English · KJV

Ephesians 4:29

“Specific Commands for the New Life”Ephesians 4:25–5:2
King James Version
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

KJV (with Strong's)
Let G4550 no G3361 G3956 corrupt G4550 communication G3056 proceed G1607 out of G1537 your G5216 mouth G4750, but G235 that which G1536 is good G18 to G4314 the use G5532 of edifying G3619, that G2443 it may minister G1325 grace G5485 unto the hearers G191.

Bible text: King James Version with Strong's numbers · Public domain

Berean Standard Bible
Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen.

Bible text: Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

American Standard Version
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

World English Bible Messianic
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for building up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Bible text: World English Bible, Messianic edition · Public domain

Geneva Bible (1599)
Let no corrupt comunication proceed out of your mouths: but that which is good, to ye vse of edifying, that it may minister grace vnto the hearers.

Bible text: Geneva Bible (1599) · Public domain

Young's Literal Translation
Let no corrupt word out of your mouth go forth, but what is good unto the needful building up, that it may give grace to the hearers;

Bible text: Young's Literal Translation · Public domain

King James Version — Interlinear
22 Greek words
  1. ΠᾶςPasAnyG3956A-NSMAdjective Nominative Singular Masculine
  2. λόγοςlogoswordG3056N-NSMNoun Nominative Singular Masculine
  3. σαπρὸςsaprosunwholesomeG4550A-NSMAdjective Nominative Singular Masculine
  4. ἐκekout ofG1537PREPPreposition
  5. τοῦtoutheG3588T-GSNDefinite article Genitive Singular Neuter
  6. στόματοςstomatosmouthG4750N-GSNNoun Genitive Singular Neuter
  7. ὑμῶνhumōnof youG4771P-2GPPersonal pronoun Genitive 2nd Plural
  8. μὴmēnotG3361PRT-NNegative Particle Negative
  9. ἐκπορευέσθωekporeuesthōshould go forthG1607V-PNM-3SVerb Present Middle Or Passive Deponent Imperative 3rd Singular
  10. ἀλλ᾽all᾽butG235CONJConjunction
  11. εἴeiifG1487CONDConjunction
  12. τιςtisanyG5100X-NSMIndefinite pronoun Nominative Singular Masculine
  13. ἀγαθὸςagathosgoodG18A-NSMAdjective Nominative Singular Masculine
  14. πρὸςprosforG4314PREPPreposition
  15. οἰκοδομὴνoikodomēnedificationG3619N-ASFNoun Accusative Singular Feminine
  16. τῆςtēsof theG3588T-GSFDefinite article Genitive Singular Feminine
  17. χρείαςchreiasneedG5532N-GSFNoun Genitive Singular Feminine
  18. ἵναinaso thatG2443CONJConjunction
  19. δῷdōit shall giveG1325V-2AAS-3SVerb 2nd Aorist Active Subjunctive 3rd Singular
  20. χάρινcharingraceG5485N-ASFNoun Accusative Singular Feminine
  21. τοῖςtoisto thoseG3588T-DPMDefinite article Dative Plural Masculine
  22. ἀκούουσινakouousinhearingG191V-PAP-DPMVerb Present Active Participle Dative Plural Masculine
English is a literal word-by-word gloss of the Greek, not the KJV's wording. Why?

This is the original text the KJV's translators worked from — each Greek word with its own literal English meaning in this verse, prepared by scholars at Tyndale House, Cambridge. The KJV translates whole sentences, not word by word, so its wording differs: one Greek word can become several English words, and the KJV may choose “charity” where the gloss reads “love”. Both are faithful — they answer different questions. For the KJV's own rendering, switch to the KJV text.

Words in [ ] are added by the English.

Translation
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In the KJVVerse 29,302 of 31,102 · 94.2%

Study this verse

Written with AI assistance. Always check it against Scripture.

This verse

Rotten talk is to stay out of a believer’s mouth, and only words that build others up as the moment requires are to come out, so that they give grace to those who hear.

“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth,”

Rotten talk, the logos sapros, of every kind, from filthy words to gossip and slander.

“but that which is good to the use of edifying,”

Literally “unto the edifying of the need”, the word that builds up as the moment requires.

“that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”

The words give grace, so the one who hears is helped and encouraged.

Put Away the Old Ways and Walk in Love

Ephesians 4:25–5:2

Summary

In these ten verses Paul shows what it looks like, day by day, to put off the old man and put on the new. Lay lying aside and speak the truth, because we are members of one another. “Be ye angry, and sin not”, and settle it before the sun goes down, so that the devil gains no foothold. Let the thief work with his own hands so that he has something to give. Speak only words that build up and give grace to the hearer. “Grieve not the holy Spirit of God”, by whom we are sealed for the day of redemption. Put away bitterness, wrath and malice, and be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving, as God in Christ has forgiven us. Then, as God’s beloved children, imitate him and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering that pleased God like the fragrance of a sacrifice. Every command comes with its reason, and the reasons are the gospel itself: the body we belong to, the Spirit who lives in us, the forgiveness we have received and the Saviour who gave himself for us.

The new man in everyday life

The letter to the Ephesians falls into two halves. Chapters 1–3 tell what God has done for us in Christ, and chapters 4–6 tell how his people are to live in response. Paul, writing as “the prisoner of the Lord”, opens Ephesians 4 by begging the church to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” (Ephesians 4:1) and to keep “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). Christ has given gifts to his people “for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12), so that the whole body grows up into him (Ephesians 4:1–16).

From Ephesians 4:17 Paul tells the believers to stop walking as the other Gentiles walk, and he sums up the change in a picture of clothing. They are to put off “the old man”, be renewed in the spirit of their mind, and put on “the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24). This passage spells out what that change of clothing looks like, and the section runs on to the end of the chapter (Ephesians 4:17–32) and into the next (Ephesians 4–5).

