Grieving the Holy Spirit

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 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. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.[1]

The Spirit of God weeps over a factitious, bitter congregation. Do you think that statement excessive? Our text speaks of the pain God experiences because of unresolved conflict among the people of God. The warning statement to which I refer is that found in the thirtieth verse of our text. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God is the manner in which our translators have rendered the original text. Consider the same text as other individuals have attempted to deal with the language.

Eugene Peterson, in his unique treatment of the New Testament, pointedly cautions us. Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart.[2] Do not make God’s Holy Spirit sad, is the way in which Today’s English Version treats the admonition.[3] The verb Paul used here [luÐpevw] occurs twenty-one times in the New Testament. The noun form of this verb [luvph] occurs fourteen times. The verb conveys the thought of grieving, of being sorrowful or sad, and even of being distressed. The word may refer to either physical pain or emotional pain. It should be obvious that in our text, Paul says that the Spirit of God experiences emotional pain.

Christians reading this passage must wonder at the concept. More than that, each of us who names the Name of Christ must take heed. Surely, none of us would deliberately distress our parents. No one of us would make a calculated effort to wound our beloved spouse. Similarly, no Christian would deliberately cause God’s Spirit to sorrow. However, according to our text, we do cause the Spirit of God grief. Perhaps it is time that we learned how this happens so that we may cease from such actions.

We are going to witness a series of specific principles for fulfilling the instructions given in the first part of this chapter. There, the Apostle pleaded with the churches receiving this letter to seek unity. This is a plea which must unfortunately be repeated to churches to this day. Among the churches, we tend to act as individuals. We need specifics to achieve unity, and Paul gives them in this passage under consideration.

We Must be Truthful, if We will Avoid Grieving the Holy Spirit. The Spirit who makes men attest to the truth is put to shame when the saints lie to one another. Without question, to speak falsely is to lie. However, there is more than one kind of falsehood. Certainly, some falsehoods are deliberate, but many are almost unconscious. Much of the lying in which we engage is more careless than it is deliberate. Unfortunately, falsehoods are lies, regardless how they occur. Among Christians, the truth should prevail, and truth requires that we be deliberate.

We assume evil about another, and shortly, in our mind the evil supposition becomes reality. Before we know it, we have advanced a lie and injured the reputation of a fellow Christian. In such instances, we have unconsciously slandered that individual. Unfortunately, in some instances even Christians may advance a lie quite deliberately. When that lie concerns another individual, and in particular when that lie relates to their character or some particular action, it is slander. I encourage you to think the best of your fellow saint, even when they have given you no particular reason to think the best.

There is also the lie of silence. We acquiesce to evil through silence, or we refuse to correct an error through our silence. We may approve of a course of action which is wrong through silence, or we can withhold a warning or a rebuke when we know quite well that such is warranted. When a fellow worshipper is verbally assaulted in our presence, do we, thinking the best of our fellow saint, speak up to repudiate such speech? Or are we silent, permitting the talebearer to think that we are in agreement with their slanderous assessment? Ours is a pragmatic society, and we can justify our silence, claiming that we have not uttered a lie, but Paul will allow no such argument.

To emphasise this point, Paul loosely cites Zechariah 8:16. There, the prophet states, speak the truth to one another. The prophetic message is sufficiently important that I wish to note the context. Turn in your Bible to Zechariah 8:16, 17 and mark the passage for later contemplation. These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another; render in your gates judgements that are true and make for peace; do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, declares the Lord. Speak the truth to one another, make truthful judgements since they lead to peace, cease thinking the worst about one another, and reject false oaths. Why? Because God hates all these practises. Of course, that is sufficient reason for Christians to avoid such practises.

I remind you that Jesus is said to be truth. We are not Christians long before we encounter the statement which Jesus made to His disciples, the statement which many of us have memorised. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” [John 14:6]. Because we are vitally connected to Him who describes Himself as truth, we are required to be truthful. It is not only our speech which is under scrutiny, but our very lives. Christians should be known as people of truth, recognised for truth in every aspect of their lives. Falsehoods should have no place in our lives.

The Apostle does not merely tell us to be truthful, but he provides the reason for truth as a character mark of the Christian. We are members one of another. We are the Body of Christ, vitally connected to Christ and in Christ, there is no lie. The picture is more complex than that, however. As the Body of Christ, we are inter-related. To lie to another is to lie to oneself. To promote falsity within the Body of Christ is to weaken the Body. Soon, the Body will suffer and cease being healthy. The Body can be healthy only when it functions on the basis of truth. The Body can function properly only when we are truthful with one another.

