Paul here is getting to the “application section” of this part, going into specifics of what we should be “taking off” in order to put on Christ. Specifically, don’t lie, don’t be angry, and don’t be lazy.
In each of these, he gives us a negative instruction, then the positive response, and then the reason for it.
The first is to “put away falsehood,” in language that calls back to Zechariah and God’s promise to return to Jerusalem.
This instruction can be confusing when we look at people all across the Old Testament who deceive people constantly and are often commended for it – Rahab, Jael, David, for a few examples. Ultimately, though, this is about motivation – there are rare occasions where a fear of the Lord will make a deception the right thing to do, but clearly deception, broadly speaking, is something God hates. Proverbs is full of clear instruction not to lie, and Revelation puts liars square in the group of people who will be condemned.
It is also about context – Paul is writing about relationships within the body of the church. As John Chrysostom writes,
Will the foot tell a lie, and not report the truth as it is? And what again? If the eye were to spy a serpent or a wild beast, will it lie to the foot? Will it not at once inform it, and the foot thus informed by it refrain from going on? And what again, when neither the foot nor the eye shall know how to distinguish, but all shall depend upon the smelling, as, for example, whether a drug be deadly or not; will the smelling lie to the mouth?
The next instruction is to not sin in our anger. This is a direct reference to Psalm 4, in which David preaches to his enemies. It also echoes James, who asserts “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” There are two different words here, one being anger, in which we must not sin, and “para-anger” or resentment, which we should not let last the day.
This one is a very present temptation, abs can feel overwhelming. We need the power of Christ to change us. Spurgeon said, “only in salvation from sin is there salvation from wrath.”
Next, do not steal, or more broadly, we must not be lazy. But more than that, at must work diligently – in order to be generous. That is the purpose of our diligence and hard work.
Paul in here also gives a parenthetical – all these (perhaps anger in particular) are things we do to avoid giving the devil a foothold, in our lives, in our relationships and in our church. Each of these could be seen as small, mundane instructions, but they are the armor and defense against the attacks against us.
– Sermon Notes, Bart Hodgson, Seed Church, Lynnwood WA, November 15, 2020