Paul’s exhortation is to “no longer walk as the Gentiles... walk in the vanity of their mind” (Eph. 4:17). The Gentiles are the fallen people, who become vain in their reasonings (Rom. 1:21). They walk without God in the vanity of their mind, being controlled and directed by their vain thoughts. Whatever they do according to their fallen mind is vanity, void of reality. Moreover, Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 4:17 suggests that we the believers, who once walked in the vanity of the mind before we were saved, may continue to do so after we are saved. Even religious activities and practices among Christians which do not express God—such as Christmas and Easter—are superstition, falsehood, deception, and vanity. As believers, we should no longer walk in the vanity of the mind. Instead, we should allow the new man to live out God; every detail of the living of the new man must be God expressed in our living. This is to no longer walk in the vanity of the mind but to live the life of the new man as the reality is in Jesus.
In verse 29 Paul says, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for building up, according to the need, that it may give grace to those who hear.” The Greek word for corrupt signifies what is noxious, offensive, or worthless. Our conversation should not corrupt others but should build them up. The church and every member of the church need the proper building up. This building up is accomplished primarily by our speaking. What proceeds out of our mouth should be that which is good for the building up of the church and all the saints. Furthermore, the word out of our mouth should give grace to those who hear. Grace is God embodied in Christ as our enjoyment and supply. Our word should convey such grace to others. The word that builds up others always ministers grace to the hearer. Our word should communicate God in Christ as enjoyment, imparting Christ to others as their life supply.
In verse 29 we see that Christ is the grace ministered to others for their building up. Our mouth should be filled with words of grace. Words that give grace to the hearers are the overflow of the enjoyment of Christ whom we have experienced. Every word that proceeds out of our mouth should be the Christ whom we enjoy as grace. When we enjoy Christ in a rich way, every word that proceeds out of our mouth ministers grace to the hearers and builds them up.
In contrast to words that minister grace, gossip defiles our mind and our mouth. When we hear evil rumors and gossips, we must bury them and wash our mind and mouth. We enjoy gossiping because we are short of grace. If we are filled with grace, we will not seek satisfaction in gossiping; on the contrary, we will be content with the satisfaction that is in Christ. Instead of gossiping, murmuring, and reasoning (Phil. 2:14), we should speak words that give grace to those who hear, for only such words edify and build up the hearers. What proceeds out of our mouth should be the words of grace that are the overflow of our enjoyment of Christ, whom we love and experience.
The basic elements in the learning of Christ are reality and grace. In contrast to the Gospel of John where grace precedes reality, in Ephesians 4 before Paul mentions grace, that is, the supply, he presents the reality, that is, the principle, the pattern, and the standard. The reality is the shining of light; as members of the Body of Christ under the Head, we should learn Christ as the reality is in Jesus. Yet in order to live out this standard of the reality, we must have grace. In verse 29 Paul relates grace to our speaking. This indicates that we need grace for the details of our daily life, not merely for what we regard as important matters. We may have grace in big matters but not in small matters. For instance, in our daily conversation we may be devoid of grace. In no area of our daily life do we require grace more than in our conversation. If we have grace in this aspect of our living, we will have grace in every other aspect. In all things we need grace to live a life according to the reality that is in Jesus. Grace is our rich supply and enjoyment. If we have this supply and enjoyment, we will be able to live according to the standard of the reality.
Ephesians 4:18 tells us that the Gentiles have been alienated from the life of God. This indicates that the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind because they do not have the life of God. In contrast to the Gentiles, we are not strangers to the life of God. Instead of being alienated from the life of God, we are attached to the source of life. The life of God has become a fountain within our being. We now possess the divine life, and the life of God has become our life (Col. 3:4). Therefore, we should no longer live by our natural life; rather, we should live by the life of God. The reality in Jesus, grace in our mouth, and the life of God pave the way for the new man to live on earth.
Reality and grace are both of life. The divine, eternal, uncreated life of God is the essence of reality and grace. Life is God Himself; that is, life is the being of the Triune God (John 1:4; 11:25; 14:6; Rom. 8:2). When God dispenses Himself into us, we have life. This life is not only our grace for our enjoyment but also our reality for us to live a life full of reality.
The life of God in Ephesians 4:18 is the uncreated, eternal life of God, which man did not have at the time of creation. After being created, man with the created human life was placed before the tree of life (Gen. 2:8-9) that he might receive the uncreated divine life. But man fell into the vanity of his mind and became darkened in his understanding. Now, in such a fallen condition man is unable to touch the life of God until he repents (has his mind turned to God) and believes in the Lord Jesus to receive God’s eternal life (Acts 11:18; John 3:16).
God’s intention in His creation of man was that man would partake of the fruit of the tree of life and thereby receive the eternal life of God. Yet in the fall, Satan’s evil nature was injected into man. As a result, man had to be barred from the tree of life. According to Genesis 3:24, the Lord “drove the man out, and at the east of the garden of Eden He placed the cherubim and a flaming sword which turned in every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.” Thus, man was alienated from the life of God. The cherubim, the flame, and the sword signify God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness. These three things kept sinful man from receiving eternal life. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He fulfilled all the requirements of God’s glory, holiness, and righteousness. Therefore, through the redemption of the Lord Jesus, the way has been opened for us to contact the tree of life once more. This is the reason Hebrews 10:19 says that we have “boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus.” The tree of life is in the Holy of Holies. As believers in Christ, we have been brought back to the tree of life. Now the divine life in the Holy of Holies may be our daily enjoyment.