Commentary on Ephesians 4:25-5:2

The straightforward “don’ts” and “dos” of today’s text tempt a preacher to take a low-stress stroll to the pulpit this week. Cherry-pick a couple of choice bits of moral advice, throw in an amusing anecdote or two, and the sermon practically preaches itself. But that approach would not do justice either to the lection or to the christologically anchored, revolutionary reconstruction of human community Ephesians announces.

The paraenetic (ethically formational) material in Ephesians 4–6 is not the common-sense, kindly advice of a benign uncle. What we have here are radical blueprints for an utterly transformed pattern of human relations that the author¹ calls “one new humanity” (2:15). This unprecedented social reality, brought into being through Christ’s death and resurrection, has shattered the wall that has long divided Jew from Gentile (2:14), and defies taken-for-granted social norms. At 4:25, the writer begins addressing a pressing question: What are the habits we must abandon and the practices we need to embrace to experience this “new humanity”?

There is nothing specifically Christian about most of the vices, virtues, and practices described in today’s text. Similar lists abound in ancient literature. What makes this material distinctively Christian isn’t the specific behaviors cited, but the theologically framed motivations that accompany them, along with the world-shifting theological vision they presuppose. In fact, a mindful rereading of Ephesians 1:1–4:24 will be essential sermon preparation this week.

There is no need to preach the entire sweep of today’s text. Both preacher and congregation will benefit from focusing on just one, or at most two, of its six major themes:

1) laying aside false, or misleading, communication one with another, and instead, speaking truth (4:25);

2) acknowledging that anger can be justified, yet refusing to let it fester (4:26–27);

3) embracing honest work, not for our own benefit and security, but for the sake of meeting human need (4:28);

4) cutting off the impulse to indulge in “evil talk” (think here of corrosive criticism, denigrating sarcasm, and talking behind others’ backs), and choosing instead speech that “builds up” community members (4:29–30);

5) resisting the temptation to nurse grudges, justify our resentments, pick fights, and denigrate those with whom we disagree (4:31), and instead cultivate kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness such as God has extended to us in Christ (4:32); and

6) becoming “imitators of God” by living out of love, and—moved by love—giving ourselves away for others, as Christ has (5:1–2).

Given the cultural and political tensions that shape our present moment, a preacher might explore with the congregation what “speaking truth with one another” means for us when what counts as “truth” is itself a subject of rancorous debate.

Many of us these days seek our reality-establishing information on the internet. We need to keep alert to the fact that the information that pops up on our screen is curated and filtered by built-in software. As data collects about what sorts of information attract and keep our attention, algorithms feed us content that keeps us following related threads. (Interestingly, grievance-evoking content works best!)² Our human tendency to seek support for our opinions (especially our aggravations), coupled with algorithmic responses to our clicks, tends to isolate us in seamlessly plausible information universes. Contrary “facts,” if they appear at all, are packaged as silly, misleading, or malicious.

What might it look like for a Christian community to “put away falsehood” and “speak” (or share!) “truth” with one another if we live in non-overlapping universes of “truth”? Could we begin by owning the fact that our filtered informational world is only part of the story? How can we cultivate forbearance and humility, as we struggle with competing narratives (theme #5)?

Different homiletical possibilities emerge if we attend to evidence in Ephesians that the author works with an underlying baptismal framework. Immediately before our text begins, the writer seems to allude to early Christian baptismal practice: “stripping off” one’s ordinary garments (“the old self,” 4:22) and, after rising from the baptismal water, being “clothed” with one’s white baptismal garment (“clothed with the new self,” 4:24). These rites, which included renouncing the ways of the evil one (4:27), are fully described only in later church writings, but the underlying practices probably developed decades earlier.

When read through the lens of baptismal practice, Ephesians 4:25–6:18 seems very much like a series of templates for pre- or post-baptismal homilies. Weeks of preparatory instruction for baptismal candidates led to baptism on Easter eve. From Easter to Pentecost, the newly baptized assembled for daily homilies coaching them in the core practices of their new life and new community.

A preacher could sketch this baptismal backdrop, pick up on the metaphor in 4:22–24, and present one or two themes in today’s reading in light of the question “What does it mean to ‘live into’ our baptism?”

Christian communities are meant to be living demonstrations before the world of the revolutionary “new humanity” forged in Jesus’ death and resurrection. Yet worldwide, Christian communities face off, sponsoring dramatically opposed visions of what it means to live Christianly in our time. What would happen if we deliberately embraced the Spirit-inspired practices, steeped in humility, that our text commends? It may be a good place to start.

Notes 

1. I will refer at times to “the writer,” and other times to “Paul,” to acknowledge that the text, while “Pauline” in character, may not have been written by Paul the apostle himself.
2. I’m indebted to former students with hands-on experience in the social media industry for these insights.