Ephesians 4:30
King James Version
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
King James Version
30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30 What does it mean?
- Thread starter Siddhi Koli
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Hidden In Him
Well-Known Member
Hello again, Siddhi!
Grieving the Holy Spirit takes place when you do things that cause Him to suffer or feel pain, such as described in the rest of the passage:
25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. 26 “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 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. (Ephesians 4:25-31)
Things like Mercy, Tender-heartedness, and Forgiveness please the Holy Spirit, because as the scripture says, "The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Temperance, Brotherly Friendship, etc."
The opposite of those things, however, are things like bitterness, wrath, anger, and malice, because these are often the fruit of evil spirits, and seeing His children giving themselves to evil spirits grieves the heart of our Father. It doesn't mean we won't occasionally be angered by things, but as Christians we do not allow ourselves to be given over to those spirits. This is why it says in another place, "Be angry, but sin not. Do not let the sun go down on your anger." We may be angry for a moment, but we let it pass and return to being in a Spirit of Love and Joy and Peace, because these please our God. Those who grieve Him for too long - and this applies to both congregations and individuals - can eventually cause the Spirit to wish to depart, which is referred to in another passage as "extinguishing [the fires] of the Holy Spirit." This is a worst case scenario, so you want to repent of walking in any bad spirits before it ever gets to that place.
Hope that clears it up some. Maybe I can get to the rest of the verse (on how we are sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption) later.
God bless, and that's a very good question to ask!
Hidden In Him
Well-Known Member
Awe heck, let me do it now, LoL.
To be "sealed" essentially meant to be "certified" or "authenticated" by someone in authority. It is why kings put their seal on all official documents that were to be sent out.
What it means spiritually is essentially this: That when the Lord pours out His Spirit upon you, He has certified or authenticated the fact that you belong to Him, as evidenced by the outpouring. This is what they meant by the phrase, and it was a common experience for nearly all believers during New Testament times. Today not everyone has this experience, but that doesn't necessarily mean they don't belong to Christ Jesus. It just means that they have not yet had this authenticating experience to confirm their relationship with Him yet.
My personal belief is that all believers should seek it through prayer, though, as it is one of the things that establishes a believer in the faith spiritually, and gives them a confidence in the Lord that He truly loves them, and will be there for them in all circumstances. Maybe more importantly, it confirms to the believer that their faith in Christ Jesus is not just in their heads, but a very real spiritual Reality.
There are three truths presented here: (1) the one who believes on Christ receives the gift of the Holy Spirit, (2) then Holy Spirit "seals" or guarantees the redemption or salvation of the saint, but (3) when Christians sin they cause grief to the indwelling Holy Spirit (since sin is in opposition to the righteousness of God).
In ancient times, the royal seal of a king on any document was a guarantee that it was authentic, and had the full authority of the king. Thus the gift of the Holy Spirit proves that salvation is authentic and from God, and the "sealing" by the Spirit means that no one can lose their salvation. God takes it one step further and the Holy Spirit "baptizes into" or connects every believer to the Body of Christ. So all Christians are members of the spiritual Body of Christ, and He is the Head.
However, Christians who grieve the Spirit will also be chastised by God until they repent and turn back to righteousness. See Hebrews 12.
As to "the day of redemption" that is a reference to the day of the Resurrection/Rapture of the Church, when all the saints will be perfected and received immortal, glorious, and glorified bodies, and return to Heaven with Christ.
Totally agree with Hidden in Him. Paul in Galatians 5:13-17; states that by loving others we follow the Holy Spirit lead in our liberty. But thank you reading that passage again gave me an answer to a certain question I asked. This is also called quenching (quench) the Spirit, I Thessalonians 5:19.
Just wanted to add when we are sealed it is a sign that we are God’s adopted sons and daughters, Galatians 4:5-7; Romans 8:14-17. Which lead us to call God Abba Father. From my understanding this was an Ancient Jewish custom in which a son would say to the father in the most endearing terms daddy dearest. Even as an older man this bring great joy to my heart.
