Word Live: The Shape Of Kindness
Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you as you read this passage.
Bible passage
Ephesians 4:25–32
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. 26 ‘In your anger do not sin’: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Explore
This is a dangerous passage! We must not forget its gospel context. When that happens, its significance is entirely distorted. Christianity is twisted from a life of grace into a religion of rules.
Verses 25–28. Why does truth-telling matter (v 25)? What gets lost without it?
How is sinless anger possible (v 26)? Beware of using this verse to justify what you personally assume to be righteous anger! Why does Paul advocate work as an antidote to stealing (v 28)? Do you see the common thread? We are members of one body, but falsehood, unrighteous anger and theft eat away at its unity. Don’t let the devil get a foothold (v 27)!
Verses 29–32. There’s perhaps a deliberate vagueness in verse 29 (‘unwholesome talk’/‘corrupting talk’, ESV). At the very least, it calls for thinking before speaking. We should make the most of any opportunity to build up the body (v 16). In the context of this chapter, what might grieving the Holy Spirit refer to (see, for example, vs 3,4)? The threat is not that we lose redemption because of this, but we break the church’s unity. Paul doesn’t simply give a sequence of ‘don’ts’, but offers a far better way (v 32). The motivation: forgive because we are forgiven.
Author
Mark Meynell
Respond
Is there a relationship you need to repair? Or someone you need to forgive? Figure out the best way to do that and pray for wisdom and courage to do it.
Deeper Bible study
‘Take my voice, and let me sing / always, only, for my King. / Take my lips, and let them be / filled with messages from thee.’1
Yet again, ‘therefore’ matters.2 Verse 25 should flow seamlessly from verse 24, part of the same sentence. We are being created in the likeness, in the image of God: therefore we are to live, to act, to speak as if we are becoming like God. Elsewhere this is called becoming like Christ, who reveals the nature of God to us,3therefore we must live in new ways, not the ways towards which our human natures draw us. Today’s examples mostly concern speech and its effect on others, a particularly current issue for us. We hear much about ‘free speech’, ‘hate speech’ and ‘fake news’. What then is Christian speech? These verses list what it is not. Christian speech should never be a vehicle for anger, lying, deceit or quarrelling, never be used maliciously or to ruin the reputation of others. Rather, as people who have been forgiven, our speech should show forgiveness, compassion and kindness.
It is said that our actions, including our speech, can grieve the Holy Spirit (v 30). Much has been written about this supposedly difficult verse. Yet its meaning is clear. The Holy Spirit dwells within us.4 Our bodies are ‘temples of the Holy Spirit’,5 so of course we grieve the Holy Spirit when we ignore the Spirit’s leading and choose wrong paths. We do not live in Old Testament times when the Spirit came and went. We are not like Samson, ignoring the inner voice and not realising that the Spirit had left him.6 We are ‘sealed’ (v 30). We who have come to God through Christ are protected. Whatever we do, the Holy Spirit will not leave us. It is not complex theology to see that the Holy Spirit, dwelling permanently within us, could be ‘grieved’ by what we choose to do.
O God, prepare our hearts to be fit places in which the Holy Spirit can dwell. Help us never to grieve the Spirit by anything we think, say or do.
1 FR Havergal, 1836–79, ‘Take my life’ 2 Greek dio, meaning for this reason, therefore 32 Cor 3:18; Rom 8:29 4 2 Tim 1:14 51 Cor 6:19 6Judg 16:20
Author
John Harris
