THE SPIRITUAL GARMENTS OF THE BELIEVER EPHESIANS 4:25-29(8)

Introduction

As we come to this text, my hope is that you will hear the Scripture today knowing that God will use it to transform your minds. More importantly, my hope is that you will increasingly become a prayer warrior. I pray that the Lord would, by His grace, transform hearts and minds today through the Scripture preached.

However, my great hope and prayer is that after having prayed and after receiving God’s holy Word, that we would not fail to do the most important thing-get up and obey what we have just heard and prayed about. I pray that we would faithfully and daily put off the old man and put on the new man. My prayer is that we would all devote ourselves to a life of holiness and service to the Lord Jesus and others, especially to each other. The Holy Spirit of God has placed the text before us to help us to do just that. We will observe four instructions to submit ourselves to so that we are properly dressed.

Have ever found yourself in a situation where you were improperly dressed? Several years ago I traveled up to the mountains to visit with Mom and Dad for a few days. It was late fall and the weather in Fayetteville was comfortable. I took a sweater just knowing that would be sufficient for this trip. Sure enough, when I arrived to my destination the weather was only a few degrees cooler, but nothing that me and my sweater couldn’t handle. When I woke up the next morning I got up to take my usual morning run. Things had drastically changed and I ran right back inside the house. As Dad was splitting a side laughing at me, he went and got me a heavier jacket. I was then prepared to go back outside and take my run.

I was not prepared for the twenty degree drop in the temperature. I should have known better and taken the time to be physically prepared. As we work through the text this morning I pray that we will take the time to put on the proper spiritual garments so that we will be spiritually prepared.

Put on the Garment of Wholesome Speech (4:25)

The first spiritual garment Paul tell believers to don is the garment of wholesome speech. The first thing to notice from the outset is the word “therefore.” You have heard this before but I will state it again. When you observe a “therefore” at the beginning of a text, you must go back to see what the “therefore” is there for. The presence of this connecting word drives us back to the previous verses (17-24). We are counseled to “put off” the old man and “put on” the new man. The first garment to put on is wholesome speech. We are to replace falsehood with truth. We put on the garment of truth by taking off the garment of lying. [read Eph. 4:20-21]

Ephesians 4:20–21 CSB

But that is not how you came to know Christ, assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus,

To be taught the truth in Jesus means to make truth telling a habit of life. The spiritual principle at work here is the unity of the body of Christ- “for we are members one of another.” This phrase identifies the audience of this epistle as fellow Christians. He is speaking to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet, it is not enough to cease (put off) lying. Lies and falsehood must be replaced with truth (put on). Truth and falsehood cannot travel the same direction. Where there is one, there is the absence of the other. Falsehood divides; truth unites. It is crucially important that members of the body of Christ daily put on the garment of wholesome speech by putting off falsehood.

Put on the Garment of Worthy Thoughts (4:26-27)

Not only are we to put on the garment of wholesome speech, we must also put on the garment of worthy thoughts. The issue here is anger. Anger itself is not a sin. Anger that is a righteous indignation, being angry at what God gets angry about (sin and its bondage), is not sinful. This type of anger is motivation to become involved to correct wrongs (things such as abortion). This is a controlled anger. It is anger that we keep under control. Anger is not necessarily sinful.

However, it can quickly become sinful. Sinful anger is anger that controls us. The Bible says, “Be angry and do not sin.” This is neither license to justify anger or that God in some way turns His head on our anger. The truth is that anger is no excuse to sin. We cannot legitimately say, “I flew into a rage because he made me mad.” This also does not mean that there are times when we don’t get angry. The instruction is, “Be angry and do not sin.” When we become angry, we must deal with it and move on. We must be careful not to feed our anger. The second part of verse 26 says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” In other words, we are not to allow the emotional condition associated with anger to cross the line into the action and attitude of sin.

You have probably heard of the Pythagorean theorem from school. Well, the Pythagoreans had more going for them than contributing to the area of mathematics. They also contributed to morality and ethics. They held a position on anger that lines up with the Bible. One thing they said about it was that if one had to get angry, do so, but shake hands before sunset. Throughout history sunset was thought as of a time limit for a variety of activities. The Bible says that there is to be a time limit on one’s anger so that it will not degenerate into sin. When we get angry, we must deal with it appropriately and quickly.

Here is the reason why (27). The word “opportunity” is literally, “place.” Thus, in our anger, we must be careful not to allow the devil a place of opportunity or a foothold into our lives. When we allow anger to degenerate into sin, it gives the devil the opportunity to gain control over our attitudes, actions, and even our relationships. It gives him a foothold to lead us into greater anger and more sin. Therefore, believers should never allow anything that would allow the force of evil to disrupt our fellowship with God and other believers in the body of Christ. Be sure to put on the garment of worthy thoughts by putting off the unholy garment of controlling anger leading to sin.

