The key word in today's apostolic reading is “therefore.” In the preceding lines, the apostle says that we should be renewed in the spirit of our minds and put on...
The key word in today's apostolic reading is “therefore.” In the preceding lines, the apostle says that we should be renewed in the spirit of our minds and put on the new person, since we have come to know that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, the Christ. Then, in the end of the fourth chapter of Ephesians that we read today, the apostle lists the consequences of this fact.
We cannot fail to notice that the traits he describes concern a Christian's relationships with other people. Briefly, they can be expressed like this: a Christian does not lie or steal, forgives others rather than abusing them, and brings peace and comfort through words. In theory, such a person would be very easy to live alongside. Christian apologists of the second and third centuries often drew the authorities' attention to the fact that society had no better citizens than Christians. Yet being like this is difficult, because such people irritate us. Against their background, what we ourselves are like becomes all too obvious. But that is precisely why the Lord told His disciples: you are the light of the world.
Listing things that are commonplace in the world but unacceptable for Christians—anger, theft, foul language, and lying—the apostle urges Christians not to grieve the Holy Spirit with them. The point is that the Spirit's voice, sounding in human hearts, can easily be drowned out by the voice of the flesh. This clearly shows that the gift of the Spirit abolishes neither human freedom nor responsibility. It is also clear that such simple things as refraining from foul language, lying, and theft can express love for the Spirit who has sealed us.
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4:25 Wherefore - Seeing ye are thus created anew, walk accordingly, in every particular. For we are members one of another - To which intimate union all deceit is quite repugnant.