EPHESIANS 4 vv25-32

Discarding the ugliness of the old for the beauty of the new         (25-32)

Throughout all of these verses, Paul is contrasting the virtues of the new man with the vileness of the old.   This is what you were....this is what you now are, so live it out!   There are four main areas in which this radical change will be evident.
1)       Our attitude to slander   verses 25-27  
2)       Our attitude to stealing   verse  28
3)       Our attitude to speaking(particularly in public)   verses 29-30
4)       Our attitude to the saints   verses 31-32

These represent major areas of life, involving the devil, material things, the Holy Spirit, and the people of God.   In each area there are negatives and positives and reasons given why there ought to be a difference.

1)   verses 25-27   the issue of slander....this is a very big part of human behaviour, the propensity to believe ill of another, and the tendency to falsely accuse without due attention to the truth.   This comes in many guises, and has no place in Christianity;   it may be the way of the world, it is not to be the practice of believers who are the recipients of the grace of God.   That this is the subject of these verses is evident as follows......the word for "lying" is falsehood, or "the lie", that is the biblical word for all that is of the father of lies, the devil.   Indeed to practise this is to "give place to the devil."   There are many depictions in the bible of Satan, and this one "diabolos" is the false accuser, or the arch-slanderer.   Slander is his stock and trade, and deception is his ploy.   He is not concerned with the truth, and he fills the world with his delusions.   By dealing in slander the believer is doing his work and giving him, the master slanderer, a foothold in their life, and therefore in the church.   The context of Psalm 4 which Paul quotes here supports this view;   there the writer is concerned with people acting in a godless way by dealing in falsehood "...how long will ye turn my glory into shame, how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing(falsehood-slander).   Quoting from Zechariah 8v16 Paul says put away the practise of false accusation, be done with slander, and "Speak every man truth with his neighbour."   Do not deal in lies, but in truth, and that with every one, and in order to emphasize it he reminds them of the truth of the body, he has taught them in chapters 1-4 "for we are members one of another".   The individual members of a body will not oppose other members, otherwise the body will be very sick indeed.   We are to be done with falsehood....but further,  (and here he continues the argument of Psalm 4)....."Be angry and sin not...." this is the Septuagint translation of verse 4 of the Psalm "stand in awe and sin not....."   This refers to David's way of coping with slander directed toward him.   As God's people we will become the objects of slander, from the devil(Revelation12v10), from the world of sinners(John 16v1-3), from false brethren(Galatians 2v4, 2 Corinthians 11v13).    We are not to dwell on it, allow it to bring us down, indeed it is not wrong to be angry when falsely accused, but we are to swiftly bring it to an end on the very day that it happens to us "let not the sun go down on your wrath(provocation)."   Deal with it in the presence of God on the day before you close your eyes in sleep....do not carry it on to another day, see it for what it is in the presence of God.   The Psalmist puts it like this "...commune with your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah".   If angered by what someone has done or said falsely against you, resolve it in your mind before God and rest.   In summary, do not deal in falsehoods, do not dwell on falsehoods directed against you, do not let it fester to another day.   The Lord Jesus said "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

2)   verse 28...the issue of stealing     Paul is very precise about this "let him that stole, steal no more.." be done with it, finish it completely, notice the command NO MORE!   Stealing (taking what does not belong to me) is part of everyday life and has many aspects to it, but it is no longer to be the lifestyle of the Christian.   This goes to the whole aspect of our view of our possessions... in another place  he says "be content with such things as you have" and again "having food and raiment let us be therewith content."   Stealing is a sin, forbidden in the eighth commandment and represents an unlawful desire to gain at the expense of another.   It's many forms include armed robbery, petty theft, extortion, fraud, tax evasion, unpaid debt, reset, plagiarism, identity theft, intellectual property theft, scams etc.   In spiritual things, the bible highlights the sin of "stealing the hearts of the people", and also the possibility of "robbing God."   The cure to all of this is to "work with your own hands the thing which is good"....use your own energy, your own time, your own talent, to produce "the thing that is good."   Rather than taking from others what is not for you, supply by your efforts that which is profitable.   The issue of this is not to amass great possessions for yourself, but that you "may have to give to him that needeth."   Your surplus through honest use of time and talent for the benefit of those who lack.   God turns the robber into a benefactor, in the hands of Almighty God the parasite becomes the provider, the taker becomes the giver.

3)   verses 29-30... the issue of speaking       Paul now focuses on the evils of the tongue, how words can be used for good or bad.   "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth...."   The Apostle James warns against the immoral use of the tongue, which can be so hurtful.   Paul, however is concerned here with the doctrinal misuse of the tongue which is to the detriment of the saints.   Clearly he is referring to public communication when he talks of the need to "minister grace to the hearers."   He is thinking of the propagation of "every wind of doctrine, and the deception of men lying in wait to deceive" which he mentioned in chapter 4v14.   His burden here is of doctrinal hygiene in the teaching of God's word.   There must be nothing that is corrupt , nothing of the old nature, nothing of the doctrines of demons who controlled us before.   The language is very emphatic "Let no corrupt communication....." absolutely nothing at all, not even a hint of evil in our communication of the things of God.   The only thing we should be communicating is that which edifies the saints, and which ministers grace to the hearers.   Failure in this will grieve the Holy Spirit who dwells within us until the day of our redemption.   Teaching which does not edify and minister grace is an offence to the Spirit who is the revealer of God in His word.   Doctrinal purity is what is in view, the need to accurately communicate Divine truth.

4)   verses 31-32     the issue of the saints       Twice over in these verses he says ""one another".   He continues the theme of verse 25 "members one of another."   Behaviour one to another is paramount in the church.   There are six vices of the old man to be put away, there are three virtues of the new to replace them.

• All bitterness........harbouring of resentment, continuing disputes, raking up of past faults.   Actually betrays hatred, when there should be love;   an unforgiving spirit among those who have been forgiven.
• All wrath.....overflowing passion, a venting of temper, uncontrolled rage.
• All anger.....a different word(orge) which is a settled, deeply held, inward, implacable attitude.
• All clamour...loud, vocal, justifying of oneself, constant assertion of one's rights, and self proclamation, argumentative.
• All evil speaking....the word used is "blasphemia", attributing to a saint evil motives, from which will come false accusation, even slander.
• All malice.......the greek word kakia means badness, the desire to bring someone down, to defame, a disposition to hurt another.

The above ugly traits may take many forms and all of them have to be put away, removed altogether,

and replaced with three virtues, worthy of our new life.

• Kindness one to another......chrestos, literally to become employed in the interests of others, sacrificing self interest to make the needs of others your concern, graciousness, a practise of becoming useful to others.
• Tender hearted.....as opposed to hard hearted, showing real affection, especially to God's people.
• Forgiving one another.....the standard is high, wrongs done to others are seen as debts which must be paid;   since we were unable to pay our debt to God and have received His forgiveness, in the same way, and, in the same measure, we are to forgive those who sin against us....."according as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you."   Jesus suggested to Peter there was no situation when forgiveness should not be forthcoming, but sorrowful repentance should also be in evidence on the part of the offender.