Passage: Ephesians 4:25-32.
Main idea: Paul writes from prison
in Rome to the church in Ephesus to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling
with which you have been called” (4:1).
Outline:
I. Those who have learned Christ
and have been taught by Him have put on a new self in the likeness of God.
Therefore,
A.
Lay aside falsehood and speak the truth (4:25).
B.
Be angry and do not sin (4:26-27).
II. Do no longer but do that which
is profitable instead.
A. He
who steals must steal no longer (4:28).
B. Speak
no unwholesome words out of the mouth, but speak that which is good for
edification and gives grace for those who hear (4:29).
III. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
of God (4:30).
A. Put
away certain sinful qualities (4:31).
B. Forgive
just as God in Christ has forgiven (4:32).
Paul
is writing a letter while imprisoned in Rome to a church in Asia Minor in a
city called Ephesus. Ephesus’ position as a harbor brought much wealth and
worldliness to the city. Therefore, Paul writes to his church, “saints who are
at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus” (1:1); to lay aside the old
self and to walk in a manner worthy of the calling of Jesus Christ. In order to
accomplish this Paul tells them to lay aside things that are part of their
sinful nature and to do things that are in the likeness of God because they are
all members of the same body (4:25). Paul wants them to understand that sin
gives the devil an opportunity to have a place of occupation in a believer’s
life (4:27). Paul is then going to contrast what they were doing with what they
should be doing as a new creature created in Christ Jesus for good works
(4:28-29). Paul’s final admonition to the church in chapter 4 is to not grieve
the Holy Spirit (4:30). Paul contrasts again telling them to put off
bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander, and all malice and put on kindness,
tender-heartedness, and forgiveness (4:31-32). Paul ends chapter 4 by telling
the church of Ephesus to be like Christ.
The
New Testament is divided into different sections: the first four books are
known as The Gospels, and then there is the book of Acts, which describes the
birth of the church. The rest of the New Testament is separated into the
Epistles and Prophetic Literature. The majority of the Epistles were written by
Paul, 13 to be exact, and Ephesians is one of these Epistles. Paul was not one
of the Disciples of Christ when He was on earth. Instead, Paul was a man who
was originally called Saul, a man who hated Christians and persecuted them
every chance he had. It was not until Saul was travelling on the road to
Damascus in Acts 9 that it all changed. Acts 9:1-18 shows how a horrible man of
Saul became saved and baptized in the name of Christ. Later, Saul became Paul
and was one of the most influential men in the New Testament. When Paul wrote
Ephesians he was sitting in a jail cell in Rome writing to the church of
Ephesus that prior to he visited for three years to influence from his
ministry.[1]
Paul wrote quite a few of his letters while imprisoned. The church in Ephesus
was rich in their faith, but was living as though they were poor.[2]
“Ephesus was a religious center as well, famous especially for its magnificent
temple of Diana or Artemis.”[3]
This lead to many religious conflicts in Ephesus and the people there were
extremely worldly. The position of Ephesus, “a commercial center of Asia Minor”[4],
was on a harbor and made the city popular for trade and wealth. The economy was
good, but Christ was not there until Paul came. Three years Paul influenced the
people of Ephesus and after they were negligent of their faith in Christ. They
needed guidance and Paul was writing to them, reminding them of their great
riches found in Jesus Christ.
The
theme of Ephesians is found in Ephesians 4:1, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the
Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have
been called.” Paul was writing to them in order to help them in their walk in
Christ. Ephesians 4:25-32 is a small tidbit of the overall theme of Ephesians. The
first three chapters of Ephesians focus on divine gifts, while the last three
chapters discuss the responsibilities of the believer according to their
calling.[5]
The main point of 4:25-32 is Paul telling the Christians of Ephesus to “put on
the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness
and holiness of the truth” (4:24). Paul continues to describe how to “put on
the new self” through the rest of chapter 4 and the first half of chapter 5. He
then moves on to discuss the responsibilities for husbands and wives, husbands,
children, masters, and slaves (5:22-6:9). Finally, Paul ends his letter with
ways to “be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to
stand firm” (6:13).
Ephesians
4:25-32 describes how a believer should live, but verses 20-24 describe why
they should live this way. “But you did not learn Christ in this way…” (4:20)
references back to how the Gentiles walk in and think about the Lord. Paul is
reminding them that this is not how they should walk and that they need to
ignore the way the Gentiles in the city around them are trying to influence
them. He then tells them to lay aside their old self, “which is being corrupted
in accordance with the lusts of deceit” (4:22) and that they should “put on the
new self” (4:24). Now, after telling them this, Paul goes into detail to help
them in their “new self”.