Most of the commands have three parts: something to stop, something to do in its place, and a reason. The liar speaks truth, the thief works and gives, and the mouth that spoke rotten words speaks words that build up. The reasons tie every command to the gospel, and at the end Paul gathers everything into one command, to imitate God and walk in love.

The church in Ephesus lived in a leading city famous for its temple of Artemis (Diana). It held both Jewish and Gentile believers, many of them converts who brought old habits with them, and these are the habits Paul names. Colossians has a close parallel, where Paul writes, “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds” (Colossians 3:9).

Speak the truth, because we are members of one another

The first command opens with “Wherefore”, dió, a word meaning “on which account” that draws a conclusion from what has just been said. Since the new man has been put on, here is how he speaks. “Putting away” is apotíthēmi, to lay aside or strip off, the same verb rendered “put off” in Ephesians 4:22. Lying belongs to the old man, and the believer takes it off like an old, dirty garment. The word for lying, pseûdos, simply means a lie, a falsehood, an untruth.

In its place comes “speak every man truth with his neighbour”. “Speak” is laléō, the ordinary verb for talking, so the command covers everyday conversation. “Every man” is hékastos, each one, so it reaches every believer. Truth, alḗtheia, is what is real and so, and in speech it means saying what is so, honestly and sincerely. The neighbour, plēsíon, is the one near you, and here above all the fellow believer, since the reason given concerns the church. Paul is taking up the words of the prophet: “Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour” (Zechariah 8:16).

The reason follows “for”, hóti, “because”: “we are members one of another.” A member, mélos, is a limb or part of a body, and allḗlōn means “one another”. Paul uses the same words in Romans: “every one members one of another” (Romans 12:5). A lie told to a fellow believer is one part of a body deceiving another part of the same body, and the harm falls on the whole, the liar included. Where truth is spoken, trust grows and the body is built up, which is why Paul has already called for “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15).

Truthfulness is rooted in who God is. He is the “God, that cannot lie” (Titus 1:2), and “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The Holy Spirit who lives in believers is “the Spirit of truth” (John 16:13), and the church is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). The devil stands at the other pole, for Jesus called him “a liar, and the father of it” (John 8:44). A believer who lies is speaking the language of the old life and of the enemy, and one who speaks the truth is like his Father and his Lord.

“Be ye angry, and sin not”

“Be ye angry, and sin not” are the words of Psalm 4:4 as they stand in the Greek Old Testament. The KJV, translating the Hebrew, reads “Stand in awe, and sin not”. “Be angry” is orgízō, to provoke or enrage, and in the passive to become angry. “Sin” is hamartánō, whose root picture is missing the mark, and with mḗ, “not”, the command forbids it.

“Be ye angry” recognises that anger will rise in us, and it allows that anger can be right when its cause is real evil or injustice. “And sin not” stands right beside it as a guard, because anger so easily goes wrong. Some thinkers of Paul’s day wanted every passion, anger included, stamped out, while others, the Peripatetics, held that anger could be useful if it was kept in check. Paul asks for something else again: when anger comes, bring it under God’s will at once, so that it leads to no sinful thought, word or deed.

Is all anger sin?

Anger at what is truly evil can be holy, because God himself is angry at sin. Jesus drove the traders out of the temple in zeal for his Father’s house (John 2:13–17), and in the synagogue he “looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts” (Mark 3:5). His anger was always pure and was aimed at unrighteousness, hypocrisy and spiritual blindness. Ours turns into sin when it springs from pride, selfishness or personal offence, or when it comes out as malice, revenge, harsh words or violence. So we do well to ask where our anger comes from, and Scripture urges us to be slow to it: “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God” (James 1:19–20), and “He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding” (Proverbs 14:29).

“Let not the sun go down upon your wrath”

The word for “wrath” here is parorgismós, found only here in the New Testament. It means provocation, the anger of someone who has been provoked, and one lexicon calls it irritation, a less lasting state than ordinary anger. Paul sets sunset as its limit. Deal with it before the day ends, and it has no night in which to settle into resentment and bitterness.

People ask what happens if a quarrel lasts past sunset. The setting sun gives an urgent, tangible deadline, and what it asks is that we take up the work of peace that same day. Sometimes the other person is unwilling, or the matter is too large for one evening, and full reconciliation has to wait. We can still do our part before we sleep: start the conversation, say that we want to be reconciled, and let go of the bitterness in our own hearts through prayer and forgiveness. The aim is to keep the provocation from settling in and hardening the heart, and the next verse gives the reason.

Settling anger quickly belongs to the work of Christ, who “is our peace” and has broken down the middle wall of partition (Ephesians 2:14–16). He calls peacemakers blessed (Matthew 5:9) and tells us to forgive “even as Christ forgave you” (Colossians 3:13).

Give no place to the devil

“Neither” is mḗte, “nor”, which joins this command to the one before it. Anger kept overnight is exactly how the devil finds his opening. To “give place” is dídōmi, to give, with tópos, a place, room or space, and the two together mean giving someone room or opportunity, a foothold, the way an army might yield a strong point to an enemy. The same phrase appears where Paul tells believers to leave vengeance to God: “avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath” (Romans 12:19).

“Devil” is diábolos, slanderer or false accuser, from a verb meaning to accuse, and as a title it names Satan. Anger nursed overnight, bitterness, unforgiveness and every other sin indulged in this list hand him ground. He uses it to tempt us further, to sow discord in the church and to accuse us. The foothold the verse speaks of is opportunity and advantage, and sin left alone makes room for his schemes.

The command assumes that believers can refuse him ground, and they are responsible to do it. Scripture says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7), and “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Our struggle is against “spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12), and for it God gives “the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

We resist in Christ’s strength. In the wilderness he answered every temptation with the word of God and yielded Satan nothing (Matthew 4:1–11). By his cross he “spoiled principalities and powers” and triumphed over them (Colossians 2:15), and through death he destroyed “him that had the power of death, that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14). So we “put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13:14), living in his righteousness and drawing on his victory.

