In Ephesians 4:25-32 we find Paul giving the Ephesians a syllabus regarding life in the school of heaven. The text unfolds a magnificent structure for our new life in Christ. These eight verses offer a series of twelve commands pointing the church to a glorious reality: Heavenly conversation and conduct mark new life in Christ.
In this post I will simply focus on the exhortations to heavenly conversation found in verse twenty-five and twenty-nine. Later this week I will try to show how the other seven verses give us a glimpse into the conduct of heaven.
HEAVENLY CONVERSATION
You may wonder why I am using the adjective of heavenly. “What in this text speaks of heaven?” The answer is actually quite hidden within verse twenty-five and is easy to miss. But it is an answer that provides a firm foundation for eight verses filled with twelve imperatives.
25Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Paul says because you have put off the old self and put on the new self (therefore), let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor. In this command, speak truthfully, we find the answer to why I am saying that Paul instructs the Ephesians in heavenly conversation.
The exhortation to speak the truth is a quote from Zechariah 8:16 where the prophet says, “These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another.” This is the first in a series of commands that immediately follow divine promises regarding the New Jerusalem. Through Zechariah, God is telling us what kind of people His children are to be in the new heavens and new earth. So the first command Paul gives is an echo from Zechariah that was originally given to the people of God who would dwell with him forever in the New Creation, in heaven. And doesn’t this beautifully fit with what has come before in Ephesians?
Chapter two tells us that Christ has broken down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile, and God has created one new man, one new body in Christ Jesus. We are later told that, in Christ we have put of the old self and put on the “new self, created in the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” In short, Ephesians repeatedly reveals the in-breaking of the New Creation. Although it is not yet here in its fullness, it is already here in part. Thus, Paul tells us right from the outset, “You are a heavenly people who are to be marked by heavenly conversation.” And speaking the truth marks heavenly conversation for we are members one of another.
Let us now look at verse twenty-nine to see what else is to mark heavenly conversation.
HEAVENLY MEANS GRACE-FILLED
29Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
The word corrupting was used to refer to rotted wood, diseased lungs, rancid fish, withered flowers, and rotten fruit. Rotten, diseased, rancid, and withered talk belonged to the old self, but now we are instructed to speak in the opposite manner with words that are good for building up. Our language is to edify and benefit those who hear it, as fits the occasion. And isn’t this quite difficult, to speak edifying words at the right moment and in the right way? Far too many of us are little concerned to wisely discern what other people need to hear from us with our words. What Paul is telling us here is that heavenly conversation begins with wise listening.
Oh this is so hard! I have the sometimes useful, but often cursed gift of being able to totally tune people out. A week never goes by where my wife does not tell me that I wasn’t listening to her. Heavenly conversation builds up as fits the occasion, so that it may give grace to those who hear. Our words are to be saturated with and steeped in grace. As salt seasons whatever it touches, so to must grace season our conversation. Verses twenty-five and twenty-nine tell us that heavenly conversation is marked by truth, wisdom, and grace. Truth, wisdom, and grace.
WIELDING THIS NEW CREATION WEAPON
This text reminds us of two realities. First, it cannot be mere coincidence that Paul the first specific thing Paul deals with regarding our new life in Christ is our tongue. For we all know that there is nothing more telling about the condition of our heart than our tongue. After all, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Thomas Brooks said, “The tongue is the nimble interpreter of the heart. If there be piety or iniquity at the bottom of your hearts, your tongues will discover it . . . What is in the heart will be in the mouth.” Our tongues tell of our true heart.
Second, we are reminded of the tongue’s power. It has the ability to corrupt and tear down, and the ability to edify and build up in grace. Brooks likened its power to a razor saying, “The tongue is often like a sharp razor, that, instead of shaving the hair, cuts the throat.” It is designed to sooth, clean, comfort, and brighten, but one small misstep can result in great pain.
The New Creation renovation has dawned upon Christ’s church. And it’s a renovation heard in our heavenly conversation.