Practical Instruction

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Yes, it's been a very long time since I've posted on here, but hey, if an Old Testament newly-wed husband was allowed not to go to war for a year, I guess a few months away from a blog isn't too bad! My darling wife and I were married just over 20 weeks ago, and less than five weeks after that we found out that God has seen fit to bless us with a child, which we will meet in person in early March of next year, most likely. It's one thing to write about being a husband and father from all the things I've been taught and have learned from Scripture and from other godly men, but now I am a husband and father, and I have the opportunity and privilege of putting all these things into practice, and learning oh so much more in the process. I've translated another of my church talks into blog form, so it's a bit long, but I hope you will enjoy it.

It’s been said that Ephesians can be broken into two main sections: chapters 1-3, which address doctrinal issues, and chapters 4-6, which address some practical issues. So one of my turns to speak at church fell on Ephesians 4:29-5:1, in which Paul lists a number of things, some of which we should do, others which we shouldn’t. He starts out with some of the “should nots”:

Eph 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

The Greek word here translated into the English as “corrupt”, is “sapros”, which means rotten, or worthless (literally or morally). To me, this says that he’s referring not just to immoral talk, but also to idle talk. Scripture talks about the tongue being a powerful thing, and as such it should not be used lightly. In both the Old and New Testaments, we’re admonished to be careful what we say – to let our words be both moral, and also profitable:

Pro 19:15 “Slothfulness casteth into a deep sleep; and an idle soul shall suffer hunger.”

Mat 12:36 “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”

Pro 15:4 “A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.”

Mat 15:17-18 “Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.”

We are instructed that our communication should be pure, profitable and pleasing to God, not only for our own sake’s but also for the sake of others.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Phil 4:8

In the very next verse, he talks about the effects our mis-steps as believers have upon the Lord:

Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

This is not the “blaspheming against the Holy Spirit” referred to in Matthew. We see by the phrase, “whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” that this is referring to believers, not necessarily unbelievers. When we as believers commit the acts listed before and after this verse – we grieve God’s holy nature. Matthew Henry had this to say about this verse:

“By looking to what precedes, and to what follows, we may see what it is that grieves the Spirit of God. In the previous verses it is intimated that all lewdness and filthiness, lying, and corrupt communications that stir up filthy appetites and lusts, grieve the Spirit of God. In what follows it is intimated that those corrupt passions of bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, and malice, grieve this good Spirit. By this we are not to understand that this blessed Being could properly be grieved or vexed as we are; but the design of the exhortation is that we act not towards him in such a manner as is wont to be grievous and disquieting to our fellow-creatures: we must not do that which is contrary to his holy nature and his will; we must not refuse to hearken to his counsels, nor rebel against his government, which things would provoke him to act towards us as men are wont to do towards those with whom they are displeased and grieved, withdrawing themselves and their wonted kindness from such, and abandoning them to their enemies. O provoke not the blessed Spirit of God to withdraw his presence and his gracious influences from you! It is a good reason why we should not grieve him that by him we are sealed unto the day of redemption.” – Matthew Henry

Jamison, Fausset, and Brown’s comments were these:

“Believers grieve the Holy Spirit by inconsistencies, such as corrupt or worthless conversation, etc; implying how far from harmless such ‘communications’ are: they grieve our “Holy” and dearest Friend. This proves His personality.” – Jamison, Fausset, and Brown

Essentially, this verse refers to the effects of our sins as believers on God, Who desires us to seek to be more like Him in His holiness. Paul continues with his list of things to avoid:

Eph 4:31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

To help with some understanding as to what each of these things are, let’s look at what the definition of the original Greek word is, and a cross-reference to another verse that uses the same Greek word.

1. Bitterness – pikria - acridity (especially poison), literally or figuratively: - bitterness.

Heb 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

- Here we see that this is a corrupting, spiritual attitude of conflict, that hurts both you and those around you.

2. Wrath – thumos - passion (as if breathing hard): - fierceness, indignation, wrath.

Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.

- This is a destructive kind of anger, also used to describe God’s wrath towards the earth in the end times. If we have anger, it should be towards the evil in this world (as with Jesus and the moneychangers), but not destructive wrath – leave that for God to pour out in the end.

3. Anger – orge - properly desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind), that is, (by analogy) violent passion (ire, or [justifiable] abhorrence); by implication punishment:

Rom 12:19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

Mar 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

- Very similar to wrath (the Greek word is also translated wrath on at least one other occasion), we are to leave this to God and His timing. We should not be overtaken with wrath as a human reaction.

