Walking with Christ Because We Have the Mind of Christ! Ephesians 4-6

 Ephesians 4:17-20 (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. 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. 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 learned Christ!—

Paul is writing a letter to the church at Philippi to encourage them in their walk with God.   In that walk he is outlining some marvelous things there are supposed to do by faith.   But, he is also telling things that they should stop doing.   He tells them that they are to walk with Christ and like Christ in chapters 1-3.  In chapter 4 he tells them how not to walk.  There is to be a complete difference in the walk of a believer vs a non-believer.  We are to have different steps in our walk.   Peter told us to walk in Christ’s steps:

1 Peter 2:21 (ESV)

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

In Peter’s version he is telling us to walk exactly in the “steps” of Christ.   To have that type of walk, Paul tells us to make sure we have a change in mind.   The steps of our walk is connected to our state of mind.  Paul tells us not to walk in the futility of our minds.  He then tells us what a futile mind looks like.  It comes from a callous heart.   It come from someone full of greed.   It comes from someone who wants to practice every kind of impurity.   Those are all matters of the heart.  But, Paul states, “But that is not the way you learned Christ!”    Christ is our walk!!  If we want to have a walk that is is different than the world we have to have a mind that is center on Christ.