Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and clamor and evil speaking be removed from you, with all malice. (32) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ also forgave you.
In verses 25 through 32 we have a description of the practical daily life in the learning of Christ. In covering the daily life of learning Christ, Paul goes into a lot of detail. He mentions things such as anger, stealing, bitterness, wrath, clamor, evil speaking, malice, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. Although these details are easy to see, it is more difficult to discern two important matters that Paul's speaking is based upon. These matters are truth and grace. He wants us to live as Jesus did, a life full of grace and truth (John 1:14, 17). Grace is God given to us for our enjoyment, and truth is God revealed to us as our reality. Only by grace can we have a life that is according to the divine standard in all the details mentioned by Paul in these verses. If we are filled with grace, then in the place of bitterness, wrath, anger, and clamor, we shall have kindness, patience, mercy, forgiveness, and love. These qualities come not from self-effort, but from Christ as our enjoyment. When Christ is our enjoyment, we have no appetite for bitterness, wrath, anger, or clamor. Instead, we desire to have kindness, patience, endurance, gentleness, mercy, love, and various other virtues and qualities. What a difference it makes in our daily living when we are happy and satisfied through the enjoyment of God in Christ as grace!
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 405,407. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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