Ephesians 4:21

This certainly will happen if you have heard him, for hearing is the servant of instruction. "If" here is the equivalent of "because." "And this is the declaration which you have heard," as 1 John 1 (5) expresses it in reference to the proclamation of …

), have heard his doctrine preached by us, and have been taught by him, inwardly and effectually, by his Spirit." Christ is the lesson; we must learn Christ: and Christ is the teacher; we are taught by him.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes

Have given themselves up - Freely, of their own accord. Lasciviousness is but one branch of uncleanness, which implies impurity of every kind. But ye have not so learned Christ - That is, ye cannot act thus, now ye know him, since you know the Christian dispensation allows of no sin.

If so be that ye have heard him,....

If so be that ye have heard him - If you have listened attentively to his instructions, and learned the true nature of his religion. There may be a slight and delicate doubt implied here whether they had attentively listened to his instructions. Doddridge, however, renders it, “Seeing ye have heard him;” compare notes on Eph 3:2. And have been taught by him - By his Spirit, or by the ministers whom he had appointed. As the truth is in Jesus - If you have learned the true nature of his religion as he himself taught it.

THE first two words of our text call attention to the distinction which must always be drawn between true Christians and other people, "But you." The Apostle had been writing concerning other Gentiles and the evil lives they lived, so, to the Believers at Ephesus, he said that they were not to walk as unbelievers ordinarily did. Thus we learn at the very opening of our subject that if we are, indeed, Christians, there is a manifest distinction between us and the men of the world.

If so be that--not implying doubt; assuming what I have no reason to doubt, that heard him--The "Him" is emphatic: "heard Himself," not merely heard about Him. taught by him--Greek, "taught IN HIM," that is, being in vital union with Him (Ro 16:7). as the truth is in Jesus--Translate in connection with "taught";

THE first two words of our text call attention to the distinction which must always be drawn between true Christians and other people, "But you." The Apostle had been writing concerning other Gentiles and the evil lives they lived, so, to the Believers at Ephesus, he said that they were not to walk as unbelievers ordinarily did. Thus we learn at the very opening of our subject that if we are, indeed, Christians, there is a manifest distinction between us and the men of the world. I may be told that, of course, there was a great contrast between Christ's followers and the heathen who lived in the Apostle's day. And some persons will, perhaps, say that we cannot expect that there should now be the same difference between Christian men and unbelievers. I reply that there may be a variation as to the outward form of that contrast, but, essentially, it must be quite as true and real. Someone was asking, the other day, how it was that the church, nowadays, was not so separate from the world as it used to be, and one who heard the question suggested that, possibly, the world had grown better. But someone more truly said that, probably, the church had grown worse. There are two ways of our coming together—the world may rise to our proper height, or we may descend to the world's level. Well, now, I am quite certain that candor requires us to say that, in some respects, the condition of society is much better than it was. There are some of the grosser vices which were common enough 50 years ago, which are now held in general reprobation. To a very considerable extent, Christianity has leavened society.

If so be that ye have heard him - Ειγε, Seeing that, since indeed, ye have heard us proclaim his eternal truth; we have delivered it to you as we received it from Jesus.