If you are new to this blog, I encourage you to start with Intro [1] and then continue in order.
I am going to start with 4:20-24:
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, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 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.
I am going to give some thoughts on 25-32, but before we look at putting off and putting on, referred to in verses 22 and 24, I think we need to look at 20-21. Because the only way we are going to be able to put off the old self, or even know what that is, is with God's help. And we need to have heard of Jesus and be taught in him, and recognize that "the truth is in Jesus" (v 21). We can't just be good people and try to follow all the commands of 25-32 in our own strength. In John 15:5, Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." So now that we see where our strength has to come from, we are ready to go on.
4:25
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
This could literally be translated, “Therefore, having put off the lie, speak truth—each of you—with his neighbor."
When we lie, it is a reflection of what is in our hearts. So this verse carries with it the idea that every word that we speak should be a reflection of what is truly in our hearts. We quickly see the problem with this. Because while we don't always have pure motives, sometimes we justify a lie, because we think it will keep someone from having their feelings hurt. But we are not putting off the lie in that instance. Challenging thoughts indeed! I'm still working through this one! And we read these words about our enemy, Satan, and we certainly do not want to be like him:
John 8:44 English Standard Version (ESV)
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
(Jesus said this to the Jews who claimed Abraham as their father, and yet were trying to kill him.)
And I've always found the "we are members of one another" very motivating. I remember times when I was convicted about saying something to someone, but I didn't want to do it. Well, somehow, thinking about the fact that we are members of one another made me feel llike I had less of a choice. If we are members of one another, then what we do affects each other!
4:30
So one thing I had wondered about when I read last week's passage was verse 30: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God... What would grieve the Holy Spirit? And how does it fit in with the rest of the passage? Well the "And" gives us a clue and connects it back to our talk, our words in verse 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". When we are not building each other up with our words we are grieving the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit plays a huge role in our unity as believers. "3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call..." (from Ephesians 4) And obviously "corrupting talk" is something that would come against this unity that is God's plan through the Holy Spirit.
My Pastor, Timothy, helped me with ideas on these verses from his sermon notes. You can find them here:
Ephesians Sermon Notes and Audio
***The following is a repeat of what I wrote in the last post (OBSERVATIONS), but with a few additions.***
Now I think about how I say things. I need to be more gentle with my words, especially with my family. And I still want to think about building others up! There are a lot of things I could say that would be fine, but I don't want to just be fine. Life is short! And I want to make "the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:16 NIV
I am going to start with 4:20-24:
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, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 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.
I am going to give some thoughts on 25-32, but before we look at putting off and putting on, referred to in verses 22 and 24, I think we need to look at 20-21. Because the only way we are going to be able to put off the old self, or even know what that is, is with God's help. And we need to have heard of Jesus and be taught in him, and recognize that "the truth is in Jesus" (v 21). We can't just be good people and try to follow all the commands of 25-32 in our own strength. In John 15:5, Jesus said, "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." So now that we see where our strength has to come from, we are ready to go on.
4:25
25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
This could literally be translated, “Therefore, having put off the lie, speak truth—each of you—with his neighbor."
When we lie, it is a reflection of what is in our hearts. So this verse carries with it the idea that every word that we speak should be a reflection of what is truly in our hearts. We quickly see the problem with this. Because while we don't always have pure motives, sometimes we justify a lie, because we think it will keep someone from having their feelings hurt. But we are not putting off the lie in that instance. Challenging thoughts indeed! I'm still working through this one! And we read these words about our enemy, Satan, and we certainly do not want to be like him:
John 8:44 English Standard Version (ESV)
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
(Jesus said this to the Jews who claimed Abraham as their father, and yet were trying to kill him.)
And I've always found the "we are members of one another" very motivating. I remember times when I was convicted about saying something to someone, but I didn't want to do it. Well, somehow, thinking about the fact that we are members of one another made me feel llike I had less of a choice. If we are members of one another, then what we do affects each other!
4:30
So one thing I had wondered about when I read last week's passage was verse 30: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God... What would grieve the Holy Spirit? And how does it fit in with the rest of the passage? Well the "And" gives us a clue and connects it back to our talk, our words in verse 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". When we are not building each other up with our words we are grieving the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit plays a huge role in our unity as believers. "3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call..." (from Ephesians 4) And obviously "corrupting talk" is something that would come against this unity that is God's plan through the Holy Spirit.
My Pastor, Timothy, helped me with ideas on these verses from his sermon notes. You can find them here:
Ephesians Sermon Notes and Audio
***The following is a repeat of what I wrote in the last post (OBSERVATIONS), but with a few additions.***
Ephesians 4:29 English Standard Version (ESV)
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.
I will never forget the first time I was confronted with the truth of this verse. In college, I started reading the Bible regularly for the first time. I grew up in the chuch, but I feel like there was more of a focus on the "don't"s rather than "do"s. I remember reading the first part of this verse: "29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths..." and reflecting, "ok, I think I do that. See, my language got pretty bad my first two years of college. To the point that I would sit around thinking about different combinations of swear words or filthy words to put toether for best effect! So my reaction to this part of the verse was, "Well, I'm not swearing anymore, so I'm good!" But when I read the rest, "but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen," I was so convicted! I thought about all the times I was sarcastic and joked with my friends. And while I don't think that was all wrong, it made me really think about whether my words were building others up and benefitting them. I think a lot of times my jokes were building me up, sometimes at my friends' expense! So I found the positive exhortations much more encouraging and challenging than most of the don'ts!Now I think about how I say things. I need to be more gentle with my words, especially with my family. And I still want to think about building others up! There are a lot of things I could say that would be fine, but I don't want to just be fine. Life is short! And I want to make "the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:16 NIV
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