Ephesians 4:28

You see what the members of the old man are: lying, bearing grudges, stealing? And he did not say: let the one who steals be punished — but: let him cease, he says, from this evil. For the former is the business of secular courts, …

But we cannot possess these three in relation to others unless we have them first in relation to ourselves. Wherefore there are three more commandments: one that straightens all deeds, another that straightens all speech, and yet another that straightens all affective dispositions. That which …

Ephesians four: He who was stealing, let him steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, etc. This he says in order to avoid idleness and to remove sloth, which is the bilge of desires and the fuel of sins. From …

Having banned the age-old corruption in man's rational and irascible powers (4:25), here he proscribes it in regard to the concupiscible emotions when they desire temporal goods inordinately. Stealing pertains to the concupiscible appetite's old ways; it arises from a corrupted and inordinate desire for …

But rather let him labour - Lest idleness lead him to steal again. And whoever has sinned in any kind ought the more zealously to practice the opposite virtue.

Let him that stole steal no more,....

This is solemnly introduced: " This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord; that is, seeing the matter is as above described, seeing you are members of Christ's body and partakers of such gifts, this I urge upon your consciences, and bear witness to as your duty in the Lord's name, and by virtue of the authority I have derived from him." Consider, I.

It is a caution against all manner of wrong-doing, by force or fraud. "Let those of you who, in the time of your gentilism, have been guilty of this enormity, be no longer guilty of it." But we must not only take heed of the sin, but conscientiously abound in the opposite duty: not only not steal, but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing that is good.

Let him that stole steal no more - It is supposed that, among the rabbins, stealing was not entirely discountenanced, provided a portion was given to the poor. The apostle here teaches them a different doctrine: as they should speak truth every man with his neighbor, so they should in every respect act honestly, for nothing contrary to truth and righteousness could be tolerated under the Christian system.

"Let the stealing person steal no more." Bandits frequented the mountains near Ephesus. Such are meant by those called "thieves" in the New Testament. but rather--For it is not enough to cease from a sin, but the sinner must also enter on the path that is its very opposite [CHRYSOSTOM].

Let him that stole steal no more - Theft, like lying, was, and is, almost a universal vice among the pagan. The practice of pilfering prevails in, probably, every pagan community, and no property is safe which is not guarded, or so locked up as to be inaccessible. Hence, as the Christian converts at Ephesus had been long addicted to it, there was danger that they would fall into it again; and hence the necessity of special cautions on that head. We are not to suppose that “pilfering” was a common vice in the church, but the cautions on this point proceed on the principle that, where a man has been long in the habit of a particular sin, he is in great danger of falling into it again. Hence, we caution the man who has been intemperate against the least indulgence in intoxicating drinks; we exhort him not to touch that which would be so strong a temptation to him. The object of the apostle was to show that the gospel requires holy living in all its friends, and to entreat Christians at Ephesus in a special manner to avoid the vices of the surrounding pagan. But rather let him labour - Let him seek the means of living in an honest manner, by his own industry, rather than by wronging others. Working with his hands - Pursuing some honest employment. Paul was not ashamed to labor with “his own hands” Act 20:35; and no man is dishonored by labor. God made man for toil Gen 2:15; and employment is essential to the happiness of the race. No man, who is “able” to support himself, has a “right” to depend on others; see the notes on Rom 12:11. That he may have to give to him that needeth - Margin, “distribute.” Not merely that may have the means of support, but that he may have it in his power to aid others. The reason and propriety of this is obvious. The human race is one great brotherhood. A considerable part “cannot” labor to support themselves. […]