The Letter to the Ephesians Chapter 4

Transcription

1 The Letter to the Ephesians Chapter 4 This chapter begins a new section. It begins with therefore which draws upon the previous 3 chapters to make the observations that follow. The first section, chapters 1-3 could be considered the doctrine of this letter. The last three chapters (4-6) are the believer s response to this doctrine. It is what we do, and is all about the talk and walk of the believer. Though we are already seated in the heavenlies (2:6) we still must live in the flesh here on earth. In the first 3 chapters Paul has explained what we have as believers, and who we are one new man. We are a unified Body of Christ, united into one Church. In these last three chapters he explains how we are to act and live, based on our unity in Christ. As one commentator said, these chapters are where we translate the truths of the mountaintop into shoe leather. We know our position in Christ. Now we live our lives also in Christ. These are the practical chapters of Ephesians. Chapter 4 is about living in unity with other believers, and conducting ourselves in ways that please God, using our spiritual gifts. It is clear that while God has given us incredible riches, an amazing inheritance in our Savior Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ), He also expects us to act and live like the new people we have become in Christ. God s standards are to be our standards. God s purposes are to be our purposes. His desires, our desires. And very importantly, His nature is to be our nature. He expects us to conform as one new man (the Church, the Body of Christ) and He expects us to conform as individuals who are part of this new entity. This is not about behaving in accordance with a list of rules and regulations. It is about having God s heart, and becoming that new creature in Christ that Paul spoke of in 2 Corinthians (5:17). These chapters are for believers, not unbelievers. God does not ask unbelievers to live this way, and in order to achieve what He wants, we must first be alive in Him. Unbelievers are still dead in sin. 1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, 2 with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, 3 endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace....to walk worthy of the calling... The Greek word for walk is peripateō, which means mostly to live or follow or be occupied with. It implies a life attitude and action, and that we live in a way that proves who and what we are. This is not just about our behavior at home, or at work. This is who we are and how we live and respond to everything in life. We cannot be compartmentalized and different in different places. Our walk is balanced in every area of life, with everyone, and in a way that is equal to our calling by God. The word for worthy here is axiōs which actually means equal weight. It implies that our calling (who we are to be) and our walk (what we do in response) should be equal, and in balance. The word for calling is variously translated (calling NKJV, vocation KJV), but really means invitation. God is inviting us to be and live a certain way. The choice is ours, but if we choose His way, He expects us to live a certain way as well. RockofAges.org 1 Ephesians Chapter 4

2 What does this walk involve? What is our attitude to be in this walk? Paul lists them here: lowliness (Greek word implies humility, modesty of the heart and mind, not just in appearance) and gentleness (meekness, again humility. It is interesting to note that this word doesn t mean any kind of timidity or weakness, but implies a power under control. ) longsuffering (patience, forbearance) bearing with one another in love (enduring, patiently tolerating each other with love and kindness). The word for love here is the agape love, which implies sold out to one another, not just brotherly love. Endeavoring (making diligent effort) to keep the unity (oneness) of the Spirit in the bond of peace (quietness, this word also implies a certain prosperity, oneness). These things must abide in our hearts before they can be seen in our lives. Without a heart filled with these attitudes, we cannot possibly act this way. You can only fake it for so long. Soon your heart will show its true stripes in your behavior and speech. These first three verses are a daunting challenge, one we have failed miserably. Paul has spent a great deal of time underscoring the oneness and unity that the one new man (the Church, consisting of both Jews and Gentiles) now has in Christ. This is a critical part of our knowledge of God s plan for us, yet we have failed terribly over the centuries and have instead become farther apart. It is also a huge challenge to act and behave with anyone in the manner Paul outlines above. It is completely against our flesh and human nature to be patient, enduring in love, meek and humble. The only way we can truly fulfill these mandates is to rely upon the Holy Spirit in us, through consistent prayer and submission. A very good companion piece to these chapters is Paul s letter to the Galatians where he states: 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. (Galatians 5:16-26) Essentially this is precisely what Paul states here in Ephesians. The fruit of the Spirit, those things given to us BY God, by His Holy Spirit, are what enable us to live lives worthy of our calling. We cannot do these things in our own strength, and we cannot receive His strength unless we are plugged into Him and His power. It is a good idea to take stock, to measure our fruit-o-meter once in awhile to be sure we are doing these things, that we are being these things, and living a life worthy of our calling. RockofAges.org 2 Ephesians Chapter 4