4. Clamour – krauge - an outcry (in notification, tumult or grief): - clamour, cry (-ing).

Mat 25:6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

- There are no negative connotations with this word itself, necessarily, but the implication, given the other surrounding negative things, seems to be making an unnecessary ruckus towards other people

5. Evil speaking – blasphemia - vilification (especially against God): - blasphemy, evil speaking, railing.

Mat 15:18-19 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:

- This word implies speaking badly of someone, usually of God, but in this case, not only God, but also others around us. We see from this passage that not only do these things injure others, but they also are self-destructive.

6. Malice – kakia - badness, that is, (subjectively) depravity, or (actively) malignity, or (passively) trouble: - evil, malice (-iousness), naughtiness, wickedness.

Titus 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

- Malice is another word similar to evil speaking, but referring more to a foul attitude and even actions against others

We find a similar warning in Colossians:

Col 3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

In all these things, Paul warns us to put them off. In general, they are outward attitudes and actions towards others that are not fitting for us to have as believers. Continuing on, Paul moves into the things which we as believers are to embody.

Eph 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

I’ll again go through these words and analyze them individually, in order to give us a better idea of what Paul is talking about here:

1. kind – chrestos - employed, that is, (by implication) useful (in manner or morals): - better, easy, good (-ness), gracious, kind.

1Pe 2:2-3 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.

- We’re again admonished here to be gracious, just as God is gracious to us. In being gracious one to another, we reflect His love for us, which is what each of us should strive for – to become a better reflection of Christ to the world.

2. tenderhearted – eusplagchnos - well compassioned, that is, sympathetic: - pitiful, tender-hearted.

1Pe 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

- This is another attitude which is out-ward directed on our part – we’re to be full of compassion towards others. These are the practical attitudes and actions that should come naturally for us. Even though they might not come naturally at first as believers, they’re things to strive towards.

3. forgiving – charizomai - to grant as a favor, that is, gratuitously, in kindness, pardon or rescue: - deliver, (frankly) forgive, (freely) give, grant.

Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

- This is the action that comes out of having the attitudes previously mentioned. It is translated in Eph as “forgiving”, but we see from this other use that the gist is more simply giving, to include giving of ourselves.

Jamison, Fausset, and Brown point out that each of these things are a contrast to the things in vs. 31. I.e., kind one to another (or kindness) vs. bitterness, tenderhearted vs. wrath or anger, forgiving one another (or forgiveness) vs. clamor and evil speaking (or slander).

4. “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”

- Matthew Henry notes that, as this is talking about believers who are forgiven, they should be filled with God’s Holy Spirit, Who is forgiving, therefore forgiveness needs to come naturally for a believer. As God has given us forgiveness, which is such a huge gift, we should be more than willing to emulate Him in these things that Paul has listed. Paul continues the thought in the next verse, which in our Bible is the beginning of chapter five, but naturally in the originally letter there would have been no delineation.

Eph 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

As my wife asked when I was studying this verse, “What is the “therefore” there for?” We need only look back to chapter 4, verse 32 – “…even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

So what are we to be? “followers of God…” it tells us. Just as Christ’s disciples followed Him, loved Him, obeyed Him, served Him, and sought Him, so we should too. But implied in “following” someone is imitation, and we see that in the Greek word for “followers” used here: “mimetes”, which is defined as “imitator”. In First Corinthians, Paul used the same word when telling the Corinthians to imitate him, because he was an imitator of the One worthy of all imitation.

1 Cor 11:1 “Be ye followers of me, even as I am of Christ.”

Our heavenly father is worthy of all imitation, which we’re reminded of in many other verses throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Leviticus 20:26 “And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.”

1 Peter 1:16 “Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy."

Moving on to the phrase, “as dear children;” Paul adds an additional image of what this relationship should look like. Children imitate their parents, inevitably (this is why a father represents Christ whether he likes it or not, because a child looks up to his father to be the example, and assumes him to be good. While earthly parents are not perfect, our heavenly Father is.) We are instructed to be like children when it comes to faith and to following Christ. There are many volumes that could be and have been written on the idea of being like children in our walk with the Lord, too much to enter into with any detail here. But as a closing thought, this idea of we being children, and He our Heavenly Father, works both ways. There are countless respects in which God uses this parallel in Scripture – both to teach us of our relationship with Him, and to teach us what our relationship with our children should be.

“But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 19:14