Just wanted to add when we are sealed it is a sign that we are God’s adopted sons and daughters, Galatians 4:5-7; Romans 8:14-17. Which lead us to call God Abba Father. From my understanding this was an Ancient Jewish custom in which a son would say to the father in the most endearing terms daddy dearest. Even as an older man this bring great joy to my heart.
Robert Gwin
Well-Known Member
That is a very good question maam. That is severe for sure, grieving means to irritate, upset, disturb, etc, and is dangerously close to losing out on salvation. If one goes beyond and actually sins against the holy spirit, they have lost salvation, and there is no redemption for them. Mat 12:31,32
We can take heart though, as that is a very difficult judgment to get, in order to get it, one would have to know Jehovah very well, and deliberately work against His purposes. A prime example would be Judas, the apostle that traitored out Jesus.
The Bible also shows one would get this judgment if they were born again then left the faith. Heb 6:4-6.
A sacrament is an outward sign for all men including infants And a gift from God to help us see what he does inwardly and invisibly by his grace!
As grace Washes our souls in the merits of Jesus blood from original and personal sin, so the outward action of washing is visible!
without the outward action the inward action cannot take place!
Jn 3:5 Titus 3:5 water and washing
acts 22:16 wash away your sin!
Jn 3:5 Born again BY water and the spirit! Not by “faith alone”!
They did not go to Jerusalem and preach “accept Christ as you’re personal Lord and savior “
They went to the river (water) and they baptized! Jn 3:22
A covenant requires an outward sign of the inward action of grace!
Ez 36:25 I will sprinkle you with clean water and you shall be made white as snow.
Acts 22:16 washing away your sins.
Eph 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
1 pet 3:21 baptism saves you.
Baptism!
God breathed life into Adam, gen 2:7 and we received this life from our fathers!
Christ breathed on the apostles our spiritual fathers, we receive the new covenant life of God’s grace from them thru faith & baptism! Jn 20:21-23 Mk 16:16 acts 8:36-38 eph 2
Born again! Born from above!
'The Father has set his seal' on Christ (John 6:27) and also seals us in him (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:23, 4:30). Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Baptism,
Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life." 87 The faithful Christian who I has "kept the seal" until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life "marked with the sign of faith," 88 with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God - the consummation of faith - and in the hope of resurrection.
St. Paul tells the faithful at Ephesus that they have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” This is in terms of an indelible character imprinted on the soul in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. It is not as if this invisible mark is simply decorative. Rather, through it, we are enabled to participate in Christ’s mission and in his offices of priest, prophet, and king. Eph 1:13
Sealed by God eph 1:13 sealed by God (ez 36:25-27) in the ark of salvation by baptism just as Noah was sealed by God in the ark of the flood gen 7:16
1 Pet 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us!
(Ark of Noah a type of the church, member of Christ and his church and salvation by baptism!)
(Outside the ark of Noah none were saved, outside the church (the ark of salvation) none are saved!)
Sealed in the ark, sealed in the church the ark of salvation by God thru baptism!
Effects of faith & baptism!
Ez 36:25-27 washed in baptism, with a new heart and the Spirit
Jn 3:5 born again in baptism
Mk 16:16 faith & baptist
Acts 2:38 repentance & baptism
Acts 8:36-38 faith & baptism
Acts 22:16 baptism washes away sin
Rom 6:3 died with Christ
Col 2:12 risen with Christ
1 cor 12:13 baptized into the church
Gal 3:27 by baptism put on Christ
2 Tim 1:10 brought to life
2 cor 5:17 new creation
Eph 1:13 sealed by the Holy Spirit
Eph 2:1&5 brought to life in baptism
Eph 4:5 one baptism
Eph 5:26 faith and baptism
Titus 3:5 baptismal regeneration
1 pet 1:2 washed in Christ’s blood
1 pet 2:9 and not the kingdom of light
1 pet 3:20-21 baptism saves us!
“Faith alone” accomplishes nothing!