3 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. In these three short verses, Paul uses the word one seven times. These have been called the 7 Elements of Unity. It s no surprise that there are seven! (In scripture, 7 means perfectly complete. ) This is to underscore the importance, completeness and compelling concept of our unity as one new man. These are: 1. ONE body: This is the one new man the Church, all believers in Jesus Christ. 2. ONE Spirit: the Holy Spirit that unites us, works in us, and is the power within every believer to live a life worthy of our calling. 3. ONE hope (of your calling): our hope is a common hope. We all have the same hope, for the same future with God, the same things to hope for, the same goals. 4. ONE Lord: Jesus is Master to all of us. We all have the same King and Master over us. He is the ONE who unites us, saves us, empowers us, and yearns for our fellowship with Him. 5. ONE faith: We all believe and trust in the same things, the same ONE (Jesus). We share the same doctrine. We are expected to share the same truth and correct doctrine. 6. ONE baptism: This is a reference to the baptism in the Holy Spirit (not necessarily the ritual of water baptism, which is a symbol). We are all baptized into the same Holy Spirit. There is not a different Spirit for each, there is ONE Spirit that unites us all. 7. ONE God and Father of all: We have the same Father, God Himself. There is only ONE Father, only ONE God. We share a Father, which makes us family. In these verses, Paul speaks first to individuals, and how we are to behave, think, and be. Then he broadens his instruction to the entire Church, under the amazing love and power of the One True God of all believers....father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. God is transcendent and above His creation. He is high above everything else. There is no one, and no thing higher than Him. And this same God, our common Father, is in each of us. These are thoughts that are far beyond our understanding and complete comprehension, but help us understand Him and ourselves as a united Body of Christ a little better. He has a plan that is also transcendent. All believers have their purpose, their being, their future and their unity in Him. 7 But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ s gift. It is all about UNITY, but now it is also about DIVERSITY. We are the same body of believers, sharing the same family, with the same Father and the same hope, but we are not all the same. Each of us is different, which enables us to contribute in different ways and meet all the needs of the Body of Christ, and do all the work God has set before us to do. Paul has covered this subject of gifts to each believer in a number of other places, such as 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. God intends the Body of Christ, the Church, to conduct itself in certain ways, and to do the work He has given us to do. In order to do this work, however, we need a variety of gifts. Each believer has been equipped with those gifts in different measure, and for different works. These gifts are given to us in God s grace, as He has apportioned them. The Body of Christ can only function as a united group of believers with a united mission when we use all the gifts He has given to us in unique and differing ways. These gifts are given so that we can function as a united Body. RockofAges.org 3 Ephesians Chapter 4

4 8 Therefore He says: When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men. When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men. This is a reference to Psalm 68:18: You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there. The theme here is that a conquering King has the right to take plunder and give away gifts to those in His Kingdom. But in this verse in Psalms it says he received gifts. Yet Paul says he gave the gifts. Okay, so did He receive the gifts, or give the gifts? This can be a little confusing. One commentary explains this in this way: Psalm 68:18 was referred to by Paul [here]. However, rather than quoting the Hebrew, Paul apparently followed the Jewish interpretation of the day (the Targum), which paraphrased this verse as follows: You did ascend to the firmament, O Prophet Moses! You led captivity captive; you taught the words of the Law; you gave [not received, as in the Heb.] gifts to the sons of men. (This interpretation saw Moses as God s representative, forerunner of the Messiah, but this is clearly a Messianic prophecy.) Paul followed this Jewish exegesis because it explained that the conqueror distributed the gifts to His loyal subjects. The apostle applied that idea to Christ s victory over the forces of evil and His granting spiritual gifts to those on His side. By this analogy (based more on the Jewish interpretation of the psalm than on the exact Heb. wording) Paul emphasized the greatness of believers spiritual victory in Christ....it is better to think that Paul was not quoting one particular verse of the psalm but rather that he was summarizing all of Psalm 68...The essence of the psalm is that a military victor has the right to give gifts to those who are identified with him. (Walvoord and Zuck) 9 (Now this, He ascended what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) Paul takes a little sidebar trip here in this explanation of Jesus ascension and de-scension. He states that Jesus could not have ascended to heaven unless He first descended to earth. Many scholars believe this is what Paul means by this statement. However, there are others who believe it means that Jesus descended into hell (the lower parts of the earth ). There is a continuing debate about this, and relies upon individual interpretations of the original Greek words. For the purpose of this book and chapter, it is a side argument that does not affect our understanding of what Paul is speaking of here, the gifts given by God to benefit the Church and advance her work on earth. Paul is excited about His subject matter, Jesus the Messiah, and excitedly gets a little off track here, like most good excited Bible teachers! He is underscoring Jesus might, power and incredible work that fulfilled all prophecies and the entire plan of God. Jesus is indeed the ONE who fulfilled all things. 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;... RockofAges.org 4 Ephesians Chapter 4