“Therefore,
laying aside falsehood,” (4:25) is the first step to the “new self” Paul
instructs them to do. “Laying aside falsehood”, according to the Expositor’s
Bible Commentary, is “not lying in the abstract but ‘the lying’ or ‘the lie’
(to pseudos)-falsehood in all its forms as over against ‘the truth that is in
Jesus’ and ‘true righteousness and holiness’”[6]
Paul is trying to remind them that Christ is the perfect picture of holiness
and truth and in order to be like Christ they must first put on all forms of
truth. The rest of verse 25 says, “Speak truth each one of you with his
neighbor, for we are members of one another.” Now, speak truth in all its forms
to the rest of the body of Christ because they are all members of one body as
it says in 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into
one body.” The New Testament Commentary has another view: instead of Paul
telling them to lay aside falsehood, he is reminding them to “be consistent.
Let your life adorn your confession. Having put away falsehood, now practice
the truth.”[7]
They have already put on the new self and put away falsehood and Paul is simply
reminding them to continue in their work. This is the first step Paul gives to,
or reminds, the church of Ephesus in order to “put on the new self”.
Paul
continues his rendering of the “new self” with verse 26, “Be angry, and yet do
not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Paul is telling them to be
angry, but unlike most angry men, to not sin as well. This is a complicated
thing to do and how are they supposed to do it? They are supposed to do it by
being like Christ. Tyndale’s commentary says, “The Christian must be sure that
his anger is that of righteous indignation, and not just an expression of
personal provocation or wounded pride. It must have no sinful motives.”[8]
It is fine to be angry, but anger must not lead to sinful acts or sinful
thoughts. Jesus Christ had righteous anger in Matthew 21 when the shops were in
the temple selling and buying. Jesus entered the temple and drove out all these
people (21:12). Paul is again reminding the church in order to be like Christ
they must do that which Christ did. The second half of verse 26 is of upmost
importance to the beginning of the verse. Paul puts “do not let the sin go down
on your anger” because, “the apostle, with his sure knowledge of human nature,
is aware that what begins as righteous anger ‘against sins’ very easily becomes
perverted and soured and ‘is turned against our brethren’”[9]
Paul put a guideline to how they should act once they have become angry and
sinned. He knows it will happen and accepts the truth that it will happen, but
he tells them what they should do incase it does happen. He wants them to
resolve their issues with their anger before the “sun goes down”. Meaning their
anger will only become worse as time goes on and it needs to be resolved as
soon as possible without holding a grudge. Verses 25-26 are steps in “putting
on the new self” but they are also steps in not letting the devil get an
opportunity (4:27). “The devil will quickly seize the opportunity of changing
our indignation, whether righteous or unrighteous, into a grievance, a grudge,
a nursing of wrath, an unwillingness to forgive.”[10]
Paul writes this in his letter as a warning fully knowing what it would lead to
if the devil got a foothold in the door of the church. He does not write this
lightly, but with total assurance that they can succeed.
Paul
continues his letter with two verses that express cause and effects. “He who
steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor… so that he will have
something to share with one who has need” (4:28). The Word Biblical Commentary
says that the “main reason for its mention here (to not steal) is that it was a
traditional topic in paraenetic material and could serve as another typical
activity of the old sinful humanity which the readers are to put off.”[11]
Paul writes this verse knowing that there were stealers among them, but
reminding them that now that they are the “new self” and must remember to act
like it. He goes on to mention what to do instead of stealing, “labor,
performing with his own hands what is good” (4:28). “Hands that used to pilfer
the property of others must now be hardened like Paul’s in honest toil (Acts
20:34, 35).”[12]
What is the result of performing what is good? There is satisfaction in having
“something to share with one who has need” (4:28). As followers of Christ and
wanting to “put on the new self” to be like Christ, Paul is reminding them to
act selflessly like Christ did and give to those in need.
