Bible Mastery - Ephesians 4:30-31

Thanks for listening to the Bible Mastery Podcast, brought to you by Teleios. In this episode, William and Jeanette Stewart will cover Ephesians 4:30-31.

The Bible Mastery Podcast brings you verse-by-verse teaching that’s clear, grounded, and life-changing. We take the Bible at its word—interpreting it in a normal, literal way—so you can uncover its deep truths about salvation, spiritual well-being, and daily living. Our goal is simple: to help you understand Scripture and equip you with the tools to interpret it confidently, without getting lost in noise or speculation.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello, and welcome to the Bible Mastery Podcast, sponsored by Teleos and hosted by co-founders Bill and Jeanette Stewart. Here, we give you verse-by-verse teaching from the truth of Scripture that's clear, grounded, and life-changing. Our goal is to help you understand the Bible and equip you with tools to interpret it yourself confidently and correctly. Thanks for joining us.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

I'm William Stewart, co-founder of Teleos. Welcome to our podcast on Ephesians. I'm here with my wife, Jeanette.

SPEAKER_03 0:45

Hello, everybody. Nice to have you with us today.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Well, we're at the end of Ephesians 4, a great passage that, in context, is talking to us about the Christian walk, which we started essentially at the beginning of this chapter. And around verse 25, we started a series of positive commands, otherwise, things we should be doing and not be doing, um, as opposed to negative commands, which is not behaving like our own non-Christian self. And most of these commands uh for us, the past few verses, have been related to speech. So before we begin, just a reminder, go to our website, like us, at least a review if you can. And there's our disclaimer and who we are in terms of our biography. So having said all that, Janet, I think we're starting on verse 30 today. Please act as the leadoff batter to use a baseball analogy. Is that time of you?

SPEAKER_03 1:50

Well, thank you, Bill. And again, uh thank you for the context. Remember, it's just always so critical. And we left off last time talking about speech. And we pointed out that when God gives a negative of what not to do, he generally replaces it what with what we should do.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

And he basically interrupt you uh on that, and you always make this good point. Tell us why that's important. Yes, that's just what I was going to say. Oh, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_03 2:21

It's all right.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

You know, we've been married for a while. You think I could read your mind?

SPEAKER_03 2:25

You should. I think you usually do.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

You certainly read mine.

SPEAKER_03 2:30

So the importance of this is we don't live in a vacuum. You can't just say don't do this. You have to say what should be substituted. Otherwise, all you go around thinking about is I won't do this, I shouldn't do this, I won't do this, this, this. You're thinking about the thing you're not supposed to do. But instead, God tells us in replace it.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

And here the replacement is if you're all you're thinking about that negative thing is you ultimately will do it to me.

SPEAKER_03 2:56

Exactly. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

People do usually what they think.

SPEAKER_03 3:00

Exactly right. And here the replacement is speech that builds up and gives grace to the hearers. So remember, the purpose of speech is for the person to whom we're speaking. It's not for us, it has a goal outward, not inward. And then we come to verse 30, we're picking up today, and I'll read the verse. It says, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you're sealed unto the day of redemption. So as we observe, really important here that the first word is that little conjunction and chi in Greek. And this tells us that this verse is directly related to what went before. So the replacement of bad communication with things that are building up others is important. And it says, don't grieve the Holy Spirit of God. So the word grieve is very interesting. It's as we would understand it, to be sad or grieved. So basically says, don't make the Holy Spirit feel sad. And you know, you can't uh if I do something stupid, um, it may grieve Bill because we're in a close marriage relationship. We live around each other, we talk to each other every day, we spend time together. He could be grieved or saddened by my actions, but that action would have no effect on my neighbor down the street. They don't know. You know, they might see me once a week or once a month as I might be telling you.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

You never know. I could go walk down the street and lab about it.

SPEAKER_03 4:40

Well, yes, but you know, you probably don't. So the word uh the choice of the word grief is very significant. It shows that we do have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. And guess what, guys? It means that we, when we speak poorly, we have the ability basically to make God sad. And that always strikes me, you know, that puts a high standard, a high bar uh by which we should be evaluating our own speech because we sure don't want to make God sad. Bill, do you have any comments on that before I go to the next half of the verse?

SPEAKER_02 5:20

Well, it's just such an important uh concept that um you think that grief here also has a more general meaning in terms of any sin. And you said that it's sin that, or speaking poorly, that causes this grief. Is there anything else apart from sin that we grieve with the Holy Spirit? How do we know that it's sin per se?

