Ephesians 4:28-32 (2)
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28 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. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Recap:
Land of the imperatives.
Or how to enjoy the good land Jesus provides for us.
And this is enjoyed via obedience to God.
4:1-16 Walking in unity with other Christians
17-24 Walking as the new man in Christ and denying the old man with its passions and desires
25-27 The two themes above converged: helping other Christians to walk the new man in unity with them
Speak truth (newmanish), be angry over their sin yet let it lead to helping them end their old man, not to sin. And in this way no opportunity will be given to the devil to take you from the blessed imperative land for you and your neighbor.
And now, with instructions of living the new man life in community with each other Paul says:
28 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. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Introduction:
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The Holy Spirit’s role in brooding over the chaos (or lack of organized life) of initial creation as life is produced from it.
Then as God commanded through Christ, the Spirit operated in it to produce life from the chaos.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit brooded over you at regeneration, and has made his home in you as you live this life anticipating full redemption in glory.
And as the Spirit gave things life at initial creation, so he is to give you a practice of life now upon the work of the second creation.
And the main thrust of the verses we are at here in speaking about new man living in the community, in Ephesians 4 is found in verse 30
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Do not work against the work of life the Holy Spirit is producing in you as a follower of Christ.
His role has always been to provide life to the lifeless, and he has provided life to you in Christ and so if you live producing the fruit of death, you will be grieving the Spirit’s work.
(later on talk more about the anthropomorphism and how it is a picture to show displeasure like a parent displeased over the actions of their children. And the language used for gentle correction. I.e. it is much gentler to say I am grieved over what you have done rather than I am angry).
And so these verses highlight the need to put away things that lead to death, and rather build up, or give life instead in:
Work (28)
Speech (29)
Reaction to our neighbor when wronged (31-32)
All things must be done with the Spirit's work of life in and through you, instead of producing death and decay.
I. Work
28 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.
Ephesians 4:28 “28 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.”
Stealing is the very opposite of producing. It is refusing to work, or produce yourself, and instead take such produce from others.
And Paul says to put off not producing and to put on producing instead: i.e labor or honest work with your hands.
The Greek language is such that he is assuming there are people reading his letter who are still stealing…the hang over of pagan living.
Indeed, stealing is common practice in pagan cultures not influenced by the gospel.
And an increased practice we see as our culture has returned to paganism
Why do people like to steal? Because the old man who is not regenerate is driven by passions and desire (4:22), and to be lead only by this does not allow for an appreciation of work and labor, but rather only the produce of it that can be used to fulfill the desires of the flesh.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All play and no work makes Jack a wretched sinner.
And we see this in our own culture, that is grown increasingly worse
Work is seen as a necessary evil for the sake of play
And it is this kind of thinking that leads to stealing in all sorts of different ways.
The Bible speaks of the necessary and helpful relationship between work and play
24 There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?
9 What gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God’s gift to man.
Work provides a certain enjoyment, that gives life to the fruit of our work: play.
For their to be no balance for the sake of the easier enjoyment of play is to ruin both.
The producing Paul commands of people animated by the Spirit of life goes beyond labor though:
Ephesians 4:28 “28 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.”
The opposite of stealing is not labor but rather giving.
And it is the pinnacle of producing that someone would be driven to labor to have extra to give to those in need.
II. Speech
29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Here is another put off death and decay and put on producing and life
Put off: corrupted talk
Put on: talk that builds up
The question is, what does corruption here mean, and what does build up mean?
It is connected with new man and old man—
Corruption of the old man
22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,
Build up language is associated with new man living
23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
And we spoke at length about this already with verse 25
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
The words we say to each other need to be chosen wisely for the purpose to build each other up in the new man of righteousness
Ephesians 4:29 “29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
We are to have our minds on what words are best for this situation to give grace of the new man to my hearer.
23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!
