Over the last couple of weeks, we've seen Paul starting to pull his entire argument in Ephesians together. God is in the process of creating one holy family, who will live in peace with Him and with each other. Or we can say, God is in the process of creating one holy body-- one person-- with Jesus as the body's head. And we are in the process of growing into Jesus, as we become spiritually mature.
Our job, in response to this, is to walk worthily of our calling. If God wants us to be one holy family, we need to live holy lives in community. We need to be a second family to each other, where we care about each other, and where we are committed to each other.
To this end, Paul has used two different pictures to help us understand this. The first picture uses walking imagery. All of life is lived at a fork in the road, and we are constantly faced with the choice of which road we will walk down next. We can choose the old road of selfishness, and hatred, and idolatry. But God calls us to choose the road of holiness, and righteousness, and faithfulness.
Paul's second picture uses clothing imagery. Imagine, for a moment, your own closet. You can see it? It's more or less full. Things are more or less folded, perhaps. If you're married, one side of the closet maybe looks a lot nicer than the other.
Now, there is a certain kind of person in this world, who, when she opens up her closet doors, sees only a vast emptiness. There is this great cosmic void, this black whole of nothingness. A bystander peeking in that closet may see something quite different. The bystander might assume that since the closet is packed, that there must be suitable clothing for any possible occasion. But the owner of that closet, looking inside, says, "I have nothing to wear."
What Paul pictures is a little different from that. There's a different kind of person in this world-- the college-aged male, who isn't too concerned about women. The college-aged male works his way through his closet of clothes, one day at a time, and at the end of each day, the pile of dirty clothing gets a little bigger. Eventually, things start to get a little desperate, and he starts flipping things inside out, that were never meant to be flipped inside out. Do socks and underwear have a clean side, and a dirty side? The college-aged male sometimes says "yes" to that. But in the absence of a mother who washes his clothes for him, the day eventually comes when there's one single clean outfit hanging up in the closet, and there's many other outfits, more or less dirty, scattered on the floor.
It's on that morning, that the college male is presented with the same choice that Paul describes. There is one piece of clean clothing that you can put on. Or, you can grab something dirty, and sweat-stained, and smelly, off the floor. Paul encourages his churches, don't put on your old sinful, stained way of life. Don't go back to that. Instead, every day, choose to put on the clean, new outfit. In Ephesians, Paul describes this as putting on a new way of life. In Colossians, Paul says, put on Christ.
So Paul presents us with two pictures for what this new life looks like. The first, revolves around the idea of walking on a new path. The second, revolves around the idea of putting on a clean, new outfit. These two pictures, of walking, and clothing, were in the verses we read last week. Let's reread them at this point, Ephesians
4:17-24:
(17) And so then, this I say-- and I insist in the Lord:
that you no longer walk
just as also the Gentiles/nations walk in the futility of their mind, (Eph. 2:3)
(18) being darkened in their understanding, (as opposed to enlightened, 1:17-18)
being alienated from the life of God (Eph. 2:12, 19)
because of the lack of knowledge being in them (1:17)
because of the hardness of their heart,
(19) who, having become calloused/despairing, themselves they gave over to self-abandonment
for the pursuit of all uncleanness, while always wanting more.
(20) Now, you did not in this way learn Christ--
(21) if indeed him you heard (about),
and in him you were taught,
just as is truth in Jesus,
(22) to take off the old man of your former way of life-- the one being ruined by deceitful desires--
(23) now, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, (contrast with 4:17; 2:3)
(24) and to put on the new man-- the one in accordance with God, being created in/with/by righteousness and holiness from/of the truth.
With this, we come to new verses. Here, Paul goes into some specifics about this different sort of life that God has planned out for us. What's the new shirt look like? What's the new path that you walk? What Paul does in these verses, isn't give a comprehensive overview, but rather, four or five examples, or areas of life, where this new shirt comes into play. These examples are designed to stir up our spiritual imagination, and think about all the different areas of life, where this new life comes into play.
Example #1:
The first example, is verse 25:
(25) Therefore, taking off the lie, speak truth -- each of you-- with his neighbor
because we are members/body parts of one another.
It's possible here that Paul is simply saying, don't lie to each other. Be truth-tellers, whose word is trustworthy (so Clifton Arnold, I think). But I think Paul is saying more than this. This phrase, "taking off the lie," ties into the clothing imagery. Part of what it means, to take off the old self, is to take off the lie. And what's the lie? The lie, is all the false things we used to tell ourselves about how to make it in this world: That your old clothing, your old self, is the one you should put on every morning. That you should live selfishly, looking out for #1, because the world is a hard, difficult place. That you should take revenge on people when they hurt you, and not forgive. That if you find yourself in a hard spot, there's no harm in turning to your old gods. Be greedy, because you can never have enough. Above all else, in the words of a modern poet, if something makes you happy, it can't be that bad.
