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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established November 2008 Published
Weekly on Friday AM
This is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of
the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
Ephesians (4:26-32)
(Lesson 21)
Welcome back to
HBS.
…that, in reference to your former manner of life, you
lay aside the old self (old man), which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of
deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and
put on the new self, which in the
likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the
truth. Therefore, laying aside (put
off) falsehood, “SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are all
members of one another (Ephesians 4:22-24).
Paul recently taught the Ephesians about their former manner of life. Why?
Their old man is being corrupted by their lustful (greedy) desires. Therefore, Paul gave them two commands: “lay
aside (put off) your former
manner of life,”“and put on
the new man. Why? Because their new man which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness
and holiness and truth.”
Said differently, “Your conduct
should match your life, if you
intend to walk worthy…”
All true Believers have
been made alive to God (Ephesians 2;
Romans 6:11; Colossians 2:13), but our regeneration
did not transform the old
man, i.e. our Adamic nature. Regeneration
awakens us spiritually from our previous state of being dead to God (Romans 6:5-11) and God
gives us a new nature (1 Corinthians
3:16; Ephesians 3:16, 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Our new
man desires “the things of God” from
this point onward (1 Corinthians 2:6-10), and through works of service to the
building up of the body of Christ (4:12).
So, the Ephesians
(and us) are carrying unwanted baggage around with them, that is, their old man which our Apostle Paul likened to a “filthy,
worn out suit of clothes,” and these two entities are by nature polar opposites,
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not
do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate (Romans 7:14-25).
These two entities
engage in spiritual conflict incessantly:
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the
Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that
ye cannot do the things that ye would (Galatians 5:17 – KJV).
The old man is controlled by our sinful
nature. It desires those things that are
displeasing to God and contrary to the Holy Spirit. The new
man is the life that serves God and others (Ephesians 4:12)
in a new way, having been transformed by a renewed mind into a new creation
in the image of God. Our new man
is controlled by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9) and whatever belongs to Him has
been “laid aside,” that is, “put to death” (Colossians3:3-8).
********
Please
open your Bible at Ephesians 4:25.
Ephesians 4
25: Therefore,
laying aside (put
off) falsehood (the lie,
essentially), “SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of
you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are all members of one another.
Paul
emphasizes speaking the truth to one
another but why? The answer is found
at the end of the verse, “for we are all
members of one another.”
From
verse 4:25 to 4:32 a pattern becomes rather obvious. Paul begins by teaching the Believers what not to do and then commands them to do the
right thing. Sometimes Paul gives them
the reason (motivation) for the required change. We recently learned of the direct connection between
obedience and love. Spiritual growth is wonderful,
but what’s most important is the motivation
for the required change.
Paul’s
saying when we lie to one another we
harm the body of Christ to which we all belong, and we also bring harm to
our Savior’s name (4:4-6).
Therefore – having just
described the required changes that need
to be made in their walk (life),
Paul specifically describes how a righteous lifestyle is walked out. In essence, He’s
giving the Ephesians godly guidelines to follow so they all can attain God’s predetermined goals for His Church.
Unity in the faith is one of the
goals God has purposed for His
Church:
There is one body
and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord,
one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through
all and in all (4:4-6).
…for the equipping
of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of
Christ; until we all attain unity of the faith (4:12-13).
Unity is built upon
trust. So falsehood (deceit) is unbecoming of a true Believer. When someone is caught in a deception
fellowship is ruined and relationships may end, because once an atmosphere of
trust prevailed but now a mood of distrust
is present. This leads to disunity or
separation generally.
…laying aside
falsehood, “SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you
WITH HIS NEIGHBOR,
Lying
is as common to mankind as weeds are to a garden. Truly, lying has become habitual and is part
and parcel of our corrupt society. Psychology
Today reports: “We couldn’t get through the day without being deceptive.” In the June 2017 issue of National Geographic
I found this comment: “Although lies are often condemned by many,
people are especially prone to accepting lies…”
Another
article I read recently about the politicos in Washington, D.C. contained this
statement,” “You know they’re lying because their lips are moving.” A different reporter said,” If everyone in our society started telling
the truth our way of life would collapse.”