The
next cause and effect Paul mentions is verse 29. “Let no unwholesome word
proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification
according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who
hear” (4:29). Paul moves from the action of doing good to the verbal of doing
good. He is trying to express the complete package of the “new self” and stress
the importance of speech. The cause is letting only words good for edification
out of your mouth, and the effect is that it will give grace to those who hear
it. “‘Unwholesome’ is that which is itself rotten and disseminates rottenness.”[13]
This word is used in reference to speech meaning that they need to watch how
they speak to each other, not only in the sense of evil words or language, but
also in the way they treat each other. Gossip existed in Biblical times just as
much as it exists today. Paul wants them to edify with their speech in order to
not just give to those in need money, but also words. Foulkes says, “The test
of his conversation is not just ‘Am I keeping my words true and pure?’ but ‘Are
my words being used to minister grace unto the hearers’”, the author continues
by referencing Luke 4:22 and saying that “The utterance of the Christian is to
be characterized by the same grace.”[14]
As a Christian in Ephesus they have to give to those in need, not just money,
but their kind words of edification as well. Verses 25-29 give ways for the men
of God to be delivered away from sin and towards the “new self”. “Deliverance
comes by claiming our in-Christ position by faith, making it an experiential
reality.”[15]
Paul
is now shifting the focus of his letter to a different aspect: the Holy Spirit.
Verse 30 he talks about “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were
sealed for the day of redemption.” The end of this verse explains the meaning
of why they should not grieve the Holy Spirit. “By whom you were sealed for the
day of redemption.” The NIV Application Commentary says that, “the wording at
1:13 (Ephesians 1:13) implies that the Holy Spirit is our seal guaranteeing
salvation. This verse marks the incongruity of grieving the one who is proof we
belong to God.”[16]
Paul knows that people in the past have grieved God and the Holy Spirit before
and he is simply reminding the church to not be like those people for they did
not please God. “The purpose of this sentence is not to warn against any
specific sins but to direct all morality towards its end in please God in
response to the gift and promise of salvation.”[17]
The next two verses is one big contrast. Paul
is telling them to “let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and
slander by put away from you, along with malice” (4:31). Then he goes out to
say, “be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God
in Christ also has forgiven you” (4:32). He is telling them to put away sin and
turn towards kindness and forgiveness. First, the sin of verse 31 goes back to
verse 29 with the words of the mouth. “All the words in verse 31 are intended
to express hostility and actions that destroy human relations.[18]
This verse references towards Colossians 3:8, which says to “put aside anger,
wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech”[19]
The only difference between Colossians 3:8 and Ephesians 4:31 is bitterness and
clamor. “These two items add an extra vividness to the list: the Christian is
to avoid nagging and slanging matches.”[20]
The
other side of the contrast is verse 32, which ends chapter 4 and leads into
chapter 5. “Paul realizes that his readers have not yet attained ‘the full
measure of perfection found in Christ’”[21]
He wants to give them a few last reminders in order to “put on the new self”.
It is the mark of forgiveness that caps off the mark of the “new self” that is
mentioned in verse 25. It is also one of the final steps in walking in a
“manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called” (4:1). “The
motive for mutual forgiveness is that God in Christ has forgiven you.”[22]
“Christ is, again, the means of reconciliation: though knowing no sin Himself,
He was charged with our sin.”[23]
“So that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians
5:19-21). Forgiveness does not mean to forget, rather, “what forgiveness does
accomplish is the rejection of bitterness, malice, and revenge… in choosing to
forgive we establish control over our own responses.”[24]
While
Paul wrote this letter originally for the church in Ephesus it still can be
applied for today’s church and body of Christ. As it says in 1 Corinthians
12:13-14, “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body… For the body
is not one member, but many.” Paul’s letters are applicable there and today and
in the future to come. Today as a Christian, like in Ephesus, believers need to
be putting on the “new self” in order to be more like Christ. Paul advises the
body of believers to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you
have been called” (4:1). In order to do that, he lists things to do from verses
25-32. Verse 25 talks about laying aside falsehood and speaking truth to other
neighbors or other believers. This verse coincides with verse 29, “let no
unwholesome words come out of your mouth, but only such a word as is good for
edification.” The tongue is a tool that can build up or tear down. Speech is
dictated by what you think and how you feel towards other people. Paul is
telling the church to remember that they need to edify each other in order to
be like Christ. This leads to verse 26, “be angry, and yet do not sin” everyone
experiences anger, it only how he or she applies that anger that makes it sin.