Peterson brings this latter point out forcefully in his treatment of this command. What this adds up to, then, is this: no more lies, no more pretence. Tell your neighbour the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.[4] Within the Body of Christ, we must cultivate the truth. Each of us is responsible before God to work at living the truth as well as speaking the truth. To do otherwise is to grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

What is fascinating to me is that the Apostle is focused only on the family relationship with other believers in this passage. Certainly, if we are not truthful with one another, we have no hope of being truthful with the inhabitants of this fallen world. Underscore in your mind the reason for this divine command. It is the principle of the believer’s union with Christ, and thus his family relationship with all other believers, that provides the motivation for honest dealings. The motive is sufficient for the believer.

We Must Control Our Anger, if We will Avoid Grieving the Holy Spirit. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. These imperatives give Christians trouble. There are two, seemingly contradictory statements here. “In order to understand them, it seems best to take the first as imperative and not simply as permissive. It is best to regard both as true commands.”[5] Paul again begins with a quote of Psalm 4:4, be angry and do not sin. Clearly, there is a distinction between sinful and sinless anger.

There is anger which is not only permissible, but which is expected, which is even mandatory for us as Christians. In our text, Paul appears to be contrasting a controlled, righteous anger to anger which is best described as uncontrolled, selfish or sinful.[6] Irritability, rage, lingering resentment, outbursts are forms of anger which are clearly condemned throughout Scripture. Certainly, we Christians are responsible to be in fuller control of our emotions than that. However, without the blazing anger of a Wilberforce the slave trade might have continued to this day in the British Empire.

I well remember a message preached by Dr. James L. Higgs, my former pastor. Jim was speaking to a developing congregation in Coquitlam which I pastored. He spoke of things which should make a Christian angry. In the course of the message, he spoke of his ministry to a young man dying of aids. That young man was confined to a hospital bed in one of the great hospitals of San Francisco.

The young man, the son of a Nazarene preacher, had entered into the homosexual lifestyle and contracted aids. The rebellion which was at first glamorous and exciting had led to death for this young man. As he lay dying, he sent for a pastor to speak with him, and Dr. Higgs gladly ministered to him throughout his final days.

He told how the hospital aides would bring the young man’s food tray and literally fling it across the room to avoid entering the room. Food would be strewn across the floor and the young man would be forced to painfully get out of bed and collect his food. The nurses would refuse to clean the room or make the bed. Often the young man, exhausted by the ravages of the disease would be unable to make it to the bathroom to care for his personal needs, and would be compelled to lie in his own filth for hours.

I can still see the fire flash in my pastor’s eyes as he asked, “If that were your son, wouldn’t you be angry?”

You need not go to San Francisco to find conditions which should cause your anger. What of the elderly, shut away in a nursing home and neglected? Shouldn’t we be angry with families who conveniently forget them? What of children who are treated as disposable by mothers and fathers intent on making a little more money? Shouldn’t we be angry at such actions? I am angry at the thought that there are people in this world who use other fellow humans as a piece of meat for their own sordid gratification. I am angry with governments and politicians who steal my money in the form of taxes and squander those funds in pursuits which are neither righteous nor wise.

Is there not a reason for anger? Who, if not the conscientious Christian, will speak up for the weak and the wounded? Dare we judge the fallen individual, when we ourselves are so deserving of judgement and death? Whereas we deserved condemnation, we found mercy. Is there not, therefore, a place for anger?

Jesus was terribly and majestically angry on occasion. Listen to the account of one incident when Jesus was angry. Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand. And they watched Jesus, to see whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man with the withered hand, “Come here.” And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored [Mark 3:1-5].

Throughout the Old Testament, we witness the anger of the prophets against the people of God as they sinned wilfully. Thus, anger itself is not sinful. We should be indignant over injustice, blasphemous statements, tolerance of sin, and other such sin. Again, Peterson has done yeoman duty for us in bringing out the force of this command. Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry—but don’t use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don’t stay angry. Don’t go to bed angry. Don’t give the Devil that kind of foothold in your life.[7]

Unfortunately, we are most often angry for the wrong reason and at the wrong time. Anger must not be allowed to fester and poison our entire being. Such practise is dangerous. Anger, even righteous anger, harboured for a long time, leads to malice and slander. These lead to other destructive sins. The only sensible thing to do is to confess anger, release it to the Lord as rapidly as possible. Be angry at situations, but watch out that you don’t assign motives to individuals or continue being angry at the individuals.

