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and heavenly places, to read such a list of evils that shame us in the
reading. Chapter 2 speaks of `trespasses and sins', `the lusts of the
flesh', `the desires of the flesh and of the mind', `the course of this
world' and the energizing of the Prince of the power of the air. Then we
have that dreadful recital of Gentile alienation, with its recurring emphasis
upon its Christless, hopeless and Godless condition. In chapter 4:17 -19 we
have a picture of darkness, ignorance and death, while the list of
uncleanness that meets us in chapter 5, reveals how deep and wide is the gulf
made by sin.
Those who had been in the spiritual darkness depicted by these passages
would have thought nothing of stealing or of using corrupting speech. The
apostle fastens upon these two activities of sin, activities of work and
word,
of hand and mouth, activities that invade the rights of our fellows. We have
obligation `one to another' if `membership' of One Body means anything.
Those hands, that under the authority of darkness once stole that which was
our neighbour's, let them now work so that the believer may have to give to
him that needeth. That mouth, that once abused the sacred gift of speech,
let it now edify and help, rather than corrupt. So he introduces his Selah.
`Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour' (Eph.
4:28).
In the A.V. verse 32 begins with `and'. The original presents us with the
adversative de once more, and so we translate
`Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil
speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: But be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you' (Eph. 4:31,32).
We have not dealt with every occurrence of the particle de in
Ephesians, but append a fuller list so that the reader may pursue this
profitable study further.
Selah `Think of
that'.
(1)
The
Selah of
Quickening Love (Eph. 2:4).
(2)
The
Selah of
Alienation and Access (2:13).
(3)
The
Selah of
Individual Grace (4:7).
(4)
The
Selah of
Truth in Practice (4:15).
(5)
The
Selah of
the Renewed Mind (4:20,23).
(6)
The
Selah of
Goodness and Grace (4:28,32).
(7)
The
Selah of
Two Savours (5:3).
(8)
The
Selah of
Darkness and Light (5:8).
(9)
The
Selah of
Reproof (5:11,13)
(10) The
Selah of
Marriage and Mystery (5:32,33).
(11) The
Selah of
Heavenliness and Homeliness (6:21).
These `Selahs' of the apostle call upon us as we contrast our
alienation with our access, our darkness with our light, to pause, and in
grateful adoring worship, to punctuate our own Psalm of praise, with many a
grateful
Selah Think of that!