Righteous anger is the only anger appropriable at any times. But since this is
not possible, Paul adds to the verse saying when someone is sinfully angry to
resolve the issue as soon as possible, “do not let the sin go down on your
anger” (4:26). Verse 28 is applicable towards all sorts of sin, not just
stealing, because Paul is addressing the former stealers and reminding them as
the “new self” to steal no longer. This applies to all sin; all sin that is
done must be withheld as the “new self”. Verse 30 applies today just as much as
it applies to the church in Ephesus. As a Christian, new or old, the Holy
Spirit has sealed him or her for the day of redemption through Christ Jesus.
Paul is telling them and reminding them how important the Holy Spirit is and
that they should not grieve someone who has done so much for them. No matter
how mad or angry someone becomes with God, there is no need for grievance
towards Him. Verse 31 goes more into detail for verses 25 and 29. All these
forms are more vial ways of speaking. Paul does not just want them to edify
each other, but to completely eliminate all types of “bitterness and wrath and
anger and clamor and slander… along with all malice” (4:31). In more modern
English terms, this means all anger, gossip, foul words, hate, disrespect, and
evil that comes from speech is to be eliminated. Paul ends his chapter with
another key to the “new self”. He wants them to be kind to one another and most
of all to forgive each other. Forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do in
life, but the best application to forgiveness is this: Christ forgave everyone,
every murderer, every sinner, every single person no matter what they have
done. That means anyone should be able to forgive anyone no matter what they
have done because of Christ. Verses 25-32 shows just a minute detail in order
to put on the “new self” and walk in the correct manner for Christ. That is
just the end of chapter 4, but chapter 5 continues this and later letters of
Paul expand on Ephesians 4.
Bibliography
Francis Foulkes, Tyndale
New Testament Commentaries - The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1963.
Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Volume 11. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1978.
William Hendriksen, New
Testament Commentary Exposition of Ephesians. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1967.
Andrew T. Lincoln, Word
Biblical Commentary Volume 42. Dallas, Texas: Word Books Publisher, 1990.
John Muddiman, Black’s
New Testament Commentaries – The Epistle to the Ephesians. New York City, New York: Hendrickson
Publishers, 2001.
Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible D-H Volume 2. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 2007.
Klyne Snodgrass, The
NIV Application Commentary Ephesians. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan
Publishing House, 1996.
Merrill F. Unger, Gary N. Larson, The New Unger’s Bible Handbook. Chicago, Illinois: The
Moody Bible
Institute of Chicago, 1966 updated 1984.
Bruce Wilkinson, Kenneth Boa, Talk Thru The New Testament. Nashville, Tennessee, Camden, Tennessee, New York: Thomas Nelson
Publishers, 1981.
[1]
Bruce Wilkinson, Kenneth Boa, Talk Thru
The New Testament, (Nashville, Tennessee, Camden, Tennessee, New York:
Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1981), 401.
[2]
Ibid., 400.
[3]
Ibid., 401.
[4]
Ibid.
[5]
Ibid., 402.
[6]
Frank E. Gaebelein, The Expositor’s Bible
Commentary Volume 11, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1978), 64.
[7]
William Hendriksen, New Testament
Commentary Exposition of Ephesians, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book
House, 1967), 216. The author presents two views to 4:25, saying one is Paul
telling them “when they accepted the truth of the gospel, they should now speak
truth each with his neighbor” while the other view is mentioned above.
[8]
Francis Foulkes, Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries - The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, (Grand Rapids,
Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1963), 133.
[9]
Ibid.
[10]
Hendriksen, 218.
[11]
Andrew T. Lincoln, Word Biblical Commentary
Volume 42, (Dallas, Texas: Word Books Publisher, 1990), 303.
[12]
Gaebelein, 65.
[13]
Ibid.
[14]
Foulkes, 136.
[15]
Merrill F. Unger, Gary N. Larson, The New
Unger’s Bible Handbook, (Chicago, Illinois: The Moody Bible Institute of
Chicago, 1966 updated 1984), 528.
[16]
Klyne Snodgrass, The NIV Application
Commentary Ephesians, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996), 251.
[17]
John Muddiman, Black’s New Testament
Commentaries – The Epistle to the Ephesians, (New York City, New York:
Hendrickson Publishers, 2001), 229.
[18]
Snodgrass, 252.
[19]
Muddiman, 229.
[20]
Ibid.
[21]
Gaebelein, 66.
[22]
Muddiman, 230.
[23]
Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, The New
Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible D-H Volume 2, (Nashville, Tennessee:
Abingdon Press, 2007), 484.
[24]
Snodgrass, 265.
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