and be to one another kind, compassionate, forgiving one another, so as God also in Christ has forgiven you.
Commentaire de ce verset
The Setting
Ephesians 4:32 closes the chapter with the positive counterpart to verse 31's catalogue of fleshly evils, calling the saints to a kindness, tenderness, and forgiveness shaped by the very forgiveness God Himself has shown them in Christ. The verse sits beside the warning not to grieve the Holy Spirit, making the believer's daily temper a matter of communion with God.
The Contrast With Verse 31
Before the call to kindness, the Spirit lists the marks of the old man that must be put away. These belong to the unsatisfied wretchedness of the natural man and have no place in heaven; the new walk is set in deliberate opposition to them.
PridhamNo one can think or speak with bitterness whose heart is nourished on the love of Christ; nor can we clamorously seek our own if we are kept mindful of the manner of our calling. Malice dies out when faith is strong; for who can be malicious who remembers by what means it was that, when we were enemies, God reconciled us to Himself?... We are exhorted to put them away. And if it be asked how we may best do this? the answer is, By practising the opposite virtues in the energy of the Spirit.
Kindness Becoming a Forgiven Sinner
The exhortation appeals directly to a heart that has tasted divine mercy. The believer's "all that debt" has been cancelled; what little remains for him to remit to a brother is nothing in comparison.
PridhamKindness and tenderness of heart are comelier ornaments for a forgiven sinner than bitterness and wrath. For it is little that such an one can have to remit to his offending neighbour, in comparison with "all that debt" which God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven him... It is by the remembrance of that kindness of God, which is our common portion, that the heart is kept ready for the exercise of fervent charity... nothing is so dear to Him who gave His Son for our redemption, as kindness and humility of mind. Knowledge, being a thing of measure and attainment, tends to sever rather than unite. Divine forgiveness is received by us in equal measure... A lively recognition of that grace is, therefore, the effectual means of knitting together, in unfeigned love, those hearts which taste its gracious sweetness.
"God in Christ" — The Source of Our Forgiveness
The phrase is exact: it is not merely that Christ persuaded a reluctant God; God Himself is the Author of the forgiving grace shown in His Son. Even when wounded, the new nature in the believer can still answer to the same character.
Leslie M. GrantEven at a time when the feelings of a child of God are badly hurt, he has within him that blessed nature that may still be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving. Indeed, such character is thoroughly consistent for those who have known that "God in Christ" has forgiven us. It is not simply because of Christ's intercession that God has forgiven us, but rather that God is the blessed Author of the forgiving grace that has been manifested to us in the person of the Lord Jesus and in His matchless sacrifice of love. God delights to forgive as seen in the sending of His beloved Son.
"For Christ's Sake" — The Eternal Ground
Forgiveness is for the sake of His Name; this anchors the blessing in something that can never fail.
J. T. Mawson"God for Christ's sake has forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32)... It is an eternal forgiveness, for it is the act of the eternal God; it is an eternal forgiveness, for it is bestowed for the sake of Him who has brought eternal glory and gives eternal delight to the heart of God. When we understand that it is for Christ's sake that we are forgiven, for the glory of His Name and the joy of His heart, it makes the blessing unspeakably blessed.
The Spirit Not Grieved
The verse stands joined to the previous warning. To live unkindly with brethren grieves the One who sealed us; to live in the spirit of verse 32 is to please Him.
Frank WallaceWe are to "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."... we want to do the things that please the Holy Spirit, "be kind to one another, be tender-hearted, forgive one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you". We can all answer to this as we are helped by the Lord to do the things that please Him.
A Gentle Appeal
The tone of the verse itself is to be noticed: the Spirit does not command harshly, but pleads — and the next words ("Be ye therefore imitators of God as beloved children") show the family character that flows out of it.
W. W. FeredayListen to the gentle appeal of the divine Spirit in Eph. 4:32; Eph. 5:1: "Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as also God in Christ has forgiven you. Be ye therefore imitators of God as beloved children."
Summary
- Positive counterpart. Verse 32 is the active virtue that displaces the bitterness, wrath, anger, and malice of verse 31; we put off the old by putting on the opposite in the Spirit's energy.
- Forgiven debt. Kindness and tenderness become a forgiven sinner because what we are asked to remit is trifling beside "all that debt" God forgave us in Christ.
- God in Christ. Forgiveness flows not from Christ persuading a reluctant Father; God Himself is its Author and "delights to forgive," seen in the sending of His Son.
- For His Name's sake. Because forgiveness is bestowed for Christ's sake, it is an eternal forgiveness, anchored in Christ's eternal glory and the Father's joy in Him.
- Pleasing the Spirit. Living kindly, tenderly, and forgivingly is the practical way to not grieve the Holy Spirit who sealed us unto the day of redemption.