In this message we come to Eph. 4:25-32. In Eph. 4:17-24 Paul gives us the basic principles for the living needed in our daily walk. In verses 22 and 24 we see that the condition for learning Christ is having put off the old man and having put on the new man. Once this condition is met, it is possible for us to live a life of truth, which is the expression of God in the shining of light.
In verses 25 through 32 we have a description of the practical daily life in the learning of Christ. In covering the daily life of learning Christ, Paul goes into a lot of detail. He mentions things such as anger, stealing, bitterness, wrath, clamor, evil speaking, malice, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. Although these details are easy to see, it is more difficult to discern two important matters that Paul’s speaking is based upon. These matters are truth and grace. The apostle’s exhortation in verses 17 through 32 takes truth and grace as its basic elements (vv. 21, 24, 25, and 29). He wants us to live as Jesus did, a life full of grace and truth (John 1:14, 17). Grace is God given to us for our enjoyment, and truth is God revealed to us as our reality. When we live and speak truth (Eph. 4:21, 24), we express God as our reality, and others receive God as grace for their enjoyment (v. 29).
In the New Testament grace and truth are a pair. John 1:14 says that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, full of grace and truth, and verse 17 says that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Just as grace and truth are a pair, so love and light are also a pair. In the Gospel of John we have grace and truth, but in the First Epistle of John we have love and light (4:16; 1:5). Grace is the expression of love, and love is the source of grace. In the same principle, truth is the expression of light, and light is the source of truth. In God’s heart there is love. When this love is expressed, it becomes grace. Likewise, with God there is light. When the light shines forth, it becomes truth. When we trace grace and truth back to their source in God, we are in love and light.
We have pointed out that Paul’s exhortation in 4:17-32 covers both truth and grace. Truth is clearly mentioned, but grace is somewhat hidden, being especially implied in Paul’s mention of the details related to daily living. If we are short of grace, we cannot meet the standard in relation to these details. The principles for our learning of Christ are related to the truth, whereas the details are related to grace. If we would be conformed to the image of Christ, that is, if we would learn Christ, we need both the principles and the details. If we have the truth, we have the principles. If we have grace, we shall succeed in meeting the standard in all the details.
Paul says that we learn Christ as the truth is in Jesus (4:21). The pattern, the mold, set up by the Lord Jesus is the truth. The truth is the principle, the principle is the pattern, and the pattern is a matter of having put off the old man and of having put on the new man. In verses 17 through 24 we have the principle of our renewed daily living for the learning of Christ. This principle is the truth, the living of the Lord Jesus when He was on earth. The Lord’s living was that of always putting off His own life and of putting on the Father’s life. This is the life of Jesus, and this life is the truth that is the principle of a life of learning Christ. According to this principle, we have put off the old man and have put on the new man.
Every aspect of our daily living should be governed by this principle, not by a standard of ethics. For example, our conversation should be governed not by a standard of ethics, but by the New Testament principle of having put off the old man and of having put on the new man. Even how much we laugh or cry should be determined by the principle of having put off the old man and of having put on the new man. This principle is much higher than any ethical standard.
In baptism we put off the old man and put on the new man, which is the church life. Now our daily living in the church life is to be according to the principle of truth, according to the pattern of the life of truth set up by the living of the Lord Jesus. We have been taught according to this principle as the truth is in Jesus.
The details of our daily living are related to grace. In every aspect of our daily living, we need grace. Grace is God Himself in Christ as our enjoyment. We need to allow this enjoyment to remove from us the negative elements mentioned in verse 31. One of these negative elements is bitterness. Without grace, we cannot let go of our bitterness. But when we have God in Christ as our enjoyment, our bitterness will disappear. When we have sufficient grace, we can say, “I am filled with Christ as my enjoyment. Because I am filled to the brim with grace, there is no room in me for bitterness of any kind.”
Only when we are filled with grace will the negative things be removed from us. Take gossip as an example. We enjoy gossiping because we are short of grace. If we are filled with grace, we shall not seek satisfaction in gossiping. On the contrary, we shall be content with the satisfaction that is in Christ. When we are filled with grace and when Christ is everything to us, we have no need to find satisfaction in other things.
Only by grace can we have a life that is according to the divine standard in all the details mentioned by Paul in these verses. If we are filled with grace, then in the place of bitterness, wrath, anger, and clamor, we shall have kindness, patience, mercy, forgiveness, and love. These qualities come not from self-effort, but from Christ as our enjoyment. When Christ is our enjoyment, we have no appetite for bitterness, wrath, anger, or clamor. Instead, we desire to have kindness, patience, endurance, gentleness, mercy, love, and various other virtues and qualities. What a difference it makes in our daily living when we are happy and satisfied through the enjoyment of God in Christ as grace!