1 cor 13:2 even all faith (alone) without charity avails NOTHING!!!
Faith and baptism!
Scripture says none of the things about “Faith alone”!
As grace Washes our souls in the merits of Jesus blood from original and personal sin, so the outward action of washing is visible!
without the outward action the inward action cannot take place!
Jn 3:5 Titus 3:5 water and washing
acts 22:16 wash away your sin!
Jn 3:5 Born again BY water and the spirit! Not by “faith alone”!
They did not go to Jerusalem and preach “accept Christ as you’re personal Lord and savior “
They went to the river (water) and they baptized! Jn 3:22
A covenant requires an outward sign of the inward action of grace!
Ez 36:25 I will sprinkle you with clean water and you shall be made white as snow.
Acts 22:16 washing away your sins.
Eph 4:5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism.
1 pet 3:21 baptism saves you.
Baptism!
God breathed life into Adam, gen 2:7 and we received this life from our fathers!
Christ breathed on the apostles our spiritual fathers, we receive the new covenant life of God’s grace from them thru faith & baptism! Jn 20:21-23 Mk 16:16 acts 8:36-38 eph 2
Born again! Born from above!
'The Father has set his seal' on Christ (John 6:27) and also seals us in him (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:23, 4:30). Because this seal indicates the indelible effect of the anointing with the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Baptism,
Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life." 87 The faithful Christian who I has "kept the seal" until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life "marked with the sign of faith," 88 with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God - the consummation of faith - and in the hope of resurrection.
St. Paul tells the faithful at Ephesus that they have been “sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” This is in terms of an indelible character imprinted on the soul in the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. It is not as if this invisible mark is simply decorative. Rather, through it, we are enabled to participate in Christ’s mission and in his offices of priest, prophet, and king. Eph 1:13
Sealed by God eph 1:13 sealed by God (ez 36:25-27) in the ark of salvation by baptism just as Noah was sealed by God in the ark of the flood gen 7:16
1 Pet 3:20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.
21 The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us!
(Ark of Noah a type of the church, member of Christ and his church and salvation by baptism!)
(Outside the ark of Noah none were saved, outside the church (the ark of salvation) none are saved!)
Sealed in the ark, sealed in the church the ark of salvation by God thru baptism!
Effects of faith & baptism!
Ez 36:25-27 washed in baptism, with a new heart and the Spirit
Jn 3:5 born again in baptism
Mk 16:16 faith & baptist
Acts 2:38 repentance & baptism
Acts 8:36-38 faith & baptism
Acts 22:16 baptism washes away sin
Rom 6:3 died with Christ
Col 2:12 risen with Christ
1 cor 12:13 baptized into the church
Gal 3:27 by baptism put on Christ
2 Tim 1:10 brought to life
2 cor 5:17 new creation
Eph 1:13 sealed by the Holy Spirit
Eph 2:1&5 brought to life in baptism
Eph 4:5 one baptism
Eph 5:26 faith and baptism
Titus 3:5 baptismal regeneration
1 pet 1:2 washed in Christ’s blood
1 pet 2:9 and not the kingdom of light
1 pet 3:20-21 baptism saves us!
“Faith alone” accomplishes nothing!
1 cor 13:2 even all faith (alone) without charity avails NOTHING!!!
Faith and baptism!
Scripture says none of the things about “Faith alone”!
Bob Estey
Well-Known Member
Taking this out of context, I'd just say that we aren't supposed to cause trouble for the Lord (by disobeying him).
Bob Carabbio
Well-Known Member
I.e. if the Holy Spirit leads you to DO SOMETHING, then do it. Simple as that.
GEN2REV
Well-Known Member
We grieve the Holy Spirit when we, as Christians who have the Spirit, disobey the 10 Commandments.
Don't sadden the Holy Spirit of God. His presence in you is your seal of God's ownership of you, to secure you until He redeems you fully, that is, your resurrection.
Much love!
Webers_Home
Well-Known Member
.
