Ephesians 4:29

"Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it." Ephesians 4:29

How do we do this... I mean, live a new life in Christ, believing in what we know the Bible says about Him: He hears all things, sees all things, even knows our heart before we even say a word. How do we talk about one another and say the things we say sometimes and not be aware that Christ is listening? Well, I know we are both, tempted and distracted often, which can lure us, but I believe that many of us simply just move out from being in contact with The Holy Spirit at times, which makes us vulnerable to this very behavior... the unregenerate self. The reason this is important is because in this passage, we are still within the context of Christ doing this work in us, and not us doing it. Oh, you can decide not to curse or be caught up in what Paul is saying not to do, here, but hit yourself on the thumb with a hammer and see what comes out of your mouth!

No, the answer goes back to this "staying in the spirit"... Can we actually stay "in the spirit" our whole waking moment. It seems unrealistic, I mean, can I wash dishes, the car, the baby, rock climb, drive, etc., etc., and stay focused on Jesus... stay in a constant connection with Him... "in the spirit"? I'm not getting ahead of Paul by saying that it is possible, because when we get to chapter 5:15 we will discuss this very thing... "walking continually in the spirit"... I'm just pointing out that it is by context what the suggestion is in these verses here, already. So, back to our verse 29, we're not charging into each one of these do's and don'ts here believing that we will be handling them on our own. Let's just keep marching along, observing what we should see and not see being manifested by a true Christian... and wait for more detail as we move ahead.

Now, instead of what should not come out of our mouth, Paul shows what should... "only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it." Two very obvious reasons why the work of the Holy Spirit is so vital in achieving this is because: 1. I do not believe in "mind readers"... not without connection to the spirit realm, anyway! (both good or evil, by-the-way). And so, how will we know exactly what is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion (without always being just general) WITHOUT THE WORK OF (in this case) THE HOLY SPIRIT? 2. How will you be "able" to say what is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion without the work of the Holy Spirit... even if you have memorized everything from the bible that would be fitting, needed, and spiritual to the occasion. This assumes that there is no more wisdom from God to learn! Dangerous theology!

I know I'm running long on this verse, but we must squeeze all that we can from God's rich Word... and so finally, Paul adds, "that it may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it." This by it self, is so important, because we find many who (operating in their own power) will approach a brother and sister and say something like, "you're going to hell if you keep that up". Now, it would be true if the brother or sister was not truly saved... but is that something that may be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it. Maybe... God says the same thing in His Word. But that's not all God says, is it. In fact whenever He warns His people, He always gives us the "good news" right along with the bad... Amen? That's all Paul is saying here. If you have been lead by the Holy Spirit to say a word to someone, it WILL be a blessing and give grace (God's favor) to those who hear it.

Let's pick up with Ephesians verse 4:30 next time.

I love you.