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Tag: Epistle to the Ephesians

Tossed to and fro

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in Ephesians, What’s new?.

How can we not be tossed to and fro (Ephesians 4:14)?

In Ephesians 4:11, the apostle Paul presents five types of “office gifts,” or gifted persons, given to the church by God: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Their purpose is “to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” so that individual believers and Christ’s body can all grow spiritually and in the unity of faith (Ephesians 4:12–13). The goal, Paul states, is “that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes,” and that we may “grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ” (Ephesians 4:14–15, ESV).

The phrase tossed to and fro is rendered from a nautical term in Greek meaning “to be waved-pitched; to move abruptly here and there due to the violence of waves.” God has given ministry gifts to His church to form a stabilizing anchor that will keep us from being tossed to and fro like immature, gullible infants, susceptible to every flashy new human teaching and clever trick of the enemy. We can avoid being thrashed about and shipwrecked in our faith like tiny, untethered boats if we stay plugged into the body of Christ, receiving encouragement and strength from fellow saints gifted to equip us and build us up in Jesus Christ.

For growth to happen, we must remain involved in the process by which the whole body is “fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love” (Ephesians 4:16, NLT). Loner Christians cannot minister to others or be ministered to by others. God’s gifts of equipping and building up cannot be exercised in isolation.

Paul taught the Colossians to stay rooted and established in the faith so that no one would deceive them with “well-crafted arguments” (Colossians 2:4, NLT). Mature believers understand that, to follow Christ, they must continually feast on God’s Word as they remain in fellowship with other believers: “Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ” (Colossians 2:4,6–8, NLT).

Only when we are secure in God’s truth and committed to the body of Christ can we learn to recognize false teachers and steer clear of their dishonest doctrines. James said, “Be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind” (James 1:6, NLT). Jude warned of the false teachers’ cunning: “When these people eat with you in your fellowship meals commemorating the Lord’s love, they are like dangerous reefs that can shipwreck you. They are like shameless shepherds who care only for themselves. They are like clouds blowing over the land without giving any rain. They are like trees in autumn that are doubly dead, for they bear no fruit and have been pulled up by the roots” (Jude 1:12, NLT; see also Acts 20:29–31; Romans 16:17–18; Hebrews 13:9; 2 Corinthians 11:3–4).

Members of Christ’s body grow strong and stable—no longer tossed to and fro—when they stay rooted and grounded in God’s Word and minister to one another through loving, cooperative involvement in the church. We belong to one another and need each other to grow (1 Corinthians 12:12–31). Each one of us serves a purpose in the corporate whole. As the body grows up together, each member grows stronger individually. Warren Wiersbe notes Paul’s emphasis on love in the process (see Ephesians 4:2, 15, 16): “The body grows as the individual members grow, and they grow as they feed on the Word and minister to each other. . . . Love is the circulatory system of the body. It has been discovered that isolated, unloved babies do not grow properly and are especially susceptible to disease, while babies who are loved and handled grow normally and are stronger. So it is with the children of God” (The Bible Exposition Commentary, Vol. 2, Victor Books, 1996, pp. 38–39).

Unwholesome talk

Written by LWOM Amsterdam on . Posted in What’s new?.

What does it mean to not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths (Ephesians 4:29)?

The apostle Paul was a master at taking complex doctrinal truths and breaking them down into practical life applications. Here is where we land in Ephesians 4:17—5:21, as Paul lays out concrete “dos and don’ts” for everyday, holy, Christlike living. One thing we must practice if we want to live as Jesus calls us to, explains Paul, is to “do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians 4:29, NKJV).

Paul’s exhortation sounds much like the old maxim, “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” The Greek word sapros, translated as “corrupt” (KJV, NKJV), “unwholesome” (NIV), and “foul or abusive” (NLT), means “not in good condition (damaged or decayed); hence unsound, bad, worthless and useless.” The term was used to describe rotten fruit or decaying trees. When used in the context of corrupt words or foul language, this kind of talk—whether deceitful, insensitive or offensive—is in one way or another damaging or hurtful to the hearer. Instead of dragging others down with our words, everything we say should be good and helpful so that we encourage and build up those who hear them. Only then can we walk in the holiness and purity of Christ.

Paul repeated, “Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you. Instead, let there be thankfulness to God” (Ephesians 5:4, NLT). To the Colossians, he wrote, “You must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips” (Colossians 3:8).

Jesus taught that the words we speak reveal what is in our hearts: “Make a tree good, and then its fruit will be good. Or make a tree rotten, and then its fruit will be rotten. A person can recognize a tree by its fruit. . . . Your mouth says what comes from inside you. Good people do the good things that are in them. But evil people do the evil things that are in them. I can guarantee that on judgment day people will have to give an account of every careless word they say. By your words you will be declared innocent, or by your words you will be declared guilty” (Matthew 12:3–37, GW; see also Matthew 15:19; Luke 6:45). One day, we will have to answer to God for every careless or corrupt word that proceeds from our mouths. If we can’t say something edifying, we are better off saying nothing at all.

James also stressed the influence of our words for good or evil, to bless or curse, heal or destroy (James 3:1–12). Solomon counseled, “Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips” (Proverbs 4:24). In Proverbs, the words that come out of our mouths are revealers of our character: “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly” (Proverbs 15:2, ESV; see also Proverbs 11:11; 15:28). “The words of the wicked are like a murderous ambush, but the words of the godly save lives” (Proverbs 12:6, NLT). Corrupt words reflect rottenness in one’s heart and produce ruin, while gracious words reveal a heart after God, generating goodness and life.

Our ability to communicate with words is a priceless and powerful gift from God. As the only creatures He created in His own image, speaking is one way we reflect God’s likeness (Genesis 1:26). The Lord spoke the world into existence (Hebrews 11:3), and, in a much smaller way, we can also speak words of life (Proverbs 10:11; 18:21). When we “let our speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt,” we offer a welcoming and enticing word to those who don’t know Christ (Colossians 4:6, ESV).

If we genuinely want to “live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people” (Philippians 2:15, NLT), we will ask God to change our hearts so that no corrupt words proceed from our mouths. We will pray for the Lord to purify our hearts and renew our spirits (Psalm 51:10) so that we might “delight in truth in the inward being” and “wisdom in the secret heart” (Psalm 51:6, ESV). As we seek inner transformation, the Holy Spirit will fill our hearts with the truth, love, and righteousness of Christ so that only what is good, helpful, and pleasing to God comes out of our mouths.

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