• Isa 63:9-10 . . In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His
presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He
bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and
vexed His holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He
fought against them.
• 1Cor 10:6-7 . . God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were
scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep
us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
• Eph 4:30-32 . . Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . . get rid of all
bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of
malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just
as God, in Christ, forgave you.
_
• Isa 63:9-10 . . In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His
presence saved them: in His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He
bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and
vexed His holy Spirit: therefore He was turned to be their enemy, and He
fought against them.
• 1Cor 10:6-7 . . God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were
scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep
us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
• Eph 4:30-32 . . Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God . . . get rid of all
bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of
malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just
as God, in Christ, forgave you.
_
BARNEY BRIGHT
Well-Known Member
What did Paul mean when he wrote Ephesians 4:30.
He wrote: “Do not be grieving God’s holy spirit, with which you have been sealed for a day of releasing by ransom.” Paul did not want his beloved fellow believers to endanger their spirituality. It was with YHWH God spirit that they had been “sealed for a day of releasing by ransom.” God’s holy spirit was and still is a seal, or an advance “token of what is to come” for anointed integrity keepers. (2 Corinthians 1:22) The seal signifies that they are God’s possession and are in line for heavenly life.
Grieving the spirit can be the first step leading to the total loss of the influence of God’s active force in a Christian’s life. That this is possible is evident from what David said after he had sinned in connection with Bath-sheba. David repentantly begged Jehovah: “Do not throw me away from before your face; and your holy spirit O do not take away from me.” (Psalm 51:11) Only those anointed ones who prove “faithful even to death” will receive the “crown” of immortal life in heaven. (Revelation 2:10; 1 Corinthians 15:53) Christians need holy spirit if they are to maintain integrity to God and receive his gift of life on the basis of faith in Christ’s ransom sacrifice. (John 3:36; Roman 5:8; 6:23) Hence, all of us must guard against grieving YHWH God holy spirit.
Dedicated Christians can avoid grieving the spirit. This is possible if they ‘keep on walking and living by spirit,’ for then they will not be overcome by wrong fleshly desires and will not manifest ungodly traits. (Galatians 5:16, 25, 26) But that could change. They could grieve God’s spirit to a degree by allowing themselves to drift slowly, perhaps almost imperceptibly, toward conduct condemned in God’s spirit-inspired Word.
If we continually went contrary to the direction of holy spirit, we would be grieving it and YHWH God, the Source of that spirit. An examination of Ephesians 4:25-32 will show us how we should conduct ourselves, and it can help us to avoid grieving God’s spirit.
We must be truthful. According to Ephesians 4:25, Paul wrote: “Now that you have put away falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are members belonging to one another.” Since we are united as “members belonging to one another,” we certainly should not be devious or deliberately try to mislead our fellow worshippers, for that is the same as lying to them. Any who were to persist in such a course would end up having no relationship with God.( Proverbs 3:32)
Deceitful words and actions could disrupt the unity of the congregation. Therefore, we should be like the trustworthy prophet Daniel, in whom others could find nothing corrupt. (Daniel 6:4) And we ought to bear in mind Paul’s counsel to Christians with a heavenly hope that each member of “the body of the Christ” belongs to all the others and needs to remain united with Jesus’ truthful anointed followers. (Ephesians 4:11, 12) If we hope to live forever we must speak the truth, thereby contributing to the unity of our worldwide brotherhood.
We must oppose the Devil, giving him no opportunity to harm us spiritually. (James 4:7)
Holy spirit helps us to resist Satan. For instance, we can do so by guarding against unbridled rage. Paul wrote: “Be wrathful, and yet do not sin; let the sun not set with you in a provoked state, neither allow place for the Devil.” (Ephesians 4:26, 27) If we do become justifiably angry, an immediate silent prayer can help us to be “cool of spirit,” displaying self-control instead of acting in a way that could grieve God’s spirit. (Proverbs 17:27) So let us not remain in a provoked state and give Satan a chance to induce us to do something evil. (Psalms 37:8, 9) One way to resist him is by settling disputes quickly in harmony with Jesus’ counsel.(Matthew 5:23, 24; 18:15-17)
We must not succumb to any temptation to steal or be dishonest.