SPEAKER_03 5:45

I think because of the word Kai, and it's linking it directly to the verse that went before, I would uh make an assumption based on my knowledge of New Testament scripture that always sin uh grieves God, and it's probably not just the sin of speech. You know, anything that we do that's sinful um would make God sad.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

Yeah, I think my minor point is here that we don't know from other scripture what specifically grieves the Holy Spirit. We do know that sin generally is bad and limits our relationship with God from our side, not from God's side. And I think if it's uh doing that with God, it's doing that with the Holy Spirit. I think we can make that assumption that sin is in view here, both specifically in speech, as you guys have said, you can make that assumption even more generally. I I don't know of a verse that says sin make God sad. Do you do you no?

SPEAKER_03 6:46

I don't know of a specific verse. Uh, I mean, all sin is offensive to God, and here again, we are new people. So he's saying, why on earth would you act like an old regenerated unbeliever? This is craziness. You know, you're new, you're you're a new person. Do what is consistent with your new identity.

SPEAKER_02 7:06

I think one of the impacts, or one lesson we can give for the old testament here's the impact of sin in the old testament on God, you know, in terms of his wrath. Umieved him, you know, repenting perhaps he chose in Israel, you know, the hurt to see his people turn to idol worship. I think that uh I'm not thinking of a specific verse here, but I think it is a recurrent, persistent theme in the Old Testament. And then even to the point by Paul, where obviously sin, major sin, will cause correction here in the New Testament. So I think we made that point. So please move on.

SPEAKER_03 7:49

Yeah, no, and I would just add to that, you know, again, when God says we're adopted, you know, He's our father, just think here as parents, you know, when your kids do something stupid and sinful, it grieves you. You know, it there's uh an emotional, I would say, uh, cost that people would actually never see, but you're mortified, you know. So I think there's that aspect as well.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

That I think comes through Hebrews as well. It's talking about the question of God to believers, those who love the same.

SPEAKER_03 8:25

Yeah, and as you said in the Old Testament, you know, Israel was God's chosen, so the same way he was their father. So okay. Um, so then the second half of the verse it says, uh, don't grieve the Holy Spirit, whereby you're sealed unto the day of redemption. So think back now to chapter one, where we saw the idea of sealing. And again, uh it brings up the analogy, the picture of when you seal an envelope. Um, if you're sending something by courier, you seal it up and there's a special, you know, you you pull that string across the cardboard and it opens.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

It never opens for me. You must be you must have special powers. Oh, I do. Always have to take the scissors and butcher the uh it's called a letter opener in the door of my desk.

SPEAKER_03 9:21

Um, and in the olden days, of course, the seal was wax, and the king would stick his signet ring in the wax to make his seal. And if it was broken, then you knew the contents had been tampered with. So as the Holy Spirit is God's seal on us, it shows that nothing can tamper with our salvation. We belong to God. And so I think here he's reminding us of this because the Holy Spirit is our seal. He is with us permanently, we're indwelled, and that's why we have this intimacy that would allow for grieving. So I think it's a reminder of the role of the spirit in our lives and our security.

SPEAKER_02 10:07

Very good. I I would even carry the seal analogy further to a legal seal because you and I say much of the king, we put that signet ring stamp on document. That's his legal seal. So somebody went and just happened to tear that document up because he didn't like what was in it. Yeah. So like, well, I mess up in the kitchen. You know, that's a sort of a revealing.

SPEAKER_03 10:34

Yeah, we got some knives in there.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

Yeah, exactly. Um, so um, yeah, so it's it's a sort of legal commitment God has to us through the Holy Spirit. Well, this brings up a broader, and thanks for a great discussion for that. This brings up a broader question about the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives and general. This is so rarely discussed uh either in terms of salvation or Christian life, uh the multiple people tend to limit this and ask them, oh well, you know, they they typically think of charismatic gifts, which is a whole other discussion. Now I think sometimes pastors don't want to teach on this because of controversy with the charismatic issue. But Jeanette, what in your mind? Let's just talk about salvation. What does the spirit do for us at salvation? Can we give a quick review?

SPEAKER_03 11:37

Yes, so the all three um parts of the Trinity that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are involved in regeneration. But I think specifically um we know that the spirit regenerates, I believe that's in Titus III. Um, and so I think that's the of the critical part in salvation that the spirit plays. Um, I think, Bill, to your point, people don't want to talk about it because they're afraid to talk about gifts and what they could or couldn't mean. The most common answer I get from uh Christian, if they know anything at all, to what does the spirit do? Oh, they convict people of sin, or he convicts people of sin. But I think here that conviction of sin is talking about salvation. The spirit makes sinners aware that they need to be saved. And so I see that as a role as well.