From stealing to working and giving

“Let him that stole steal no more” uses kléptō, to take by stealth, the act forbidden in the eighth commandment, “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15). Some in the church had lived by dishonest means, and the new life asks of them a complete break. Paul then gives the thief something to do. “Let him labour” is kopiáō, a verb tied to a word for weariness, the hard work that tires a person out. The one who took the fruit of other people’s labour now works “with his hands the thing which is good”. The good, agathós, here is honest work, upright and useful, the opposite of theft.

The purpose clause carries the verse: “that he may have to give to him that needeth.” The verb échō simply means to have or possess. The thief took for himself, and the new man works so that he has something to share. The word for “give” is metadídōmi, to share or impart, the same word as in John the Baptist’s teaching, “He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none” (Luke 3:11).

Paul lived this. He made tents for a living (Acts 18:3) and told the elders of this very church, “these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me” (Acts 20:34), adding the words of the Lord Jesus, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). He told the Thessalonians “that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Some Greek and Roman thinkers looked down on manual work, while Jewish and Christian teaching honoured honest labour. The first believers in Jerusalem shared their goods “as every man had need” (Acts 2:44–45). Proverbs says that “the righteous giveth and spareth not” (Proverbs 21:26), and Paul says that “God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

A thief turned giver looks like Christ. “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). He fed the hungry crowds (Matthew 14:13–21), laid his hands on the sick who were brought to him and healed them (Luke 4:40), and came “to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Behind all of it stands the God who so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son (John 3:16).

Must every Christian work with his hands?

The verse asks for honest work of every kind, and “working with his hands” names the most common work of Paul’s day. What matters is that our living comes from legitimate work that produces something good, and that its purpose reaches past ourselves to people in need. Work with the hands, the mind or the imagination all qualify, so long as it is “the thing which is good”.

Words that build up and give grace

“Corrupt” in verse 29 is saprós, rotten, decayed, unfit for use. It is the word for bad fruit, as in “a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit” (Matthew 7:17). Corrupt communication is rotten talk. It includes filthy language, and it reaches to slander, gossip, backbiting, constant complaining, deceit, harsh criticism that tears people down, and idle talk that serves no good end. Jesus said that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34), so rotten words come from somewhere, and the cure begins in the heart.

In place of rotten talk comes “that which is good to the use of edifying”. Oikodomḗ is the building of a house, and figuratively building up. The Greek reads literally “unto the edifying of the need”, meaning the word that builds up as the moment requires. It is the same word Paul used of Christ’s gifts, given “for the edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12), so ordinary speech is one of the ways the church is built.

The aim is “that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” Cháris is grace, favour, kindness, and the Greek says that the words “give” grace. Our words can carry God’s favour, comfort and help to the one who hears, through encouragement, timely wisdom, sincere thanks, gentle correction or the hope of the gospel. Paul says the same elsewhere: “Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6). “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21), and James shows how hard the tongue is to tame (James 3:1–12), for “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing” (James 3:8–10).

Jesus spoke this way perfectly. In Nazareth all “wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth” (Luke 4:22), and “grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Even his sharp rebukes of hypocrisy were purposeful and aimed at life.

Is there room for correction and rebuke?

Correction and rebuke belong to edifying speech when their aim is to restore a person and build him up. This verse governs the purpose and spirit of what we say, so hard words spoken in humility and love, “speaking the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), can be real instruments of grace that lead to repentance. Words meant to shame or tear down are corrupt, whatever their subject.

Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God

Verse 30 stands at the centre of the passage. Its “And” ties it to the sins just named, so lying, anger kept overnight, stealing and rotten speech all grieve the Spirit. Lypéō means to cause distress or sorrow, and in the passive to be sad. It is the word used when Jesus in Gethsemane “began to be sorrowful and very heavy” (Matthew 26:37). Only a person can be grieved, so the verse shows that the Holy Spirit is a person, a divine person who lives in believers, loves holiness and is saddened by sin. Sin is then a personal offence against the One who dwells in us, and it disturbs our fellowship with him. Israel did the same in the wilderness: “they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit” (Isaiah 63:10).

The Spirit who can be grieved is “the Spirit of Christ” (Romans 8:9) and “the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews 10:29), sent to us because Jesus went to the Father (John 16:7). So the motive this verse gives for holy living is love for a Person. Every lie and every bitter word is spoken in his presence.

Sealed unto the day of redemption

“Whereby ye are sealed” renders en hō, “in whom” or “by whom”, so the Spirit is the one in whom believers are sealed. Sphragízō is to stamp with a signet or private mark for security or preservation, and so to attest. In that world a seal marked ownership, proved a document genuine, secured goods and even closed tombs. Paul has already said that after the Ephesians believed, they “were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession” (Ephesians 1:13–14). The earnest is the down payment that guarantees the rest (Ephesians 1:14). He writes in the same way of God, “Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22), and the Spirit “beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (Romans 8:16). The seal says that we belong to God, that our new life is genuine, and that he will finish what he began.

The seal holds “unto the day of redemption”. Apolýtrōsis is release secured by paying a ransom, and so salvation. The ransom has been paid already, for we are “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20), “with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19). The day of redemption is still ahead. It is the return of Christ, when our bodies are raised and we are set free from sin’s presence and power. Paul calls it “the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:23) and says that Christ “shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20–21).

Believers differ on how far this assurance reaches. Many hold that the seal means a believer’s salvation rests on God’s faithfulness and will surely be kept to the end, and others hold that a believer must continue in faith and can turn away. All agree that the seal marks us as God’s own and points us to the day of redemption, and that this security moves us to grateful, Spirit-led obedience, which is the very point of the verse.

