Eph 4:30 | KingComments | STEP | . If you ‘are created according to God’ ( ), you are able to show to a sin perverted world Who and how God is. You bring heaven on earth. You have seen in the previous verses how to understand that practically. How you are able to practice that and to get the right motivation, you see in this verse. You see, you are sealed by “the Holy Spirit of God”. Briefly, it means that you are God’s property. What a great security! More of what sealing means you can read again in the explanation of chapter 1, where you have found this expression already ( ). The Holy Spirit gives you the power to show the features of God in your life. The Holy Spirit is mentioned here the Holy Spirit of God with emphasis on God. It is all about God. You ‘are created according to God ’ and you have received the Holy Spirit of God , so that you, to say it with chapter 5, can be addressed as an imitator of God ( ). In the life of the Lord Jesus on earth you see that shown in a perfect way. In that way it happens in you also, as you have the same nature. The Holy Spirit dwells in you “for the day of redemption”. That indicates the redemption of your body and the redemption of the creation. Your body has not been redeemed yet. You can realize that by the pain you can have. Not only physical pain, but also pain in your soul when you have done something wrong, or when you look at the misery around you. Romans 8 also speaks about “the redemption of our body” ( ), which will take place when the Lord comes to take us up to be with Him ( ). You can eagerly wait for that; you can look forward to it; it will happen. After that event the Lord Jesus will redeem ‘the purchased possession’ ( ), that is the whole creation. How that will happen is to be read in the book of Revelation, where it is comprehensively described. The definite outcome is that everything will be according to God, as ‘God will be all in all’ ( ). The Lord Jesus has the right to redeem everything, as He paid the whole price for the redemption. This prospect of the ‘day of redemption’ gives the believer a great drive to be an imitator of God in the power of His Spirit. Then you are also protected from grieving the Holy Spirit of God. So the appeal not to grieve the Spirit is written for a good reason. When you do something that is not according to God – especially in the light of the fact that you are created according to Him – you grieve Him with that. The Holy Spirit is God. That you can grieve Him proves that He is a Person and not just a power or an influence. It is also said that we can quench Him ( ) and that we can lie to Him ( ). . It is clear that all things that are mentioned in this verse do not belong to ‘the truth in Jesus’, neither to ‘the new man’, nor to what ‘is created according to God’. The issue here is your personal behavior in the church (“from you”). And this is addressed to a church to which Paul told so many wonderful things. So it is clear that being familiar with the highest blessings gives no guarantee of not falling to the lowest practices. After all, can you imagine that the things Paul mentioned here could happen in a church like Ephesus? And yet they happen, not only then, but also now among us. It is a list of evil feelings and expressions with one badness emerging from another.. It begins with “bitterness”. If a “root of bitterness” ( ) springs up and is not judged, “wrath” will follow. When suppressed wrath has not been put away by self-judgment, it will discharge in “anger and clamor”. When there is no repentance, then wrath and anger and clamor will be followed by “slander”. Wrath and anger and clamor will be poured out over the opponent. Slander always happens behind the back of the opponent. When slander is not being confessed, the door has been opened for every kind of “malice”. This picture of the old man is most telling. Likewise most telling is the command (it’s not a request) to put this all away from the church. . Against the anger of the old man is the totally different mind of the new man. After the obscure feelings and expressions of the old man, the bright light is shining here and you feel the warmth of the new man. Instead of cherishing the bitter feelings toward the other, you are expected to be tender-hearted toward the other. Instead of scolding the other and speaking evil of the other, you are expected to be kind and forgiving to the other. You have the example before you. How did God treat you and how does He still treat you? He has forgiven you in Christ. The more you think about it, the more you will be able to show the forgiving mind of God in your dealing with others. Indeed, that is a high standard, but yet the only right standard. And you are able to meet this standard, because you ‘are created according to God’. God didn’t come to you with bitterness because of your guilt, but He came with forgiveness. He remitted your debt and took pity on you. There is room for showing kindness and forgiveness when the obstacles of the previous verse have been put away. Now read Ephesians 4:30-32 again. Reflection: Which characteristics of the old man and which of the new man do you see here?

