Wherefore putting away lying, speak; ye the truth every man with his neighbour; for we are members one of another.

“Again he said to me, "Love the truth, and let nothing but truth proceed from your mouth, that the spirit which God has placed in your flesh may be found truthful before all men; and the Lord, who dwelleth in you, will be glorified, because the Lord is truthful in every word, and in Him is no falsehood. They therefore who lie deny the Lord, and rob Him, not giving back to Him the deposit which they have received. For they received from Him a spirit free from falsehood. If they give him back this spirit untruthful, they pollute the commandment of the Lord, and become robbers." ... And he said to me, "Now you hear them, and keep them, that even the falsehoods which you formerly told in your transactions may come to be believed through the truthfulness of your present statements. ... And whosoever shall hear this commandment, and depart from that great wickedness falsehood, shall live to God."”

“No doubt, if any one is unwilling to follow the Gospel itself, it is in his power [to reject it], but it is not expedient. For it is in man's power to disobey God, and to forfeit what is good; but [such conduct] brings no small amount of injury and mischief. And on this account Paul says, "All things are lawful to me, but all things are not expedient;" referring both to the liberty of man, in which respect "all things are lawful," God exercising no compulsion in regard to him; and [by the expression] "not expedient" pointing out that we "should not use our liberty as a cloak of maliciousness, for this is not expedient. And again he says, "Speak ye every man truth with his neighbour." And, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor scurrility, which are not convenient, but rather giving of thanks." And, "For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk honestly as children of the light, not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in anger and jealousy. And such were some of you; but ye have been washed, but ye have been sanctified in the name of our Lord." If then it were not in our power to do or not to do these things, what reason had the apostle, and much more the Lord Himself, to give us counsel to do some things, and to abstain from others? But because man is possessed of free will from the beginning, and God is possessed of free will, in whose likeness man was created, advice is always given to him to keep fast the good, which thing is done by means of obedience to God.”

“However, both the laws served the Word for the instruction of humanity, both that given by Moses and that by the apostles. What, therefore, is the nature of the training by the apostles, appears to me to require to be treated of. Under this head, I, or rather the Instructor by me, will recount; and I shall again set before you the precepts themselves, as it were in the germ. "Putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath; neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ hath forgiven you. Be therefore wise, followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us."...”

“Learn then now, that His is a spiritual armour and warfare, since you have already discovered that the captivity is spiritual, in order that you may further learn that this also belongs to Him, even because the apostle derived the mention of the captivity from the same prophets as suggested to him his precepts likewise: "Putting away lying," (says he, ) "speak every man truth with his neighbour; " and again, using the very words in which the Psalm expresses his meaning, (he says, ) "Be ye angry, and sin not; " "Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”

“Having spoken of the "old man" generally, he next draws him also in detail; for this kind of teaching is more easily learned when we learn by particulars. And what saith he? "Wherefore, putting away falsehood." What sort of falsehood? Idols does he mean? Surely not; not indeed but that they are falsehood also. However, he is not now speaking of them, because these persons had nothing to do with them; but he is speaking of that which passes between one man and another, meaning that which is deceitful and false. "Speak ye truth, each one," saith he, "with his neighbor"; then what is more touching to the conscience still, "because we are members one of another." Let no man deceive his neighbor. As the Psalmist says here and there; "With flattering lip and with a double heart do they speak." (Ps. xii. 2.) For there is nothing, no, nothing so productive of enmity as deceit and guile. Observe how everywhere he shames them by this similitude of the body. Let not the eye, saith he, lie to the foot, nor the foot to the eye. For example, if there shall be a deep pit, and then by having reeds laid across upon the mouth of it upon the earth, and yet concealed under earth, it shall by its appearance furnish to the eye an expectation of solid ground, will not the eye use the foot, and discover whether it yields and is hollow underneath, or whether it is firm and resists? Will the foot tell a lie, and not report the truth as it is? And what again? If the eye were to spy a serpent or a wild beast, will it lie to the foot? Will it not at once inform it, and the foot thus informed by it refrain from going on? And what again, when neither the foot nor the eye shall know how to distinguish, but all shall depend upon the smelling, as, for example, whether a drug be deadly or not; will the smelling lie to the mouth? And why not? Because it will be destroying itself also. But it tells the truth as it appears to itself. And what again? Will the tongue lie to the stomach? Does it not, when a thing is bitter, reject it, and, if it is sweet, pass it on? Observe ministration, and interchange of service; observe a provident care arising from truth, and, as one might say, spontaneously from the heart. So surely should it be with us also; let us not lie, since we are "members one of another." This is a sure token of friendship; whereas the contrary is of enmity. What then, thou wilt ask, if a man shall use treachery against thee? Hearken to the truth. If he use treachery, he is not a member; whereas he saith, "lie not towards the members."”

