Tag: Ephesians 4:32

Being nice people in a world that is not nice

Abiding by God’s pattern of forgiveness.

Ephesians 4:32 – And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

We see so much strife and anger in this day and age. People are spending inordinate amounts of time and energy endorsing popular slogans, political parties, and national movements for or against some agenda or another. To our collective shame, much of it is also stemming from those who claim to be believers, those who say they have trusted in the God of the Bible.

Our age of social unrest is little different than that of the first century believers. Besides being caught up in one of the most revolutionary times in the life of God’s people, they were also subject to political wrangling not only of Rome, but of their own countrymen. Civil disputes, especially among themselves, were rampant; in many respects the nation was on the verge of civil war. The Jewish state had rarely been as factious and divisive politically, and families were pitted against one another.

Yet into this fray, Paul writes that believers should be kind and compassionate, forgiving one another. They should be nice people in a world that is not nice.

Colossians 3:12-13 – Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.

Critical to this “niceness” is the idea that their forgiveness should be patterned on the forgiveness that God offered them. If we take Paul’s advice at face value and look to God’s precedent and pattern of forgiveness, we may be able to see some ways that we can faithfully represent him as his people in this world.

Psalm 103:8-14 – Yahweh is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love. He will not always accuse us or be angry forever. He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him. For he knows what we are made of, remembering that we are dust.

First of all, God is stated to be abounding in chesed, the Hebrew word for kindness and faithful goodness.
He is slow to anger. His patience is long and he is willing to suspend judgment until absolutely necessary.
Even when his anger is expressed, it is momentary and brief in the overall scope of his dealings with mankind. His anger does not linger with slow-burning constancy.
When he does express his justice at unfaithfulness, it is not as would be deserved; it is comparatively light for the injustice that has been committed.
Most importantly, when he forgives, it is complete. It is illustrated as being as far as east is from west; complete opposites that stretch away infinitely from one another.
Certainly within the family of believers, he chooses to relate to us a compassionate parent, not as an authoritarian stranger. His compassion for the bond of faith is as of a loving parent to his children.
Ultimately, his dealings with mankind are based on the generous and sobering understanding that we are temporary individuals, we are not permanent to this time and place.

If we could learn to review, accept, and enact God’s principles, forgiving others in the same manner he is forgiving of us, imagine how we could be a force for good and “niceness” in the world today. By applying the same type of faithfulness and compassion with others, and certainly among the family of believers, we could have lasting impact in our efforts to reduce strife and anger in our world.

We are all only here for a short amount of time as temporary pin-points of light within an entire galaxy of humanity. Let’s remember we are all dust, extending God’s kindness and mercy, his chesed, while we can.

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive at https://core-of-the-bible.simplecast.com/ or your favorite podcast streaming service. Questions or comments? Feel free to email me directly at coreofthebible@gmail.com.

Setting others free through forgiveness

Forgiveness is the basis of all inter-personal relationships in the sight of God.

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:32

Paul’s admonition to the Ephesian believers to forgive one another comes at the end of a long list of practices that would promote unity and brotherhood. Forgiveness encompasses a summary of other practices that all promote relational unity.

Most people are familiar with Yeshua’s charge to believers that forgiveness of oneself with God is dependent on our capacity to forgive others.

“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 6:14-15

Essentially, Yeshua is saying, “Forgive, and you shall be forgiven.” Paul appears to be saying the opposite: “You have been forgiven, therefore you should forgive.” Both maxims are true. For us to experience forgiveness from God, we must exhibit it ourselves. And when we have received forgiveness from God, we should therefore continue to extend it to others. Forgiveness, then, is the basis of all inter-personal relationships in the sight of God.

What I find interesting is in the passage where we typically read the words of Yeshua as “Forgive, and you shall be forgiven,” (Luke 6:37), a different Greek word for “forgive” is used than in most other places the word appears in the New Testament writings. In fact, this is the only place this form of the word is used.

The typical word translated as “forgive” is based on the root aphiemi which conveys the idea of a sending away. However, the word in Luke 6:37 is based on the root apoluo which focuses more on the action of release than the sending away. Both share nuanced meanings of dismissal or departing or leaving. However, terms based on apoluo are usually used of divorce, dissolving the bonds of marriage, a setting free of both partners.

Taken all together, these shades of meaning all provide pictures of the effects and responsibilities of forgiveness: it is to dismiss an offense that someone may have caused against us, to set them free from any perceived obligation we may be selfishly placing on them. We should be sending away those offenses, just as we have had our offenses released and sent away by God.

For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his loving kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:11-12

God’s interactions with ancient Israel reveal his heart for all believers even today. If we are to faithfully mimic our heavenly Father, then our forgiveness of others should be a release and dismissal that is equally as all-encompassing and final.

If you enjoy these daily blog posts, be sure to visit the growing archive of the Core of the Bible podcast. Each week we take a more in-depth look at one of the various topics presented in the daily blog. You can view the podcast archive here. Questions or comments? Feel free to email me directly at coreofthebible@gmail.com.