5 Now Paul returns to his subject matter, the giving of gifts to believers to bless the Church and do God s work on earth. He further explains that the gifts are not all the same, despite our unity in the Oneness of God and His plan for us. Everyone has different gifts, in different measure, for different purposes, but all of them are given for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. Paul provides a partial list of what we call Spiritual Gifts here. We can also find such lists, different lists and different gifts, given in other places of scripture, such as Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Here the gifts found are: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. These are sometimes called the office gifts, because they identify the office of the person with this gift. To understand the definitions and meanings of these gifts, we can look to the original Greek words: Apostle: apostolos, which literally means a delegate or an ambassador of the good news of Jesus. It can mean a commissioner of Christ, or a messenger, one that has been sent with the Word of God for others. Prophet: prophētēs, generally means a foreteller or one who can tell about the future. However, this is not always only what a prophet does. A prophet is speaker inspired by God, given the Word of God to speak to His people and to others. We often place too much importance on the telling of the future. Prophets are those who speak what God gives them with bold confidence in God, not in self. Evangelist: euaggelistēs is literally one who preaches the Gospel (good news of Jesus). Pastor: poimēn, literally and figuratively this is a shepherd. This is the one in the flock, the local church, who leads, tends and cares for the sheep of God. Teacher: didaskalos which is an instructor in the Word of God. This is the person who explains God s Words....for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,... Here we have the reason for these gifts. These office gifts can be seen as various people doing various functions within the local church body. The apostle may be the first one who brought the good news to a people. The prophet is the one who boldly speaks through the inspiration of God, for God. The Evangelist is the one who preaches the Gospel. The pastor is the shepherd and caregiver of the local flock, and the teacher is the one who explains the Word of God. In essence, these people work to equip believers for ministry, and edify the entire Church. The KJV version expands this a bit: For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ. This includes the perfecting of believers, not just their equipping. It implies making them perfect and fully complete for working for God. Will this ever be the case on earth? Probably not. All of us continue to grow in perfection in God. This is not a complete list of the Spiritual gifts, and it is interesting to note that none of the places where the gifts are mentioned is considered complete. Many people have different ideas about how many gifts there really are. Perhaps none of these lists, even when combined, are complete, and we are not meant to know exactly how many there are. Since each of us is a unique creation, perhaps we each have a unique gift. Just as not all teachers are alike, all prophets, or pastors are not alike either. Each has been equipped with a gift that is shaped and measured just for their use. We should avoid trying to pigeon-hole people into the listed gifts in scripture. These are mentioned so we know what they are in general, and how God intends for them to be used in the Body of Christ to do His work. RockofAges.org 5 Ephesians Chapter 4

