Ephesians 4:17

Ephesians 4:17

 

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,

 

a. NASB 1995: 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,  [NASB95 New American Standard Bible. Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation; All Rights Reserved]

b. NKJV: This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of[fn] the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Classic Amplified: So this I say and solemnly testify in [the name of] the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the heathen (the Gentiles) do in their perverseness [in the folly, vanity, and emptiness of their souls and the futility] of their minds.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Peshitta Eastern Text: This I say therefore and testify in the LORD: that you henceforth live not as other Gentiles, who live in the vanity of their mind,  [HOLY BIBLE FROM THE ANCIENT EASTERN TEXT. Copyright  Ⓒ 1933 by A.J. Holmon Co.; copyright  Ⓒ renewed 1968 by A.J. Holmon Co.; All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. HarperCollins Publishers, 195 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.]

e. ESV: Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.  [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved."]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord…”

 

a. This [Strong: 5124 touto too'-to neuter singular nominative or accusative case of 3778; that thing:--here (-unto), it, partly, self(-same), so, that (intent), the same, there(-fore, -unto), this, thus, where(-fore).]

 

b. I say [Strong: 3004 lego leg'-o a primary verb; properly, to "lay" forth, i.e. (figuratively) relate (in words (usually of systematic or set discourse; whereas 2036 and 5346 generally refer to an individual expression or speech respectively; while 4483 is properly to break silence merely, and 2980 means an extended or random harangue)); by implication, to mean:--ask, bid, boast, call, describe, give out, name, put forth, say(-ing, on), shew, speak, tell, utter.]

 

c. therefore [Strong: 3767  oun oon apparently a primary word; (adverbially) certainly, or (conjunctionally) accordingly:--and (so, truly), but, now (then), so (likewise then), then, therefore, verily, wherefore.]

 

d. and [Strong: 2532 kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

 

e. testify [Strong: 3143 marturomai mar-too'-rom-ahee middle voice from 3144; to be adduced as a witness, i.e. (figuratively) to obtest (in affirmation or exhortation):--take to record, testify.]

 

f. in [Strong: 1722 en en a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between 1519 and 1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:--about, after, against, + almost, X altogether, among, X as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+ all means), for (... sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to, -wardly), X mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, X outwardly, one, X quickly, X shortly, (speedi-)ly, X that, X there(-in, -on), through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while, with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different) preposition.]

 

g. [the] Lord [Strong: 2962 kurios koo'-ree-os from kuros (supremacy); supreme in authority, i.e. (as noun) controller; by implication, Master (as a respectful title):-- God, Lord, master, Sir.]

 

2. “…that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,”

 

a. [that] ye [Strong: 5209 humas hoo-mas' accusative case of 5210; you (as the objective of a verb or preposition):--ye, you (+ -ward), your (+ own).]

 

b. henceforth…not [Strong: 3371 meketi may-ket'-ee from 3361 and 2089; no further:--any longer, (not) henceforth, hereafter, no henceforward (longer, more, soon), not any more.]

 

c. walk [Strong: 4043 peripateo per-ee-pat-eh'-o from 4012 and 3961; to tread all around, i.e. walk at large (especially as proof of ability); figuratively, to live, deport oneself, follow (as a companion or votary):--go, be occupied with, walk (about).]

 

d. as [Strong: 2532 kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

 

e. as [Strong: 2531 kathos kath-oce' from 2596 and 5613; just (or inasmuch) as, that:--according to, (according, even) as, how, when.]

 

f. other [Strong: 3062 loipoy loy-poy' masculine plural of a derivative of 3007; remaining ones:--other, which remain, remnant, residue, rest.]

 

g. [Strong: 3588. [tēs] ὁ ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tēs] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.] [Additional variants: tē, hoi, oi, tēn, ta, tēs, tois, tais, tō, tōn, tou, hé, Hē, hē, hai, tas.]

h. Gentiles [Strong: 1484 ethnos eth'-nos probably from 1486; a race (as of the same habit), i.e. a tribe; specially, a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually, by implication, pagan):--Gentile, heathen, nation, people.]

 

i. walk [Strong: 4043 peripateo per-ee-pat-eh'-o from 4012 and 3961; to tread all around, i.e. walk at large (especially as proof of ability); figuratively, to live, deport oneself, follow (as a companion or votary):--go, be occupied with, walk (about).]

