THE LIFESTYLE OF NEW LIFE – PART 4
Ephesians 4:25-32
INTRODUCTION
In this section the controlling subject is truth. Every command in this section flows out of truth. In other words, put off falsehood (v. 25) because of truth, be angry (v. 26) because of truth, and do not sin (v. 26) because of truth, do not give an opportunity to the devil (v. 27) because of truth, do not steal (v. 28a) because of truth, work hard to make earning (v. 28b) because of truth, and share your goods (v. 28c) because of truth. Truth is what is controlling all these commands here.
So, for the past three Lord’s Days we have examined five commands in which how you and I need to live for the glory of God as his new creations.
- Put Off the Falsehood (v. 25a).
- Speak the Truth (v. 25b).
- Be Angry and Do Not Sin (v. 26).
- Do Not Steal (v. 28a).
- Work Hard In Order To Share (v. 28b).
6. No Unwholesome Speaking (v. 29).
The notion of put off and put on continues, namely to put off unwholesome word and put on word of grace. Once again, we are not commanded only to put off the negative but also put on the positive. Here, the negative command is to “let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth.” Literally, in Greek unwholesome means “decayed, rotten, bad, harmful, diseased, corrupted and unprofitable.”[1]
- NAU Matthew 15:11 “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”
- NAU Matthew 12:34 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.
- NET Colossians 3:8 But now, put off all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.
- NAU Ephesians 5:4 and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
Hence you put off worthless words, but put on that which is good for building up according to the need. The operative word here is good like in the previous verse. We do good and speak good because we are the people of truth.
Moreover, because we are the people of new creation, the old and bad word is gone, and behold, the new and good word is here. That is to say, an evidence of God’s grace is displayed by the good word that comes out of one’s mouth. Contextually speaking, the implication is that good words can and do build up the body of Christ. Just as there are words that teardown, there are words that build up. And the word of God works both, that is, it has the power to destroy and the power to develop. In other words, the word of God can condemn a person, well as to convert a person. What we are exhorted to do here is to build up the body, not teardown the body.
In verse 29 the word for “word” in Greek is in singular, not plural, as it is well translated in our English text. The point is every single word that comes out of your mouth will be accounted for.[2] Hence we have to be extra careful and think before we speak.
- NAU Matthew 12:36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
We now come to another key word in verse 29. Just like I pointed out on last Lord’s Day, another key word here is so that. The function of this particular conjunction is to indicate the reason or purpose. In other words, the reason why we need to put off worthless words and put on edifying words is so that it may give grace to those who hear. The implication then is words are the means of grace to those who hear.
- NAU Colossians 4:6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
The idea is since Christian have been saved by God’s grace, is kept by grace, they ought to live and speak with grace toward one another.
The question then is what kind of words should we use? A simple answer: the Bible-saturated words. Why? It is because:
- NAU 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
7. Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit (v. 30).
Paul’s theology concerning the Holy Spirit does not begin here at chapter 4; it actually begins at the opening chapter of the letter, specifically, in 1:13-14. The Holy Spirit is also mentioned in 2:17-22; 3:5, 14-16; 4:1-4; 5:18; and 6:17-18. As you can see, every chapter of this letter contains some aspect of pneumatology. So, is it safe to assume that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has important place in Ephesians? You bet!
Let me offer some initial observations and implications here. First, just like the previous verses, verse 30 infers that within the assembly of Ephesian believers, there were people grieving the Holy Spirit. If that was not the case, Paul would not have made such command. Also, this is not only a NT theology, but also an OT theology (cf. Isaiah 63:7-10).
Second, this particular verse is sandwiched between verses 29 and 31, which deal with the manner in which we should not communicate. In other words, the subject of grieving the Holy Spirit must be understood in the context of unbiblical manner of communication for believers. In fact, verse 30 begins with conjunction “and” in Greek, which almost all English translations have it, except NAU unfortunately. The fact that verse 30 begins with conjunction means that verse 30 does not stand on its own, but directly linked to the previous verse. In fact, the adjective holy is attached to describe the Spirit clearly indicates that he is characterized by holiness, hence he is sensitive to anything that is unholy, namely unwholesome word.[3] Thus, as the people who are filled with God’s Holy Spirit, we need to constantly be reminded of the reality that is found in verse 24.
Third, verse 30 has a huge theological implication, namely that the Holy Spirit can be grieved. We don’t equate grievance to things, such as chairs. We don’t say, don’t grieve my chair or don’t grieve my bike. Rather, grievance is always equated to a person. Hence, this clearly implies that the Holy Spirit is not a thing, but a person. A case in point, notice the text reads “by whom you were sealed” (meaning, a person), not by it. Perhaps, there is no better example of the personhood of the Holy Spirit than what our Lord taught in John’s Gospel (cf. notice all the personal pronouns used in John 14:16-17, 26; 16:13-14).
Now, when then I say that the Holy Spirit is a person it does not mean that the Holy Spirit has a flesh and blood like us. No, he is spirit; after all, he is called the Holy Spirit. To say that the Holy Spirit is a person means that he has the attributes of a person, namely, he has intelligence, volition, and emotions. That is why here in verse 30 we are commanded not to grieve the Holy Spirit because he has emotions. Furthermore, to say that the Holy Spirit can be grieved means that God can be grieved, since the Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity (cf. Acts 5:1-11).
Fourth, God’s elect are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Since many of you have The MacArthur’s Study Bible, let me draw your attention to his notes in 1:13-14, which states:
God’s own Spirit comes to indwell the believer and secures and preserves his eternal salvation. The sealing of which Paul speaks refers to an official mark of identification placed on a letter, contract, or other document. That document was thereby officially under the authority of the person whose stamp was on the seal. Four primary truths are signified by the seal: 1) security; 2) authenticity; 3) ownership; and 4) authority. The Holy Spirit is given by God as His pledge of the believer’s future inheritance in glory.[4]
All that is to say, I belong to God! Also, what needs to be said is that the seal of the Holy Spirit is permanent, not temporary. That is to say, when God seals me with his Holy Spirit, I am now permanently a child of God. This particular God-given declaration and status do not change. I am sealed. There is never unsealing moment. Hence my salvation is secured. There is never a moment when I would lose salvation. Since salvation is initiated by God, he is also the one who finishes it.
- NAU Philippians 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Finally, Paul tells us what we are sealed for. Unlike 1:13-14, which speaks of God’s ownership in relation to the sealing, here it speaks of God’s protection in relation to the sealing, because the day of redemption will be the day of reckoning, when God will settle his final accounts with every man throughout all history. Some will be saved eternally and some will be perished. For those who have been justified, that day will be the day of redemption. For those who are not justified and refused to obey God, that will be the day of non-redemption.
When we speak of redemption or salvation, many of us use it terms of past tense or present reality. We say God saved us or we are saved today. But based on verse 30, there is another aspect of redemption that we need to keep in mind, namely one day we will forever be delivered. So when read our text, there is a sense of “already but not yet” motif to keep in mind.
[1] Friberg, Analystical Greek Lexicon; Barclay Newman, Greek-English Dictionary; Louw-Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the NT; Liddell-Scott, Greek Lexicon (Abridged); Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the NT; and Gingrich, Greek NT Lexicon.
[2] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2004), 630.
[3] Peter T. O’Brien, The Letters to the Ephesians, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 348.
[4] John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Nashville: Nelson, 2006), 1773.
