Functional Versus Dysfunctional

Ephesians Study

Chapter 4

Ephesians 4:20-22 — Functional versus Dysfunctional

Amplified Bible:

Ephesians 4:20  But you did not so learn Christ! 21 Assuming that you have really heard Him and been taught by Him, as [all] Truth is in Jesus [embodied and personified in Him], 22 Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusions

“But you have not so learned Christ.”  Verse 20 is a balancing verse.  We ended last time with a description of the unregenerate person who has not “learned” Christ. We have so much to unlearn and much to learn in Christ.  Be proactive instead of reactive.

Live life on purpose!  Live life with purpose.   Learn Christ.  There is the Truth in Jesus…in words and example.  When Christ was here, He was a living example of the call to live a renewed life.  In all He did and said, it was about leaving off the former nature and grasping the concept of identity as God had purposed it from the beginning.  

At our house, we have discovered the Mechanical Translation (MT) of the Bible and the Revised Mechanical Translation (RMT), both of which give the original Hebrew meanings.  The Revised Mechanical Translation puts the words in an order that can be understood in English.  

This is a fascinating.  Here is the website:  (http://mthb.ancient-hebrew.org) — “The meaning of a Hebrew word cannot be conveyed completely through one or two English words, each word found in the MT will be included in the dictionary located at the back of this book. This dictionary will more accurately define each word within the context of the Ancient Hebrew language and culture.  Also included at the back of this book is a concordance allowing the reader to search for each occurrence of a word within the book of Genesis.”

At “our” house (living with a son-in-law and daughter and family while I recover from Lyme Disease), we have started at the beginning of Genesis to learn the story in the original Hebrew.  We have just started, and already it has opened our eyes to some deep lessons.  We are grateful.  One of those lessons is that in the Hebrew, the Tree of Knowledge and Good and Evil was not called that.  Here is the Hebrew translation:  “and “YHWH [He exists]” of “Elohiym [Powers]” made all of the trees spring up from the ground being a craving to appearance and functional for nourishment and a tree of the life in the midst of the garden and a tree of the discernment of function and dysfunction,…”

What we all especially like is the idea that it’s “functional and dysfunctional” rather than good and evil.  That takes away the judgment and condemnation about things.  We may choose to do something that is functional for us and feels dysfunctional to others.  It is not a matter of being evil.  It is just where we are at this time. And, it is OK that others are at some different place. I so totally agree with this!  The Lord said that He did not come to condemn.  This helps you understand that better also.  

What does this have to do with this week’s scripture?  It seems to be such a good explanation of functional and dysfunctional living.  That which takes us to functional living is to know Christ. The only standard of truth is Christ.  If it is truth in Him, then others may talk of the same thoughts or ideas and it is still true whether they have encountered Christ yet or not.  That is the story of the Gentiles who did the correct (functional) things without knowing Christ at that time.  It was counted to them for righteousness.  

What Paul is saying is that we need to move from dysfunctional to functional living:

• Strip yourself of the former nature…the unrenewed self.

• Discard your previous life which is corrupted through lusts and desires that spring from delusions.  What are delusions?  Dysfunctional beliefs and patterns of living.  

Adam and Eve were living a delusion when they took the fruit.  They were looking to gain what they already had.  They thought they had some lack in their connection with God.  A delusion!  They lacked nothing.  Neither do we.  We have the fulness of the Godhead and the mind of Christ.  

Man has created God in his own image, and that is a very dysfunctional god.  He looks a lot like you and me.  Let’s go back to the beginning, and learn Christ as is stated in verses 20-21.  We absolutely need to know Him in truth so we are moving from dysfunctional to functional!

This is at odds with religion which seeks the destination of a religion’s perfection.  It endeavors to bring predictability into the life., and it is also at odds with faith.  Functional living is spiritual maturity…a growing away from dysfunction.  It is the journey to wholeness/completenes.  It is union with God now because of the answered prayer of Jesus in John 17…prayer for oneness.  

Like Adam and Eve, we already have what we are seeking.  Jesus had a way of showing us God in the disorder and imperfection all around Him.  We can do the same.  The tree of the discernment of function and dysfunction is very different than the tree of knowledge of good and evil.  That is again destination oriented instead of being about the journey out of our dysfunction and into discerning how to function.  That is what we need…discernment.  We now know way too much of the evil.  Paul is calling us to a higher standard.