This is Spoken Gospel.

We are dedicated to seeing 
Jesus in all of scripture.

In each episode, we see what’s 
happening in a Biblical text

and how it sheds light
on Jesus and his gospel.

Let’s jump in.

In the first half of his letter, 
Paul holds a magnifying glass to  

the mystery of God’s inclusion of 
both Jews and Gentiles in Jesus.

In chapter four, Paul zooms in on what 
that blood-bought mystery requires of us.

Paul says we need to live 
a life worthy of this call.

If we have put on freedom from division and sin, we
need to take off the old ways that cause division and sin.

We are to remove our old self, with its bitterness,
rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice.

In its place, we are to put on
that which reflects a new identity

made righteous and holy by God
and no longer marked by division.

And this call to take off the old and put on the new is not only
an individual one, but a corporate call as well.

Corporately, we are to put on 
adoption into a new family—the Church.

And Paul says this new family 
is to be marked by its oneness.

The Church has one hope, which is 
founded in one body and one Spirit,  

united under one Lord,
one faith, and one baptism.

Living worthy of this call means treating one 
another like we are united members of one body.

  We must also leverage the
gifts God has given us individually

to strengthen and mature each 
other corporately, as the body of Christ.

Only the immature deny the necessity 
of unity and sacrificial service.

If we want to grow up and mature
as a body of Christ-followers,

we must become more and more like
Jesus, who gave up his body to unite us.

We must put off selfish indulgence, 
impurity, and greed, just as he did.

We must take off our old self and put on a new self-
created to be like God in goodness and righteousness.

We can’t lie anymore.
We can’t steal anymore.

We can’t tear each other down with our words but must
leverage every word to build up the body that Jesus died for.

We have been recreated both individually and
corporately into a new body, the Church. And now
we must, like a body, mature into that calling.

[music]

At creation, mankind was made to live with God and
choose the things of God—that which is righteous and holy.

Yet, sadly, our first parents chose to turn from 
the things of God and thus clothe humanity in sin.

Everything Paul tells us to take off, was passed
down and put on us by Adam and Eve.

As offspring of Adam, we are born with a nature that
is prone to sin unable to choose the things of God.

We need to be made new, to be given 
a new nature, and to be recreated.

It is only through being made 
new that we can once again  

have the power to choose the things of God, 
such as kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.

And the good news is that because Jesus willingly laid down
his life for us, we can now lay down our old life too.

A life marked by sin has 
been nailed to the cross,  

and Jesus’ righteous life has 
been given to us in exchange.

We are now new creations.

We have a new nature individually 
and a new body corporately.

Because of Jesus, we can put off our old self and
once again live a life that chooses the things of God.

Because of Jesus we have a new nature, 
freed from sin, and empowered to live a life  

worthy of the unity and salvation 
bought for you by our Savior.

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes 
to see the God who has made you a new creation.

And may you see Jesus as the one
who has exchanged his life for yours,  

that you might be free from
sin and walk worthy of his call.