Put away all bitterness and malice

Verse 31 names six things to be removed. “Put away” is aírō, to lift up and take away, to carry off. The verb is passive, “be put away from you”, and “from you” is apó hymōn: these are to be lifted off the believer and carried away altogether. The word “all”, pâs, stands at both ends of the list, and each item is joined to the next by kaí, “and”, so that the list builds one thing on another.

  • Bitterness, pikría, is literally sharpness of taste, used of poison. It is a sour, resentful spirit that poisons the heart and spoils every relationship it touches, the “root of bitterness” of Hebrews 12:15.
  • Wrath, thymós, is passion, hot anger. The same word is used in Revelation of the wrath of God, and here it is sinful human rage.
  • Anger, orgḗ, is the anger that settles in and stays.
  • Clamour, kraugḗ, is shouting and loud quarrelling that breaks the peace.
  • Evil speaking, blasphēmía, is slander and abusive speech that defames others.
  • Malice, kakía, is badness, ill-will, the wish to harm. It closes the list as the root from which the rest grow.

What is the difference between wrath and anger?

Paul names both so that every kind is covered. Thymós is often taken as the hot flare of temper and orgḗ as the anger that smoulders and lasts, and both are to go. Set beside verse 26, the list also shows which anger Paul means here: anger joined to bitterness, shouting, slander and malice, the kind that has already become sin.

Colossians gives the same list: “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth” (Colossians 3:8). “A soft answer turneth away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1), and the fruit of the Spirit is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance” (Galatians 5:22–23). Christ showed none of these vices under the greatest provocation, for he was “brought as a lamb to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7). Our “old man is crucified with him” (Romans 6:6), and we are raised to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4), so putting these things away is living out what he has already done in us.

Kind, tenderhearted, forgiving, as God forgave you

Verse 32 puts on what verse 31 took off. “Kind” is chrēstós, good, gracious, useful to others, gentle in dealing. It is the word used of God himself: “he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35). “Tenderhearted” is eúsplanchnos, literally having good inward parts, which were thought of as the seat of feeling, and so deeply compassionate. It occurs only here and in 1 Peter 3:8, where the KJV renders it “pitiful”. “Forgiving” is charízomai, to grant as a favour, to pardon freely, a verb related to cháris, grace. Forgiveness is grace given to someone who has not earned it, as ours was.

“Even as” (kathōs) gives both the pattern and the reason. We forgive because we have been forgiven, and in the way we have been forgiven. Paul writes the same in Colossians: “even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Colossians 3:13). Jesus taught, “if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14–15), and “Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:36). His own heart was tender, for when he saw the crowds “he was moved with compassion on them” (Matthew 9:36).

What does “for Christ’s sake” mean?

It means that God forgives us in Christ, on account of what Christ has done. The Greek reads literally “in Christ” (en Christō). We are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24–26), and “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19), having made peace “through the blood of his cross” (Colossians 1:19–20). The Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world (John 1:29). So the forgiveness we pass on to one another is rooted in, shaped by and empowered by the same act of grace that saved us.

Followers of God, as dear children

The chapter break falls in the middle of Paul’s thought. “Therefore” (oûn) picks up the last words of chapter 4, “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you”. Since God has forgiven us, we are to be like him. “Followers” is mimētḗs, an imitator, from the verb for imitating, and the English word “mimic” shares the root. “Be ye” means “become”, so the imitation is a growing likeness. This is the only place in the New Testament where believers are called followers of God. Elsewhere Paul says, “Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Greek schools of philosophy taught students to imitate their masters, and Paul calls believers to imitate God himself.

“As dear children” gives the manner and the motive. “Dear” is agapētós, beloved, one who is loved, and “children” is téknon, a child. Children copy a father they love, and we imitate God because he has made us his own beloved children. “God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father” (Galatians 4:6). The same family likeness runs through Scripture: “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:15–16), and “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). Jesus gave the mark of his disciples as love for one another (John 13:34–35), and the next verse says the same.

What does it mean to imitate God?

It means reflecting his character, his love, holiness, righteousness and mercy, in the way we live. This is the work of sanctification. God means us “to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29), and we grow into that likeness through this life while God alone remains God. We learn who God is by looking at Christ, “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), whose humble service is the pattern for our own: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5–8). Union with Christ has made us “a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17), and the Spirit produces in us the fruit of God’s character. In this passage the part of God’s character we are chiefly to copy is love, and verse 2 says so plainly.

Walk in love, as Christ loved us

“Walk” is peripatéō, to walk or walk about, and figuratively to live and conduct oneself. Paul uses it throughout this half of the letter for a whole manner of life (Ephesians 4:1, 4:17). “Love” is agápē, the love that chooses and acts for the good of another, even at great cost to itself. To walk in love is to let that love govern every step.

“As Christ also hath loved us” gives the pattern and the measure. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). He loved us when we least deserved it: “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

“And hath given himself for us” uses paradídōmi, to hand over or give up, with heautoû, “himself”. Christ gave himself willingly and completely: “No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18). “For us” (hyper hēmōn) means on our behalf and for our good, dealing with the sin that separated us from God.

He gave himself “an offering and a sacrifice to God”. An offering (prosphorá) is a gift presented, and a sacrifice (thysía) is an offering made to God, often with the shedding of blood. Christ fulfils all that the old sacrifices pictured. “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4), but Christ “through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God” (Hebrews 9:14), and “once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26). He is the sinless Lamb of God (John 1:29).

A sweetsmelling savour to God

“For a sweetsmelling savour” renders osmḗ and euōdía, literally “an odour of fragrance”. Osmḗ is a smell or odour, and euōdía is a sweet scent. It is the language of Old Testament sacrifice. After the flood, Noah offered burnt offerings and “the LORD smelled a sweet savour” (Genesis 8:21), and the law calls an accepted burnt offering “a sweet savour unto the LORD” (Exodus 29:18, Leviticus 1:9). Said of Christ, it means that his obedience, his perfect life and his willing death were wholly acceptable to God and a delight to the Father. His offering fully met God’s righteous demands, expressed God’s holy love, and opened the way for us to be reconciled.

