Ephesians 4:29 Commentary and Bible Study

Paul continues to name sins which grieve the Spirit, and this list leads up to the great exhortation in verse 30: ‘And grieve not the holy Spirit of God.’ The apostle is inspired by the Spirit of God but he says nothing other than what Christ said, and it is recorded in Matthew 12:34-37 that we shall be charged for ‘every idle word’ that we speak. The King James translation, ‘idle’, from the words of Christ, translates the Greek word which means inactive, useless, or shallow word. We shall be judged for everything that is unproductive and unprofitable, everything frivolous which scarcely needs to be said. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, says the apostle. ‘Corrupt’ translates the Greek for putrefying, rotten, and it obviously refers to unclean speech, obscenities, but also to gossip and dishonest boasting and a whole range of things. ‘But that which is good to the use of edifying’ – only that which contributes, which builds up another person, ‘that it may minister grace unto the hearers.’