I N D E X
Labour, merely that one may have, may be selfishness, and industry of
itself may not express the truth, but labour that one may have something to
give,  is an entire reversal of the lie that steals from another, and is itself
manifestation of the truth.
The devil, and the Spirit of God
Closely associated with the lie is the devil, and with the truth the Holy
Spirit of God.  It must be kept well in memory that to fail to put off the lie
and to put on the new man may `give place to the devil', and when this happens
we may be sure that there is also another equally sad result, viz., the grieving
of the Holy Spirit of God whereby we are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Among the many ways whereby truth may be hindered and a place given to the
devil, is revealed in such a strange word as `clamour'.  That man who, when he
gives a command, must shout; who, when he argues a point of truth, must raise
his voice does not give an outward expression of that lowliness and meekness
which commends  the  truth.
`Evil speaking' is in the original `blasphemy', and is probably derived
from blaptein ten phemen --'blasting the reputation or credit' of any one.  We
may sincerely believe that to take a text from Shakespeare or the poets is to
belittle the Scriptures, but we sometimes wonder whether Tennyson's Knights of
King Arthur, who vowed `to speak no slander, nor listen to it' do not put many a
believer to shame.  `Love thinketh no evil'.
EPHESIANS  Chapter 5
The  Worthy  Walk  (contd.)
Be ye imitators of God
The remedy for evil speaking and all kindred manifestations of the flesh
is found in the next three verses:
`Be ye kind ... Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God' (Eph. 4:32;
5:1).
This after all is but a homely way of expressing the more doctrinal
passage:
`Put on the new man, which After god is created' (Eph. 4:24).
`The lie' finds its pattern in the devil:
`I speak that which I have seen with My Father: and ye do that which ye
have seen with your father ... Ye do the deeds of your father ... If God
were your Father, ye would love Me ... Ye are of your father the devil ...
he is a liar, and the father of it (i.e. "the lie")' (John 8:38-44).
It will be seen therefore that to fail to `put away the lie' gives `place
to the devil', while `putting on the new man' is doctrinally expressed by the
words `after God' and is practically shown by becoming `imitators of God'.
The word `follower' in 5:1 is mimetes.  This word occurs seven times in
the New Testament and is therefore marked with the seal of spiritual perfection.
The word will be recognized as the source of our English word `mimic'.  This
element of imitation is expressed in verse 32, where we are exhorted to kindness
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