I don’t know if this is true, but it sounds logical.
From
this we learn deception is prevalent and people, in general, accept
untruths. People live with deception in their homes, in
the workplace, and in the church. The
media is inundated with deceit. According
to a January 2018 poll, 70% of those questioned are confused about the
credibility of “Fake News” and where
it originates. Face Book has been in the
news of late, and not for their achievements, but for lying to congress and the
public, yet I haven’t found anyone who complains to the point of leaving
this social giant behind and moving forward without them. It should come as no surprise to discover on
March 8, 2018, NBC News reported, “Fake
news, lies and falsehoods spread faster on social media than truth does.” We’ve reached the point where most people are
ignorant of where truth ends and deception begins. They’ve been conditioned to accept opinion as
truth
Time
Magazine reported: “Bank employees are more likely to exhibit dishonesty when discussing
their jobs, a new study found.” The
large banks in America dispute the statement, but please bear in mind on
September 8, 2016, Wells Fargo fired 5,300 employees for creating “ghost
accounts.” They opened millions of bank
and credit card accounts in their customers’ names without their approval and
without their knowledge. This is hardly
ethical behavior, yet people still conduct their business daily at this bank.
This
was after the DOJ announced on February 9, 2015 it had reached a financial
settlement with five of the largest mortgage service (banks) in America: JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.; Wells Fargo, N.A.
and Wells Fargo & Co.; Citi Residential Lending Inc., Citibank, NA and
CitiMortgage Inc. (Citi); GMAC Mortgage, LLC, Ally Financial Inc. and Residential
Capital LLC (GMAC Mortgage); and BAC Home Loans Servicing LP formerly known as
Countrywide Home Loans Servicing LP (Bank of America). However, these banking giants continue to
thrive today despite the deception. Proof,
again, people accept lies.
I
can remember when contracts were discussed face-to-face, verbally, and a man’s
handshake was his bond. A person was
only as good as their word. Character
mattered. Lying includes telling direct
falsehoods and telling only part of the truth with the intent to deceive just as Satan (the father of
lies) practiced in the Garden of Eden when he tempted the woman. Lying also
includes: exaggeration (the proverbial
fish story for example), cheating in school and on taxes, making promises and
breaking them, false flattery, weak excuses, and those oh so common little
white lies.
Some
argue lying is not all bad. Isn’t it a
good thing when you spare someone’s feelings?
Isn’t a lie warranted to prevent someone from experiencing distress, as
when you spot your best friend’s girl friend kissing someone other than “your
best friend?” Humans rationalize the sin
of lying in many ways, but consider your relationship with this individual six
months down the road when she finally discovers the truth and you knew about it
but didn’t say anything. Is this how a
friend behaves? You didn’t spare her the
anguish; you just delayed the inevitable, and made the situation worse.
Imagine
where we’d be today, if our Apostle Paul opted to spare people’s feelings by
not telling them they are “dead to God,”
“lost in their sin,” and “without hope!” Instead, he spoke the truth regardless of the
consequences: And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be
afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent (Acts 18:9,
19:8; Galatians 4:16).
God
plainly said: “Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another (Leviticus
19:11 – NIV).
The
Bible states the unsaved that are characterized by lying “will be thrown into the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which
is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).
Jesus Christ said they are marked as being children of the devil,
who is the father of lies (John 8:44).
A
Believer will not suffer for eternity in the Lake of Fire. You can’t lose your salvation, but because you’re
the Lord’s ambassador of reconciliation
you can certainly lose your credibility (2 Corinthians 5:11-21) and impair unity in the body.
Let’s
be clear. Paul isn’t saying all
Believers SPEAK TRUTH. We all tell lies now and again, but this should
not define our character. Thus, Paul
said, “lay aside falsehood,” because
it is the old man’s character. Believers are to be known as truth-tellers
especially to one another; their
neighbor. Paul said, “…we are members of one another” (4:25b), lying not only hurts the body (other people) it harms
Christ, the head, and us. We depend on one another the same way the members of our body rely on accurate
messages from the nerves and brain.