6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
14 And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.
When someone builds anything, there has to be certain planning involved to make sure what is created is helpful for the occasion
The way we use our words needs to be chosen carefully for the life we want it to produce in others.
And before we get to the third way we are to produce and not destroy in keeping with the Spirit’s work in us, let us look at the main passage again:
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
III. Reaction to our neighbor when wronged
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Death
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Life
INTRO
Ephesians 4:30 “30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
Introduction needs to focus on the life giving role of the Holy Spirit and how we then mimic that in our:
Work
Speech
Heart attitude of kindness and not bitterness
Ezekiel 47:1-12.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
The rock providing water to the wandering Israelites
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Ephesians 4:28 “28 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.”
Hendriksen posits perhaps he is referring to slaves stealing from masters.
The person who steals has a unsatiable desire for the flesh.
But rather a person who:
11 and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,
are contented with the things God has for them.
The pagan has no concept of enjoying all things to the glory of God, thus they are left with base desires that does not allow for enjoyable hard work and so looks for ways to receive more wealth without work at the expense of others to use on such base desires.
Ephesians 4:29 “29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
Give grace, Hendriksen: that is, that it may spiritually benefit them.
6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”
23 To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!
Ephesians 4:30 “30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
Hendriksen: Paul is never forgetting about all the “interested” parties. He has already mentioned the neighbor, the devil, the needy one, and the listeners (verses 25,27,28,29). It does not surprise us, therefore, that he now refers to one more interested party, the most interested, the Holy Spirit.
The hope of redemption
2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 3 And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
Anthropomorphic expression found in
10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.
where this verse here comes from.
The anthropomorphism is meant to comfort us because it tells of the Spirit’s love
Romans 15:30 “30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,”
who yearns for us
James 4:5 “5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?”
This is the context of
9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.
Also not as strong of language as:
51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
anthropopathy
Like a parent is grieved when a child fails to follow good advice, so the Spirit is grieved when the believer fails to follow the leading of the Spirit.
Sealed for the day of redemption, i.e. he gives the taste today of the full thing tomorrow in which when we work against such taste it grieves him.
Ephesians 4:31 “31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
Wrath=Rage. I sudden burst of passion.
Anger is a settled feeling. He is an angry person denotes he is not doing anything outburst at present.
Clamor: Public quarreling, brawling, or angry shouting.
Slander: Slanderous whispers behind the back
Malice: Vicious disposition
Calvin says wrath and anger have little difference except that wrath denotes the power and anger denotes the act.
Hendriksen: Malice is not merely mischief but in general the evil inclination of the mind, the perversity or baseness of disposition that even takes delight in inflicting hurt or injury on one’s fellowmen.
Gill: bitterness is perhaps the fountainhead of the rest
Ephesians 4:32 “32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
The vacuum created when these vices are ejected from the heart is to be filled by the lovely virtues of… Curtis Vaughan
Be ye kind: means literally become kind. Thus we are not naturally. Another way to translate it is learn to be kind.
The greek word for kind is built on a root that means “useful” or “helpful”.
Forgiving is built on the same root as the word for “grace”. It first means to give freely, then to pardon or forgive.
The supreme example and incentive is God who has first done it to us.
Calvin says that kindness is the contrast of bitterness.
Also, kindness, tenderhearted, can be summed up as empathy. Deal with others and put yourself in their shoes as you do. This will not cause you to be lax in your dealing with their sin but it will cause you to do it with great care.
This is kinda like what I said when preaching “for we are members of one another”.
Calvin says that some will be kind and tenderhearted but only until someone wrongs them. But he says to forgive and thus for your kindness and tenderheartedness to know no bounds.
The power to do such a thing is founded in God, “as God has forgiven you.”
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
34 And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
The sin against God is eternally more than a sin against another man
21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Our lack of helping others receive grace can be rooted in wrath and anger for a personal hurt. We need to put on forgiveness as freely as God shows it.
Pulpit commentary: kind and tenderhearted are emotions in which provides the action of forgiving.