The individuals who are so utterly opposed to abortion that they become focused on that evil only, find that after focusing on the evil for so long it is surprisingly easy to justify bombing abortion clinics or to approve of shooting physicians who practise the butchery. This should never happen in the Christian life, but I fear that it can and does happen even in the lives of Christians. Be angry, but quickly release that anger. Don’t harbour it for a long period of time, for it will surely contaminate the whole of life. Harbouring anger gives the devil opportunity.

Even when anger is justified, we need to balance the words of Paul in this instance with the words of James, who cautions us to be slow to anger [James 1:19]. Certainly, we do not wish to be sinfully tolerant of evil, but neither do we wish to become known as people who are always in a rage. There is a balance to be struck.

We Must be Productive, if We will Avoid Grieving the Holy Spirit. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Theft is very much a part of the human condition. We steal worship from God, assigning glory to our own strength and abilities. We steal from God when we fail to speak of Him to others, thus refusing to magnify His Name. We steal from employers when we refuse to do our best work, or stint on time. If we are in business, we can steal through overcharging for goods or for work performed. We can steal by damaging the reputation of another individual. We steal from ourselves when we waste the time, the talents, or the resources which God has entrusted to us.

As awful as these forms of theft are, it is certain that Paul has in mind the theft of money or goods which do not belong to us. I am not stretching the apostolic admonition, however, when I say that by doing nothing so that others are forced to care for us when we are capable of caring for ourselves, we steal. Paul’s solution to such dishonesty or indolence is to do honest work, with [one’s] own hands.

No doubt there are many secular thinkers who would agree to this point with what the Apostle has written. However, there is a distinction which quickly becomes apparent between the two schools of thought. Many secular thinkers would encourage industry and honesty so that the individual would build self-esteem, or because the individual would be able to purchase those items for which he longed, or because the honest labourer will then be able to enjoy the good life. Paul says Christians should work in order to have something to share with anyone in need. This was novel at the time Paul wrote the words, and I rather suspect it is novel to this day!

There are people who have nothing, and they deserve nothing. They have no desire to engage in honest labour, and thus they are undeserving of handouts. Paul addresses this quite pointedly in another letter. The Thessalonian saints were enjoined to work with [their] own hands [1 Thessalonians 4:11] and the leaders were to admonish the idle [1 Thessalonians 5:14]. In his second missive to the Thessalonians, Paul became more pointed still in his instructions to the saints in this nascent church.

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labour we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother [2 Thessalonians 3:6-15].

The indolent are to be avoided. This is not addressed to those who are unable to work or who are unable to find work, but it speaks directly to those who are unwilling to work. Such individuals are not to receive the largesse of the saints. Those who refuse to obey this injunction are not enemies, but neither are they to be welcomed as brothers so that they will be ashamed of their laziness.

The poor, those who are truly poor and in need, deserve our compassion. Christians are called to care for such people through providing assistance. We are not called to make such people dependent upon a lifestyle which is contrary to Scripture, but those who are unable to work due to medical conditions or who are unable to continue working because of changing labour conditions should receive consideration. Every member of this congregation should plan to have something to share in the benevolence of the congregation if you never share in any other offering.

In a previous message, I observed that it is becoming “increasingly difficult to do honest work in a society which penalises resourcefulness. Our government takes proportionately more from us as we are successful, thus teaching us that thrift and diligence will not be rewarded. Furthermore, we live in a society which teaches us that sloth will be rewarded. When it is more profitable to live on welfare than it is to work, the clear teaching of the Bible is difficult to fulfil. Such conditions do not change the Word of God, however. Let [each one] labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

In such an environment, the churches of Christ the Lord should stand out as generous and ready to assist the needy. However, those same churches must be responsible to hold accountable those who are coming to them for assistance. We must teach a world conditioned to accept governmental handouts as normal and expected that labour is honourable. We must refuse to foster any sentiment which would indicate either that wealth can be, or that wealth must be, redistributed to address economic inequities. Jesus reminded His disciples, you always have the poor with you [John 12:8].

We Must Avoid Corrupting Speech, if We will Avoid Grieving the Holy Spirit. 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. Foul talk disgraces the Christian, and grieves the Spirit of God. The contrast between corrupt talk and helpful talk is much more obvious in the Greek than it is in English. The word which is translated corrupting is the Greek word sapro;". The word was used of fruit which was rotting. Our words will either build others up or rot them.

