Lecture 10 — Kindness and forgiveness

^4:30^ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God: whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. [n. 263]

^4:31^ Let all bitterness and anger and indignation and clamor and blasphemy be put away from you, with all malice. [n. 264]

^4:32^ And be kind one to another: merciful, forgiving one another, even as God has forgiven you in Christ. [n. 265]

262. Previously the Apostle warned the Ephesians to abstain from wicked and injurious words. Here he advises them against words or actions which would upset or sadden other men.

Regarding this he does two things:

first, he prohibits what pertains to the old;

second, he encourages what pertains to the new, at be kind to one another.

Again the first part has two subdivisions:

first, he forbids what pertains to the old in a general way;

second, in a specific way, at let all bitterness.

263. There might be an objection to his saying do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit is God in whom there can be no emotion or sorrow.

I reply that the Holy Spirit is said to be grieved when that person is saddened in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. He that despises you, despises me (Luke 10:16). But they provoked to wrath and afflicted the Spirit of his Holy One: and he was turned to be their enemy (Isa 63:10).

Or, it could be called a metaphorical expression. Just as God is said to be angry on account of the similarity of what he does to the results of human anger, so he could also be said to be grieved. When some person is saddened he withdraws from whoever is depressing him, likewise does the Holy Spirit withdraw from one who is sinning. Thus the meaning of do not grieve the Holy Spirit is: do not chase him away or reject him through sin. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from the deceitful, and will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding: and he shall not abide when iniquity comes in (Wis 1:5).

Therefore, the Holy Spirit must not be saddened, and this on account of the blessing of his saving seal. Thus he adds whereby you are sealed, that is, you are reformed and set apart from others. Whoever possesses this seal shall enjoy eternal life. For this reason he must be held on to and in no way grieved since without him there is no life everlasting. God also has sealed us and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts (2 Cor 1:22).

When did this happen? On** the day of redemption**, that is, of baptism. Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). You shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence (Acts 1:5). He says redemption since in baptism a man becomes a sharer in the redemption accomplished by Christ.

264. In what follows, at let all bitterness, he discloses what specifically belongs to the old man.

For at times a man will sadden his friend out of anger, at other times on set purpose. Anger, however, has three degrees. Sometimes it is constrained and remains within the heart, as when someone is only inwardly angry. On other occasions it is expressed verbally, although not in a contemptuous way, as when someone says raca (Matt 5:22). At still another time contempt may be present in the verbal expression as in you cursed fool! Hence he first writes down what pertains to anger of the heart; second what is proper to its inordinate expression; and third what has reference to contempt.

In anger of the heart the following succeed one another. First, anger is the result of sorrow, which Sacred Scripture refers to as bitterness: as Hannah had her heart full of bitterness, she prayed to the Lord, shedding many tears (1 Sam 1:10). Thus he says all bitterness which arises from the memory of past injuries. For there is no understanding where there is bitterness (Sir 21:15). Second, it immediately desires revenge; hence he says and anger which is a craving for revenge. For the anger of man does not work the justice of God (Jas 1:20). Third, an angered person imagines whatever offends him is an insult, and he is indignant if it passes without punishment. Therefore, and indignation follows.

Noise has to do with the inordinate expression of anger. And I looked that he should do judgment, and behold, iniquity: and do justice, and behold, a cry (Isa 5:7). Hence he says and clamor. In a similar way, blasphemy is either against God or against his saints. Yet he that blasphemes the name of the Lord, dying let him die (Lev 24:16). Thus he says and blasphemy. And he adds that these be put away from you, with all malice of action. Reject all malice and all guile and dissimulations (1 Pet 2:1).

265. Next, when he says be kind one to another he determines what pertains to the new man which is contrary to the above mentioned passions. Opposed to bitterness is kindness; so he says be kind one to another since the spirit of wisdom is benevolent (Wis 1:6). Mercy is contrary to anger, thus he mentions merciful: be therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful (Luke 6:36). Opposed to indignation is a pardoning attitude; whence he says forgiving one another even as God has forgiven you in Christ. Forgiving one another, if any have a complaint against another. Even as the Lord has forgiven you, so do you also (Col 3:13). He that spared not even his own Son, and shortly afterwards, how has he not also, with him, given us all things? (Rom 8:32).