Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
In verses 31 and 32 we come to the next set of put off and put on. Verse 30 lists the things to put off, and verse 32 lists what is to replace them.
First, bitterness. This has to do with a resentful, embittered spirit. This is a spirit that doesn’t want reconciliation or resolution of a problem between believers.
Next, wrath. This is outbursts of rage, vindictive anger that prompts rage that flares out at someone.
Anger – a less dramatic form of wrath that may be more contained, but nevertheless does damage not only to the person the anger targets, but to the person who has the anger.
Clamor is a more vocal outcry of one person against another. It is usually fairly public and accusatory.
Slander is abusive, scurrilous speech aimed at demeaning and undermining another, sometimes with false accusations. The Greek word is blaspheme.
Malice is vicious, wicked, and spiteful attitudes and speech. The word behind it is evil or wicked.
All of these are to be removed. The ESV says let all of these be put away. The verb is passive and so the idea is to let this stuff go. There is no need to hold on to it. I think we know this is not easy. Our sin nature runs deep. But we are to allow the Scripture and the Spirit of God, and the counsel of godly friends to work in such a way that these things can be put away.
Verse 31 gives us the content for the replacement of these wicked attitudes.
First kindness. I think we all know what that means. Kindness should be a trait that is in the forefront as we interact with others.
Tenderhearted, which means we should have compassion and sensitivity toward others.
And finally, forgiving one another. We do not have to wait for an apology or repentance on the part of the other person. Our whole demeanor should be one of forgiveness. Why? Because God has forgiven us infinitely more than any perceived slight we might have felt from another person.
The principal in this chapter has been: Put off. But then put on.
Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:14 AM April 1, 2021.