Study of Ephesians

Week 16

Ephesians 4:30-32

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

 

Paul is continuing his message to those who had come to faith in Christ in Ephesus. They were, for the most part, Gentiles, those apart from a Jewish faith.

He provided sound doctrinal teaching as to who they were in Christ. Now he continued to teach them what walking in Him should look like.

 

Like any good parent or teacher, Paul repeated himself. Yet, these last three verses of chapter 4, provided a stronger context for his message.

 

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by who you were sealed for the day of redemption…”

Before Christ, these people would never have dreamed that the God would have dwelt inside them. That was a foreign concept. This statement was not one that was made to invoke fear.  Quite the contrary. Paul longed for them to not just come to faith in Christ, but by their actions, to walk in unity. Also, Paul’s desire was for them to show a dying world around them of the hope that they could have in Christ.

 

In other words, as Paul wrote in Colossians 1:27, “To them, (that is all of us!) God has chosen to make know among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the HOPE OF GLORY!”

 

Paul had high hopes for these young Christ followers in Ephesus. He wanted them to succeed in their spiritual walk in Christ. He wanted them to know their hope of glory!

 

Only then did Paul focus on certain behaviors that at one time had been a part of their everyday life and culture, but now in Christ, should no longer be a part of their lives. In fact, he tells them that these types of behavior from them, or us, would grieve the Spirit of God.

 

Bitterness means quite literally, bitter hatred. Put it away.

Wrath means emotionally charged outbursts in anger. Put it away.

Anger in this context means opposition to another stemming from an internal vengeful position. Put is away.

Clamor means to literally scream out an another. Put it away.

Slander means to use abusive, damaging language against someone. Put it away.

Malice means to show spite and having an inward evil disposition. Put it away.

 

It seems to me that the reason Paul highlighted these problems were that first, these much have been prevalent behaviors in their culture. And secondly, each of these sins literally attacked the identity of another believer, an identity just created in faith in Christ.

 

Paul’s antidote, “put it away” so as not to grieve the Holy Spirit.

 

But he doesn’t stop there.

 

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

 

That verse alone becomes a mirror for us, a reflection of the life of Christ at work in us, doesn’t it?

 

1 Peter 3:8 puts it this way, “Let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted, and humble in spirit.”

 

Question for discussion (your email is never posted or shared)

How has the work of the Holy Spirit in your life been fleshed out? Any circumstance where you were tempted to use your old behavior, yet the Spirit of God led you in a different direction?