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The Lie in Ephesians.
The third occurrence of `the lie' comes in Eph. 4: 25,
"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour."
Putting away, ridding yourselves of the lie, speak each one truth. There is a similar
thought in verse 22: "That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,
which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts". That ye get rid of . . . . . the old man,
because the old nature is corrupt according to the desires of the deceit. Again in verse 14
we read:
"That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in
wait to deceive."
The latter phrase could be translated: with a view to the wile of the error. The lie, the
deceit, the error: if the believer would be mature in Christ he must be rid of all that
concerns the error: `But speaking the truth in love may grow up (mature) into Him in all
things'. Strictly here it is not `speaking the truth', but, to coin a word, `truthing': being
the truth. The inference is that the truth should be so much to the believer that he is in his
daily walk the embodiment of the truth. So with the things of the deceit. The believer
should be rid of the deceit through `the truth in Jesus' (4: 21). Equally he needs to be rid
of the things of the lie, speaking truth. The old man, the old Adamic nature results from
the lie, the error and the deceit, whilst the new man results from the truth.
It is a solemn thought that as there is still in the believer the old nature to be rendered
ineffective (Rom. 6: 6, where `destroyed' is rather to drastic), so there is also something
of the love of the lie and of the error and of the deceit to be got rid of. The antidote is the
truth, and the truth alone. It is a matter of experience that when we are confronted with
an aspect of the truth which, for one reason or another, we are not prepared to accept and
act upon, there is no further spiritual growth until that truth is received.
First and foremost we need to receive the love of the truth. "Love" is the same word
(agape) which is used of God's love: our attitude to the truth should be the attitude to the
truth God has, to be as concerned for the truth as God is concerned for it. This may lead
into costly paths, but the alternative is to take the first steps on a path of which we have
been thinking earlier in this article, a path trod by those `who knowing the judgment of
God' nevertheless persist in going their own way, which is the way of the lie. That there
were those in the early days who were at least associated with the believers is clear from
Titus 1: 16, "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being
abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good word reprobate".
The love of the truth: fundamentally this must mean the love of the Lord Himself,
Who is The Truth. If we have begun to understand the meaning of Phil. 2: 5-11, how
can we not love Him? And if we love Him how can we not love the truth whereby we
come to know Him better and love Him more?