Put on the Garment of Honorable Deeds (4:28)

There were those in the Ephesian church whose previous condition was that of a thief, “Let the thief no longer steal” just as some in their previous condition were liars and those living lives of uncontrollable anger. All those things are to be put off as we now put on the new man of holiness. Therefore, stealing is to be replaced by giving. It is not enough to stop stealing. Stealing is to be replaced with something else. We now take notice of the second part of the verse. “Let the thief now longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands.” Rather than taking what is in the hands of another, the former thief is now to work hard with his own hands. Believers should never steal ( Exodus 20:15).

Exodus 20:15 CSB

Do not steal.

What is meant by stealing? Of course, stealing is much more than taking property that does not belong to you. It includes such things as being lazy. Laziness on the job is stealing from an employer. Laziness in academics is stealing from a teacher or professor. Laziness in spiritual things is stealing from God. “Pastor, I just do the least I can get by with.” Please do not be proud in that estimation. It is nothing but stealing. Oh, by the way, laziness in tithing is stealing from God (Malachi 3:8).

Malachi 3:8 CSB

“Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me!” “How do we rob you?” you ask. “By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions.

Stealing is the problem; work is the solution. What is the purpose? Notice the last part of this verse. “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”For the Christian, there is both dignity and duty in hard work (Kopiao- literally, to become tired or weary in work). Hard work is honest work. The ultimate goal in work is that it brings glory to God. Further, the believer’s motivation in work is not merely to make a living to pay the bills and to afford certain luxuries. The motivation for the believer in work is to have something to share with those in need. The Christian ideal of work is not working to get, but working to give. Put on the garment of honorable deeds.

Put on the Garment of Uplifting Counsel (4:29)

The issue here concerns the powerful effect of words and their potential for helping or harming. Words can be pleasing or they can be polluting. The warning here concerns words that are corrupting and destructive. The Greek term used is “sapros” and refers to words that can refer to obscenities, abusive language, and words used to spread malicious gossip.

The term literally mean “rotten.” “No rotten word should proceed from your mouth.” The word “rotten” was initially used of spoiled fish or rotten fruit. Rotten words destroy relationships. More tears have been shed and more hearts have been broken because of careless, thoughtless, and bitter words than any other single thing in those relationships.Believers are to have nothing to do with such words.

Rather, our words are to give uplifting counsel. [Ephesians 4:29

Ephesians 4:29 CSB

No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.

Romans 15:2 CSB

Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

The word the Bible uses for “building up” is edification. It is the Greek term “oikodomae.” It is a construction term and its primary meaning means “to build a house.” God calls believers to build up the structure of the Christian body-the church- not tear it down. It is sinful for people to run down the church or individual members of that church. God is not pleased when that happens.

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are to speak words that build up and encourage. Godly language is the kind that builds up. Rotten language is the kind that tears down. Godly language is the kind that is helpful. Rotten language is that kind that is harmful. Godly language is that kind that gives wise counsel. Rotten language is the kind that is uncaring and callous.

Finally, our words are to have a redemptive purpose: “that it may give grace to those who hear.” Grace in this verse is the same root word for “saving grace” found in Ephesians 2:8.

Ephesians 2:8 CSB

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—

In other words, are our words building up others and heading them toward the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation, or are they tearing them down and making them more of a citizen of hell because of our words. Are people spiritually better off after encountering us? Make sure that you put on the garment of uplifting and gracious counsel.

Conclusion

God calls us to be spiritually and appropriately dressed for the spiritual battle that we are all involved in. Therefore, we must don the garment of wholesome speech by taking off the dirty garment of unholy speech. We must put on the garment of worthy thoughts by removing the filthy garment of unworthy thoughts by not allowing anger to control us and Satan to deceive us. We are called to put on the garment of honorable deeds and giving rather than taking. We are to put on the garment of uplifting counsel by taking off the ungodly speech that tears down rather than lifting up.

A young man, he might have been a teenager, saw a pastor and a Director of Missions in a restaurant. What he saw completely destroyed his perspective toward both of them as he witnessed them guzzling down alcoholic beverage after alcoholic beverage. The two had no idea what this young man had observed. Yet, the damage had been done. The admiration that this young man once had for these two men was gone. The young man left that church and probably never returned. It is true that people watch us. The question is what and who do they see when they observe us. Make sure your spiritual garments are being observed before a watching world.