Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, "LET EACH ONE OF YOU SPEAK TRUTH WITH HIS NEIGHBOR," for we are members of one another.
Now, look at Zechariah 8, which is one of the cross references for the above verse:
Zechariah 8:16-17 These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; (17) Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,' Says the LORD."
The word Shall in the English is a strong word, if you think back to your grammar classes in school. It means: 1 - expressing a future tense of something to come; 2 - expression a strong intention or assertion. There is little wiggle room in the word shall. It states that something will happen. So, let's bring this to our unity discussion.
First, the Lord says we shall speak truth to our neighbor. Jesus said,
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
He also said,
John 15:5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Jesus is the vine out of which we all grown. A grape vine does not produce blackberries and a blackberry bush does not produce strawberries. If we are grafted into the vine as adopted sons and daughters, then we should begin to produce the qualities, characteristics and fruit of the vine we are grafted into. Jesus is truth. We should therefore be putting behind us any lying tendencies because that lies come straight from the enemy and do not grow from the very vine that is Jesus Christ. The fruit of truth is one that is part of the very essence of who Jesus is...and as such, should be what we produce. If we are grafted into the vine, and we are producing the fruit that comes from the vine, then speaking truth becomes a natural thing to us.
Second, Anger can lead to sin and is one thing that should not be a fruit that grows out of the vine we are grafted into.
Ephesians 4:26-27 "BE ANGRY, AND DO NOT SIN": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, (27) nor give place to the devil.
There is much in the above verses as well we can look at to bring us closer to each other, and closer to bearing the fruit we should from the vine. We have all been guilty of getting angry. We have all been guilty of not being able to control our emotions from time to time. It happens. We are in fact human with human emotions that we must take control of.
Psalms 37:8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.
Psalms 4:4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah
Giving place to the devil can come in many forms, but it manifests within our minds first. Our thoughts can be so difficult to conquer, but yet how many times have we allowed our moods to change because of our thoughts? Someone does something we don't think they should do, the devil starts whispering little things like, "Can you believe he did that?" or "You should say.." and these thoughts infect our moods and our attitudes and lead us down the path of sinning. These thoughts can quickly turn into an attitude of hatred toward our brethren.
1 John 3:15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
To gain victory over thoughts and emotions that can lead us into sin, we are told to do something that sounds so simple...
2 Corinthians 10:4-6 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, (5) casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, (6) and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ is much more difficult than it sounds. It requires us to make a conscious choice to alter our thinking. Our weapons are mighty! We have the Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, which is sharper than any two edged sword...and it contains scripture for every thought that you need to combat in your mind. For example, if you are fearful or facing something that is overwhelming you with fear, use 2 Timothy 1:7:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
If Jesus used the word of God against the devil in the wilderness to resist the temptations the devil placed in His ear and before Him, don't you think the Word of God is good enough for us to use against the wiles of the devil, too?
James 4:7-8 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Learning how to use the weapons we have, given to us by God, to resist the enemy is just one more way we gain victory over the enemy. Submission to God is key in the use of our weapons. He must have all of us, every area. Does our behavior line up with the word of God? Is the fruit we are producing representative of the vine we are grafted into? Are the words we speak bringing life and giving grace to those around us?
Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
Are you building up or tearing down with your words? Are you allowing God to heal the innermost part of you and restore you to Himself?
Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
Do you know what "with all malice" means? Forcefully, and with intent. Don't be passive, but be aggressive in obtaining victory over your mind, your thoughts, and your words. Be conscious of the fruit you are bearing, IF you are truly grafted into the vine. The final verse of Chapter 4 says this:
Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
We do not deserve the forgiveness and grace that God has given to us. We must extend that same forgiveness and grace to others. Being kind to others displays the fruit of the vine we are grafted into and being tenderhearted with compassion for others displays the heart of flesh that we have been given. Gaining victory in our lives and our walks with Christ can sometimes feel impossible, but yet:
Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Be kind, be tenderhearted, offer forgiveness, give grace, show love and compassion, speak words of life to build up, not to tear down. Take control of your thoughts, and bring them under the subjection of Jesus Christ. You will experience victory and freedom!
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