 

j. in [Strong: 1722 en en a primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively), i.e. a relation of rest (intermediate between 1519 and 1537); "in," at, (up-)on, by, etc.:--about, after, against, + almost, X altogether, among, X as, at, before, between, (here-)by (+ all means), for (... sake of), + give self wholly to, (here-)in(-to, -wardly), X mightily, (because) of, (up-)on, (open-)ly, X outwardly, one, X quickly, X shortly, (speedi-)ly, X that, X there(-in, -on), through(-out), (un-)to(-ward), under, when, where(-with), while, with(-in). Often used in compounds, with substantially the same import; rarely with verbs of motion, and then not to indicate direction, except (elliptically) by a separate (and different) preposition.]

  

k. [the] vanity [Strong: 3153 mataiotes mat-ah-yot'-ace from 3152; inutility; figuratively, transientness; morally, depravity:--vanity.]

 

l. of their [Strong: 846 autos ow-tos' from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

 

m. mind [Strong: 3563 nous nooce probably from the base of 1097; the intellect, i.e. mind (divine or human; in thought, feeling, or will); by implication, meaning:--mind, understanding.]

 

1). Here we are given a reason for those who are not saved who are not born again behave as they do.

 

a). Ephesians 4:18, 19  Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:

4:19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

 

2). This is the reason we as believers must always take God’s word as the final authority in our decision making.

 

a). 2 Corinthians 10:3-5  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

[The notes in this section were taken off my typewritten pages, the few that I still have from the 1980’s]  

3). This is the state of humanity as a whole. Mankind is like this because of a specific reason; and they stay that way because of a specific reason. The reason is Romans 1:18-32. Many Bible scholars are in agreement as to what, when, and where this passage of Scripture (Romans 1:18-32) is speaking about.

 

a). Finis Jennings Dake: Stages of world apostasy.

 

b). C.I. Scofield: Stages of gentile world apostasy.

 

c). Lester Sumrall: These Scriptures answer the question, “How did pagan religions begin?

 

d). Henry Morris: The tragic story of man’s decline from the true knowledge of God to abominable idolatries.

 

e). Ben Adam: “...there is a period in Bible history…when not only those words could be applied to humanity aa a whole, but the characteristics of the period, if intelligently appreciated, cry aloud for such an appreciation. I am referring to the period that intervened between the cessation of the Deluge and the scattering of humanity over the face of the earth.

f). Henry Morris: “The tragic story of man’s decline from the true knowledge of God to abominable idolatries.”

g). The time period for this is from the end of the flood to the tower of Babel.

4). Origin of Heathendom, Ben Adam, p.54. “Many Christians are vaguely aware there is a certain amount of similarity between the facts recorded in parts of the bible and the records of past religions,  but they are not aware that nearly all the leading facts of their own faith were foreshadowed in the mystic rites of old-world religions that flourished from about, say, 2700 B.C. and onwards; and they perceive in only the haziest fashion what is involved in this…surprising information.” 

5). Origin of heathendom, Ben Adam p.56. “Most of the leading facts of the Scriptures, especially those of Genesis, the Gospels, and the Apocalypse , are embodied in the old-world religions that today we speak of collectively as Paganism; and as Paganism flourished long before most of the books of the Bible had been produced, the point at issue is rather startling.

a). The Masks of God, Joseph Cambell, Vol. 3, Chapter One, The Serpent’s bride, the Mother goddess Eve. “No one familiar with the mythologies of the goddess of the primitive, ancient, and Oriental worlds can turn to the Bible without recognizing counter-parts on every page, transformed, however, to render an argument contrary to the older faiths. In Eve’s scene at the tree, for example, nothing is said to indicate that the serpent who appeared and spoke to her was a deity in his own right, who had been revered in the Levant for at least seven thousand years [Ignore this date] before the composition of the book of Genesis. There is in the Louvre, a carved green steatite vase, inscribed c. 2025 B.C. by King Gudea of Lagash, dedicated to the late Sumerian manifestation of this consort of the goddess, under his title Ningizzida, “Lord of the tree of Truth”  

6). Is there a Biblical answer to the above statement and statements like it? Yes there is. 

a). Hebrews 1:1 [Classic Amplified] In many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the Truth] and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets,

b). Luke 1:68-70 [KJV] Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

1:69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

1:70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

c). Acts 3:20, 21 [KJV] Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.

