Ephesians 4.32a-The Believer Must Be Characterized by Kindness, Compassion and Forgiveness
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday December 6, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:32a-The Believer Must Be Characterized by Kindness, Compassion and Forgiveness
Lesson # 302
Ephesians 4:32 Instead, each and every one of you as a corporate unit continue to make it your habit of being characterized by kindness, compassion and forgiveness when interacting with one another just as the one and only God in fact graciously forgave each and every one of you as a corporate unit because of your faith in Christ at justification. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 4:32 is composed of the following:
(1) command: ginesthe…eis allēlous chrēstoi, eusplanchnoi, charizomenoi heautois (γίνεσθε…εἰς ἀλλήλους χρηστοί,* εὔσπλαγχνοι, χαριζόμενοι ἑαυτοῖς), “Each and every one of you as a corporate unit continue to make it your habit of being characterized by kindness, compassion and forgiveness when interacting with one another” (Lecturer’s translation)
(2) comparative clause: kathōs kai ho theos en Christō echarisato hymin (καθὼς καὶ ὁ θεὸς ἐν Χριστῷ ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν), “Just as the one and only God in fact graciously forgave each and every one of you as a corporate unit because of your faith in Christ at justification.” (Lecturer’s translation)
Therefore, the solemn command in this verse required that the recipients of this epistle continue to make it their habit of being characterized by kindness, compassion and forgiveness when interacting with one another.
It is modified by a comparative clause, which asserts that the Father graciously forgave them because of their faith in His Son, Jesus Christ at justification.
This command stands in contrast with the prohibition in Ephesians 4:31, which required that the recipients of this letter make it their top priority of eradicating from their mental attitude and speech every expression of bitterness and malice, which both result in outbursts of anger, rage, quarrelling and slander.
Therefore, the contrast is between the members of the Christian community being characterized by bitterness, malice, outbursts of anger, rage, quarrelling and slander and that of being characterized by kindness, compassion and forgiveness.
In the command, Paul employs the reciprocal pronoun allēlōn (ἀλλήλων), “one another” pertains to the interaction of this epistle with each other as being characterized by kindness, compassion and forgiveness.
It is the object of the preposition eis (εἰς), which expresses the idea that the experience of the recipients of the epistle while interacting with one another must continue to be characterized by kindness, compassion and forgiveness.
The command contains the verb ginomai (γίνομαι), which pertains to possessing certain characteristics, which are identified by the adjectives chrestos (χρηστός), “kind” and eusplagchnos (εὔσπλαγχνος), “compassionate” and participle conjugation of the verb charizomai (χαρίζομαι), “forgiving.”
The referent of the second person plural form of this verb is the recipients of this letter, who were members of the Gentile Christian community living throughout the Roman province of Asia.
The word is not only referring to them as a corporate unit but also as individuals.
Therefore, this expresses the idea that the experience of the recipients of this letter when interacting with each other must continue to “possess the characteristics” of kindness, compassion and forgiveness.
The adjective chrestos (χρηστός), “kindness” pertains to being characterized by a sympathetic or helpful and forbearing nature when interacting with other people in contrast to that of being harsh, stern or severe with them.
It also pertains to providing something beneficial for someone as an act of kindness.
In context, it is a virtue which is divine in quality and character because it originates in the character and nature of God.
It is produced by the Holy Spirit in the believer who strips off the old man, i.e., the old Adamic nature and clothes themselves with the new man, i.e., the new Christ nature.
This is accomplished when the believer appropriates by their identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
This is indicated by the fact that stripping off the old man refers to appropriating by faith one’s identification with Christ in His death whereas clothing oneself with the new man is appropriating by faith one’s identification with Christ in His resurrection.
This kindness, which is divine in nature and quality is also reproduced by the Holy Spirit in the believer when they obey the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command to love one another as He has loved the believer in John 13:34 and 15:12.
The adjective eusplagchnos (εὔσπλαγχνος), “compassion” pertains to the intense desire to act to alleviate the pain and suffering of another or remove its cause (1 John 3:16-17).
It also is a virtue which is divine in quality and character because like chrestos (χρηστός), “kindness” it originates in the character and nature of God.
Therefore, like chrestos (χρηστός), “kindness” it is produced by the Holy Spirit in the believer who strips off the old man, i.e., the old Adamic nature and clothes themselves with the new man, i.e., the new Christ nature.
Therefore, it is produced by the Spirit in the believer when they appropriate by their identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
This again is indicated by the fact that stripping off the old man refers to appropriating by faith one’s identification with Christ in His death whereas clothing oneself with the new man is appropriating by faith one’s identification with Christ in His resurrection.
Also, like chrestos (χρηστός), “kindness,” it is also reproduced by the Holy Spirit in the believer when they obey the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command to love one another as He has loved the believer in John 13:34 and 15:12.
The verb charizomai (χαρίζομαι) in this command is used of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia, who are the recipients of this epistle, graciously forgiving each other.
It expresses the idea of them being magnanimous toward each other in that they are generous in forgiving an insult or injury and are free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness.
Like chrestos (χρηστός), “kindness” and eusplagchnos (εὔσπλαγχνος), the participial conjugation of the verb charizomai (χαρίζομαι), “forgiveness” is divine in quality and character because they originate in the character and nature of God.
Like chrestos (χρηστός), “kindness,” this word eusplagchnos (εὔσπλαγχνος) is reproduced by the Holy Spirit in the believer who strips off the old man, i.e., the old Adamic nature and clothes themselves with the new man, i.e., the new Christ nature.
Therefore, it is produced by the Spirit in the believer when they appropriate by their identification with Christ in His death and resurrection.
This again is indicated by the fact that stripping off the old man refers to appropriating by faith one’s identification with Christ in His death whereas clothing oneself with the new man is appropriating by faith one’s identification with Christ in His resurrection.
Also, like chrestos (χρηστός), “kindness,” this word eusplagchnos (εὔσπλαγχνος) is reproduced by the Holy Spirit in the believer when they obey the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command to love one another as He has loved the believer in John 13:34 and 15:12.
The referent of the dative second person masculine plural form of the reflexive pronoun heautou (ἑαυτοῦ), “each and every one of you as a corporate unit”
emphasizes the action of the Christian community forgiving each other.
This word is functioning as a dative direct object, which indicates the recipients of this letter are to continue receiving the action of being forgiven by each other.
It is put in the dative rather than accusative case because Paul wants to emphasize the eternal personal relationship which exists between the recipients of this epistle because of their union and identification with Christ and through regeneration.
The present imperative conjugation of the verb ginomai (γίνομαι) is a customary present imperative, which expresses the idea that the recipients of this epistle were “to continue to make it their habit of” possessing the characteristics of kindness, compassion and forgiveness when interacting with each other.
This interpretation is supported by the fact that Paul affirms in Ephesians 1:15 that the recipients of this epistle were practicing the love of God when interacting with each other as a result of obeying the Lord Jesus Christ’s Spirit inspired command in Ephesians 13:34 and 15:12 to love one another as He has loved the believer.
Kindness, compassion and forgiveness are all manifestations of the believer obeying this command.
The middle voice of the ginomai (γίνομαι) is a reciprocal middle, which expresses the idea of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia interacting with each other and exercising an interchange of effort among each other by being kind, compassionate and forgiving of one another.
