"Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor; for we are member one of another" (Eph. 4:25). The margin tells us; that having put away the lie, speak every man truth with his neighbor. The latter part is quoted from Zech. 8:16, where lying is one of the things that God hates. The lie has to do with anything Satan teaches, most of which is based on the lie, the immortality of the soul ("Thou shall not surely die").
Truth means more than avoiding falsehood, false witness, the lie of Satan, and boasting. It is positive, and there is only One Who is the Truth. We should be speaking of Him. The reason: we are members of His body, and members of one another as a consequence.
"Let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil" (Eph. 4:26,27). This is prefaced by the question of whether one can be angry without sinning. Giving way to wrath is closely connected with giving place to the devil. Judas got angry about the waste of ointment in the house of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. In the meantime the Jews were conspiring to kill the Lord. So at the feast in the house of Simon the leper, Judas went out and plotted with them. Then at the Passover, he partook of the whole meal and then went out with the Lord and disciples, and went and told where He was in the garden. Let this be a warning.
"Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth" (Eph. 4:28). In our society today, there are many ways of stealing. But this admonition still holds true. There is no Happiness or satisfaction in any kind of stealing. But there is satisfaction in honest labor, and the ability to share with those who have not. Remember that in God's Word, this sharing is with the household of faith, not the sinful world. Be careful about this.
"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Eph. 4:29). The word corrupt is really putrid. We speak these days of such things as filthy 4-letterwords, or one who is a potty-mouth. Lot was vexed by the filthy conversation of Sodom. And many a person, who knows. Christ today is also vexed by the filth that is evident everywhere. The one who knows Christ can have no place for such dirty mouthings.
"Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30). Here is a Person, the Holy Spirit. Not a force or power, but One Who can be grieved. Here is the One Who does the sealing of Eph. 1:13. The seal is the holy spirit, the new nature, created and placed within the believer. Without this, we are none of His (Rom. 8:9).
Oscar M. Baker