We
must tell the truth to each other but this doesn’t mean we’re required to express
everything we think and feel. We’ll learn
more about this in 4:29. There are other
things to consider before we speak. The Body of Christ is built up by speaking the truth, in love. The old adage, “You can’t get there from here”
applies because unless you learn to love
people, even the unlovable, the body of
Christ suffers. Love for others is our motivation
for speaking the truth. Paul’s talking
about the same kind of love Jesus
Christ exhibited on the cross (Romans 5:6-9).
This
doesn’t mean we’re to “tell other people off,” or “unload our emotional
baggage” (thoughts and perspective) on one another. Paul’s simply saying when we speak it must be
truthful.
FROM UNRIGHTEOUS ANGER TO RIGHTEOUS ANGER
Ephesians 4:26-27
BE ANGRY,
AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the
sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.
I
was taught, long ago, all anger is sinful. Perhaps you received this same
instruction. However, the Bible doesn’t
say this. I was taught the opinion of
man, clearly, because Paul said “Be
angry.” He did not say Be not angry. From his statement we learn there will be those
times when something goes wrong causing Believers to be angry. But this command
and other statements in scripture teach us because we’re holy we are to exercise restraint:
The fruit of the
Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
As
we walk by grace, through faith, practicing restraint (self-control) the Holy
Spirit enables us to reign in our anger.
Paul put it this way “…do not
sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil (Satan)
an opportunity.”
Anger in and of itself is
not sin. What you do with your anger is
the issue. Paul said “Don’t let your anger get the best of you; deal
with it or else the devil will tempt you which may cause you to sin.”
The
anger Paul speaks of here is the
same as in Psalm 97:10 and Proverbs 8:13:
Hate evil, you who love the Lord, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones;
He delivers them
from the hand of the wicked (Psalm 97:10).
The fear of the Lord is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate (Proverbs 8:13).
The
thing these two Bible passages have in common is they instruct the righteous (those who are in
right-standing with God) “to hate evil.”
Our Apostle Paul said true Believers are
not to accept evil. Looking to scripture
for an example of this teaching, we find the Lord Jesus Christ refusing to
accept evil. He acted with righteous anger by driving out the merchants and
money changers from the Jewish Temple.
Why? They had turned God’s house
of prayer into a “den of thieves”
(Matthew 21:13; Mark 11:17; Luke 19:45; Isaiah 56:7; Jeremiah 7:11). The religious leaders were lying to the people
and robbing them in God’s house, so the Lion of Judah brought the matter to
everyone’s attention. But Jesus didn’t sin. His behavior was a controlled act of righteous
indignation (James 1:20).
If
your anger seeks to vindicate itself in its quest for revenge, then it’s gratuitous. Righteous anger is based in the holiness of
God and the sincere love for others,
seeking their highest good in other words (Galatians 6:1-4, 10). Agape love is sacrificial in nature and
leaves “getting even or getting ahead’ in God hands. (Romans 12:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter
3:9).
Anger
or righteous indignation should be experienced by every true Believer who
becomes aware of a grave injustice; not to the extent of becoming Batman-like, avenging
evil wherever you find it. Righteous
anger reacts against sin. This means for
anger to be righteous, it cannot, must not, arise in response to a violation of
my preferences, because I’ve been inconvenienced in some way, or my rights are
being neglected. In brief, biblically
speaking, righteous anger focuses on God, His kingdom, His rights, and His
concerns, and not mine or yours. It’s
not about us it is about God.
Righteous
anger will resemble the actions and expressions of our Lord. As I said, evil comes in many forms such
as: a child physically or sexually abused
by an adult, this includes abortion for anything but a documented medical
concern, a sleazy character who entices run-a-way girls into prostitution, or an
individual selling drugs on school property.
Note
the restrictions Paul’s command places upon this anger. Be
angry, but do not sin.
Do
not let this emotion cause you to violate God’s standards. This is easily done; anger is a powerful
emotion. It must be restrained.
In
addition, Paul said, “do not let the sun
go down on your anger.” Anger
that is not dealt with quickly turns to bitterness. This gives the devil an opportunity (a foothold) to feed that anger until it
becomes an out of control inferno causing us to strike out, selfishly.
