Ephesians 4:29-32

29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.

32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

corrupt (v.29) = rotten, worn out, unfit for use, worthless, bad

word (v.29) = logos = saying, utterance, speech

In Greek, the verse reads, “Every word that is corrupt, out of your mouth let it not be proceeding …”

grace (v.29) = charis = spiritual benefits that will accrue to the hearer

do not grieve (v.30) = lit. “stop grieving” — specifically in reference to what has just been said in v.29 about speaking

by whom 9v.30) = lit. “in whom” — the Holy Spirit is Himself the seal (see notes on Ephesians 1:13)

day of redemption (v.30) — the Rapture, when our physical bodies will be glorified (Romans 8:22-23)

all (v.31) = all manner of

bitterness (v.31) = resentfulness, harshness, virulence

wrath (v.31) = a violent outbreak of anger

clamor (v.31) = the outward manifestation of anger in vociferation (loud shouting) or brawling

evil speaking (v.31) = slanderous or injurious speech

put away (v.31) = carry off, bear away what has been raised, take away

be (v.32) = become — Paul is instructing the readers to abandon one mental condition and take up a new one.

kind (v.32) = benevolent, gracious

tenderhearted (v.32) = compassionate

forgiving (v.32) — “Forgiving” [here] is not aphiemi, the word usually used when God forgives our sins, which word means “to put away,” God forging our sins in the sense that He in the Person of His Son bore them on the Cross, paying the penalty, satisfying the just demands of His law, but charizomai, “to do a favor to, do something agreeable or pleasant to one, to show one’s self gracious, benevolent, to forgive in the sense of treating the offending party graciously.” The same word is used of God here forgiving us in Christ. — Wuest, page 117.

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in Christ (v.32) — It is “the God who forgives, being the God who manifests Himself and acts in the suffering, reconciling Christ.” It is the God who forgives in the sphere of Christ in that His forgiveness is made possible from the point of the law, through the atonement. — Wuest, page 118.

Even as (v.32) = kathos = according as, just as, in the degree that, seeing that

Forgiveness, like many other doctrines, must be studied dispensationally. Under the performance system of the law, forgiveness was based upon a kindred spirit. If one refused to forgive his neighbor a wrong after he had repented, God withheld forgiveness from the one who possessed the unforgiving spirit. Our Lord, who ministered under the law, also confirmed that forgiveness was conditional: For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses (Matthew 6:14-15).

In contrast, Paul’s writings reveal that the believer in Christ today is working from a position of perpetual forgiveness from which he is free to forgive others. Once again, this is a new revelation from the Lord of glory. We are to forgive others unconditionally, even as God [in Christ] has forgiven us. — Sadler, pages 215-216.

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