6 (Note: for those who are interested in learning more about Spiritual gifts, you can find brief descriptions and a simple test at the Rock of Ages website, we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;... This is an interesting part of this verse. It tells us how long we are to work with these gifts. Some interpret this as when all believers come into that perfect unity, of seeing completely eye to eye in doctrine and truth and their wholeness in one God. That seems pretty unlikely, considering our history. Others still interpret this to mean that we continue in this work, and the gifts will continue as well, until we are all united in Jesus Himself, home with Him. We are to continue working as a unified, individually gifted, Body of Christ until we are all experiencing His fullness. No matter how you look at this, it means this will continue for all the days we have left on earth. Our redemption, and our fullness in Him, is complete only after we are reunited with Him for all eternity. Until then, we keep exercising our gifts in the unity of the Body, for the purpose of equipping all of us to know Him, serve Him, love and experience Him fully. 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love....no longer be children... Children here speaks of babes or literally simple minded not physically, but spiritually. This is about new converts, those who first learn of the gifts of God. We are not to stay in this condition, but to continue growing in Christ. This verse continues the earlier thought that the one new man has been gifted individually in order to allow us to keep growing. Children, or the simple minded, can be easily deceived because they do not know the full truth yet. They are subject to being swayed to and fro by false doctrine. They have not matured and do not have the wisdom to detect and discern lies. These lies are about false teachers, those who in their cunning and deceitful plotting deliberately try to deceive. The enemy is the author of these attempts. A new Christian does not always have the ability to discern the lies, or the author of the lies at work. False teachers were rampant then, and they are now. The Body of Christ is equipped to train and grow new believers into mature Christians with discernment and a knowledge of God and His ways and plan, so they will not fall prey to the trickery. These false teachers, unfortunately, can come both from outside and inside the church....speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Christ... False teachers do not speak the truth. They speak lies. Believers must always speak the truth, especially those who have been gifted in the office gifts Paul speaks of here (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers). We assume that if God has gifted us in these areas, we will be equipped by Him to only speak the truth. However, some may assume these offices on their own, without the gifting of God, without His calling or equipping, and they will be those who are most likely going to be false teachers, leading immature believers away, rather than toward, Him. This verse also indicates that our speaking of the truth comes always in love, for God, for His Word and for others, and whatever we do is intended to help others to grow up, mature, in Jesus, who is the head of the Church. Our single focus and our solitary intention is to grow the Body of Christ. RockofAges.org 6 Ephesians Chapter 4

7 Verse 16 indicates the entire Body of Christ, whose head is Jesus, grows and works together as each part (each individual) does the work it was designed and gifted to do, and does it effectively. We can only do this work well if we stay in the power of the Spirit, not our own power. The word edifying here has an architectural implication of building. All of our work is to build up, strengthen and grow the other individual members in order for us to be a united and effectual force to work for God in this world. The unity of the one new man the new entity called the Church, depends on everyone doing that which he or she is gifted to do. Also implied in here is the fact that we each should do our own part, not someone else s. In other places (i.e., 1 Corinthians 12) Paul has used the analogy of a physical body to drive home this concept. The foot cannot see, the eye cannot walk. The body as a whole can only function if every part does its intended work. This should be a cautionary statement as well. In our zeal, we should ask God what work He intends us to do, rather than assume something on our own, for which we are not equipped, nor are we called. This causes confusion, havoc, chaos and even destruction in the Body rather than unity. Paul uses the words in love twice in these verses. The work we do in the Body of Christ is to be done with a heart filled with love. That is love for God, and love for each other. This is the driving force for what we do. Once again, this is agape love, the kind that is completely dedicated, totally benevolent. This is not brotherly love, it is completely committed love. 17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. Paul has underscored the unique entity of the one new man in other letters by referencing Gentiles as those now outside the unity of the Body of Christ, and Jews also as those outside belief in the Messiah. We are not Gentiles, and we are not Jews. We are one new man, one new creation, one new entity called the Church. Here Paul says that because we are now part of a family, the family of God, we are not to live like other Gentiles, or like anyone outside this family. We think, believe and act differently now. Paul describes the condition of unbelievers, the rest of the Gentiles. They are characterized in the following ways: 1) futility of mind: the word used here implies uselessness, no purpose, aimless. This is also translated as vanity, something serving no purpose. In other words, all they do and think has no real or lasting meaning. 2) darkened understanding: by rejecting the revelation and gifts of God, unbelievers cannot see clearly. They cannot understand anything because they are still in the dark. They have no understanding of right and wrong, acceptable and unacceptable. The light of God shines into our understanding enabling us to see clearly and understand life and our destiny and purpose, as well as His expectations and gifts. 3) alienated from the life of God: early in this book Paul says that we have been brought near to God through belief in Jesus. Unbelievers have not. They are alienated from Him by their rejection, and by the fact that they have not allowed the blood of Jesus to cover their sins and make them acceptable to God. RockofAges.org 7 Ephesians Chapter 4