Regarding theft, Paul wrote: “Let the stealer steal no more, but rather let him do hard work, doing with his hands what is good work, that he may have something to distribute to someone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28) If a dedicated Christian were to steal, he would actually ‘assail the name of God’ by bringing reproach on it. (Proverbs 30:7-9) Even poverty does not justify theft. Those who love God and neighbor realize that stealing is never justified.(Mark 12:28-31.)
Paul does not just mention what we should not do; he points out what we should do. If we are living and walking by holy spirit, we will work hard so that we can care for our family and also have “something to distribute to someone in need.” (1 Timothy 5:8) Jesus and his apostles set aside funds to help the poor, but the betrayer Judas Iscariot carried off some of the money. (John 12:4-6) He surely was not led by holy spirit. We who are guided by God’s spirit “conduct ourselves honestly in all things,” as Paul did. (Hebrews 13:18) We thus avoid grieving YHWH God holy spirit.
We must guard our speech. Paul declared: “Let a rotten saying not proceed out of your mouth, but whatever saying is good for building up as the need may be, that it may impart what is favorable to the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29) Again, the apostle does not merely say what we should not do; he tells us what we should be doing. Under the influence of God’s spirit, we will be moved to ‘say what is good for building up so that it may impart what is favorable to the hearers.’ Furthermore, we should not let a “rotten saying” come out of our mouth. The Greek word rendered “rotten” has been used to describe putrefying fruit, fish, or meat. Just as we are repulsed by such food, we hate speech that YHWH God considers bad.
We must rid ourselves of bitterness, wrath, abusive speech, and all badness.
After warning against grieving God’s spirit, Paul wrote: “Let all malicious bitterness and anger and wrath and screaming and abusive speech be taken away from you along with all badness.” (Ephesians 4:30, 31) As imperfect humans, all of us need to work hard to control our thoughts and actions. If we were to give free rein to “malicious bitterness and anger and wrath,” we would be grieving God’s spirit. The same is true if we kept score of wrongs committed against us, manifested a resentful attitude, and refused to become reconciled to the offender. If we even begin to ignore the Bible’s counsel, we might develop traits that could lead to sinning against the spirit and we might experience disastrous consequences.
Our speech should be decent, kind, “seasoned with salt.” (Colossians 3:8-10; 4:6) People should be able to discern that we are different when they hear what we say. So let us help others by speaking what is “good for building up.” And may we feel as did the psalmist who sang: “Let the sayings of my mouth and the meditation of my heart become pleasurable before you, O YHWH my Rock and my Redeemer.”(Ps. 19:14)
We need to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. Paul wrote: “Become kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving one another just as God also by Christ freely forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32) Even if we are deeply hurt by some wrong done to us, let us forgive, as God does. (Luke 11:4) Suppose a fellow believer has said something negative about us. In an effort to straighten matters out, we approach him. He expresses true sorrow and asks for forgiveness. We forgive him, but we need to do more. “You must not take vengeance nor have a grudge against the sons of your people,” says Leviticus 19:18, “and you must love your fellow as yourself. I am YHWH.”
He wrote: “Do not be grieving God’s holy spirit, with which you have been sealed for a day of releasing by ransom.” Paul did not want his beloved fellow believers to endanger their spirituality. It was with YHWH God spirit that they had been “sealed for a day of releasing by ransom.” God’s holy spirit was and still is a seal, or an advance “token of what is to come” for anointed integrity keepers. (2 Corinthians 1:22) The seal signifies that they are God’s possession and are in line for heavenly life.
