart? If your mind is “empty” then it will suck up the lies of the world, but if your mind is full of the truth of God’s Word then you can be transformed rather than conformed. Hopefully we can heed the warnings of Paul and STOP “walking just as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their minds”. We are Christians! We are different! We need to walk (live) like it! Renew your mind and become transformed into the likeness of Christ.