“Having set forth above the general admonition, that they should put on newness, here the Apostle sets down specific precepts. Concerning this he does two things. First, he forbids them the interior sins that corrupt the spirit; second, the exterior sins, which corrupt the flesh, at "but fornication," etc. The first is divided into two. First he prohibits sins which consist in the disordering of oneself; second, sins which consist in the disordering of another, at "let no evil speech," etc. The first is again divided into three, because first he prohibits the sin corrupting the rational power; second, the sin disordering the irascible power, at "be angry, and sin not," etc.; third, the sin pertaining to the concupiscible power, at "he who stole," etc. Concerning the first he does three things. First, because he prohibits one of these; second, he leads them toward the other; third, he assigns the reason. He therefore first prohibits that which pertains to the old man, so that this text is expository of what he had said before: "put on the new man" — for the putting on of which he first forbids lying, because by this sin of the mouth the truth of reason is corrupted. Hence he says "wherefore," namely that the new man is to be put on, "be" — understand this — "putting away lying," because, as it is said in Psalm 5:7: "You will destroy all who speak lying," namely pernicious lying. And afterward he leads them toward newness, saying, Zechariah 8:16: "Speak the truth, each one with his neighbor." And why? "Because we are members one of another." For members love one another and help one another mutually in truth. Romans 12:5: "We are one body in Christ, and each one members one of another." There follows: "Be angry," etc. Here he prohibits the sin corrupting the irascible power. Concerning this he does three things. First he sets down the admonition; second he expounds it, at "let not the sun go down," etc.; third he gives the reason, at "give no place," etc. Now he sets down the admonition when he says "be angry," etc. This can be expounded in two ways, because there is a twofold species of anger, one good, one bad. It is bad indeed when it tends inordinately toward vengeance, namely against justice; but it is good when it tends toward due vengeance, that is, when someone is angry when it is fitting, with whom it is fitting, and as much as is fitting. And it can be expounded of either. If of the bad, the sense is thus: he does not command, but permits; as if he were to say: if it is so that a movement of anger arises — which is human — do not sin, that is, do not carry it through to effect by consent. 1 Corinthians 10:13: "Let no temptation take hold of you but such as is human." For certainly, whoever is angry with his brother otherwise will be liable to judgment, as it is said in Matthew 5:22. Concerning this anger Joseph warned his brothers, Genesis 45:24: "Do not be angry on the way." But if it is expounded of the good, then it is taken not only permissively, as at first, but imperatively: "be angry," namely against your sins, since there is a twofold vengeance which man seeks. One concerning himself sinning, and thus penance is a certain vengeance which a man exacts and takes upon himself. And this is good anger, and of this it is said imperatively, "be angry," namely against your sins, "and sin not," namely henceforth, nor commit such things against which it would again be necessary to be angry. Now some believe that a man can safely be angry at himself on account of his own sins, but not at his neighbor on account of his; but it is not so: for just as one is angry against himself on account of his own sins, so also against his neighbor on account of his; therefore, be angry against the vices of others, and this with zeal. Numbers 25:11: "Phinehas turned away my wrath from the children of Israel, because he was moved with zeal for me against them." Thus Elijah, 3 Kings 19:10: "With zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of hosts, because the children of Israel have forsaken the covenant of the Lord," etc. And do not sin by getting ahead of reason, but rather by following it. James 1:19: "Let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger," etc. There follows: "Let not the sun go down," etc. Here he expounds what he had said, and, according to the three aforesaid expositions, it can be expounded in three ways. For if of bad anger, then thus: "the sun," etc., that is: do not persist in anger once conceived, but put it away before the setting of the sun, because although the movement is permitted, on account of frailty, delay is not permitted. If of the good, and this against one's own sins, then thus: "the sun," that is Christ — Malachi 4:2: "To you who fear my name, the sun of justice shall arise," etc. — "let it not go down upon your anger," that is, upon your sins, for which it would again be necessary for you to be angry and to punish yourselves. If against the sins of others, then the sun is taken thus, namely of reason. Ecclesiastes 12:1: "Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the time of affliction comes, and the years draw near of which you shall say: They please me not — before the sun grows dark," etc. "Let not the sun go down upon your anger," that is, let not the dictate of reason be darkened. Job 5:2: "Anger kills the foolish man." There follows: "Give no place to the devil," where he assigns the reason for the admonition. For the devil has a place in us through sin, or through consent. John 13:2: "When the devil had now put into the heart that Judas should betray him," etc. And it follows there, that after the morsel Satan entered into him. Now passions of this kind greatly incline one toward consent, and especially when they pervert the judgment of reason, and this anger does in a special way, which consists in the kindling of the blood, which indeed, by reason of the swiftness of its movement, precedes the judgment of reason. And because, when we are thus disturbed, the devil begins to have a place in us, therefore he says "give no place to the devil," as if to say: do not persist in anger, because by this you give place to the devil, for the whole devil is wrathful. Psalm 17:48: "My deliverer from my wrathful enemies." Now he enters man with fury and anger. Apocalypse 12:12: "The devil has come down to you, having great wrath." But he cannot do this, at least in the soul, so long as a man is just. But this justice is lost through anger, because "the anger of man does not work the justice of God," as it is said in James 1:20. If therefore you do not wish to give place to the devil, at least in the soul, let not the sun go down upon your anger. Ecclesiastes 11:10: "Remove anger from your heart."”