FROM STEALING TO
SHARING
Ephesians 4
28: He who steals
must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own
hands what is good so that he will have something to share with
one who has need.
Paul
visited Ephesus several times. In around
57–58 AD, he stayed there for over two years as part of his third missionary
journey. Paul’s effectiveness and
success in spreading the gospel in
Ephesus meant that some people were turning away from the cult of Artemis and
converting to the faith. Some Ephesians were also turning away from
magic: “A number who practiced magic collected their books and burned them
publicly; when the value of these books was calculated, it was found to
come to fifty thousand silver coins” (Acts 19:10, 19).
The
Ephesian Church was known throughout the region for acknowledging Paul’s gospel
and his apostleship unlike the Corinthians who couldn’t make up their minds about
his apostolic authority and were known for their carnality. Between the two churches, the Ephesians could
be considered spiritual giants. Yet,
evidently, some of them were stealing. This is just one more reminder to us all that
our old man is alive and intends to
thwart our desire to do the right thing at the right time.
The
Koine Greek word translated steal is
Klepto (klep’-to), Verb, Strong’s
Greek #2813; meaning: to commit a theft, to take away by theft
stealthily. We get the English word
Kleptomania from this word and it means:
an irresistible impulse to steal
stemming from an emotional disturbance more so than an economic need. The word itself or variations of the word
appear 13 times in the N.T. I didn’t
count the references in the O.T. but the one that stands out there is the LORD
God’s command: “Do not steal.”
Not
only is this command not being addressed by a great many, the act of stealing have been redefined by our
society. In some cases it’s not even
thought of as stealing, as in taking
home items that belong to your employer, conducting personal business on the
computer while at work, goofing off at work; which includes personal phone
calls, visiting other workers on company time, and updating social media sites,
and simply day-dreaming instead of focusing on the tasks at hand. There are many ways to steal, and these are limited only by man’s imagination. Thus, we discover stealing doesn’t only refer to robbing banks, identity theft,
embezzlement, and shoplifting items from Wal-Mart.
Paul
gives the Ephesians the alternative to stealing
which is working, and by that labor we are to provide for ourselves
and those who have genuine need. We are
responsible for ourselves to “work with
our own hands” and provide for those who depend on us.
If
we do not, we deny the faith and are
worse than unbelievers (1Timothy 5:8). Those
who refuse to work are not to even be given anything to eat (2 Thessalonians
3:10-11). Those who have a genuine need,
such as widows and orphans without means of support, or those physically
incapable of providing for themselves are to be assisted out of the overflow of
charity which should be in the heart of every Believer (1 Corinthians 9:6-8).
FROM UNWHOLESOME
WORDS TO WHOLESOME
Ephesians 4
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 may give grace to those who hear.
The
word unwholesome refers to that
which is corrupt or foul, as in rotten vegetables or spoiled fruit. Foul language from the mouth of a Believer is
contradictory to their new life, in Christ. An unbeliever may honestly say, “The devil made me do it,” but a Believer
may not. There is no excuse for cursing
like a drunken sailor or for telling off-color jokes. Just
because your peers practice these things doesn’t mean it’s ok. In Colossians 3:8 Paul commanded the
Believers to “put them all aside:
anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech.”
Jesus
Christ’s words just came to mind. He
said, “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth
speaks (Matt. 12:34), so it is no wonder non-believers speak the way
they do.
The
mouthpiece of our old man is the tongue.
The Apostle James said, “…it is
untamable” (James 3:6-8). He’s not
wrong, even on our best day, if you drop a weighty object on your toe, you’ll
probably say things unbecoming of a true Believer.
Returning
to what Paul said earlier, Believers are to “put off” their filthy, worn
out clothing, that is, sin and “put
on” the new man. Thus, unwholesome
language is uncharacteristic of a spiritually-minded Believer, in Christ.
Finally, brethren,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and
if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things (Philippians 4:8).
Paul’s
solution is, “but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need
of the moment, (for this reason) so that it may give grace to those who hear
(4:29b).
