“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.” Ephesians 4:25
God exists in community. He exists in community as the Trinity. He is the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God in three persons. Not three different Gods but three persons, each fully God, who make up one God. It’s hard to understand, but by faith we believe what the Bible teaches.
What is important to understand is that each member of the Trinity has a selfless love for the other persons of the Trinity. Their relationship is like that of a husband and wife, who are two distinct persons but yet are one, and the beauty of their relationship is seen in how they love and serve each other. Out of the overflow of this love, they can love and serve their children well.
Do you think the Son ever lies to the Father or that the Holy Spirit speaks falsehoods to the Son? No way! Because they’re one, they would never want to do anything to hurt one another. Would it be good for a husband to lie to his wife? Never! They too are as one and should never want to hurt the other.
As the church, God says we are supposed to act the same way. Since we Christians are a church family, we should put away falsehood and seek the health of our community. If we can’t take God’s call to speak the truth to one another seriously, how can we love and serve those who don’t know Jesus? How can we call people to come join us in following Jesus if we’re lying to each other?
Read
Ephesians 4:25
- Why does Paul want us to put away falsehood?
- What does being members of one another have to do with lying?
- God calls us to live as a loving community. How does lying destroy that?
Pray
Father, help us to remember who we are as members of your community, the church. May we love each other well as family. Keep our mouths pure with words of life, and keep us away from falsehood that tear away at our community. We love your church. Thank you for promising to build it. May we build it up as well in the way we speak. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
This devotion is adapted from the Ten Commandments Study Guide.