8 4) ignorance in them: this means no information, no knowledge about God, or about the truth. A very so-called intelligent person, without Jesus, is still ignorant. They know only the ways and things of the world, which will pass away. They do not know God. 5) blindness of the heart: the Greek word here is not just about blindness as we think of someone in darkness. This implies a hardness of the heart, callousness, and even stupidity. These are people who have heard, but rejected, the truth. This is indeed a very stupid thing to do, and does cause people to become hardened and callous. 6) past feeling: the inability to care. This word implies apathy. Their hardened hearts have taken unbelievers into a life rooted in the world instead of God, and there they become apathetic and uncaring about the truth, and about God. 7) given over to lewdness: also translated lasciviousness meaning all vices, licentiousness, filthiness, wantonness, morally bankrupt, sin of every disgusting kind. This is normal for the unbeliever. 8) doing all uncleanness with greediness: impurity both physically and morally, with a lust always for more. Unbelievers have an increasing appetite for sin. This is certainly not a very pretty picture, but this is all humankind without God. Paul says we were there once, but we are not there anymore, and are not to behave in these ways any longer. He has painted a very complete picture of unbelievers and their hearts (and bodies). This is the human condition of those who have rejected God....and testify in the Lord... Paul uses this phrase to emphasize that he is telling the truth, and that this is God s mind about these things. He adds this to give his statements a little more power. It s not just Paul talking, it s God! 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Verse 20 begins with the word but which contrasts it with the statements immediately before. He has described the lives of unbelievers, and then says that this is not now what believers are, or have learned from the Messiah. If we have heard His voice, and have been taught by Him, we have the truth, not the false life of the unbeliever. The life of the believer is the exact opposite of that of the unbeliever. We started out that way, but we don t continue. We put aside the things that mark the unbeliever. That was the old man, the old us. The old man continues to grow more corrupt. The words here imply that the unbeliever has been deceived, that he or she continues in sin longing for things the world (the enemy) whispers to us that we want. These are deceitful longings. The unbeliever longs for the wrong things....be renewed in the spirit of your mind,... All behavior begins in the mind and spirit. Our attitudes and desires dictate what we do. Paul says the old man is not us anymore. We don t have the same longings for evil and sin. Our hearts have been made new, we are new creatures in Christ. Our hearts, minds and spirits are the headwaters so to speak of our behaviors. When we are renewed in our minds, our behaviors are also different. Those eight conditions of the unbeliever listed above are the old man, and do not exist in us anymore. We don t have those things any longer. RockofAges.org 8 Ephesians Chapter 4

9 ...put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness... Since God chose to allow us free will, however, we make a daily choice when we first rise in the morning. When we get dressed for the day, do we put on the old man, or the new man? Do we pick up those old man characteristics, or choose to wear the new man that enables us to be renewed? The new man comes with a new nature, but we still make the choice. While we have been filled with the Holy Spirit as believers, it is still our choice to allow Him access and free reign to guide us. This is why Paul gives this directive. It isn t automatic, it is a choice. The new man will think and behave in ways that please God, ways which are righteous and holy. Yes, we will still fail as we are still in corruption here on earth. But the heart dictates the desire to do right, and God is ready to forgive the contrite, repentant heart. 25 Therefore, putting away lying, Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. 26 Be angry, and do not sin : do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. After making a clear case for the believer being a new man with a new nature and new ways of thinking and doing, he now gets specific regarding those ways of doing and being. He lists some typical old man behaviors which believers are to avoid, and new man behaviors which we are to adopt. Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, This is a reference to Zechariah 8:16: These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace. This is obviously not a new mandate, but one found in the Old Testament as well. Paul reinforces this by adding that we also do this because we are one new man together. We are members of each other, and this behavior is particularly important within the Body of Christ. Be angry, and do not sin. This is a quote from Psalm 4:4. Anger in itself is not a sin. God gets angry, Jesus was angry a number of times. This kind of anger is found in the battle for truth, and is what could be called righteous anger. Here Paul acknowledges that we will get angry. He even says be angry but follows it up quickly with what we are NOT to do in our anger sin. It is not the anger that is sin, but what we do in the anger. He gives us some interesting advice for dealing with our anger don t let it remain after the sun goes down. Don t let it linger. Don t let it color everything we think and do. How can we do this? We give it to God. We let go of it. We are not always able to set things right, to alleviate our anger on our own, but God can. Sometimes our anger is justified, but often it is not. Sometimes we are the ones who have to change. Only God can do this, and by giving our anger to God He will show us what we need to do (if anything), and He will remove it. Anger is not constructive, but is a natural response to unrighteousness. If we don t give it up, let God deal with it, it can destroy us and others....nor give place to the devil. This can relate either to anger or to anything we think or do. By falling back into the ways of the old man, we allow the enemy a hold on us. The new man does not do this. If we insist on retribution, retaliation, revenge or any other behavior that is an old man response to anger, we are giving place in our lives to the enemy. RockofAges.org 9 Ephesians Chapter 4