Paul uses the same words of the Philippians’ gift to him, “an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). So when believers love as Christ loved, their lives become an offering that pleases God, as Paul urges in Romans: “present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God” (Romans 12:1). That love is God’s own gift, “shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Romans 5:5). The verses that follow (Ephesians 5:3–14) go on to show what such love shuns and how children of light live.

A body built up in love

These commands are written to a church. Truth spoken plainly, anger settled before dark, honest work shared with the needy, words that give grace, kindness and forgiveness are how members of one body live together, and how that body grows. Each command carries its own reason, and the reason is where its strength lies. When a lie would be easier, the person in front of you is a member of the same body as you. When anger rises, you have until sunset, and the peace Christ made is yours to pass on. When someone has wronged you, remember what God has forgiven you in Christ, and forgive from there.

The Holy Spirit who lives in you is grieved by sin, and he is also God’s seal on you until the day of redemption. So when you fail, you come back to him quickly as a beloved child, confessing your sin and trusting his help. All of it rests on the love of Christ, who gave himself for us. The more clearly we see that love, the more our lives take its shape, and a life lived in that love is itself an offering that pleases God.

Last revised

Public-domain commentary

Matthew Henry

From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry wrote on whole passages, and this entry covers Ephesians 4:17–32. He set out his notes in a four-level outline, kept here as he numbered it.

1662–1714 · 16 verses
Passage under commentEphesians 4:17–32
I. II. Main points1. 2. Sub-points(1.) (2.) Details[1.] [2.] Fine details

The apostle having gone through his exhortation to mutual love, unity, and concord, in the foregoing verses, there follows in these an exhortation to Christian purity and holiness of heart and life, and that both more general (Ephesians 4:17-24) and in several particular instances, Ephesians 4:25-32. This is solemnly introduced: "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord; that is, seeing the matter is as above described, seeing you are members of Christ's body and partakers of such gifts, this I urge upon your consciences, and bear witness to as your duty in the Lord's name, and by virtue of the authority I have derived from him." Consider,

I.The more general exhortation to purity and holiness of heart and life.

1.It begins thus, "That you henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk - that for the time to come you do not live, and behave yourselves, as ignorant and unconverted heathens do, who are wholly guided by an understanding employed about vain things, their idols and their worldly possessions, things which are no way profitable to their souls, and which will deceive their expectations." Converted Gentiles must not live as unconverted Gentiles do. Though they live among them, they must not live like them. Here,

(1.)The apostle takes occasion to describe the wickedness of the Gentile world, out of which regenerate Christians were snatched as brands out of the burning.

[1.]Their understandings were darkened, Ephesians 4:18. They were void of all saving knowledge; yea, ignorant of many things concerning God which the light of nature might have taught them. They sat in darkness, and they loved it rather than light: and by their ignorance they were alienated from the life of God. They were estranged fRom. and had a dislike and aversion to, a life of holiness, which is not only that way of life which God requires and approves, and by which we live to him, but which resembles God himself, in his purity, righteousness, truth, and goodness. Their wilful ignorance was the cause of their estrangement from this life of God, which begins in light and knowledge. Gross and affected ignorance is destructive to religion and godliness. And what was the cause of their being thus ignorant? It was because of the blindness or the hardness of their heart. It was not because God did not make himself known to them by his works, but because they would not admit the instructive rays of the divine light. They were ignorant because they would be so. Their ignorance proceeded from their obstinacy and the hardness of their hearts, their resisting the light and rejecting all the means of illumination and knowledge.

[2.]Their consciences were debauched and seared: Who being past feeling, Ephesians 4:19. They had no sense of their sin, nor of the misery and danger of their case by means of it; whereupon they gave themselves over unto lasciviousness. They indulged themselves in their filthy lusts; and, yielding themselves up to the dominion of these, they became the slaves and drudges of sin and the devil, working all uncleanness with greediness. They made it their common practice to commit all sorts of uncleanness, and even the most unnatural and monstrous sins, and that with insatiable desires. Observe, When men's consciences are once seared, there are no bounds to their sins. When they set their hearts upon the gratification of their lusts, what can be expected but the most abominable sensuality and lewdness, and that their horrid enormities will abound? This was the character of the Gentiles; but,

(2.)These Christians must distinguish themselves from such Gentiles: You have not so learned Christ, Ephesians 4:20. It may be read, But you not so; you have learned Christ. Those who have learned Christ are saved from the darkness and defilement which others lie under; and, as they know more, they are obliged to live in a better manner than others. It is a good argument against sin that we have not so learned Christ. Learn Christ! Is Christ a book, a lesson, a way, a trade? The meaning is, "You have not so learned Christianity - the doctrines of Christ and the rules of life prescribed by him. Not so as to do as others do. If so be, or since, that you have heard him (Ephesians 4:21), have heard his doctrine preached by us, and have been taught by him, inwardly and effectually, by his Spirit." Christ is the lesson; we must learn Christ: and Christ is the teacher; we are taught by him. As the truth is in Jesus. This may be understood two ways: either, "You have been taught the real truth, as held forth by Christ himself, both in his doctrine and in his life." Or thus, "The truth has made such an impression on your hearts, in your measure, as it did upon the heart of Jesus." The truth of Christ then appears in its beauty and power, when it appears as in Jesus.