Let us now consider the details of a living of learning Christ. In verse 25 Paul says, “Wherefore, having put off the falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” Falsehood here refers to anything that is false in nature. As we have put off the old man, we have also put off everything false. If we have the enjoyment of Christ, then in a practical way in our daily living we shall put off every false thing. The most honest and faithful people are those who have the full enjoyment of Christ. When we are filled to the brim with Christ, all falsehood will be put away from us.
Having put off the falsehood, we should speak truth each one with his neighbor. When we are filled with Christ, our speaking will be of things that are true. In our speaking there will be no lies and no vanity.
Verses 26 and 27 say, “Be angry, and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your indignation, neither give place to the Devil.” Anger itself is not sin, but it is dangerously close to sin. We should not continue in anger, but rather relinquish our anger before the sun sets.
According to the four Gospels, the Lord Jesus sometimes was angry. But His anger was always under control. Hence, He could be angry and not sin. It must be the same with us in our daily living. Our anger must be under control. Otherwise, serious damage will result. In order to control our anger, we need much grace. The more we enjoy Christ, the more our anger will be limited and controlled.
In verse 26 Paul tells us not to let the sun go down on our indignation. We should be slow to become angry, but we should be quick to relinquish our anger. According to this verse, we should not keep it past the setting of the sun. We should not let our anger carry over into the next day. According to the Scriptures, we must relinquish our anger before the sun goes down. We all need to practice this. For such a practice, we need God in Christ as grace. If we have the supply of grace, we shall be slow to anger, and we shall not remain angry very long when we do become angry. If we have grace, our anger will not linger.
Verse 27 says, “Neither give place to the Devil.” According to the context, to continue in anger is to give place to the Devil. In nothing should we give any place to him. If we hold on to our anger, we are actually welcoming the Devil. But if we relinquish our anger, we close the door to the Devil and give him no place.
Verse 28 continues, “Let him who steals steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his own hands that which is good, that he may have to share with him who has need.” In a book of such high revelation, the apostle still touches things on a practical level, even such low things as anger and stealing. Stealing is due mainly to slothfulness and greed. Hence, the apostle charges him who steals to labor instead of being slothful and to share what he gains with others instead of being greedy.
Verse 29 says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for needful building up, that it may give grace to those who hear.” The Greek word for corrupt signifies something that is noxious, offensive, or worthless. Our conversation should not corrupt others, but should build them up. The church and every member of the church need the proper building up. This building up is accomplished primarily by our speaking. What proceeds out of our mouth should be that which is good for the building up of the church and all the saints.
Furthermore, the word out of our mouth should give grace to those who hear. Grace is God embodied in Christ as our enjoyment and supply. Our word should convey this as grace to others. The word that builds up others always ministers grace to the hearers. Our word should communicate God in Christ as enjoyment, imparting Christ to others as their life supply.
In verse 30 Paul says, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in Whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.” The word “and” at the beginning of this verse indicates that in addition to all the things mentioned in verses 25 through 29, one crucial thing is needed, that is, that we should not grieve the Holy Spirit. To grieve the Holy Spirit is to displease Him. The Holy Spirit abides in us forever (John 14:16-17); He never leaves us. Hence, He is grieved when we do not walk according to Him (Rom. 8:4). If we have a life according to the principle of truth with grace for the details of our daily walk, we shall not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. However, if we do not live this way, the Spirit within us will be grieved.
For the Holy Spirit to be grieved means that He is not happy with us. Often when we feel unhappy, that feeling of unhappiness is actually the feeling of the Holy Spirit. However, when He feels happy within us, we are happy also. A proper life according to truth and in grace will always make the Holy Spirit happy and give us the joy of the Spirit.
In the apostle’s exhortation in verses 17 through 32, there are not only grace and truth as the basic elements, but there are also the life of God (v. 18) and the Spirit of God as the basic factors on the positive side and the Devil (v. 27) on the negative side. It is by the life of God in the Spirit of God, with no place given to the Devil, that we can live a life full of grace and truth as the Lord Jesus did.
In verse 31 Paul says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be removed from you, with all malice.” All the evil things mentioned in this verse can be removed from us if we enjoy God in Christ as our grace. For example, there will be no clamor in our daily living, and there will be no evil speaking. No one who lives by the principle of truth and in grace will speak evil of others.
Finally, verse 32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as also God in Christ forgave you.” Only the enjoyment of Christ as our life supply and as our joy can make our hearts tender. If we are tenderhearted, we shall forgive others. In our daily walk, we need both to forgive others and to ask others to forgive us. This is necessary because we are easily offended and we easily offend others. If we have offended someone, we need to ask for forgiveness. But if we have been offended, we need to extend forgiveness to others, even as God in Christ has forgiven us.
In his exhortation in this section, the apostle presents God as the pattern of our daily life. By the life of God, in His Spirit, we can forgive as God forgives. If this is our daily living, we shall not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. To have such a living, we need to live according to truth and by God in Christ as our grace.