Think
this through, who is going to listen to you share the gospel, if they’re aware of your habit of using unwholesome language. It’s a “turn-off.” Rotten words destroy; they don’t edify or build an
individual up.
The
Believer’s speech is to be guided by these three characteristics:
1) We speak only “such a word as is good for edification.”
Our concern is building one another up
in Christ. This includes appreciation, correction,
encouragement, and motivation when necessary, in love. It is always the truth spoken with genuine love. Ask yourself this question before you speak,
“Will my words genuinely help build
the other person’s faith and help them
become more Christ-like?
2) We also speak “according to the need of the moment.” In
other words, we speak appropriately at the appropriate time. This takes discernment, wisdom and at times,
patience.
“A man has joy in an apt answer,
And how delightful is a timely word!”
(Proverbs
15:23).
3)
We
speak in order to give grace to those who hear. Gracious words comfort a grieving family; it
empathizes with them, and demonstrates the love
of Christ Jesus to those who are in need.
Therefore, our spiritual service to others is more important than
getting something off our chest, emptying our minds of clutter, in other words. This includes confronting sin in a timely fashion wherever
it’s found. Jesus was a friend of
sinners. We have not been given the
freedom to be less. Jesus didn’t turn
away from the sinner; He confronted evil (sin) by presenting the scriptures (God’s
truths) to the lost.
FROM IMMORALITY TO
VIRTUE
In
the remaining verses, Paul commands the Ephesians to leave immorality behind
and embrace change: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by
whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put
away from you, along with all malice. Be
kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in
Christ also has forgiven you (4:30-32).
In
verse 32 our Apostle Paul explains how the Ephesians (and us) are to behave. But first, in verses 30-31 he contrasts those
who truly live for Jesus Christ with the folks who do not. When a Believer does not walk worthy of the calling for which they have been called, God
calls it sin.
If
we do not live in accordance with God’s standards, temptation leads to
sin. Paul said the covetous (greedy) nature
that’s a part of all sin leads to bitterness
and wrath and anger and these lead to the outward expression of these
emotions, clamor, slander, and malice.
Bitterness is a spirit of
irritability that keeps a person imprisoned in perpetual animosity. Wrath
is the wild rage of the passion of the moment while anger is more internal and more subtle, a deeper feeling. Paul said the outward expressions of these
sins are clamor, slander and malice. Clamor is an
outward sign of wrath expressed in the loss of control in public outbursts. Slander
grows out of bitterness and is the
defamation of those considered your enemies. Malice
is the general term for the evil that is at the root of all immorality. The Believer must put all these things away
from him and put on the virtues
listed in verse 32. Be kind to one another instead of bitter. Tender-hearted (gentle) rather than
irritable. Forgiving each other rather than filled with animosity.
If
you as a Believer continue to live as if you were not, exhibiting the kinds of
things Paul has mentioned here, you will grieve
the Holy Spirit. By the way, the
very fact that the Holy Spirit can be grieved
underlines the truth He is a living Person, capable of thought, expressing His
will, and demonstrating emotion. You
cannot grieve a force.
The
truth is the Ephesian Church was experiencing all of these things, which is why
Paul’s words here actually mean, “Stop
grieving the Holy Spirit!” Believers
stop grieving the Holy Spirit when
we live according to our calling in Jesus Christ, a calling to which the Holy
Spirit has sealed us:
to
the day of redemption.
We
speak the truth in love rather than lie.
We
have righteous anger, but we control it and do not let it lead us into sin.
We
go to work seeking to provide for ourselves and others out of the charity of
our heart rather than steal.
We
guard our mouths and refrain from using unwholesome (rotten) words. Instead we seek to build one another up with
appropriate, gracious words.
We
put off the vices of bitterness, wrath and anger which
lead to clamor, slander and malice and
instead put on the virtues of kindness, tender-hearts and forgiveness.
In
doing these things, we please the Lord by loving others rather than grieve the Holy Spirit. In doing these things we live according to our
calling; in harmony with being the new
creatures God has made us when He saved us; and in agreement with the new life we have in Jesus Christ.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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