2.Another branch of the general exhortation follows in those words, That you put off, concerning the former conversation, the old man, etc., Ephesians 4:22-24. "This is a great part of the doctrine which has been taught you, and which you have learned." Here the apostle expresses himself in metaphors taken from garments. The principles, habits, and dispositions of the soul must be changed, before there can be a saving change of the life. There must be sanctification, which consists of these two things: - (1.) The old man must be put off. The corrupt nature is called a man, because, like the human body, it consists of divers parts, mutually supporting and strengthening one another. It is the old man, as old Adam, from whom we derive it. It is bred in the bone, and we brought it into the world with us. It is subtle as the old man; but in all God's saints decaying and withering as an old man, and ready to pass away. It is said to be corrupt; for sin in the soul is the corruption of its faculties: and, where it is not mortified, it grows daily worse and worse, and so tends to destruction. According to the deceitful lusts. Sinful inclinations and desires are deceitful lusts: they promise men happiness, but render them more miserable, and if not subdued and mortified betray them into destruction. These therefore must be put off as an old garment that we should be ashamed to be seen in: they must be subdued and mortified. These lusts prevailed against them in their former conversation, that is, during their state of unregeneracy and heathenism. (2.) The new man must be put on. It is not enough to shake off corrupt principles, but we must be actuated by gracious ones. We must embrace them, espouse them, and get them written on our hearts: it is not enough to cease to do evil, but we must learn to do well. "Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Ephesians 4:23); that is, use the proper and prescribed means in order to have the mind, which is a spirit, renewed more and more." And that you put on the new man, Ephesians 4:24. By the new man is meant the new nature, the new creature, which is actuated by a new principle, even regenerating grace, enabling a man to lead a new life, that life of righteousness and holiness which Christianity requires. This new man is created, or produced out of confusion and emptiness, by God's almighty power, whose workmanship it is, truly excellent and beautiful. After God, in imitation of him, and in conformity to that grand exemplar and pattern. The loss of God's image upon the soul was both the sinfulness and misery of man's fallen state; and that resemblance which it bears to God is the beauty, the glory, and the happiness, of the new creature. In righteousness towards men, including all the duties of the second table; and in holiness towards God, signifying a sincere obedience to the commands of the first table; true holiness in opposition to the outward and ceremonial holiness of the Jews. We are said to put on this new man when, in the use of all God's appointed means, we are endeavouring after this divine nature, this new creature. This is the more general exhortation to purity and holiness of heart and life.

II.The apostle proceeds to some things more particular.

Because generals are not so apt to affect, we are told what are those particular limbs of the old man that must be mortified, those filthy rags of the old nature that must be put off, and what are the peculiar ornaments of the new man wherewith we should adorn our Christian profession. 1. Take heed of lying, and be ever careful to speak the truth (Ephesians 4:25): "Wherefore, since you have been so well instructed in your duty, and are under such obligations to discharge it, let it appear, in your future behaviour and conduct, that there is a great and real change wrought in you, particularly by putting away lying." Of this sin the heathen were very guilty, affirming that a profitable lie was better than a hurtful truth; and therefore the apostle exhorts them to cease from lying, from every thing that is contrary to truth. This is a part of the old man that must be put off; and that branch of the new man that must be put on in opposition to it is speaking the truth in all our converse with others. It is the character of God's people that they are children who will not lie, who dare not lie, who hate and abhor lying. All who have grace make conscience of speaking the truth, and would not tell a deliberate lie for the greatest gain and benefit to themselves. The reason here given for veracity is, We are members one of another. Truth is a debt we owe to one another; and, if we love one another, we shall not deceive nor lie one to another. We belong to the same society or body, which falsehood or lying tends to dissolve; and therefore we should avoid it, and speak truth. Observe, Lying is a very great sin, a peculiar violation of the obligations which Christians are under, and very injurious and hurtful to Christian society. 2. "Take heed of anger and ungoverned passions. Be you angry, and sin not," Ephesians 4:26. This is borrowed from the Septuagint translation of Psalm 4:4, where we render it, Stand in awe, and sin not. Here is an easy concession; for as such we should consider it, rather than as a command. Be you angry. This we are apt enough to be, God knows: but we find it difficult enough to observe the restriction, and sin not. "If you have a just occasion to be angry at any time, see that it be without sin; and therefore take heed of excess in your anger." If we would be angry and not sin (says one), we must be angry at nothing but sin; and we should be more jealous for the glory of God than for any interest or reputation of our own. One great and common sin in anger is to suffer it to burn into wrath, and then to let it rest; and therefore we are here cautioned against that. "If you have been provoked and have had your spirits greatly discomposed, and if you have bitterly resented any affront that has been offered, before night calm and quiet your spirits, be reconciled to the offender, and let all be well again: Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. If it burn into wrath and bitterness of spirit, O see to it that you suppress it speedily." Observe, Though anger in itself is not sinful, yet there is the upmost danger of its becoming so if it be not carefully watched and speedily suppressed. And therefore, though anger may come into the bosom of a wise man, it rests only in the bosom of fools. Neither give place to the devil, Ephesians 4:27. Those who persevere in sinful anger and in wrath let the devil into their hearts, and suffer him to gain upon them, till he bring them to malice, mischievous machinations, etc. "Neither give place to the calumniator, or the false accuser" (so some read the words); that is, "let your ears be deaf to whisperers, talebearers, and slanderers." 3. We are here warned against the sin of stealing, the breach of the eighth commandment, and advised to honest industry and to beneficence: Let his that stole steal no more, Ephesians 4:28. It is a caution against all manner of wrong-doing, by force or fraud. "Let those of you who, in the time of your gentilism, have been guilty of this enormity, be no longer guilty of it." But we must not only take heed of the sin, but conscientiously abound in the opposite duty: not only not steal, but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing that is good. Idleness makes thieves. So Chrysostom, To gar kleptein argias estin - Stealing is the effect of idleness. Those who will not work, and who are ashamed to beg, expose themselves greatly to temptations to thievery. Men should therefore be diligent and industrious, not in any unlawful way, but in some honest calling: Working the thing which is good. Industry, in some honest way, will keep people out of temptation of doing wrong. But there is another reason why men ought to be industrious, namely, that they may be capable of doing some good, as well as that they may be preserved from temptation: That he may have to give to him that needeth. They must labour not only that they may live themselves, and live honestly, but they may distribute for supplying the wants of others. Observe, Even those who get their living by their labour should be charitable out of their little to those who are disabled for labour. So necessary and incumbent a duty is it to be charitable to the poor that even labourers and servants, and those who have but little for themselves, must cast their mite into the treasury. God must have his dues and the poor are his receivers. Observe further, Those alms that are likely to be acceptable to God must not be the produce of unrighteousness and robbery, but of honesty and industry. God hates robbery for burnt-offerings. 4. We are here warned against corrupt communication; and directed to that which is useful and edifying, Ephesians 4:29. Filthy and unclean words and discourse are poisonous and infectious, as putrid rotten meat: they proceed from and prove a great deal of corruption in the heart of the speaker, and tend to corrupt the minds and manners of others who hear them; and therefore Christians should beware of all such discourse. It may be taken in general for all that which provokes the lusts and passions of others. We must not only put off corrupt communications, but put on that which is good to the use of edifying. The great use of speech is to edify those with whom we converse. Christians should endeavour to promote a useful conversation: that it may minister grace unto the hearers; that it may be good for, and acceptable to, the hearers, in the way of information, counsel, pertinent reproof, or the like. Observe, It is the great duty of Christians to take care that they offend not with their lips, and that they improve discourse and converse, as much as may be, for the good of others. 5. Here is another caution against wrath and anger, with further advice to mutual love and kindly dispositions towards each other, Ephesians 4:31, Ephesians 4:32. By bitterness, wrath, and anger, are meant violent inward resentment and displeasure against others: and, by clamour, big words, loud threatenings, and other intemperate speeches, by which bitterness, wrath, and anger, vent themselves. Christians should not entertain these vile passions in their hearts not be clamorous with their tongues. Evil speaking signifies all railing, reviling, and reproachful speeches, against such as we are angry with. And by malice we are to understand that rooted anger which prompts men to design and to do mischief to others. The contrary to all this follows: Be you kind one to another. This implies the principle of love in the heart, and the outward expressions of it, in an affable, humble, courteous behaviour. It becomes the disciples of Jesus to be kind one to another, as those who have learned, and would teach, the art of obliging. Tender-hearted; that is, merciful, and having tender sense of the distresses and sufferings of others, so as to be quickly moved to compassion and pity. Forgiving one another. Occasions of difference will happen among Christ's disciples; and therefore they must be placable, and ready to forgive, therein resembling God himself, who for Christ's sake hath forgiven them, and that more than they can forgive one another. Note, With God there is forgiveness; and he forgives sin for the sake of Jesus Christ, and on account of that atonement which he has made to divine justice. Note again, Those who are forgiven of God should be of a forgiving spirit, and should forgive even as God forgives, sincerely and heartily, readily and cheerfully, universally and for ever, upon the sinner's sincere repentance, as remembering that they pray, Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. Now we may observe concerning all these particulars that the apostle has insisted on that they belong to the second table, whence Christians should learn the strict obligations they are under to the duties of the second table, and that he who does not conscientiously discharge them can never fear nor love God in truth and in sincerity, whatever he may pretend to.

