The Kindness that Imitates God Himself
"Put away lies, then. ‘Each of you, speak the truth with your neighbor,’ because we belong so closely to each other. ‘Be angry, but don’t sin’; don’t let the sun go down on you while you’re angry, and don’t leave any loophole for the devil. The thief shouldn’t steal any longer, but should rather get on with some honest manual work, so as to be able to share with people in need.
Don’t let any unwholesome words escape your lips. Instead, say whatever is good and will be useful in building people up, so that you will give grace to those who listen.
And don't disappoint God's holy spirit - the spirit who put God's mark on you to identify you on the day of freedom. All bitterness and rage, all anger and yelling, and all blasphemy - put it away from you, with all wickedness. Instead, be kind to one another, cherish tender feelings for each other, forgive one another, just as God forgave you in the king.
So you should be imitators of God, like dear children. Conduct yourselves in love, just as the Messiah loved us, and gave himself for us, as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God."
Speaking the truth (v.25) Paul quotes Zechariah 8:16 which predicts that God is going to renew his people and restore their fortunes.
Stealing – Paul says that it isn’t just that stealing is wrong – rather, people who are used to petty thievery should say to themselves that they have a duty to help those in need, and they should work to make it possible (v.28)
Bitter or sour speech – should be avoided. Your tongue gives you the opportunity to bring God’s grace to people, by what you say and how you say it. It’s a shame to pass up that chance (v.29)
Anger must be dealt with appropriately. Paul quotes Psalm 4:4 which doesn’t say you should not be angry – anger itself is a natural human emotion and to pretend it isn’t there is a form of lying. He insists that you mustn’t let it lead you into sin. You must learn to tame it, to deal with it before you lie down to sleep. Otherwise you are leaving an open door and inviting Satan to come in. everything that follows from anger – the raised voices, the shocking words, the sour taste in the room – all these must be put away (v. 31)
God’s Mark
- The word Paul uses for “God’s mark” could refer to the “seal” or official stamp on a document or package, marking it out for a particular use or occasion.
- The mark indicates who it belongs to and what it’s for.
- The presence of the Holy Spirit in the community, and in the heart of the individual Christian, declares that we belong to God, and that we are destined for full ‘redemption’, - the liberation which will come on the day when God sets the whole world free and gives us our resurrection bodies.
- People who are enslaved to anger and malice may think they are ‘free’ to ‘be themselves’ but they are in bondage.
- If we are marked out by the Spirit’s personal presence living in us, think about how sad it makes that Spirit if we behave in ways which don’t reflect the life and love of God.
Kindness is a virtue not often enough considered, but it remains central to what Christianity is all about. The reason for this is because it is one of the purest forms of the imitation of God.
- How would it be if God were the kind of god who was always making snide or bitter remarks at us?
- What would worship and prayer be like if we thought God had been talking about us behind our backs, putting us down to others?
- How would we feel if we thought we couldn't trust God to tell us the truth, if he was always losing his temper with us?
- How do people feel about us if that's what we are like? Wouldn't it be better in every way to be like God?
Which of these old ways of thinking and behaving do you need to put off? Not changing – “that just who I am” is an excuse for selfish behavior. We should regard our moods, and the speech that flows from them, as a strong/willful horse- which needs to be reminded frequently of the direction we’re supposed to go in.
Paul says we should imitate God (5:1-2). How can we do that?
Scan through the new behaviors again (end of Ephesians 4) – now read them as a description of how God acts toward us. How does that make you think and feel?
PRAY - Praise God for how he acts toward you. Ask God to show you areas of thinking and behavior that are wrong and how you can change them, so you can imitate him.