Series: Ephesians
Title: Rather Giving of Thanks
Text: Eph 5: 4, 19, 20
Date: October 5, 2014
Place: SGBC, New Jersey
In
Ephesians 4, Christ our Head, through the apostle Paul, reminded us of the
things that Christ has done for us who are chosen of God and redeemed by
Christ’s blood. Christ sent us the gospel in truth, created us anew through the
Holy Spirit, brought us to rest all in Christ our Righteousness. Christ “fitly
joined us” with each other in his body, the church. As Christ effectually works grace in each of
us, he compacts us together more, making us see our need of each other, by
using each of us to provide the gospel for each other. Through the gospel, Christ
will grow us and add to his body such as should be called out—those he has
redeemed. The furtherance of the gospel of Christ is our purpose as Christ’s
church. So Paul said, “This I say therefore,
and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in
the vanity of their mind…” (Eph 4: 17)
Then
Christ used Paul to teach us how we are to walk and conduct ourselves. Brethren,
Christ’s purpose in teaching us these things is: not to attain a righteousness
of our own—Christ is our Righteousness; this is not to bring ourselves into a
state of holiness—Christ is our Sanctifier and our Sanctification; this is not
to draw attention to ourselves or exalt ourselves; this is not to be used as
rules to convict and arrest each other and bite and devour each other.
The
purpose of these exhortations are so that as we set forth the gospel the word
of God be not blasphemed (Ti 2: 5); so that we “cannot be condemned” by men; “that
he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of
you.” (Titus 2: 8); “that we may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all
things.” (Titus 2: 10); that we might be credible witnesses, as we set forth
the gospel to lost sinners, to friends and family; so that instead of their
eyes and ears being on us, instead of them being offended by us, they might be
attentive to the gospel of Christ. If they be offended let it be the offense of
the cross, not because we are disobeying the word of our Master. The purpose is
that in all things Christ might have the preeminence.
Ephesians 5: 1: Be ye therefore followers of
God, as dear children; 2: And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and
hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweetsmelling savour. 3: But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness,
let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; [now, here is our text] 4: Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not
convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Again,
we have instruction involving our tongue.
So much emphasis is put on how we use our tongue. Why? That which is
predominate in our speech reveals our hearts. Christ said, “out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”
For
example, he said, “Speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all
things which is the Head, even Christ.” (Eph 4: 15) The believer who really
speaks the truth, in love, by the grace and power of God working in him, does
so because God has created a heart of truth, which is in love with Christ and
with his brethren. He said, “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man
truth with his neighbor.” (Eph 4; 25) If we speak lies, we are liars at
heart—the LORD said in Isaiah 8:20, “To the law and to the testimony: if they
speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” If
we speak the truth of God, God has made us true in our hearts. Then he said, “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.” (Eph 4: 29) If a man’s speech is
corrupt, it comes from a corrupt heart. Our Lord said, “A good man out of the
good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things.” (Mt 12: 35) Then he said, “Let all…evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice.” (Eph 4: 31) Christ said, “an evil man out of
the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.” (Mt 12: 35)
Now
again in our text, “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which
are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.” (Eph 5: 4) Which heart do we
have? Is it a filthy, foolish, jesting-sarcstic heart? Or do we have a heart
abounding in thanksgiving to God?
Here is
the point of this message. That which is becoming the character of a child of
God is to use our hearts and our tongues to give thanks to God rather than
obscene, idle, hurtful talk.
MEANING OF THE WORDS
First, let’s
understand the meaning of these words.
“Filthiness”
involves all obscene and indecent language. Someone said we verbally do the
things we speak. We live in Sodom, USA—the TV is obscene, the music is obscene,
the talk around us is obscene. It is easy to understand what Lot felt, “vexed
with the filthy conversation of the wicked.” (2 Pet 2: 7)
“Foolish
talking” is language that is useless, idle, senseless and unprofitable. The
word of the gospel has nothing foolish or idle in it. Every word is profitable,
not one word is useless filler. Christ
is the Word made flesh. The whole time he walked this earth, do we find any
word in scripture which he spoke which was vain chit-chat? Not a word. When you hear someone constantly chattering
meaningless words—you ignore them. Can
we even imagine our Savior speaking like that? But the person whose words are
few, who speaks only when they have something wise, true and valuable to say,
you hang on every word. “The tongue of
the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out
foolishness.” (Pro 15: 2) When the kids were just beginning to talk, Melinda
used to tell them, “Use your words.” Our Savior is teaching his children to
learn to use your words.
“Jesting”
is being witty or humorous or sarcastic at the expense of others, to embarrass
or to make them look weak or put them in a bad light. It may or may not be
malicious. But if it runs the risk of
being hurtful or taken the wrong way, it is better unsaid. It almost always includes
conceit and self-exaltation. It is meant to make the speaker look wiser than
the other fellow.
“Which
are not convenient”, it means it is unbecoming the character of saints and it
is disagreeable to the will of God. Our
text is the will of our Redeemer so, as followers of God, as dear children, we
want to obey him.
Believers
are happy. We have great reason to be full of joy. Scripture does not teach us
to be sullen and silent all the time. The
Lord teaches us to be courteous, to be pleasant (which includes casual
pleasantries). There is nothing wrong with good-natured humor. It is the
obscene, useless, hurtful speech, we are to avoid.
BETTER USE OF THE TONGUE
Here is
a far better use of the tongue—this is a great use of the tongue. He says, “But rather giving of thanks…Speaking
to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God
and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 5: 5, 19, 20) We saw
one great use of our tongue “speaking the truth in love”, “that which is good
to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.” This is
another great use of the tongue—giving of thanks to God.