Grieving the spirit can be the first step leading to the total loss of the influence of God’s active force in a Christian’s life. That this is possible is evident from what David said after he had sinned in connection with Bath-sheba. David repentantly begged Jehovah: “Do not throw me away from before your face; and your holy spirit O do not take away from me.” (Psalm 51:11) Only those anointed ones who prove “faithful even to death” will receive the “crown” of immortal life in heaven. (Revelation 2:10; 1 Corinthians 15:53) Christians need holy spirit if they are to maintain integrity to God and receive his gift of life on the basis of faith in Christ’s ransom sacrifice. (John 3:36; Roman 5:8; 6:23) Hence, all of us must guard against grieving YHWH God holy spirit.
Dedicated Christians can avoid grieving the spirit. This is possible if they ‘keep on walking and living by spirit,’ for then they will not be overcome by wrong fleshly desires and will not manifest ungodly traits. (Galatians 5:16, 25, 26) But that could change. They could grieve God’s spirit to a degree by allowing themselves to drift slowly, perhaps almost imperceptibly, toward conduct condemned in God’s spirit-inspired Word.
If we continually went contrary to the direction of holy spirit, we would be grieving it and YHWH God, the Source of that spirit. An examination of Ephesians 4:25-32 will show us how we should conduct ourselves, and it can help us to avoid grieving God’s spirit.
We must be truthful. According to Ephesians 4:25, Paul wrote: “Now that you have put away falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are members belonging to one another.” Since we are united as “members belonging to one another,” we certainly should not be devious or deliberately try to mislead our fellow worshippers, for that is the same as lying to them. Any who were to persist in such a course would end up having no relationship with God.( Proverbs 3:32)
Deceitful words and actions could disrupt the unity of the congregation. Therefore, we should be like the trustworthy prophet Daniel, in whom others could find nothing corrupt. (Daniel 6:4) And we ought to bear in mind Paul’s counsel to Christians with a heavenly hope that each member of “the body of the Christ” belongs to all the others and needs to remain united with Jesus’ truthful anointed followers. (Ephesians 4:11, 12) If we hope to live forever we must speak the truth, thereby contributing to the unity of our worldwide brotherhood.
We must oppose the Devil, giving him no opportunity to harm us spiritually. (James 4:7)
Holy spirit helps us to resist Satan. For instance, we can do so by guarding against unbridled rage. Paul wrote: “Be wrathful, and yet do not sin; let the sun not set with you in a provoked state, neither allow place for the Devil.” (Ephesians 4:26, 27) If we do become justifiably angry, an immediate silent prayer can help us to be “cool of spirit,” displaying self-control instead of acting in a way that could grieve God’s spirit. (Proverbs 17:27) So let us not remain in a provoked state and give Satan a chance to induce us to do something evil. (Psalms 37:8, 9) One way to resist him is by settling disputes quickly in harmony with Jesus’ counsel.(Matthew 5:23, 24; 18:15-17)
We must not succumb to any temptation to steal or be dishonest.
Regarding theft, Paul wrote: “Let the stealer steal no more, but rather let him do hard work, doing with his hands what is good work, that he may have something to distribute to someone in need.” (Ephesians 4:28) If a dedicated Christian were to steal, he would actually ‘assail the name of God’ by bringing reproach on it. (Proverbs 30:7-9) Even poverty does not justify theft. Those who love God and neighbor realize that stealing is never justified.(Mark 12:28-31.)
Paul does not just mention what we should not do; he points out what we should do. If we are living and walking by holy spirit, we will work hard so that we can care for our family and also have “something to distribute to someone in need.” (1 Timothy 5:8) Jesus and his apostles set aside funds to help the poor, but the betrayer Judas Iscariot carried off some of the money. (John 12:4-6) He surely was not led by holy spirit. We who are guided by God’s spirit “conduct ourselves honestly in all things,” as Paul did. (Hebrews 13:18) We thus avoid grieving YHWH God holy spirit.
