Ephesians 4:25, 31, 5:2

Notes:

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Having put away falsehood

DO Speak the TRUTH (alathia)

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.

DON’T talk corruptibly

DO build up (as it fits the occasion): Great line: Be real, genuine. “you’re my best friend.”

GIVE GRACE!

“DON’T grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

DON’T speak filth or foolishly, without crude joking (OUT OF PLACE!).

DO speak in Thanksgiving

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

DON’T be fooled by flattery (empty words), for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Introduction:

Communications Theory: I did it because it a major that allowed me to graduate in 3 years: Seminary Prerequisites like Publish Speaking.

Anyway, I remember graphs like this:

Importance of Communication:

Interference

Summarize Gospel-Motivated Morality

Review:

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

“A reflective response to who God is and what Jesus has done.”

Who God is: Loving Father, Compassionate.

Reflect what Jesus has done for us:

Reflecting Christ’s Love

The way of the CHRISTIAN IS TO GIVE BACK, to LIVE AS GENEROUS, TO LIVE FORGIVEN, TO LIVE SACRIFICIALLY.

OLD SELF:

Ephesians 4:19 “They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”

‌NEW SELF:

Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

How does this connect back to Gospel Communication?

Christian Communication begins with Being

Die to the Lie

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood…

Lit. Putting away “the lie”

To put off your old self=put away the “Lie”

The Lie= “22 to put off your old self”

To put away the LIE is the way in which Paul defines the “OLD SELF”

Lie= “Giving yourself up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.”

Ephesians 4:20 “20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!—”

Begins with BEING:

Matthew 15:18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart

Luke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

When we talk about talking, we are really talking about being!

The Don’ts of Communication:

Mumbling creates Crumbling

v. 29: Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths,

Corrupting= Rotten Fruit, Rotten fish, or Stones which crumble

Emphasis is on the destructive power of speech.

Snodgrass: “Abusive speech, vulgar speech, slander, contemptuous talk”

Damaging Speech examples:

People leaving

People using words in destructive ways:

Grandmother Knetsch

People talking bad about me

Disseminating Communication

Psychological Warfare

Grandmother: “Satan is in your house.”

Don’t Grief the Holy Ghost

v. 30: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

How does speech grieve the Holy Spirit?

“The Spirit, who is the divine agent of reconciliation and unity in the body (2:18, 22; 4:3-4), is especially grieved when unwholesome speech is uttered by members against one another.” O’Brien

So grievous because it tears apart community.

O’Brien: Consider the significance of this passage from Isaiah 63:10–11:

“10 But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them. 11 Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit,”

New Society, New Redemption, New Society, a New People

NEW SEAL

!!Get it right this time!!

You’ve been sealed, so don’t rip that seal?

Seal=”Ownership and Protection” O’Brien

Cattle, slaves, branded with a seal.

Motivation: You’re been sealed by the Holy Spirit, don’t try to rip that seal away?

Scratching a tattoo away.

Gospel Communication:

v. 25: let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.

Speak the Truth because Jesus is the Truth

Ephesians 4:21 “21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus.”

Motivation: For we are members one of another.

Stott: “For fellowship is built on trust, and trust is built on truth. So falsehood undermines fellowship, while truth strengthens it.”

Truth strengthens community!

v. 29: “But only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”

Build Up: Don’t destruct, build up!

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

as fits the occasion= “as the need arises.”

Say something!

“I have no words” You have something to say!

LOOK FOR THE OCCASIONS!

WHY? Because you give grace! Words go a long way depending on the situation.

The WORD

20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus…

Logos=The Account, “The Message”

Speak the Way Jesus Spoke:

Assertively

Compassionately

Zechariah 8:16 “These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace;”