Efésios 4
A.T. Robertson · Citado em PreceptAustin
Efésios 4:29
Robertson - “For the build-up of the need,” “for supplying help when there is need.” Let no other words come out. Richard Hooker - There will come a time when three words, uttered with charity and meekness, shall receive a far more blessed reward than three thousand volumes written with disdainful sharpness of wit. Charles Hodge - the edification which necessity calls for or which is suited to the occasion. (Ephesians 4 Commentary) Martyn Lloyd-Jones on "need" - ‘As fits the occasion’ means that I must consider the people to whom I am speaking; I must make an assessment of them, and my speech and conversation must be appropriate for them. But many Christian people do not do this; what they do is to deliver a sermon; they address an individual as if he or she were a public meeting; they sermonise; they give a little address or sermonette; they make very good statements about the gospel and the way of salvation, but sometimes it is not at all appropriate and does not fit the occasion. They act in this way because they are thinking about themselves only, and are not estimating the other. They say to themselves, Now that I am a Christian and must engage in good and godly conversation, I must always be giving my testimony or preaching the gospel or getting in a little word somewhere or other. No, says the Apostle, that is a wrong approach. If you approach it in that way, you are more concerned about yourself and about doing your duty than you are about manifesting the true Christian attitude in this matter. The Christian’s word of edification should always fit the occasion! So we are not to repeat phrases in parrot fashion and feel that we have done well and performed our duty. Not at all! Instead, we are to discover, first of all, what is the exact position of other people. My business is to speak to them in such a way as to help them exactly where they are; ‘cast not your pearls before swine’, says our Lord. Do not hurl chunks, as it were, of good red meat at a babe who can only take milk! These are the Scriptural terms, are they not? ‘I could not speak unto you’, says Paul to the Corinthians, ‘as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes.’ ‘I have fed you with milk and not with meat.’ The fact was that they ‘were not yet able to bear it’! (Mp3 of sermon on Eph 4:29 - How to Communicate with our Fellows) As noted in the next verse (Ephesians 4:30) one of the ways that we may grieve the Holy Spirit is by frivolous, worthless, rotten conversation. Life is too short and valuable to be wasted. It needs to be spent in giving out edifying words and living out edifying works. (Ep 5:16+, Col 4:5, 6+). John Eadie agrees adding that - The precious hour should never be polluted with corrupt speech, nor should it be wasted in idle and frivolous dialogue. We are not indeed to “give that which is holy to dogs”—a due and delicate appreciation of time and circumstance must govern the tongue. Conversation should always exercise a salutary influence, regulated by the special need. Words so spoken may fall like winged seeds upon a neglected soil, and there may be future germination and fruit. (Ephesians 4 Commentary)
Efésios 4:30
Robertson says “Cease grieving” or “do not have the habit of grieving.” The Holy Spirit is grieved or pained by sin, in context, especially the sins of the tongue! Jamieson adds that this is "A condescension to human modes of thought most touching." Sin grieves the Holy Spirit and is the cause for the loss of fellowship, the loss of filling, which equates with the loss of the controlling ministry of the Spirit. When we sin remember that if we want to be completely united with Christ, we need to confess and repent from deliberate sin. When we persist in deliberate sin, the Bible says that we “grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Eph. 4:30). Thankfully, our confession and repentance will be met with forgiveness (1 John 1:9+). As the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, He also guides us to the truth of forgiveness through the work of Jesus. As He works in our lives, we can expect nothing less than change as dramatic as resurrection (cf. Ro. 8:11). THOUGHT- So Eph 4:30 begins with an "and" (and in my experience of hearing two live messages on this passage unfortunately some pastors totally miss this simple but very important connection because they don't give "and" the credit it deserves -- EVERY word of God is inspired and is profitable - 2 Ti 3:16+!) In fairness to the pastors, as discussed above, the NAS95, does not translate the Greek word for "and"! Notice that the majority of the translations listed above thankfully do include the "and". What is the problem in verse 30? That's easy = grieving the Holy Spirit. What is easy to miss is "WHY" is He grieved? Context is king in all communication and here the context is rotten words (Eph 4:29+ - "unwholesome"). Paul's point is that if we let "rotten words" fly out of our mouth, we will grieve the Spirit. And the problem with that is we have just "short-circuited" (so to speak) our spiritual Power Source! And then we may really let a barrage of "rotten words" fly out of our mouth (because we have no controlling influence -- think of it this way = we have no "governor" on our speech....like a governor on a car that prevents the car from going over let's say 60 MPH). Notice the chain of events -- rotten words grieve the Spirit which in turn easily (usually) leads to many more rotten words flying out of our mouth in rapid fire succession and aimed directly at the person in our verbal "cross hairs!" (Often one to whom we are closely related - e.g., husband or wife, children, etc) So what is the solution? We need to trap those rotten words BEFORE they escape! Make sense? Pray Ps 141:3+ "Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips." doing so in faith that the Spirit will enable you to "set" and "keep watch!" In truth, the only One Who can tame the tongue of the Old Man is the Holy Spirit! In fact, it is interesting that in Eph 5:18-19, the first word in the Greek text, after the command to continually be filled with the Spirit, is the Greek verb laleo, which means to speak! The first fruit of the Spirit's control is a controlled tongue!
Efésios 4:31
Robertson - Old word for outcry Jamieson, Fausset and Brown - clamour—compared by Chrysostom to a horse carrying anger for its rider: “Bridle the horse, and you dismount its rider.”