The old self, with its slavery to the mind and to the flesh, is what God calls us to take off. And what we replace with, instead, is speaking truth to each other. So what's the truth? The truth is the opposite of the lie. The truth, is there are things we don't do. There are things we don't say. We forgive. And this isn't something we just need to hear from a pastor. It's something we need to hear from each other. If I'm struggling with bitterness, or hatred, or unforgiveness, and I'm venting to you about that, what I need is you to give me a tough word, in love. "You need to forgive." If I'm thinking about throwing away my marriage for some other woman, I need someone to speak truth to me, that I committed to [ ], and God expects me to be faithful.
All of us understand that there is risk in speaking truth to one another. No one wants to hear someone say, "You're doing this wrong. You have a bad attitude. You're wearing your old way of life." And if someone is living in a place of anger, and unforgiveness, they might respond by turning on you. No one wants to hear tough words, even when given in love.
But our expectation in this church should be, that we are a church who speaks the truth to one another. We should expect that from each other. And we should understand that when people are brave enough to do this for us, that it's done from a place of love and concern.
Now, there's one other reason why we are supposed to do this for each other. In verse 25, Paul says that the reason we speak the truth to one another, is because we are members, or body parts, of one another. When one part of our body is messed up, all the other parts suffer. When your foot hurts, you tend to baby it, and that tends to lead to knee problems, which leads to hip and back problems. Everything's interconnected. It'd be nice if we could ignore the bad foot, and pretend that it's not a problem. If a foot had a habit of stepping on thorns, it'd be nice if only affected the foot. But that's not how the body works. So we all build each other up (Eph. 4:13), because we are one interconnected body. How you are doing spiritually, impacts me, so if only for that reason alone, I need to care about you.
Example #2:
With this, we come to verse 26 and 27-- a second practical example of the new clothing we put on:
(26) Be angry,
and don't sin. (Psalm 4:4)
The sun shouldn't set on your anger,
(27) nor give an opportunity to the devil (Matthew 16:23; Luke 11:24).
There are times when you'll find that you're super angry about something. If you're like me, anger is something that tends to sneak up on you slowly, until you find with surprise that you're super upset. I'm a crockpot, when it comes to anger. Other people are more like a microwave, ready to go immediately. Either way, when you find that you're angry, don't sin. [Technically, Paul commands people to be angry, but I think that's best explained as being due to it being a quotation from Psalm 4:4, which in context basically means, "You are angry, but be careful what you do with that anger. Be quiet about it-- don't give voice to it-- and turn to God, in light of these bad people doing bad things, and trust Him to help when you call on him."]. You're mad, but that anger needs to controlled. Be careful what you say, and how you say it. Be careful what you do.
On top of that, anger isn't something you should carry around for very long. It's not a fire that you feed, so that it won't go out. Let it burn out, sooner than later. And then, Paul talks about the devil. "The sun shouldn't set on your anger, nor give an opportunity to the devil."
The key, debated word in this sentence is the one I've translated "opportunity." The word can also mean, a "place." So the question is, does anger potentially create a "place" for the devil, or an "opportunity," or both?
If the word means "place" (KJV), the idea is that when Christians don't handle their anger very well, they create a place either inside of themselves, or inside of the church, where Satan is able to do what he wants. And so we find ourselves wrestling with uncomfortable questions. Can Christians, to some degree, be "possessed" or "controlled" by demons? Can they be inhabited by demons? Or, many Bible translations here say, "Don't give a foothold to the devil." I think that's ambiguous, but the idea might be along those lines. Maybe Satan is able to carve out a little piece of you for himself, when you don't deal well with anger. And the risk is that the foothold turns into something bigger.
English Bibles kind of lend themselves to thoughts along these lines, and truthfully, I'm a little unsettled about all of that. The idea that Christians can have a demon inside of them, isn't an idea found anywhere else in the NT. Demons can attack Christians. They can harm Christians. But is there evidence that Satan can take control of Christians, or move in, when they deal with anger poorly?