SPEAKER_02 12:33

Yeah, the most common answer I get before they start stuttering is is related to the charismatic gifts that they think they may not even believe in those gifts. Uh, but that's the only day they can think of as sort of how widespread the story. So yeah, I think you're right, the spirit before salvation requests us, it drags us to the cross, and then seals us to the day of redemption as we've just spoken, and then he regenerates us, as he nicely said, such a major event, and places us into the church. So you see the multiple roles of the spirit, and the roles are even greater uh in our Christian body, which are dotted throughout scripture and perhaps beyond the discussion now, but hopefully come to us and discuss it in the future.

SPEAKER_03 13:20

Yeah, like Romans 8, how the spirit leads us with script, you know, on and on. So, yes. So, and then the ceiling again is still the day of redemption. So, I I think um theologically you may understand that uh differently. Um, but I would just say that's until our redemption is complete and we are with God um either when we die or in you know future um reign of yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:50

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SPEAKER_02 14:18

Charge. Okay, now I notice you've left for me the posts of all the bad things here. But you know, maybe I'm good at that, so I'll just take off. So let all bitterness, uh pickria. I this is such a great word, it makes me think of peeking at somebody or you know, creating bitterness. Wrath. Here we have the orge work again. Uh when this is used of God, of course. It's orge in the from the brief, sorry. But this is used of God, it's his perfect, limited anger to punish specific sin.

SPEAKER_03 14:54

Sorry, Bill, isn't wrath themos here?

SPEAKER_02 14:57

Oh, yes, sure. Orge is the next one. So yeah, sort of the translations are sort of reversed here. But yes, thumos is a non-specific anger. Orge is this uh anger that's specific, typically when used of God. I don't think it's being uh used of that. Here we'll come back to um clamor, evil speaking, and put away from you all malice. So let's talk about this. Thymos is sort of this general, non-specific anger. I think it, as you know, I see throwing out that it's without purpose, and you may picture it festering uh without some sort of reason. People may be frustrated, but in terms of speech and what you're focusing on, people express anger um and perhaps lash out of people for seemingly known reason, but it's coming from a festering anger in their mind. You want to comment on that?

SPEAKER_03 15:57

No, I agree. Some people, as they speak, they just always seem mad at the world, and that that's how I kind of interpret this. It's like that's their basic platform that they're never happy and everything's wrong, it's never their fault, and they're just gonna make them happy, right?

SPEAKER_02 16:12

Yeah, they're the victim, and it's always somebody else's fault, and on and on. Or gay, then obviously this is not being used of God, and it's being used in a negative way in context. Now, how does it differ from being angry and do not sin in verse 26? So that's a tough one. I think in verse 26, it's used in a leastly module positive way that you know, if you're gonna be anger, have it for a righteous cause. And uh Christians being maltreated, uh reduced slavery of young people, children, on and on and on, and uh be angry for a reason or have it you know limited directly passion. Here in context, I think it's anger, even if it's recorded, it's it's for something bad and uh for no good purpose, and that should be put away. Here is interesting. Frau Gay in the original Greek is quailing, moaning, crying out in the public square, and had an inference sort of a negative reason. If somebody who's angry, unhappy, frustrated, and they're just crying out openly. Now, this is not something we see a lot in our culture, but perhaps it's more common back then. Uh, but you know, you could even say it in small groups, people are complaining and whining and uh vocally uh among people, you know, small groups or any gathering. You want to comment on that? How do you how do you view this point for networks?

SPEAKER_03 17:56

You know, I do I do think it's a public outcry, and I I do think we see it. You know, when people organize demonstrations, for example, against the government, uh things that they don't like, that can be clamor because God says the government is placed by him to keep order and to punish evil. And so when people incite against that, I see that as a public demonstration of clamoring, and that's wrong. He says, Don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 18:24

Yes, I think you're right. Demonstrations even against good things. Yeah, exactly. Blasphemy here, blasphemia, and is um, you know, we usually think of this of uh saying bad against God directly. Well, it's more broad than that. Blasti uh um the root word here, one of the words is basically purposeful speech, bad speech, evil speaking. So what's that? Well, it's going around talking bad about other people uh or institutions in general, and um even people with your church, which you don't agree with their behavior, what they do, do or do not do, you know, how do you balance out so we we shouldn't go around talking bad about other people sometimes people do bad things and the does that can that be recognized in some sort of non-simple way? How does a person do that?

SPEAKER_03 19:30

So I would just call this verbal abuse, um, is maybe how I look at it. And I I think again, remember in Proverbs it says combine truth and mercy, or sorry, uh wrap truth and mercy, bind it around your neck. So speech has two sides to it. One is you're truthful, you point out a problem, the other is you're merciful, and it's probably how you point it out. And and so we don't just, we're not Pollyanas, we don't just uh never address things that are wrong, but it's how you do it. And here we have this group of instructions, you know, people that are just always mad about something, then they find something to pick a fight over. That's the specific one, you know, they could do it in public and and try and um rile people up. And and then, you know, there's just um maybe it's character assassination, um, any sort of verbal abuse against a person. Uh, that's how I look at it.