“Neither give place to the devil. Or "to the accuser", or "slanderer"; that is, to any adversary, that takes delight in slandering and reproaching the saints; give such no room, nor reason, to calumniate the doctrine and ways of Christ, through an unbecoming conversation, by lying and sinful anger, or by other means; or rather the devil, the great accuser of the brethren is meant; and the Ethiopic version renders it, "do not give way to Satan"; which is done, when men indulge any lust or corruption; and when they easily fall in with his suggestions and temptations; when they are off of their watch and guard; and when they do not resist, but quietly yield unto him. Neither give place to the devil. Or "to the accuser", or "slanderer"; that is, to any adversary, that takes delight in slandering and reproaching the saints; give such no room, nor reason, to calumniate the doctrine and ways of Christ, through an unbecoming conversation, by lying and sinful anger, or by other means; or rather the devil, the great accuser of the brethren is meant; and the Ethiopic version renders it, "do not give way to Satan"; which is done, when men indulge any lust or corruption; and when they easily fall in with his suggestions and temptations; when they are off of their watch and guard; and when they do not resist, but quietly yield unto him. Ephesians 4:28 eph 4:28 eph 4:28 eph 4:28Let him that stole steal no more,.... Stealing, or theft, is a fraudulent taking away of another man's goods, without the knowledge and will of the owner, for the sake of gain; to which evil may be reduced, not making good, or not performing payments, all unjust contracts, detention of wages, unlawful usury, unfaithfulness in anything committed to trust, advising, encouraging, and receiving from thieves: theft is a very great evil; it is a breach of the common law of nature, to do to others, as we would be done by; it is contrary to particular laws of God, and is against common justice, and ought not to be continued in, and is punishable by God and man; it springs from a corrupt heart, and often arises from poverty, idleness, sloth, covetousness, and prodigality: the remedy against it follows, but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good; labouring with diligence and industry, at any manufacture, trade, or business, which is honest, lawful, and of good report, is a proper antidote against theft; and ought to be preferred to such a scandalous way of living, and to be constantly attended to: and that for this end among others, that he may have to give to him that needeth; and not take away another man's property; needy persons are the objects of charity; and what is given to them, should be a man's own; and what a man gets by his hand labour, he should not prodigally spend, or covetously lay up, but should cheerfully distribute it to indigent persons.”

“Wherefore putting away lying - All falsity, all prevarication, because this is opposite to the truth as it is in Jesus, Eph 4:21, and to the holiness of truth, Eph 4:24. Speak every man truth with his neighbor - Truth was but of small account among many of even the best heathens, for they taught that on many occasions a lie was to be preferred to the truth itself. Dr. Whitby collects some of their maxims on this head. Κρειττον δε ελεσθαι ψευδος, η αληθες κακον· "A lie is better than a hurtful truth." - Menander. Το γαρ αγαθον κρειττον εστι της αληθειας· "Good is better than truth." - Proclus. Ενθα γαρ τι δει και ψευδος λεγεσθαι, λεγεσθω. "When telling a lie will be profitable, let it be told." - Darius in Herodotus, lib. iii. p. 101. "He may lie who knows how to do it εν δεοντι καιρῳ, in a suitable time." - Plato apud Stob., ser. 12. "There is nothing decorous in truth but when it is profitable; yea, sometimes και ψευδος ωνησεν ανθρωπους, και τ' αληθες εβλαψεν, truth is hurtful, and lying is profitable to men." - Maximus Tyrius, Diss. 3, p. 29. Having been brought up in such a loose system of morality, these converted Gentiles had need of these apostolic directions; Put away lying; speak the truth: Let lying never come near you; let truth be ever present with you. We are members one of another - Consider yourselves as one body, of which Jesus Christ is the head; and as a man's right hand would not deceive or wrong his left hand, so deal honestly with each other; for ye are members one of another.”

“Wherefore--From the general character of "the new man," there will necessarily result the particular features which he now details. putting away--Greek, "having put away" once for all. lying--"falsehood": the abstract. "Speak ye truth each one with his neighbor," is quoted, slightly changed, from Zac 8:16. For "to," Paul quotes it "with," to mark our inner connection with one another, as "members one of another" [STIER]. Not merely members of one body. Union to one another in Christ, not merely the external command, instinctively leads Christians to fulfil mutual duties. One member could not injure or deceive another, without injuring himself, as all have a mutual and common interest.”