Ephesians 4:25-32 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. 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. 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. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
The devil always seeks a foothold in people's lives. He is roaring and prowling, seeking those who will not commit totally to living for Christ, completely obedient to the authority of God. When people keep one foot in the world and one foot in faith, they are open to the ravaging of the devil. He will destroy lives, families, communities and nations if given an opportunity. The call for mankind to turn from the Evil One’s destructive behavior has been from the beginning of existence. Before the flood, men’s desire to be free from God led them into behaviors that were selfish, hurtful, and violent. God put an end to their existence. Rather than freedom, death became their destiny. Man’s lifestyle outside of God’s authority will always be judged. Ezekiel prophesied to the Israelites this awful condition of living outside of God’s will. “Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die? (Ezekiel 33:10-11) Why should you die is the operative question in life for everyone. Why take on the devil’s evil attributes? In the above focus we see Paul encouraging the Ephesians to put away the old self and its clothing: stop lying, stop allowing anger to fester in your lives, stop stealing; work instead of stealing. He says, get rid of unwholesome talk, bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and every form of malice. When James writes to Christians, he tells them to get rid of their double-minded attitude about living. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4) James goes on, Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (James 4:7-8) Willful sinning interferes with God’s desire for people He wants people to be as He is: good, loving and caring. As Ezekiel said, sin causes a wasting away of those who were called to be children of the living God. But praise God we are not like those who dwell permanently in sin. Paul advises the Christians of Ephesus to take inventory of their lives and to get rid of the old lifestyle and put on the new clothing that is available to all Christians in and through the Holy Spirit. Instead of anger and bitterness towards others, each of us should, Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave us. But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18) We are to plant seeds of peace. Not just one seed but seeds. Seeking every day to accommodate other people’s needs, to be sensitive to a hurting world, providing life for those we meet, not death. Sin and a self-willed nature can bring death to people, but if we live by and in the Holy Spirit, light will come to people, and because of our lives many will be convinced of the cause of Christ. Therefore we should not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom we were sealed for the day of redemption.
As children of God in a very troubled and violent world, we should bring as much peace as we can into every situation, especially within the community of believers. Don’t speak evil against each other, dear brothers and sisters. If you criticize and judge each other, then you are criticizing and judging God’s law. But your job is to obey the law, not to judge whether it applies to you. God alone, who gave the law, is the Judge. He alone has the power to save or to destroy. So what right do you have to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11-12) What law is James speaking about? Love your neighbor as yourself. This law plus loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength fulfills all the commandments given in the written law. Paul tells the Ephesians to stop sinning, for they are violating both of these cardinal laws. First, by doing what they are doing, they reveal they are not completely dedicated to God’s authority, and secondly, by acting adversely to others, taking advantage of others by stealing and lying, they are not obedient to loving others as themselves. With such self-willed behavior, they are not living born-again lives. James is very hard on the actions of this kind of Christian. What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:1-3) These kind of Christians are captivated with worldly desires, even to war and kill for their selfish wants. These words of James are hard for us to understand, but sadly people have been willingly to war and kill for reasons that amount to winning the world for themselves. In the above focus we see Paul telling the Christians in Ephesus Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. He warns them not to let anger despoil their Christian testimony. If they allow anger to rule their lives, they will blend in well with the secular world, a world full of rage, hatred, and violence. How will the world know that the Christ-life is different from theirs if Christians look like the world, clothed with dissension, hurt, discord, division, and criticism. These characteristics of the evil one should not control a Christian’s life. We see cultish religions fully clothed with violence and hate. As Christians, we should not wear such a uniform. We are to bring restoration, healing to a sick and dying world. Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. Even though he sought the blessing with tears, he could not change what he had done. (Hebrews (12:14-17)
Jesus knew as he was leaving his disciples to go back to heaven that the world will hate them as they hated him, for his disciples would bring a contrast to the dark, self-willed nature of men and women. The world functions around discord, envy and lust for power and recognition. Christians bring into this context servanthood to a living and loving God. We see the attributes of God so clearly in Galatians 5: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. As ambassadors of God, we should reveal his nature to the world. But if our lives are wrapped up in the world with one foot in the secular realm and one foot in faith, we will find ourselves reflecting the world’s attitude about life. Jesus knew He was leaving his disciples with very little physical protection in this world. He knew his message would not be accepted by the majority of the people. His disciples were chosen by God to be his constant companions: they slept by his side, they ate with him, they touched him, and they told Jesus how much they loved him. Yet, except for John, these men who Jesus loved would all die a violent death. They would experience no love from the world. Jesus left them with his name only. They would do everything in the name of Jesus; his name would heal, cast out demons, and restore people to eternal life. HIs name was eternal life, a born-again life. But even under his powerful name, the vicissitudes of life would reach the disciples, and finally death would take the lives of these new creatures. People of which the world was not worthy. But Jesus did not pray for them only, for He had other loved ones of his that would follow these dedicated disciples. My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:20-23) Paul is dealing now with Greek people who have come to the Lord in faith. These are some of the people that Jesus was praying for before the ascension. He knew their lives would be difficult as they were for his own disciples, but He prayed that the Ephesians would be one with him and one with the Father. Paul wanted them to focus on that fact of being one with the Father God and one with the Lord Jesus Christ. He knew oneness meant total commitment to God and that oneness meant loving others as God loved the world. Without loving God with all their hearts and loving others as themselves, they were separating themselves from the eternal God. So Paul tells them to put off these fleshly elements of the world. He reminds them that they have been sealed for eternal life by the Holy Spirit. Jesus at his water baptism received God’s full recognition by the Holy Spirit's presence on him. Jesus told the disciples to receive this presence of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit." (John 20:21-22) In Jesus' prayer to the Father, He says, I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one. The disciples received the glory through the presence of the Holy Spirit within them. Paul reminds the Ephesians that they have received the same Holy Spirit; therefore, they should live as one in Christ and the Father. They should remember they are leaving behind their old lives and putting forth the new life that now is resident in them. We who are around this breakfast table should do likewise. Because of Christ's redeeming blood on the cross, we are possessors of new life, guaranteed by the Holy Spirit within us. Christ prayed for us. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. (John 17:11) We are to be one with Christ, not displaying the old nature, but manifesting the new nature that comes from the glory of God that is in us: the Holy Spirit. Paul tells the Ephesians to put off the old man, discard his clothing, burn it with the purity of God in them, and walk in their new garments of life. Amen!
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