<p>4:25 <i>Therefore, putting away falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbour. For we are members one of another</i>- As noted on :15, the truth of Christ leads to our being truthful. Dishonesty, lying and gross exaggeration were very much part of Middle Eastern culture, and Paul is urging the converts to change in this. Because the intended unity earlier spoken about in this chapter can never happen when lying is part of our culture. In some cultures and situations to this day, this exhortation and implication of the truth of Christ needs particular emphasis. &quot;Putting away&quot; is the word that has just been used in :22 for putting off the old man; and it would seem that Paul saw telling lies as symptomatic of the old man. &quot;Members one of another&quot; is a reference to us as different limbs in the one body of the Lord Jesus. But Paul accepted there would be members of that body who had not put off the old man, who had not stopped lying nor stealing (:28). He urges them to act appropriately to their status as the Lord's body. Membership of the Lord's body is here spoken of as being members of one another. Our connection with Him is inextricably linked with our connection with each other. Evil practices such as disfellowship, mud campaigns etc. are a denial of this connection; our attitude to each other, immature as we may find each other to be, is our attitude to the Lord Jesus. We cannot therefore push off out of the body into splendid isolation.</p><p>We are the body of Christ. We are counted righteous because we are baptized into Him. We are counted as Him; and we are parts of His body, hands, feet, eyes, internal organs. As such, we are inextricably linked in with the other members of the body. We cannot operate in isolation from them. &ldquo;We are members one of another... we are members of his body&rdquo; (Eph. 4:25; 5:30). Only insofar as we belong to each other do we belong to Him. We must perceive ourselves not so much as individual believers but as members of one body, both over space and over time. Eph. 4:25 draws a practical conclusion from the one body of Christ: &quot;Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: <i>for</i> we are members one of another&quot;. If we are one body, there should <i>therefore</i> be truthfulness between us. No white lying, no gross exaggeration, no gossiping, no presentation of facts in a distorted way. Why? Because &quot;we are members one of another&quot;. If we <i>do</i> behave like this, we are really saying that we are not members of the one body. The one body is Jesus; and all that is true of Him must be true of us. He is not divided, and neither should we be, either within our own beings, or as a community.</p>