An Excerpt from Love Matters More: How Fighting to Be Right Keeps us From Loving Like Jesus<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n If we want to really get to the bottom of that phrase, \u201cspeaking the truth in love,\u201d we should probably get nerdy. So get out your Scofield Reference Bible and your Strong\u2019s Concordance, and let\u2019s do some good old-fashioned Bible study.\u00a0<\/p>\n The question on the table is, \u201cWhat exactly does Paul mean by \u2018the truth\u2019 when he mentions \u2018speaking the truth in love\u2019 in Ephesians 4?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As your Bible study teacher, I have to say, \u201cLet\u2019s first look at the context.\u201d If you\u2019re reading the New International Version, you can tell by the header that the context for Ephesians 4 is \u201cUnity and Maturity in the Body of Christ.\u201d It is a sad irony that people use \u201cspeaking the truth\u201d from this passage as a means to exclude. Paul begins the chapter this way:\u00a0<\/p>\n As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Ephesians 4:1\u20136\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n If you notice, the phrase \u201cin love\u201d shows up here as well. So it makes sense that if you are \u201cspeaking the truth\u201d to people in love, you are also \u201cbearing with one another\u201d in love. Those go hand in hand, but people who like to use the truth as a weapon conveniently tend to leave that part out.\u00a0<\/p>\n So, whatever \u201cspeaking the truth in love\u201d means, it can\u2019t be separated from these traits:\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Paul, telling the truth cannot be separated from all these other things. So if we\u2019re not exhibiting all of these traits alongside our \u201ctruth telling,\u201d our words are invalid. If we are not walking in truth, what comes out of our mouths isn\u2019t authentic and isn\u2019t true in the biblical sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n Given that Paul talks more often, more explicitly, and more emphatically about unity<\/a> in his writings than about standing up for the truth, if we\u2019re picking and choosing which verses to prioritize in our systems of belief, I will go with \u201cbearing with one another in love\u201d over \u201cspeaking the truth in love.\u201d <\/sup>Bearing with one another is just as much a part of love as speaking the truth. In fact, I would argue that bearing with one another is a prerequisite for speaking the truth.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/figure>\nLove Matters More<\/strong><\/a><\/em> is available now! Get your copy here<\/span><\/strong><\/a>.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n