Brethren,
if each time we were about to speak some useless word, simply to make noise or
to fill up space in conversation, imagine if instead we thought of one of the
innumerable things we have to thank God for, and in our hearts, we quietly
thanked him instead of speaking. We would never run out of things to thank him
for. And if we spoke to others about the things we are thankful for it is a
good way to bear witness of our God and Savior.
First,
we thank God for his unspeakable gift—his beloved Son—God our Father has made
us fit for heaven, right now, in his Son Christ Jesus, “Giving thanks unto the
Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the
saints in light.” (Col 1: 12) What is it to be made “meet”—fit. It means everything requires of us, God has
accomplished for us in his Son so that there remains nothing else for us to do
to enter into God’s presence. We have been delivered and
translated, “Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” (Col
1: 13) We have redemption and forgiveness, “In whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Col 1: 14) “Therefore as ye
have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted
and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding
therein with thanksgiving.” (Col 2: 6-7) God the Father has given us the privilege
of being sons, and Christ has put us in his body for the purpose of setting
forth the good news that eternal life is the gift of God and this life is in
his Son. So he says, “whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” (Col 3: 17) So
first of all, above all, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” (2 Cor
9: 15)
Secondly, we thank God for
his lovingkindness and faithfulness toward his elect. Psalm
92 is «A Psalm or Song for the sabbath
day.» Christ is our Rest in whom all of these things are ours from our God.
Psalm
92: 1:..It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises
unto thy name, O most High: 2: To shew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning,
and thy faithfulness every night,…4: For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy
work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 5: O LORD, how great are thy
works! and thy thoughts are very deep. 6: A brutish man knoweth not; neither
doth a fool understand this.
But
thanks be unto God, you know and you understand. “Blessed art thou, [believer] for flesh and
blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.” (Mt
16: 17) Thank God for his lovingkindness
in Christ Jesus and for his faithfulness toward us for Christ’s sake. Thank God
he has made us glad through his work, not our own! So we will triumph by the
works of his hands! Oh, believer, thank God for his works and for his thoughts
toward us. God said, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith
the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
(Jer 29: 11)
Psalm 92: 7: When the wicked spring as the grass, and
when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be
destroyed for ever: 8: But thou, LORD, art most high for evermore. 9: For, lo,
thine enemies, O LORD, for, lo, thine enemies shall perish; all the workers of
iniquity shall be scattered. 10: But my horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of
an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.
Brethren,
we were workers of iniquity, BUT God, loved us and chose us in Christ by his
grace! Christ shall be exalted and he is our Strength! Therefore, our horn—our strength—God shall
exalt as the strength of the unicorn—rhinoceros. He shall anoint us with fresh
oil—the Holy Spirit and Christ our Strength
Psalm 92: 12: The righteous shall flourish like the palm
tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 13: Those that be planted in the
house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14: They shall still
bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing; 15: To shew that
the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
Christ promised
we shall not be ashamed. God chose
us, Christ redeemed us, the Spirit regenerated us and called us. He planted us and he promises we
shall flourish and grow and he shall do it. Even in old age, even when we close
our eyes to this life—as God promised us—“they shall be fat and flourishing; To
shew that the LORD is upright: he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness
in him.”
Thirdly,
we thank God for preserving us. He said,
“Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth
them out of the hand of the wicked. Light is sown for the righteous, and
gladness for the upright in heart. 1Rejoice in the LORD, ye righteous; and give
thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.” (Ps 97: 10-12)
Fourthly,
we thank him because he is good and merciful, “O give thanks unto the LORD; for
he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.” (1 Chr 16: 34) God is good. He has never done anything toward his child
except that which is good. For those he loves in Christ, “His mercy endures
forever.” Aren’t we thankful! We need
mercy forever. And his mercy endures forever.
Fifthly,
brethren, we can thank God for one another. What a gift! Paul said, of himself,
I “cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers.” (Eph
1: 16) Speaking to the Thessalonians,
Paul said by the Holy Spirit, “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for
you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen
you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”
(2 Thess 2: 13) He said in the first epistle to the Thessalonians, “what thanks
can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your
sakes before our God.” (1 Thess 3: 9) “Behold,
how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Ps
133: 1)
Sixthly,
as we, together, support the preaching of the gospel we have great reason to
thank God, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in
Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. For
we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that
perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the
savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Cor 2:
14-16) We can thank God that his word never returns unto him void. It always
accomplishes that which he pleases.
Seventhly,
we give thanks for all men whom God has placed in authority to rule over us.
1 Tim 2: 1: I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all
men; 2: For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet
and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3: For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
Eight,
we thank God that our Savior has all power and reigns over all, “And the four
and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces,
and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which
art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great
power, and hast reigned.” (Rev 11: 16-17)
Lastly,
we thank God because he shall give us the victory over death, “O death, where is thy sting? O
grave, where is thy victory? 56: The sting of death is sin; and the strength of
sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15: 55-57)
THANK GOD ALWAYS FOR ALL THINGS
Let us
close with this. Paul said, “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and
the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Eph 5: 20) Brethren, “All
things” takes in everything—what do we have that we did not receive of God? We
have not begun to exhaust this subject: all temporal things, food and raiment,
all the mercies of life, even sadness and heartache. We thank God in every
circumstance of life whether it be adversity or whether be comfortable
There
is so much better use of our tongue than obscene, useless, and hurtful
talk. Our Master says, “Speak the truth
of Christ in love.” And when we are not
doing that “thank God always.”
Psalm 69:30: I will praise the name of God with a song,
and will magnify him with thanksgiving. 31: This also shall please the LORD
better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
Hebrews 13:15: By him therefore let us offer the
sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving
thanks to his name.
Amen!