Ephesians 4:31-32

Verse of the Day: Ephesians 4:31-32

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.  Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” – Ephesians 4:31-32 

When you observe what is going on in the world, what do you see?  I see a very angry and vicious people.  Now, I want to say that is not everyone I see; however, people are becoming more intolerant as the days go by.  It used to be that if two people disagreed, they would either walk away, or agree to disagree.  Now, violence seems to be the outcome of more and more meetings of individuals or groups where they do not see eye to eye.

Paul is telling the Ephesians this should not be the case with Christians.  We may disagree in areas, but we must not allow this to break into bitterness and anger simply because we do not agree with our brothers and sisters in Christ.  If we do, how are we different than the world?  And how can we preach love and peace to the world when we do not practice it ourselves?  We should set the example we see in verse 32 of being kind and tender-hearted to everyone, not being angry and talking bad of another person no matter what has happened.

This way, we are following the command to love everyone and shining a light into the darkness that the world will see and be attracted to.  They will see Christ in us.  What a beautiful picture for all to enjoy.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries, Inc.

1 Peter 2:1

Verse of the Day Devotion.  1 Peter 2:1

“Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,” –  1 Peter 2:1    

The ‘therefore’ refers back to chapter one where Peter spoke of being born again to a living hope, that being life everlasting with God. As well as His calling on us to live a holy life. He is saying, because of all this, we are to put away all malice and guile, as well as hypocrisy, envy, and slander. As Christians and thus children of God, we must not participate in these things, for in doing so we are not acting in love for our fellow man. Let take a look at each of these.

By definition, malice is the intention or desire to do evil due to enmity against someone in our heart. While in some contexts this term simply means evil, depravity, or vice, the intent here regards ill-will. This refers to something that destroys fellowship which is harmful and could destroy Christian communities. It is often associated with grumbling, bitterness, and envy. This is an internal heart issue that eventually shows up in negative behavior.

Next comes guile, essentially saying one thing but meaning another. The idea here is that the person is speaking or acting with evil ulterior motives, which would in some way cause harm if the person accepted it. Next, comes a similar idea, hypocrisy. This is the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one’s own behavior does not conform. This is where people are not so much robbed or injured as deceived.

Next we see envy, a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, luck, etc. This is looking at someone and either wishing you had something they had, or wishing they did not have it. And finally, slander. This is the idea of spreading something false about someone that injures a brother or sister’s reputation.

None of these should be done or promoted in the Christian community. These are the ways of the world, not of believers. As Peter wrote earlier, “Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; because it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy.”   1 Peter 1:13-16. We are to be holy in our conduct and our thoughts. None of these are holy activities and should not be in us.

We are to be as infants who when hungry go for the mother’s milk. We should desire the word of God in the scriptures and learn how we are to live, and how not to live. We are called to love everyone; God, our brothers, and sisters in Christ, and those who are not saved. If we have malice, envy, and/or deceit in our hearts, or are hypocritical and slanderous, how can we say we love others? Jesus told the disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35. Do not take on these sinful activities, for in no ways are these characteristics of love, and if people see or hear of us doing them, it will cover the light we are to be in the world. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.  

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Ephesians 4:31

Verse of the Day Devotion: Ephesians 4:31

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” – Ephesians 4:31        

Now, as Paul wraps up this section of Ephesians, he again speaks on how we are to treat each other.  And this comes after the verse that speaks of grieving the Holy Spirit.  Hence, this speaks regarding things that would be considered as grieving Him.  When we look at this verse, we see what Paul apparently sees as a major problem regarding actions of Christians, that being how we treat each other.

Let us look at these items mentioned by Paul.  He first speaks of bitterness.  There are several ways to look at this however, I will look at one which falls perfectly in what Paul is speaking about.  First, when someone is angry and unhappy because they cannot forget a bad thing that happened in the past.  As an example, feeling bitter toward someone in your school who won an award you really wanted and felt you deserved over the other person.  Bitterness occurs when we are either unable or unwilling to forget something we deem wrong.  We must put all things negative away and not think about them anymore.  Paul writes to the Church at Philippi what we are to think about.  “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything, worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Philippians 4:8. As you can see, bitterness is not included in this list.

Next is wrath.  This has the idea of passionate anger which lasts for a period of time which is opposed to being tender-heartedness toward the person we have wrath against.  Anger is similar to wrath but is more of a lasting resentment.   There is really nothing positive that comes from this.  In fact, a writer of Psalms says the following, “Cease from anger and forsake wrath; Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.” Psalm 37:8.  And James writes the following, “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” James 1:19-20. 

Next, we have clamor.  The idea here speaks of a loud and confusing noise, especial from people who are so angry they just shout and yell at each other.  It also refers to making a demand, yelling loudly over and over.  It speaks of a noisy outcry from a person or group of people in a loud and harsh matter.  Next, we have slander, which is essentially speaking in a bad or injurious manner which could cause others to look negatively at the person being spoken about.  And finally, malice.  This is a step beyond slander in that it is not just words spoken, but also deeds.  An example is when you hate someone to the point of desiring revenge or harm.

These are all things we need to watch out for in our dealings with others.  We cannot claim to love others if we engage in any of these actions or thoughts about them.  All of these are actions that can cause us to grieve the Holy Spirit.  We must always look at ourselves and give up those things that are ungodly.  In Lamentations we read, “Let us examine and probe our ways, and let us return to the LORD.” Lamentations 3:40. And also, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me and lead me in the everlasting way.” Psalm 139:23-24.  Let us call out to God and ask Him to remove these wrongs from us, that we may live according to His ways.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.