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Ephesians 4:25-32 | Sunday July 27, 2025

25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. 26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

  1. 25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
    1. Therefore – What’s it there for?
      1. Ephesians 4:22-24 (NASB95) 22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
        1. After encouraging the Ephesians to not walk as they used to prior to being saved, he tells them to put on the new self in verse 24.
        2. This brings us to where we are this morning in verse 25 where Paul is connecting those previous thoughts with “therefore.”
    2. 25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another.
      1. Laying aside falsehood - pseudos (psyü'-dos) our word for pseudo which means false or counterfeit.
        1. Paul is saying here, this old way of life is not who you are anymore. To continue to live that way is “counterfeit” to the person you have become now.
        2. On the surface it can appear that Paul is simply encouraging the Ephesians to not lie to each other and speak truth. No doubt, Paul would certainly want this for the church in Ephesus.
        3. But, the language in the verse seems to be aiming for something more than that. Paul wants them to stop living false or fake lives.
          1. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NASB95) 9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
    3. 25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another
      1. Truth - aletheia (ä-la'-tha-ä) - sincerity of mind and integrity of character, or a mode of life in harmony with divine truth
        1. In other words, not just speaking truth to other Believers also living a life that reflects that truth. Much like the comments “laying aside falsehood” was aiming at putting off things that don’t reflect the new person they had become, truth here is the idea of letting what comes out of our mouths be in line with our new nature.
          1. Deuteronomy 11:18-21 (NASB95) 18 “You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 19 “You shall teach them to your sons, talking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up. 20 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your sons may be multiplied on the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give them, as long as the heavens remain above the earth.
        2. This is really pretty straight forward. If we are absorbing Truth through the Word it will come out. As we are being changed (sanctification) by His Word, it will come out in how we speak to each other and treat each other.
      2. 25…for we are members of one another
        1. Members - melos (mel'-os) - As Christians, we are united by the bond of one and the same Spirit, therefore our fellowship is likened to a body.
          1. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14,26-27 (NASB95) 12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For the body is not one member, but many…26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
        2. The idea of speaking truth here is really more than just our words it is the idea of being our own, authentic selves with each other. If we can’t do that here in the body of believers where truth is our foundation, then where can we do it?
  2. 26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
    1. Exodus 32:19-20 (NASB95) 19 It came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses’ anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. 20 He took the calf which they had made and burned it with fire, and ground it to powder, and scattered it over the surface of the water and made the sons of Israel drink it.
      1. We see here that Moses had an appropriate response to what he saw. A righteous and holy anger. He describes further in Deuteronomy this scene:
    2. Deuteronomy 9:13-21 (NASB95) 13 “The LORD spoke further to me, saying, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a stubborn people. 14 ‘Let Me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’ 15 “So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 “And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the LORD your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17 “I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and smashed them before your eyes. 18 “I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger. 19 “For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the LORD listened to me that time also. 20 “The LORD was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21 “I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.
      1. What we see in Moses here is in his anger, he remained very much connected to God’s sovereignty. He was rightly angry with the people but he sought God’s input and still remained very much in a place of submission to Him. He understood that it was God’s decision to seek vengeance or not.
      2. Contrast this with the anger that we see from Moses when he strikes the rock.
    3. Numbers 20:8-12 (NASB95) 8 “Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD, just as He had commanded him; 10 and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. 12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
      1. The differences in the anger would seem to be a fine line to us but in reality they are deeply divided.
      2. One anger remains very centered on the understanding that He is still in control which allowed Moses to remain in control. The other anger moves from a place of vengeance being God’s to vengeance being Moses’.
      3. In our first example of Moses’ anger, we see him maintain his posture of humility towards God and God’s sovereignty. In the second example Moses loses his focus on God and focuses on his anger and frustration with the people and reacts to them in his anger. In doing so, he minimizes God’s holiness and sovereignty and elevates his desire and will above God’s.
    4. 26 BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger…
      1. Paul isn’t saying here that we must resolve our anger before the next day as much as he is encouraging the Ephesians to be cautious of how long they allow their anger to go unresolved.
      2. We see that without resolving this anger it leads to an opportunity for Satan:
    5. 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
      1. Opportunity - topos (top'-os) - opportunity, power, occasion for acting
        1. Satan will always be looking for a foothold in our lives. Anger and unresolved anger open us up to allowing him to have this power over us.
          1. James 1:19-20 (NASB95) 19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
  3. 28 He who steals must steal no longer; but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
    1. Steal – kleptō (klep'-to) - take away by theft and with stealth. To take secretly and without permission the property of someone.
      1. The way that Paul wrote this would indicate that this sin was still being committed by the members of the Ephesian church.
      2. This might be hard to get our heads around. Believers in the church needed to be spoken to about stealing!
        1. Leviticus 19:11 (NASB95) ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another.
          1. Steal - gānaḇ (gaw-nab')- to be stolen away, to take by stealth
          2. Deal Falsely - kāḥaš (kaw-khash') - to deceive or act deceptively
          3. Lie – šāqar (shaw-kar') - to do or deal falsely, be false, trick, cheat
      3. When we stop and analyze the heart of what God dislikes about stealing we see something bigger than only taking physical things. It’s deeper than this.
      4. It is living falsely. It is being a taker instead of being a giver. It is the desire to use you to meet my needs and wants vs learning to allow Him to meet my needs.
      5. When we see stealing in this light, we start to see a little more of what God has in view.
      6. There is something in the heart of man that is tempted by the idea of taking vs giving, being served vs serving others, really using others to meet my needs.
      7. Paul was telling the Ephesians that this mindset had to change in them.
    2. 28…but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
      1. Notice what Paul encourages them to do with these things they’ve labored for:
        1. 28…so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
          1. Colossians 1:16 (NASB95) For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him.

