Put of the Old Man and Put on the New PT.5
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25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
27 nor give place to the devil.
28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Put off Corrupt Speech Put on Speech that Imparts Grace
Put off Corrupt Speech Put on Speech that Imparts Grace
Words have great power. We almost always underestimate the tremendous power of our words. The ability to speak is one of the things that sets us apart from animals. Sure animals can communicate at a very basic level with sounds and body language, but only humans have complex languages which we can use to convey ideas. We have this ability because we have been made in the image of God. In fact, one of the very first things we learn about God in the Bible is that God speaks. Gen 1:3 says Then God said. The very next thing that we learn about God’s speech is that it is powerful. God said’ “Let there be light” and there was light.
In fact John starts his gospel by presenting Christ as the Word “Logos”. He tells us that all things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made. Those who knew the Hebrew Scriptures knew that God created everything by the power of His spoken word. He is the God who speaks and it is done. And God made us in His image so he gave us the ability to speak and although we do not have the same power that God has in His words He has made us so that our words have tremendous power.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
So the tongue being such a powerful member, can either bring life or death.
In our passage Paul is telling how we practically work out the putting off of the old man and the putting on of the new man and in this discussion he mentions our speech three times.
first:
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
Second:
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
And third:
31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
Coming back to Eph 4:29
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
The word “corrupt” here is from a greek word meaning rotten, putrid or worthless.
So this could include all sorts of language that we might use. Vile language might come to mind. Sometimes we hear people using vile words in their everyday conversation. They are usually used for emphasis rather then their actual meaning. It’s interesting that people who use vile words to emphasise what they are saying tend to use them so much that they no long emphasise anything. They just end up with a lot of vile words mixed in that don’t really add any clarity to their communication.
So for us who are believers, Paul says we should put off vile language. However, it would be short sighted to think thats all Paul is talking about here.
Corrupt words would also include hurtful words. Words that corrupt or tear down because we see that the opposite of corrupt words are words that build up.
These are words that we often use when we’re angry and Paul has already told to not sin when we are angry. One of the greatest sins we can commit when we are angry is with our tongue.
The words we say are like bullets once we have fired them we cannot take them back. We can apologise we can try and help heal the wound or lessen the damage but we can’t take them back.
Be careful what you say to your wife or your husband when you argue. Be very careful, what you say to your children when you’re angry with them. You can do much damage in a moment of rage that you can never undo.
Corrupt words would include slandering someone or gossiping about someone. These things tear down, they corrupt.
we often don’t think of gossiping as being all that bad. But it tears someone down.
A definition of gossiping is revealing personal or sensational information about others without their permission to someone who is neither part of the problem or part of the solution.
So ask yourself “is this information private?” “have I been given permission to share it?” “is this person I’m about to share this with part of the problem?” or “are they part of the solution?” These questions will help you to determine if it is gossip.
So Paul says
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
So if we put off corrupt speech or words that corrupt or tear down then we put on words that build up and impart grace.
To speak words that build up we must speak truth in love.
Ephesians 4:14–16 (NKJV)
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Christ warned that in the last days there would be false christs and false prophets who will show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible even the elect.
this then ties in with
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another.
Speak truth to one another, why? Because you are members one of another. We are one body.
so let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Grace is an undeserved gift or favour. So what does this mean when Paul say let words proceed out of your mouth that may impart an undeserved favour or gift to the hearers.
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles—
2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you,
So Paul, when he speaks of the mystery that God had revealed to him, which is essentially the gospel, he says that he is distributing the grace of God. So grace is the gift of God to us that we have done nothing to earn or deserve in anyway. So when we speak the message of God’s grace to others we are imparting grace to those who hear. This is why Paul always begins his letters with grace to you and ends with grace with you. He is imparting God grace to them through the gospel and wishing for that grace to manifest in the hearts of the readers so that that grace remains with them.
Lord willing the grace of God will manifest so powerfully in their hearts that they will speak it to others and so impart that grace to others. In this way we become channels of God’s grace.
29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
No longer use your words to corrupt, to tear down, to bring death, but rather uses your words to speak truth, to build up, to encourage, to impart God’s grace.