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There are two sort of close examples I can think of. The first, is Mark 8:33. But here, when Jesus calls Peter "Satan," I think the title "Satan" retains some of its base Hebrew meaning of "Adversary," and Jesus goes on in the "because" statement to very clearly address Peter, and not Satan. What follows isn't an exorcism/conversation with a demon, as in Mark 5, but Jesus teaching Peter (along with the disciples and the crowd) about how discipleship works. If Peter was inhabited by Satan, and if Peter's words were actually Satan's words, then the "because" statement would be addressed to Satan.
The second is Matthew 12:43-45. But here, Jesus is addressing the Pharisees and teachers of the law, who Jesus calls a wicked and adulterous generation. It's people like that, who resist Jesus, and refuse to become Jesus' disciples, and probably who have no openness to the Holy Spirit, who are setting themselves up to become inhabited by unclean spirits. That's the "generation" of people who are setting themselves up to get inhabited once Jesus leaves-- not Jesus' disciples (who will not be left like an empty house, but will receive the Holy Spirit, and who Jesus immediately goes on to talk about as being family, Matthew 12:46-50).
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I don't think Paul is talking about Satan carving out a "place" inside of you. I think the word here means "opportunity." Probably, what Paul means, is this: "Don't give the devil an opportunity to cause harm" (Eph. 6:16). When you embrace sins like anger, you lose your spiritual armor, and you become vulnerable to destructive, unclean spirits. The end result, is that Satan gains an opportunity to harm you, and harm the church.
What might this look like?
One example, revolves around the many demonic teachings floating around in the church as a whole. There are people who forbid marriage, and who say that Christians shouldn't eat pork (1 Timothy 4:1-2). There are people who tell you that you can live however you want as a Christian, and still expect to inherit God's kingdom when you die (Ephesians 5:5-6). When you live a compromised life, those false, demonic teachings become more attractive. Why? Because you want to be deceived, and told that you're ok. You want to continue to live as a slave to Sin, and wear the old shirts, and walk the old paths. You want to be told that all of your sins, past, present, and future, are already forgiven, and that you are clean and holy, regardless of how you live (contrast 1 John 3). You want to think it's okay to say whatever you want, to whomever you want, because you just needed to vent, or because those people had it coming. Mean people deserve your anger, and hostility.
A second example, of how we can give the devil an opportunity to cause harm, would be through seeking out other spiritual beings, besides God. When Christians use things like Ouija boards, or Tarot cards, they are seeking spiritual direction and guidance from other gods, other spirits. When Christians offer sacrifices to other gods (Deuteronomy 32:17), as the Corinthians did (1 Corinthians 10:20), they give the devil opportunity to cause harm. Demons aren't going to really help you; demons harm you.
When you embrace demonic guidance, and demonic lies, your heart and mind become calloused, and you find that the new clothing God has for you, and the new path in life, become less attractive. You find yourself believing that a sinful lifestyle isn't a big deal (Colossians 2:8; Eph. 5:6).
And once you go down that path, and become compromised, you completely lose your spiritual power. You lose your confidence that God hears your prayers, and that God says "yes" to those prayers (1 John 3:21). You lose your boldness, in encouraging backsliding Christians to turn back to God, because you feel like a total hypocrite doing so. And you lose your boldness, in telling people the good news about Jesus (because you aren't appropriating the blessings of that good news). All in all, you become useless to God. You give Satan an opportunity to make you useless.
So I'm not so sure that Satan can carve out a place inside Christians to live, but he can certainly do great harm to God's people, when they choose to live a compromised life. And just to return to the passage, anger in particular is the thing that Paul singles out here. When you're angry, be careful what you do with that anger, because what you do next, will determine whether Satan has an opportunity to harm you, and an opportunity to make you useless to God.
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Places where "topos" is used metaphorically to means something like "opportunity," rather than "place" (all references are from the standard lexicons, LSJ, BDAG, Brill). I think, in particular, when this word is combined with the verb "to give," the expression clearly means, "to give an opportunity." References:
Sirach 4:5 (LES):
5 Do not avert your eye from the poor,
and do not give any REASON for a person to curse you.
Polybius 1.88.2:
Most places in Libya submitted to Carthage after this battle. But the towns of Hippo and Utica still held out, feeling that they had no reasonable grounds for obtaining terms, because their original acts of hostility left them no PLACE for mercy or pardon.
Acts 25:16 (NRSV):
16 I told them that it was not the custom of the Romans to hand over anyone before the accused had met the accusers face to face and had been given an OPPORTUNITY to make a defense against the charge.
Hebrews 12:17 (NRSV updated):
17 You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no CHANCE to repent, even though he sought the blessing[d] with tears.
Romans 15:22-24a (NRSV updated):
22 This is the reason that I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, with no further PLACE for me in these regions, I desire, as I have for many years, to come to you 24 when I go to Spain.