SPEAKER_02 20:35

Yeah, I agree. I I think I would even lower the standard for what this means. I think just going around complaining about somebody. Uh well, they went to church this week. You know, isn't she wearing something just a little bit too skippy? You know, she should only be a Bible study. I think I think she drinks too much. Why why is she dating that person? I don't know what all the same is she. Yeah, so um, you know, you know, somebody complaining against the elders. I that's I think also indiscreet. Yeah, I think then this gets spread around, it's discouraging. I think it can cause the body of Christ to stumble and be distracted from their goals. And so the person which you say something bad about, then that person thinks about that, well excuse me, in their mind, and as opposed to being thankful for them for what God has done in their life. I think it's quite damaging. So I think the point I was trying to make, which you're just supposed to know, Jet, um, is that you know, sometimes, as you said, we're not Hollyanners, and we have to address bad. And I think the only time to mention something bad about somebody is if you need to do something about it. Let me repeat that. We're thinking something bad and we want to say it, it's best just to shut up. Okay, as Jeanette says, we open our mouths, it should be for the other person to saying something we're thankful about, committing them, uh, etc. But at the time to say something about what the bad somebody's doing is when we have to deal with it, and you address it with a person who can help you or give you wisdom.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

That that's the key, I I think, Bill, is you know, what you've described really falls into gossip. You're talking about people. If something's wrong, then go and talk to the person themselves. You don't need to be talking about that wrong deed to other people. Go and address it with the person who can make the correction. That's right. And you know, if you live by that, then you we are thankful always for other believers. If we see that they're struggling, then go help them deal with it. That's when you have the truth and mercy. You don't go and and you know, shout at them and tell them, you know, you're an awful person. You know, it's how you do it, but go to the person who can make the correction.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

Yes, well said. I think I think it's okay to share it with somebody before you go to them. Again, if it's incompetence, and you're only addressing the issue that which it needs to be dealt, uh which needs to be dealt with I speak English and and not in an emotional way. You know, here are the facts, what are we willing to advise? And then, of course, the second step is to take it with you uh as needed. But I will say this it should be rare that we're praying to other people. I think we can do it ahead of time by praying for them about the issue they might be having. We can encourage them with scripture, the hope and prayer they understand and change the behavior. We can invite them into a Bible study and let them see it in scripture and change the behavior. I think uh only as a last resort, unless it's a merging, you know, you know, bringing down the church of the body man, but that you know, many steps should be taken before approaching them and say we need to quite speak. Yeah, yeah. Um good. So then so don't evil speak and uh put away from you uh basically all malice, which is just bad here in the original Greek general word for bad. Otherwise, again, don't speak about bad things, people, institutions, uh, events. You know, sometimes you have to away that information, uh, but it's um in general it can be discouraging, and uh in a hard thinking, which is always what we should be thinking about.

SPEAKER_03 25:05

And that's Bill, can you address uh the word be put away from you? This sounds very passive, like that someone's gonna take this away from you. Uh how do you understand that? Do we just kind of sit around and wait for these things to be taken from us?

SPEAKER_02 25:23

It's a it means take away aerial in the original brief, but it's actually it's interesting, it's a command for. So as you just said, let it be taken away. And it has the same impact as put away, a second person. But this is a third person command, which I don't really use in English very much. I think it's used when it's not directed towards a general person or group, but it's more of a general admonishment. So let this be done.

SPEAKER_03 25:57

Thank you, because I think that's really important, the fact that it actually is a command, it's not just that we sit around, you know, yeah, and it's frequently used.

SPEAKER_02 26:05

I I think these third-person commands are used as much, almost as much as the second person do. So we are to speak in such a way that not to grieve the Holy Spirit, otherwise, don't speak in a simple way. And we have a list of things which we shouldn't speak about. Uh general anger, complaining, whining, crying out, um, speaking bad about other people, and we are to shut up about those things, unless I think we really need to address a specific issue of a person or a committee or part of the institution of the church uh to help resolve that issue, and even then, we only do it in a limited, purposeful, non-emotional way. Jack, you want to add to that summary?

SPEAKER_03 27:00

That's a great summary. And again, you know, just the importance of speech. I think we're gonna see this again when we progress into chapter five next week.

SPEAKER_02 27:10

Um and the next verse too.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

And yeah, so just really important concepts. I love these verses actually.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

Thanks for joining us today, and thank you, Juliet.

SPEAKER_03 27:20

Thanks, Bill, and those who are listening and viewing. We are always honored by your presence. We look forward to seeing you next time. Bye-bye.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Bible Mastery Podcast. Join us next week for another exciting episode.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

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