In the midst of these exhortations and cautions the apostle interposes that general one, And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, Ephesians 4:30. By looking to what precedes, and to what follows, we may see what it is that grieves the Spirit of God. In the previous verses it is intimated that all lewdness and filthiness, lying, and corrupt communications that stir up filthy appetites and lusts, grieve the Spirit of God. In what follows it is intimated that those corrupt passions of bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, and malice, grieve this good Spirit. By this we are not to understand that this blessed Being could properly be grieved or vexed as we are; but the design of the exhortation is that we act not towards him in such a manner as is wont to be grievous and disquieting to our fellow-creatures: we must not do that which is contrary to his holy nature and his will; we must not refuse to hearken to his counsels, nor rebel against his government, which things would provoke him to act towards us as men are wont to do towards those with whom they are displeased and grieved, withdrawing themselves and their wonted kindness from such, and abandoning them to their enemies. O provoke not the blessed Spirit of God to withdraw his presence and his gracious influences from you! It is a good reason why we should not grieve him that by him we are sealed unto the day of redemption. There is to be a day of redemption; the body is to be redeemed from the power of the grave at the resurrection-day, and then God's people will be delivered from all the effects of sin, as well as from all sin and misery, which they are not till rescued out of the grave: and then their full and complete happiness commences. All true believers are sealed to that day. God has distinguished them from others, having set his mark upon them; and he gives them the earnest and assurance of a joyful and glorious resurrection; and the Spirit of God is the seal. Wherever that blessed Spirit is as a sanctifier, he is the earnest of all the joys and glories of the redemption-day; and we should be undone should God take away his Holy Spirit from us.

Historical interpretation

Three Centuries of Reception

9 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.

9 quotes · AD 202–500
Ante-NicenePost-Nicene
200300400500

Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.