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Example #3:
With this, we come to our third picture of what it looks like to put on the new self. Verse 28:
(28) The one stealing, no longer must steal.
Now, rather, he must labor,
producing with his own hands the good,
in order that he would have something to share with the one having need.
Paul here forms a contrast between two different ways of life. Some people steal for a living. Others, work.
And God's people need to be the type of people who labor, rather than steal. Now, the Greek word for work that Paul uses here is a tough word. Work has a tendency to turn into labor, when you work long hours, or work a tough job, or work a job where things tend to constantly just go a bit haywire. If you're a farmer during harvest, work has a way of becoming labor. Right? Nothing quite works smoothly. Paul expects that this is normal, and natural. It's okay for work to become labor. In fact, it's good when this happens, because it means you're working enough.
It's also good when this happens, because of the end result. When you work, you produce "the good." What is "the good?" It's money, earned the right way. Wealth is the good.
Our hope is that most months, after we've labored, and paid all our bills, that we have extra in our bank account. We get the bank statement, and we look at the debits and credits, and we see that we're better off financially at the end, than we were at the beginning.
And Paul's expectation, is that we view this surplus as something available to help people in need. Sometimes, that will mean simply giving money to people in need. More often, I think, it means lending money to people without interest, to help them cover unexpected bills.
Now, the complicated part of this for us, as American Christians, is that we live in a socialist society, where a huge percentage of our income goes toward taxes, and some of those taxes go toward things like food stamps, and medical assistance, and rental assistance, and heating assistance, and phone bill assistance. I saw once that a single mom in Pennsylvania with two kids, is better off making 29K a year, than she is making 70k, because of all the government assistance that's available to her.
Given that we live in this socialist country, I think it's ok to say, that we need to be wise about who we will help, and how we help them. Most people begging for money, are either milking the system, since they are actively getting government help, and/or they are begging for money for drugs or cigarettes. Reporters who have interviewed homeless people in California find that the homeless people themselves will tell you that they've embraced this homeless lifestyle, as a way to live a drug-addicted life. The state of California gives them enough food stamp money, that they have plenty to eat. And they just need to steal enough, or beg enough, to pay for their drugs.
Not everyone has true need. And many people need to told, the expectation is that if you are healthy, and able-bodied, that you will produce with your own hands, the good. Some of us make a lot more money than others. But all of us should plan on working. And, I should probably also say, that the fact that we are one body, doesn't mean that poor Christians should expect rich Christians to be their patrons, enabling them to not work. We shouldn't envy our rich brothers and sisters. We shouldn't think we are entitled to their wealth. The bottom line, is that God expects this: Everyone who is able, works. And everyone is ready to share their wealth, their extra, with the one having true need.
Example #4:
In verse 29-31, Paul gives a fourth picture of what it looks like, to take off the old way of life, and put on the new self:
(29) Every rotten/worthless word from your mouth, mustn't come out,
but only something good for the building up of the need,
in order that it would give grace to the ones hearing,
(30) and don't provoke/irritate the Holy Spirit of God,
by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
(31) All bitterness and rage and wrath and harmful speech should be removed from you, together with all wickedness.
In the last example, we saw that what we produce through our labor is "the good," and this good helps people in need. That extra is something we hold, not with a clenched fist, but with open hands, ready to help people with true need. In these verses, Paul says that our mouths should be like our hands. Our mouths should produce something "good," so that we meet people's needs.
What does this mean?
There are things we need to hear from each other, and there are things that we don't. We don't need to hear gossip, or criticism of other people. We don't need to hear people venting in anger and rage about each other. Those are the words that are rotten, and worthless. They're like a bad orange, that needs to get thrown away.
What we need to hear, are words that build up the body (Eph. 4:12). We've all had times where life falls apart for us, not financially, but some other way. We have struggles with our marriage, or our kids, or our parents, or in-laws, or at work. Sometimes, we find ourselves in terrible need, where we need someone to come alongside us, and build us up with words. We need to be encouraged, or strengthened, or challenged. We need to know, in that moment, that we are loved, and cared for, and prayed for. Those are the good words we need to hear from others. And those are the words that others need to hear from us.
