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Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.

Okay, so anyone who knows me knows that I’m not the most eloquent person in the world, though sometimes I use some pretty colorful language. Occasionally, I use this language when I’m mad, but mostly I use it when I’m carrying on a casual conversation. Perhaps it’s just part of the dialect of the region in which I grew up, or maybe I’m just not smart enough to remember the big fancy adjectives. Who knows? The question I’ve always asked myself, however; “What is wrong with these words?”

I’m sure you can imagine how many times I’ve had this scripture thrown in my face throughout my life. Some translations say, “Let no evil talk...”, while others say, “Don’t say anything that would hurt another person....”. Which ever translation you’re using, the inferred message is “don’t use those nasty curse words”. I’m not too sure that’s God’s message though, and I’m about to explain why.

This passage in Ephesians 4 is not about words, it’s about the Holy Spirit. More specifically, it’s about not grieving the Holy Spirit. What does that mean? In some translations the word grieve is actually quench, extinguish, or hinder. When we look at it in context, we see that we are called to use our words carefully so as not to hinder the work of the Holy Spirit. We know from John 16 that the Holy Spirit has one job here: to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement. Of sin for not believing in Jesus; of righteousness that Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father; and of judgement that we may know that the ruler of this world (Satan) has already been judged. So this scripture is telling us to use only words and teachings that will aid the Holy Spirit in His mission, not hinder Him.

So what is a “corrupt word”, contextually? It’s a word, or message, that doesn’t impart the Gospel of Grace to the hearer. It’s the teaching of laws, rules, and regulations in order to gain God’s acceptance, rather than the teaching of the unmerited grace offered to each of us by Christ at the cross. Teaching the law and doling out requirements doesn’t do anything to edify an individual, and it certainly doesn’t edify the body as a whole. The constant bombardment of both societal and religious rules does nothing but cause people to feel unworthy, unloved, and unaccepted.

These corrupt words that Paul writes about to the church at Ephesus aren’t what we would call “curse” words today, but rather, they were the rules and legalistic doctrines taught by the Pharisees and religious leaders in order to maintain control of the church. Rules and regulations force us to constantly focus on ourselves, on what we’re doing wrong, and we know that there is nothing good in us. (Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.) There is nothing edifying or uplifting about being constantly self-deprecating and certainly there is nothing uplifting about someone else pointing out your flaws.

So, we are to teach the Gospel of Grace brought to us by Jesus. This is uplifting. Instead of looking at ourselves, we focus on the perfect Son of God. That’s uplifting. When you come to the foot of the cross, you don’t stare up at a mirror, you look up at the Saviour. That is where you find your redemption, by having the proper focus on Christ’s grace, not your imperfections: look up, not inward!