“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
In Ephesians 4:32, we are commanded to forgive one another. And in our text the word “forgiving” in the original language is in the present tense, which means Christians are to be those who continually forgive one another. To forgive means we don’t keep a list of wrongs that have been done against us. The dialog between Jesus and Peter makes this clear: “Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22). In other words, to forgive means to dismiss and send away those grievances. And our motivation in forgiving others is found at the end of vs. 32 of our text: “God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven you.” Are you forgiven of God of all your sins as one who justly deserves death and damnation? Well, if the God of heaven and earth has graciously and completely forgiven us in Christ, who are we to do anything less to those who have sinned against us? The motivation for tenderheartedness and kindness toward others is the awareness of God’s forgiving mercy to those in Jesus Christ.
That is what Jesus taught in the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18. The man who was not conscious of forgiveness was quick to go out and grab his brother by the neck. And Jesus said, “My father will come in anger and so do to you if from your heart you do not forgive one another.” When a person does not forgive others it is good evidence that they have not been forgiven by God. Those who have tasted God’s forgiveness desire to forgive others and do the deeds of their Father in heaven. That’s what Paul says in Ephesians 5:1: “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” How do we imitate God? Ephesians 5:2 says by “Walking in love, even as Christ also has loved us, and given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” In other words, do not walk as the unbelieving world. They walk in vanity, greed, lust and wickedness. But you who know the true and living God must imitate God. You must show forth the love of God as God’s dear children. And the test of whether we truly love God and whether His Word abides in us is how we live toward each other. If you say you have tasted the kindness, mercy, and forgiveness of God yet you still walk in evil speech, bitterness, anger, wrath, and are unforgiving of other believers then your profession of faith is nothing but a clanging symbol. As we read in 1 Cor. 13:1: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.”
What about you? How do you speak of other believers? Do you speak edifying, caring and loving words, or do you slander, gossip and backbite your brothers and sisters in Christ? That’s the way of the world, not Christ. How do you respond when another Christian sins against you and then comes seeking forgiveness? Are you quick to forgive or do you bear a grudge and walk in unforgiveness? (Scripture tells us that unforgiveness is a device of Satan … 2 Corinthians 2:10-11) Are you an imitator of God or do you live like the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18? Hear the exhortation of Scripture: “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:1-2).