3:20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

d). It is significant that the first two prophecies concerning the Redeemer, span thousands of years

(1) Genesis 3:14, 15 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:

3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

(2) Jude 14, 15 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

7). Many Infallible Proofs, Henry M. Morris, p335. “The prophecies of Genesis 3:15 and Jude 14, 15 as well as others which are found in much later Scriptures, often also seem to be reflected in ancient traditions and mythologies, though, of course much distorted by later pagan accretions. There must evidently have been a primeval revelation shared in some degree by all ancient peoples, at least up to the time of the dispersion at Babel…The most important of these primordial truths seem actually to have been impressed upon the very stars themselves. It almost seems as though certain antediluvian prophets, in view of the impending destructions of the earth and its civilizations in the coming Flood, desired to preserve these revelations by engraving them upon the only indestructible systems they knew about, namely, the starry heavens.”

8). The witness of the Stars, Bullinger, p.19 “These pictures were designed to preserve, expound, and perpetuate the one first great promise and prophecy of Genesis 3:15, that all hope for man, all hope for creation, was bound up in a coming redeemer. One who should be born of a woman; who should first suffer, and afterwards gloriously triumph. One who should first be wounded by that great enemy who was the cause of all sin and sorrow and death, who should finally crush the head of “that Old Serpent the devil. These ancient star-pictures reveal this coming one. They set forth “the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.”

9). Josephus makes mention in at least two places in his “Antiquities of the Jews” of a wisdom concerning the movements of the heavenly bodies. 

a). Book I, Chapter 2, #3: 3. Now Adam, who was the first man, and made out of the earth: (for our discourse must now be about him:) after Abel was slain, and Cain fled away, on account of his murder, was sollicitous for posterity; and had a vehement desire of children: he being two hundred and thirty years old: after which time he lived other seven hundred, and then died. He had indeed many other children: (11) but Seth in particular [An. 4355]. As for the rest it would be tedious to name them: I will therefore only endeavour to give an account of those that proceeded from Seth. Now this Seth, when he was brought up, and came to those years in which he could discern what was good, became a virtuous man: and as he was himself of an excellent character, so did he leave children behind him who imitated his virtues. (12) All these proved to be of good dispositions. They also inhabited the same country without dissensions, and in an happy condition, without any misfortunes falling upon them, till they died. [About An. 4300] They also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom, which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order. And that their inventions might not be lost before they were sufficiently known, upon Adam’s prediction that the world was to be destroyed at one time by the force of fire, and at another time by the violence and quantity of water, they made two pillars: (13) the one of brick, the other of stone: they inscribed their discoveries on them both: that in case the pillar of brick should be destroyed by the flood, the pillar of stone might remain, and exhibit those discoveries to mankind: and also inform them that there was another pillar of brick erected by them. Now this remains in the land of Siriad to this day.

b). Book I, Chapter 3, #9: Now when Noah had lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood, and that all that time happily, he died: having lived the number of nine hundred and fifty years. But let no one, upon comparing the lives of the ancients with our lives, and with the few years which we now live, think, that what we have said of them is false; or make the shortness of our lives at present an argument that neither did they attain to so long a duration of life: for those ancients were beloved of God, and [lately] made by God himself: and because their food was then fitter for the prolongation of life, might well live so great a number of years. And besides, God afforded them a longer time of life on account of their virtue, and the good use they made of it in astronomical and geometrical discoveries: which would not have afforded the time for foretelling [the periods of the stars] unless they had lived six hundred years; for the Great Year is completed in that interval. 

WARNING

The original  revelation, I believe, is in the Scriptures. I also believe that the proper sound instruction of the revelation explains the appearance of the Godly redemptive themes in pagan mythologies that preempt their manifestation in theBiblical history of Redemption. Examples of virgin births of gods, gods and goddesses becoming human, deaths and resurrections of gods and goddesses and so on. The original revelation was perverted by the devil, in particular by Nimrod at the tower of Babel and turned into Astrology, a demonic system. 

a. Deuteronomy 4:15-19 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

4:16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

4:17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,

4:18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:

4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.

b. Deuteronomy 17:2-5 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

17:3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;

17:4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:

17:5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

c. 2 Kings 21:1-3 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hephzibah.

21:2 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

21:3 For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them.

d. Nehemiah 9:6 Thou, even thou, art Lord alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.