What happens to a heart when we start to realize that none of this is ours, it’s all His and He is sharing it with us?

Are we more willing to share when we realize we don’t keep any of it, it’s all His and He blesses me with it so there’s a natural desire to do the same with others?

Luke 12:34 (NASB95) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

  1. 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
    1. Unwholesome – sapros (sap-ros') - rotten, putrefied, unfit for use, worthless
      1. James 3:6-12 (NASB95) 6 And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity; the tongue is set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell. 7 For every species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human race. 8 But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. 11 Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can salt water produce fresh.
        1. What scripture would teach us about our tongues is not that we have a speech problem but that we have a heart problem:
          1. Luke 6:45 (NLT) A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Jesus purpose in saying this wasn’t to simply have people guard their mouths, it was to guard their hearts.

Jesus isn’t as concerned about the symptoms of sin as His is concerned for taking care of the source of our sin which is our hearts.

Jeremiah 17:9 (NASB95) “The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Jesus wants our hearts. He wants us to grow into a close and intimate walk with Him. As He gains more and more of our hearts, He’ll gain more of our words and actions.

Jeremiah 29:13 (NASB95) ‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

As He gains more of our hearts, the pendulum swings from the first part of our verse:

Ephesians 4:29a (NASB) Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth…

to the second part of the verse:

Ephesians 4:29b (NASB)…but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

It can be difficult to speak edifying words, even more difficult to speak those words in “the need of the moment.”

The only way you and I will be able to do that is to remain in constant fellowship and harmony with Him.

  1. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
    1. The NASB does not include the Greek word “kai”, which means “and” here. Almost all other translations do include it:
      1. Ephesians 4:30 (ESV) And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
    2. This is important. It is helping to directly connect verse 29 and 30.
      1. This passage suggests that how we talk to each other not only impacts our walk with others but our fellowship with the Spirit.
    3. Grieve - lypeō (loo-peh'-o) -to feel deep emotional or physical pain, distress, to afflict one with sorrow. 
      1. The Spirit has a deep love for us just like the Father and Son do.
        1. “The Holy Spirit’s grief is not of a petty, oversensitive nature. He is grieved with us mainly for our own sakes, for He knows what misery sin will cost us. He grieves over us because He sees how much chastisement we incur and how much communion we lose."
  2. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
    1. Forgiving each other - charizomai (khar-id'-zom-ahee) (from charis = grace)
      1. to grant forgiveness, to pardon
      2. to give graciously, give freely, bestow
        1. Present Tense – Something we must do continuously
        2. Middle voice – The subject is the initiator of the action
    2. Just as God in Christ also has forgiven you – charizomai (khar-id'-zom-ahee)
      1. to grant forgiveness, to pardon
      2. to give graciously, give freely, bestow
        1. Aorist Tense and – Indicative Mood – A one time action in the past.
        2. Our forgiveness is FULL, FINAL AND FINISHED.
          1. Psalms 103:10-14 (NIV) 10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; 12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him; 14 for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.
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