A Daily Devotional with David Olatona
Main Text
Ephesians 4:17-32
Watchword
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. Ephesians 4:29 (NKJV)
Let us put away corrupt communication meaning we are to guard our words against the intrusion of “rotten speech.” The word “corrupt” refers to that which is “rotten.” Just as we would never eat a rotten apple or a rotten piece of meat, the believer should never engage in rotten speech. If we have been saved by the grace of God, transformed by the Spirit of God and we are indeed new creatures in Jesus Christ; it will show up in the way we use our speech (Romans 13:14).
The words of our mouth must minister grace to the hearers. This phrase has the idea of being gracious in our speech. It was the way our Lord spoke in Luke 4:22
that made the people curious about Him.
This manner of speech should characterize the utterance of every child of God, (Colossians 4:6) The whole idea here is that our words are to be influenced by the grace of God. We should be gracious to everyone we meet along the way. Our words to others should be constructed in a manner that benefits them.
And it is our privilege, to use our tongues to build one another up in different ways. We are to speak the truths of His word to one another; to exalt the glory of Christ with each other; and to exhort one another to greater levels of Christ-likeness in our daily lives. We’re to “edify” one another in a thoughtful and deliberate way with carefully chosen and applied words. We need to continually share some well-sought out portion of God’s word with one another to bring God’s specific promise to some particular situation in our lives. (Proverbs 15:23)
Confession
Heavenly Father, I pray that no unhealthy words would proceed from my mouth, but that the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart may be gracious and good. Amen.
Prayer
Oh God, give me the grace to show Jesus everywhere I go, that I will be a representative of Christ with my words and character. Amen.
Additional Reading
Proverbs 25:11-12
Isaiah 50:4.