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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Ephesians 4:29 - 4:32
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Of sins against Christian fellowship:
v. 29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
v. 30. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
v. 31. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice;
v. 32. and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, for giving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
The apostle here again, as in v. 25, mentions sins of the tongue: Every corrupt speech, out of your mouth let it not proceed; but such as is good for the building up of the need, that it may give grace to the hearers. Christians should not be guilty of such speech, such utterance, such talk as is worthless, bad, rotten, putrid, foul. The inclination to this sin is present also in the Christian, as the Lord says Mat_15:19. But the believers must not permit this inclination to express itself in language of this nature. All their speech should rather have the object of serving their neighbor for good, for the edification applied to his need. As our neighbor stands in need, we should come to his aid with instruction, admonition, consolation, in order that he may be confirmed and furthered in faith and in every good thing. In this may we bring him a benefit, show him a kindness, impart a blessing to him. On the other hand, the apostle warns: And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption. With great solemnity he gives the full name of the third person of the Godhead, for the sin which he is discussing is a very serious matter. The Holy Spirit lives in the hearts of the believers as in His temple, and therefore the Christians should fear to offer Him an insult and thus to drive Him away. Foul talk of every kind is not to be thought of lightly, as a breath that the wind takes away, but it is heard by the Holy Spirit of God, who feels deeply grieved and insulted over such behavior. For in and by the Spirit we are sealed, made certain, of our salvation, and it is His intention that we reach our destination, the redemption of our souls. How can it be possible, then, for us to be so ungrateful as to inflict any insult or sorrow upon this Spirit of our salvation!
St. Paul now goes to the root of the matter when he writes: All bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and blasphemy, let it he put away from you, with all malice. It is this condition of the heart that brings out the foul and foolish talk: bitterness, resentfulness, harshness, when a person always walks around with a chip on his shoulder, ready to break forth at the slightest provocation; wrath, the sudden burst of fury, as well as anger, the steady, continued feeling of displeasure toward one's neighbor which plans vengeance; blasphemy, scolding, maledictions. All these things should be removed from the Christian's heart, together with all malice, all wickedness, all ill will in general. Paul does not name the climax of the sin whose first steps he describes, he does not speak of actual blows; for he is writing to Christians, who surely will not forget their position as children of God to such an extent as deliberately to indulge in fisticuffs. They will rather, as Paul writes, make it a practice to be kind to one another, show themselves benignant at all times; also tender-hearted, full of fellow-feeling and hearty compassion; forgiving one another, not unwillingly or grudgingly, but graciously and willingly, each one dealing with his neighbor as with himself. And all this with the great love of God and the inexpressible sacrifice of Christ before his eyes: Even as also God in Christ has graciously forgiven you. God's grace and mercy was manifested in Christ, proved itself in Christ, who by His death accomplished the reconciliation of the world. Just as God in Christ showed us such immeasurable love, so we should show love toward our neighbor; the incomparable love of Christ toward us should be the motive and the strength of our love.
The apostle admonishes the Christians to keep the unity of the Spirit in peace, to serve one another with the gifts received from God, and thus to assist the growth of the Church, with special reference to the gifts of the ministry; he warns them to abstain from the vices of the Gentiles; he exhorts them to put down the old Adam, and to put on the new man with all Christian virtues, all for the promotion of Christian fellowship.