d. AD 202IrenaeusAnte-NiceneSourceAgainst Heresies Book IV
And, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor scurrility, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks."
d. AD 236Pope AnterusAnte-Nicene
And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ hath forgiven you."
d. AD 258CyprianAnte-NiceneSourceEpistle XLI
This has been done, although our mind and intention had been already plainly declared to the brethren, and to the whole of the people in this place, when, having received letters lately from both parties, we read your letters, and intimated your ordination to the episcopate, in the ears of every one. Moreover, remembering the common honour, and having respect for the sacerdotal gravity and sanctity, we repudiated those things which from the other party had been heaped together with bitter virulence into a document transmitted to us; alike considering and weighing, that in so great and so religious an assembly of brethren, in which God's priests were sitting together, and His altar was set, they ought neither to be read nor to be heard. For those things should not easily be put forward, nor carelessly and rudely published, which may move a scandal by means of a quarrelsome pen in the minds of the hearers, and confuse brethren, who are placed far apart and dwelling across the sea, with uncertain opinions. Let those beware, who, obeying either their own rage or lust, and unmindful of the divine law and holiness, rejoice to throw abroad in the meantime things which they cannot prove; and although they may not be successful in destroying and ruining innocence, are satisfied with scattering stains upon it with lying reports and false rumours. Assuredly, we should exert ourselves, as it is fitting for prelates and priests to do, that such things, when they are written by any, should be repudiated as far as we are concerned. For otherwise, what will become of that which we learn and which we declare to be laid down in Scripture: "Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile? " And elsewhere: "Thy mouth abounded in malice, and thy tongue embraced deceit. Thou satest and spakest against thy brother, and slanderedst thine own mother's son." Also whist the apostle says: "Let no corrupt communication proceed from thy mouth, but that which is good to the edifying of faith, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." Further, we show what the right course of conduct to pursue is, if, when such things are written by the calumnious temerity of some, we do not allow them to be read among us: and therefore, dearest brother, when such letters came to me against you, even though they were the letters of your co-presbyter sitting with you, as they breathed a tone of religious simplicity, and did not echo with any barkings of curses and revilings, I ordered them to be read to the clergy and the people.
d. AD 258CyprianAnte-NiceneSourceTreatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews.
That we must not curse. In Exodus: "Thou shalt not curse nor speak ill of the ruler of thy people." Also in the thirty-third Psalm: "Who is the man who desires life, and loveth to see good days? Restrain thy tongue from evil, and thy lips that they speak no guile." Of this same thing in Leviticus: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Bring forth him who hath cursed abroad outside the camp; and all who heard him shall place their hands upon his head, and all the assembly of the children of Israel shall stone him." Of this same thing in Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians: "Let no evil discourse proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good for the edification of faith, that it may give grace to the hearers." Of this same thing to the Romans: "Blessing, and not cursing." Of this same thing in the Gospel according to Matthew: "He who shall say to his brother, Thou fool! shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire." Of this same matter, according to the same Matthew: "But I say unto you, That every idle word which men shall speak, they shall give account for it in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
d. AD 384AmbrosiasterPost-NiceneSourceEPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 4.29
To the servant of God, all things appear to have some aspect of good. This does not stain his purity in any respect. What use is it to have a clean life and a foul mouth? The Lord says that everyone will be justified or condemned by his own words. One who speaks ill cannot be thought to live well. Many vices are implied in speaking ill of another, whether this means talking basely or disparaging the good of another or telling deceitful tales or lies. All these are repugnant. But good and sober reports are gratifying to those who hear them. They set an example. God is glorified in such words, which build up faith in Christ.
d. AD 407John ChrysostomPost-NiceneSourceHomily on Ephesians 14
What is "corrupt speech"? That which is said elsewhere to be also "idle, backbiting, filthy communication, jesting, foolish talking." See ye how he is cutting up the very roots of anger? Lying, theft, unseasonable conversation. The words, however, "Let him steal no more," he does not say so much excusing them, as to pacify the injured parties, and to recommend them to be content, if they never suffer the like again. And well too does he give advice concerning conversation; inasmuch as we shall pay the penalty, not for our deeds only, but also for our words.

"But such as is good," he proceeds, "for edifying, as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear."

That is to say, What edifies thy neighbor, that only speak, not a word more. For to this end God gave thee a mouth and a tongue, that thou mightest give thanks to Him, that thou mightest build up thy neighbor. So that if thou destroy that building, better were it to be silent, and never to speak at all. For indeed the hands of the workmen, if instead of raising the walls, they should learn to pull them down, would justly deserve to be cut off. For so also saith the Psalmist; "The Lord shall cut off all flattering lips." (Ps. xii. 3.) The mouth,-this is the cause of all evil; or rather not the mouth, but they that make an evil use of it. From thence proceed insults, revilings, blasphemies, incentives to lusts, murders, adulteries, thefts, all have their origin from this. And how, you will say, do murders? Because from insult thou wilt go on to anger, from anger to blows, from blows to murder. And how, again, adultery? "Such a woman," one will say, "loves thee, she said something nice about thee." This at once unstrings thy firmness, and thus are thy passions kindled within thee.

Therefore Paul said, "such as is good." Since then there is so vast a flow of words, he with good reason speaks indefinitely, charging us to use expressions of that kind, and giving us a pattern of communication. What then is this? By saying, "for edifying," either he means this, that he who hears thee may be grateful to thee: as, for instance, a brother has committed fornication; do not make a display of the offense, nor revel in it; thou wilt be doing no good to him that hears thee; rather, it is likely, thou wilt hurt him, by giving him a stimulus. Whereas, advise him what to do, and thou art conferring on him a great obligation. Discipline him how to keep silence, teach him to revile no man, and thou hast taught him his best lesson, thou wilt have conferred upon him the highest obligation. Discourse with him on contrition, on piety, on almsgiving; all these things will soften his soul, for all these things he will own his obligation. Whereas by exciting his laughter, or by filthy communication, thou wilt rather be inflaming him. Applaud the wickedness, and thou wilt overturn and ruin him.

Or else he means thus, "that it may make them, the hearers, full of grace." For as sweet ointment gives grace to them that partake of it, so also does good speech. Hence it was moreover that one said, "Thy name is as ointment poured forth." (Cant. i. 3.) It caused them to exhale that sweet perfume. Thou seest that what he continually recommends, he is saying now also, charging every one according to his several ability to edify his neighbors. Thou then that givest such advice to others, how much more to thyself!
d. AD 420JeromePost-NiceneSourceCommentary on Ephesians 4:29
A good word is one that serves to build upon the occasion, communicating grace to the hearers because it teaches them to pursue virtues and shun vices. An evil word is one that prompts them to sin and rather drives them headlong into disaster.… Whenever we say what is not in season or inappropriate for the context, or that which does not contribute to the good of the hearers, an evil word proceeds from our mouth.… Even if we do no direct harm, yet we are not thereby building up. We shall pay the penalty of an evil word.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.

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