10 Verse 28 is a good remedy for today s entitlement and hand-out welfare systems. Don t steal what you need or want, work for it. We were created to work. Work is satisfying and productive and necessary for the human condition. We also work to help others. Paul provides a reminder that even our speech must be uplifting and not corrupt. What we say is to build others up, and be pleasant and graceful. James talks about the sinfulness of the tongue and what a terrible weapon it can be. It is not so easy to tame....do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God... We often think of the Holy Spirit as an it instead of a He. He is the third PERSON of the God head, and as such has emotions. He can be grieved. This is an important lesson in who the Holy Spirit is, as well as what we are not to do. How do we grieve the Holy Spirit? By doing any of the things Paul lists as what the old man does. Sin of any kind grieves the Holy Spirit. Notice that it is not just that He gets peeved, angry or disappointed. He experiences grief at our sin. It is a wound of the heart to Him. Sin is what the old man does, but when the new man allows sin, it causes God deep grief....by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Here is another reference to that divine layaway we heard about in the first chapter of this book. God has placed His Holy Spirit in us to seal us, until we are fully redeemed to Him, reunited for all eternity. This is a mighty comfort to us. There are times we not feel like it, but we can understand and know that we are sealed. We have been purchased and the deal is done. A true believer cannot be unsealed. The deposit of the Holy Spirit guarantees us. Verse 31 tells us what is part of that old man and what must be put away, not put on. Paul lists bitterness (lit. poisonous thoughts), wrath (lit. passionate and fierce indignation), anger (lit. violent wrath with a need for vengeance), clamor (lit. outcries), evil speaking (lit. vilification, slander, blasphemy) and malice (lit. depravity, evil, wickedness, evil thoughts). Verse 32 lists the parts of the new man that must be put on, not put aside. This list includes kindness (lit. gracious, courteous and kind), tenderheartedness (lit. compassionate, sympathetic), and forgiveness (lit. granting a pardon in kindness). Forgiveness is to be granted easily, kindly and gracefully, just as Jesus forgives us, not begrudgingly. That is a sobering thought! We must remember that the context of these verses is within the Body of Christ. These behaviors and attitudes are to be shown with all people, but in particular they should be found within this one new man the Body of Christ. We are to treat fellow believers with these new behaviors most especially. In the first three chapters Paul outlines our riches and inheritance in Christ, as well as the new creature He has created from both Jews and Gentiles, the one new man. In this chapter 4, Paul now details what our response is to be to this new condition. We are one together and need to behave in a new way corporately, and individually. The one new man is a group of believers, a new entity called the Body of Christ. But this Body is made up of individual members who have been gifted to bless the entire Body and unify it. We are to make every effort to become and remain unified as one, and we do this by behaving with characteristics of the new man not the old man. Behavior begins in the mind and heart, and Paul tells us to be renewed there, so that our resulting behaviors are acceptable and unifying, not sinful and non-unifying. In essence, chapter 4 is the one new man s code of conduct as a unified new group before God. Reflecting on the history of the Church over the millennia since Pentecost should tell us that we have much work to do in this area. RockofAges.org 10 Ephesians Chapter 4