WHO YOU ARE CHILD OF GOD… LOOKING AT EPHESIANS 4
“Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.”-Ephesian 4:29.
To edify is to build up…you cannot build up with that which is corrupt. Construction crews use the best materials to build the best buildings…it is dangerous to use material that is filled with flaws and corruption, for the building won’t stand. If the wood in your home was infested with termites, before long the corruption done by these pests would cause your home to deteriorate. To fix that deterioration and repair and rebuild may take some sawing, hammering, and throwing out the corrupt parts…but the intent of all that work, as hard as it is, is to build up that which corruption has torn down. In the church we have the teachings of Christ, the Scripture, which we are called to speak and teach in order to build up the body of Christ. When corrupt words are taught they always bring destruction. False teachers and their false teachings are dangerous…they are designed by the enemies of God to tear down the church and destroy precious souls for which Jesus died.
We genuine followers of Jesus are called to speak and teach that which builds up the body of Christ. Sometimes like the sawing and hammering to fix the corrupted buildings, it is hard to repair the corruption that has found its way into the body of Christ. Sound doctrine is necessary in order for the church to be built up and be stable and strong. We are called to speak that which is genuine and true…for the purpose of speaking in the church is to edify, to build up the body. We cannot impart grace to hearers if what they are hearing is corrupt, perverted, apostate, or false. We impart grace by sharing the words of life…the very Word of God which is infallible, inerrant, and everything we followers of Christ need in order for us to be everything God has called us to be.