Who can read these words without thinking of James’ teaching on the tongue? We all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water [James 4:2-12].

In Job 4:3, 4, Eliphaz the Temanite paid Job a tremendous compliment.

Behold, you have instructed many,

and you have strengthened the weak hands.

Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,

and you have made firm the feeble knees.

I could wish that such things were said of every Christian! To strengthen weak hands, to hold those who stumble, or to make firm feeble knees—this is the mark of great speech. This should be the aspiration of each of us who name the Name of Christ the Lord.

Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, slander and malice are all associated with our speech, though they express sentiments harboured. Long-standing resentment, explosive rage, deep-seated anger, angry yelling, insulting words—all reflect a desire to hurt or destroy another. Thus, the assessment of the Word of God is that such expressions are corrupting speech. Certainly, they fail to build up the one receiving such speech, whether it is directed at them or not. Unfortunately, such sentiments serve only to corrupt the one making such expressions. It is evident that we cannot honour God and speak thusly.

Neither can we listen to such expressions without being corrupted. I encourage the people of God to determine that they will not receive such expressions, for they corrupt those hearing the words and if we receive such words, we participate in the corruption of the one making such expressions. As an aside of no small consequence, slander and gossip would quickly die if we refused to receive it. Underscore in your mind that the one receiving slanderous words is as guilty as the one disseminating the vile filth. Let us determine to be pure and holy in this instance.

It is at this point in the text that the Apostle warns against distressing the Holy Spirit of God. That caution could have been inserted anywhere in this text and would still have made sense. Why, do you suppose, did the Apostle insert the admonition here at this particular place? On the surface, the insertion appears to be an interruption of his thought. Why did he make this statement at all?

James Boice postulates that Paul deliberately placed this warning here “because the Holy Spirit is chiefly the Spirit of revelation, first giving the Word of God in written form, in our Bibles, and then blessing the teaching of that Word by faithful persons for the building up of the church. The Holy Spirit blesses human words to edification. So it must grieve Him particularly when the speech of Christians, rather than building up the church, as it should, is used to tear down others who are part of the body.”[8]

I refer again to Peterson’s treatment of this particular passage. He renders the particular passage in this manner. Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for Himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.[9]

This is powerful! Make each word a gift. Isn’t that powerful? Furthermore, don’t take such a gift for granted? May each of us determine that our speech will be a gift, serving to build up others. May we determine to receive only that which builds up.

We Must Love One Another, if We will Avoid Grieving the Holy Spirit. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. I do understand that the command to love one another does not specifically occur here, but I also understand something about love in the life of the Christian. What does occur here is a clear admonition to put away from yourself those elements which corrupt and contaminate relationships and character. Instead, we are taught to embrace three rich virtues which reveal love.

I have often said that love is active and not passive. Our society has reduced love to a feeling. Consequently, we quickly “fall in love,” and just as quickly “fall out of love.” God’s love is unrelated to His feelings about us, for God loved us while we were yet rebels to grace. Love is not blind, as some have suggested. Rather, godly love acts with full knowledge of what is extended and to whom it is extended.

Love willingly overlooks slights and wrongs (real or imagined) which another has committed. Love impels the Christian to forgive because he thinks the best of another. Specifically, in our text, Paul reminds us that as Christians, God, in Christ, forgave us. What did you do to deserve God’s forgiveness? How did you make God decide to forgive you? If He freely forgave you of all your rebellion and sin, shouldn’t you forgive those who offend you.

Listen one final time to Peterson’s take on this command. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.[10]

Not only are we to forgive one another, but we are to do so quickly and thoroughly. No greater mark of love will be revealed than to possess a forgiving spirit. Lest you think that I exaggerate this issue of love for one another expressed through forgiveness, consider where the Apostle moves immediately following this sentence. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God [Ephesians 5:1, 2].

Christians are lovers, and the first evidence that they are lovers must be seen in their treatment of one another. The cause of Christ is damaged far more than we can imagine when we insist upon having our own way and refusing to forgive one another. When we refuse to love one another deeply from the heart, we insult the Spirit of grace who indwells us. We give ground to the enemy of our souls and permit those who are enemies of the Word to ridicule the Faith because we refuse to forgive. Such should not happen. We should be ashamed and resolve that we will not again give way to our flesh.