It's in the midst of this, that we find this curious note in verse 30 about the Holy Spirit. English translations often read this as, "Don't grieve the Holy Spirit." But the idea with this verb (in its active use, as opposed to passive), is usually more like "provoke," or "annoy," or "torment," or "attack." When rotten words come out of our mouths, those words are a direct, provoking assault on the Holy Spirit. And since it's the Holy Spirit who seals you for the day of redemption, you have to ask yourself, is that smart? Do you want to poke the Holy Spirit with a giant stick, when it's the Spirit who marks you off as being part of God's people? So if you need another reason to learn how to control your tongue, and let good words, and not bad words, come out, this is it: The Holy Spirit cares very deeply about what comes out of your mouth.
Example #5:
With this, we come to verse 32, where Paul wraps up this subsection, and maybe this is a fifth example (a "de" starts at 5:3):
(32) Become toward one another kind, tenderhearted,
showing grace toward one another,
just as also God in Christ showed grace to you.
(5:1) And so then, become imitators of God, as beloved children,
(2) and walk in love,
just as also Christ loved us,
and he gave himself over for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a pleasing smell (Genesis 8:21; Exodus 29:18).
What God wants, is for us to soften our hearts toward each other, and live out of a place of kindness, and grace. God showed incredible grace, and kindness, toward us through Jesus. Jesus showed us incredible love, by voluntarily dying for us, in our place. This kindness, and grace, and love, is something that has become an example for us to follow.
So what does it mean, to put off the old self, and put on the new one? It means working hard, so that we can help each other when there's true financial need. It means using our mouths to produce the good, so that we can help each other in other types of need. It means understanding that anger is an emotion that God expects us to be able to control. When we get angry, we choose what comes next. We aren't a slave to our emotions (Ephesians 2:3). And what we choose, is to show kindness, and grace, and love. We choose to imitate the example that God and Jesus set before us.
I'd like to close today by talking about church ministry. In church settings, we maybe tend to think of ministry in terms of programs. Churches have Sunday school, and Wednesday night Bible studies, and small groups, and prayer groups. Churches have lots of programs that we call "ministries." Some churches have lots of programs. Others have just a few. One of the cool things about this church, is the way announcements are made about programs at other churches.
In some circles, programs are easy target for criticism, and I want to just focus on that a little this morning. The idea with programs, is that they are a way to intentionally create a time, and a space, and a setting, for needs to be met. Programs give people a place to open up, and talk about their struggles, and needs. Programs are a way to cut through talking about work, and the weather, and football. Everyone who goes to a program understands, "In this space, at this time, we will talk about real things." Programs aren't the end goal. Programs are a purpose-driven tool, to make it easier to produce the good, to build up the body.
Now, if all you experience of church ministry, is what you find at this one particular program, the Sunday morning service, you might find yourself extremely dissatisfied with this church body. You can be built up through teaching, to some degree. You'll find that some of your needs are met. But all of us need more than that, especially at certain times and seasons of our lives. What you're looking for, maybe without realizing it, is a church where we build each other up, and help each other in need, as we grow together in faith and in knowledge of the Son of God, and as we become mature, attaining the measure of the maturity of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4:12). And that is not something that can be accomplished through one person, in a Sunday morning service.
Programs are a gift, that make it easier for Christians to intentionally build each other up. But it's also quite possible to simply have a conversation with your friends at church and just say, "I want this friendship to be something more. I want to talk about real things. I want us to start intentionally building each other up." And the other thing, is when you're going through hard times, you just be honest, and transparent, and tell your fellow Christian, "I need your help." What God calls us to, is becoming a church where we have vulnerable with each other, and open. And where we are tender-hearted, and truly care about each other, and help each other. Do this, and you will imitate God.
And if you're watching this episode of church online, just understand, you can't produce much good for the body, or have much good done for you, while you're listening by yourself in front of a computer screen. Online church is a poor substitute for the real thing.
Translation:
(25) Therefore, taking off the lie, speak truth -- each of you-- with his neighbor
because we are members/body parts of one another.
(26) Be angry,
and don't sin.
The sun shouldn't set on your anger,
(27) nor give a place to the devil.
(28) The one stealing, no longer must steal.
Now, rather, he must labor,
producing with his own hands the good,
in order that he would have something to share with the one having need.
(29) Every rotten/worthless word from your mouth, mustn't come out,
but only something good for the building up of the need,
in order that it would give grace to the ones hearing,
(30) and don't provoke/irritate the Holy Spirit of God,
by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
(31) All bitterness and rage and wrath and harmful speech should be removed from you, together with all wickedness.
(32) Become toward one another kind, tenderhearted,
showing grace toward one another,
just as also God in Christ showed grace to you.
(5:1) And so then, become imitators of God, as beloved children,
and walk in love,
just as also Christ loved us,
and he gave himself over for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a pleasing smell (Genesis 8:21; Exodus 29:18).