‏ Ephesians 4:30

Be Kind to One Another

Eph 4:30. If you ‘are created according to God’ (Eph 4:24), you are able to show to a sin perverted world Who and how God is. You bring heaven on earth. You have seen in the previous verses how to understand that practically. How you are able to practice that and to get the right motivation, you see in this verse. You see, you are sealed by “the Holy Spirit of God”. Briefly, it means that you are God’s property. What a great security! More of what sealing means you can read again in the explanation of chapter 1, where you have found this expression already (Eph 1:13-14).

The Holy Spirit gives you the power to show the features of God in your life. The Holy Spirit is mentioned here the Holy Spirit of God with emphasis on God. It is all about God. You ‘are created according to God’ and you have received the Holy Spirit of God, so that you, to say it with chapter 5, can be addressed as an imitator of God (Eph 5:1). In the life of the Lord Jesus on earth you see that shown in a perfect way. In that way it happens in you also, as you have the same nature.

The Holy Spirit dwells in you “for the day of redemption”. That indicates the redemption of your body and the redemption of the creation. Your body has not been redeemed yet. You can realize that by the pain you can have. Not only physical pain, but also pain in your soul when you have done something wrong, or when you look at the misery around you. Romans 8 also speaks about “the redemption of our body” (Rom 8:23), which will take place when the Lord comes to take us up to be with Him (Phil 3:20-21). You can eagerly wait for that; you can look forward to it; it will happen.

After that event the Lord Jesus will redeem ‘the purchased possession’ (Eph 1:14), that is the whole creation. How that will happen is to be read in the book of Revelation, where it is comprehensively described. The definite outcome is that everything will be according to God, as ‘God will be all in all’ (1Cor 15:28). The Lord Jesus has the right to redeem everything, as He paid the whole price for the redemption. This prospect of the ‘day of redemption’ gives the believer a great drive to be an imitator of God in the power of His Spirit.

Then you are also protected from grieving the Holy Spirit of God. So the appeal not to grieve the Spirit is written for a good reason. When you do something that is not according to God – especially in the light of the fact that you are created according to Him – you grieve Him with that. The Holy Spirit is God. That you can grieve Him proves that He is a Person and not just a power or an influence. It is also said that we can quench Him (1Thes 5:19) and that we can lie to Him (Acts 5:3).

Eph 4:31. It is clear that all things that are mentioned in this verse do not belong to ‘the truth in Jesus’, neither to ‘the new man’, nor to what ‘is created according to God’. The issue here is your personal behavior in the church (“from you”). And this is addressed to a church to which Paul told so many wonderful things.

So it is clear that being familiar with the highest blessings gives no guarantee of not falling to the lowest practices. After all, can you imagine that the things Paul mentioned here could happen in a church like Ephesus? And yet they happen, not only then, but also now among us. It is a list of evil feelings and expressions with one badness emerging from another..

It begins with “bitterness”. If a “root of bitterness” (Heb 12:15) springs up and is not judged, “wrath” will follow. When suppressed wrath has not been put away by self-judgment, it will discharge in “anger and clamor”. When there is no repentance, then wrath and anger and clamor will be followed by “slander”. Wrath and anger and clamor will be poured out over the opponent. Slander always happens behind the back of the opponent. When slander is not being confessed, the door has been opened for every kind of “malice”. This picture of the old man is most telling. Likewise most telling is the command (it’s not a request) to put this all away from the church.

Eph 4:32. Against the anger of the old man is the totally different mind of the new man. After the obscure feelings and expressions of the old man, the bright light is shining here and you feel the warmth of the new man. Instead of cherishing the bitter feelings toward the other, you are expected to be tender-hearted toward the other. Instead of scolding the other and speaking evil of the other, you are expected to be kind and forgiving to the other.

You have the example before you. How did God treat you and how does He still treat you? He has forgiven you in Christ. The more you think about it, the more you will be able to show the forgiving mind of God in your dealing with others.

Indeed, that is a high standard, but yet the only right standard. And you are able to meet this standard, because you ‘are created according to God’. God didn’t come to you with bitterness because of your guilt, but He came with forgiveness. He remitted your debt and took pity on you. There is room for showing kindness and forgiveness when the obstacles of the previous verse have been put away.

Now read Ephesians 4:30-32 again.

Reflection: Which characteristics of the old man and which of the new man do you see here?