My plea, with which I conclude this particular message, is that each Christian among us would determine that by God’s grace he will put away from him that which corrupts—all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and slander … along with all malice. Instead, let us determine that we will live lives marked by consideration for one another, sensitivity to our particular situations, and always quick to forgive one another. Let us each determine that we will not receive that which corrupts and contaminates; but rather that we will each do all possible to build one another up in the Faith. Amen.

There are two, seemingly contradictory statements here. “In order to understand them, it seems best to take the first as imperative and not simply as permissive. It is best to regard both as true commands.”[11]

There is anger which is not only permissible, but which is expected, which is even mandatory for us as Christians. In our text, Paul appears to be contrasting a controlled, righteous anger to anger which is best described as uncontrolled, selfish or sinful.[12] Irritability, rage, lingering resentment, outbursts are forms of anger which are clearly condemned throughout Scripture. Certainly, we Christians are responsible to be in fuller control of our emotions than that. However, without the blazing anger of a Wilberforce the slave trade might have continued to this day in the British Empire.

You need not go to San Francisco to find conditions which should cause your anger. What of the elderly, shut away in a nursing home and neglected? Shouldn’t we be angry with families who conveniently forget them? What of children who are treated as disposable by mothers and fathers intent on making a little more money? Shouldn’t we be angry at such actions? I am angry at the thought that there are people in this world who use other fellow humans as a piece of meat for their own sordid gratification. I am angry with governments and politicians who steal my money in the form of taxes and squander those funds in pursuits which are neither righteous nor wise.

Unfortunately, we are most often angry for the wrong reason and at the wrong time. Anger must not be allowed to fester and poison our entire being. Such practise is dangerous. Anger, even righteous anger, harboured for a long time, leads to malice and slander. These lead to other destructive sins. The only sensible thing to do is to confess anger, release it to the Lord as rapidly as possible. Be angry at situations, but watch out that you don’t assign motives to individuals or continue being angry at the individuals.

The individuals who are so utterly opposed to abortion that they become focused on that evil only, find that after focusing on the evil for so long it is surprisingly easy to justify bombing abortion clinics or to approve of shooting physicians who practise the butchery. This should never happen in the Christian life, but I fear that it can and does happen even in the lives of Christians. Be angry, but quickly release that anger. Don’t harbour it for a long period of time, for it will surely contaminate the whole of life. Harbouring anger gives the devil opportunity.

In a previous message, I observed that it is becoming “increasingly difficult to do honest work in a society which penalises resourcefulness. Our government takes proportionately more from us as we are successful, thus teaching us that thrift and diligence will not be rewarded. Furthermore, we live in a society which teaches us that sloth will be rewarded. When it is more profitable to live on welfare than it is to work, the clear teaching of the Bible is difficult to fulfil. Such conditions do not change the Word of God, however. Let [each one] labour, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.”

Foul talk disgraces the Christian, and grieves the Spirit of God. The contrast between corrupt talk and helpful talk is much more obvious in the Greek than it is in English. The word which is translated corrupting is the Greek word sapro;". The word was used of fruit which was rotting. Our words will either build others up or rot them.

Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, slander and malice are all associated with our speech, though they express sentiments harboured. Long-standing resentment, explosive rage, deep-seated anger, angry yelling, insulting words—all reflect a desire to hurt or destroy another. Thus, the assessment of the Word of God is that such expressions are corrupting speech.

James Boice postulates that Paul deliberately placed this warning here “because the Holy Spirit is chiefly the Spirit of revelation, first giving the Word of God in written form, in our Bibles, and then blessing the teaching of that Word by faithful persons for the building up of the church. The Holy Spirit blesses human words to edification. So it must grieve Him particularly when the speech of Christians, rather than building up the church, as it should, is used to tear down others who are part of the body.”[13]

----

[2] Eugene H. Peterson, The Message: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs (NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO, 1995)

[3] American Bible Society, The Holy Bible: Today's English Version, 2nd ed. (American Bible Society, New York, NY 1992)

[4] Peterson, ibid.

[5] Home A. Kent, Jr., Ephesians: The Glory of the Church (Moody, Chicago, IL 1971) 82

[6] see James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1988) 148

[7] Peterson, ibid.

[8] Boice, op. cit. 150

[9] Peterson, ibid.

[10] Peterson, ibid.

[11] Home A. Kent, Jr., Ephesians: The Glory of the Church (Moody, Chicago, IL 1971) 82

[12] see James Montgomery Boice, Ephesians: An Expositional Commentary (Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI 1988) 148

[13] Boice, op. cit. 150