Ephesians 4:24

And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

From Background Notes [BN] for Aug 2nd & 3rd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

Jesus critiqued the "righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees" (see Matthew 5:20), and offered a fresh interpretation of the Torah, as found in the Sermon on the Mount, where he called for a "hungering after righteousness" (Matthew 5:6).

Ephesians 4:22-23

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds

From Background Notes [BN] for Aug 2nd & 3rd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

We opt for "life-style,” while other translations choose "way of life.” The Greek's most basic idea is "to turn upside, turn around, overthrow,” but the word developed other senses: "to behave, to conduct,” and Paul favors them...

Ephesians 4:20-21

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus.

From Background Notes [BN] for Aug 2nd & 3rd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

... to learn a person is unusual, applying the verb to a person, treating him as its object. However, within the Jewish culture, rabbis took students, talmidim, not only to learn from them, but to witness their life.

Ephesians 4:17-19

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

From Background Notes [BN] for Aug 2nd & 3rd written by Pastor Bob Brown:

When the "new creation" arrives in the world, achieved by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the death-knoll starts to toll over the old order of things.

Ephesians 4:14

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

From Background Notes [BN] for July 26th & 27th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

We begin as infants, desiring the "pure milk of the Word" (1 Peter 2), but we should not remain in this developmental stage (see 1 Corinthians 3:1), satisfied only with the meeting of our own needs and oblivious to the needs of others.

Ephesians 4:1-2

As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

From Background Notes [BN] for July 26th & 27th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The air Paul breathed in 1:1-3:20 was rarified, to be sure. High on the mountain he stood, as he surveyed the vast landscape of God's plan and purpose for His world. And for good reason.

Ephesians 3:17b-18

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ

From Background Notes [BN] for July 26th & 27th written by Pastor Bob Brown:

The life of the church can be rooted, grounded, but flat, and without dimension. We can hold all of the correct doctrines, observe the sacraments, keep the doors open and the lights on...