We must guard our speech. Paul declared: “Let a rotten saying not proceed out of your mouth, but whatever saying is good for building up as the need may be, that it may impart what is favorable to the hearers.” (Ephesians 4:29) Again, the apostle does not merely say what we should not do; he tells us what we should be doing. Under the influence of God’s spirit, we will be moved to ‘say what is good for building up so that it may impart what is favorable to the hearers.’ Furthermore, we should not let a “rotten saying” come out of our mouth. The Greek word rendered “rotten” has been used to describe putrefying fruit, fish, or meat. Just as we are repulsed by such food, we hate speech that YHWH God considers bad.
We must rid ourselves of bitterness, wrath, abusive speech, and all badness.
After warning against grieving God’s spirit, Paul wrote: “Let all malicious bitterness and anger and wrath and screaming and abusive speech be taken away from you along with all badness.” (Ephesians 4:30, 31) As imperfect humans, all of us need to work hard to control our thoughts and actions. If we were to give free rein to “malicious bitterness and anger and wrath,” we would be grieving God’s spirit. The same is true if we kept score of wrongs committed against us, manifested a resentful attitude, and refused to become reconciled to the offender. If we even begin to ignore the Bible’s counsel, we might develop traits that could lead to sinning against the spirit and we might experience disastrous consequences.
Our speech should be decent, kind, “seasoned with salt.” (Colossians 3:8-10; 4:6) People should be able to discern that we are different when they hear what we say. So let us help others by speaking what is “good for building up.” And may we feel as did the psalmist who sang: “Let the sayings of my mouth and the meditation of my heart become pleasurable before you, O YHWH my Rock and my Redeemer.”(Ps. 19:14)
We need to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving. Paul wrote: “Become kind to one another, tenderly compassionate, freely forgiving one another just as God also by Christ freely forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32) Even if we are deeply hurt by some wrong done to us, let us forgive, as God does. (Luke 11:4) Suppose a fellow believer has said something negative about us. In an effort to straighten matters out, we approach him. He expresses true sorrow and asks for forgiveness. We forgive him, but we need to do more. “You must not take vengeance nor have a grudge against the sons of your people,” says Leviticus 19:18, “and you must love your fellow as yourself. I am YHWH.”
quietthinker
Well-Known Member
Webers_Home
Well-Known Member
.
Jesus was sealed.
• John 6:27 . . Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food
which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you,
because God the Father has set His seal on Him.
(Jesus is FDA approved; so to speak)
Back in that day, seals were typically set with a metal tool, for example
signature rings, stamps, and/or cylinders which could be rolled across a
special waxen material. In other words; setting one's seal is all the same as
signing off on something, e.g. letters, memorandums, contracts, purchase
orders, reports, records, inspections, examinations, and/or employee references.
We can safely assume that God the Father's signature on Jesus indicates
that he comes highly recommended.
Anyway, in regard to Eph 1:13 and Eph 4:30, sealing by the Spirit identifies
someone as God's private property, so to speak; for example:
• Mal 3:16-17 . . Then those who feared The Lord spoke to one another, And
He listened and heard them. So a book of remembrance was written before
Him for those who fear The Lord and who meditate on His name.
. . .They shall be mine-- says the lord of hosts -on the day that I make them
My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves
him.
Pretty cool.
_
Jesus was sealed.
• John 6:27 . . Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food
which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you,
because God the Father has set His seal on Him.
(Jesus is FDA approved; so to speak)
Back in that day, seals were typically set with a metal tool, for example
signature rings, stamps, and/or cylinders which could be rolled across a
special waxen material. In other words; setting one's seal is all the same as
signing off on something, e.g. letters, memorandums, contracts, purchase
orders, reports, records, inspections, examinations, and/or employee references.
We can safely assume that God the Father's signature on Jesus indicates
that he comes highly recommended.
Anyway, in regard to Eph 1:13 and Eph 4:30, sealing by the Spirit identifies
someone as God's private property, so to speak; for example:
• Mal 3:16-17 . . Then those who feared The Lord spoke to one another, And
He listened and heard them. So a book of remembrance was written before
Him for those who fear The Lord and who meditate on His name.
. . .They shall be mine-- says the lord of hosts -on the day that I make them
My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves
him.
Pretty cool.
_
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