Ephesians 4:28

ὁ κλέπτων μηκέτι κλεπτέτω. This implies, as indeed Ephesians 4:17 does, that the bad habits of their former life still hung about some of the converts. The moral atmosphere of an establishment of slaves must have been terribly degrading for those who were still immersed in it. St Paul, however, as the next clause shows, must have been thinking in the main of free men.

μᾶλλον δὲ κοπιάτω. Cf. Acts 20:34 f. The distaste for the steady work necessary to earn a living is not peculiar to any generation. St Paul’s fixed principle of self-support served a further purpose besides distinguishing him from the tribe of charlatans.

ἐργαζόμενος ταῖς χερσὶν τὸ�, 1 Corinthians 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:11. ἐργ. τὸ� is not to be confused with the phrase in Romans 2:10; Galatians 6:10. The best parallel is Titus 3:8; Titus 3:14 καλῶν ἔργων προΐστασθαι. There were disreputable methods of making a living, the evil of which would not be purged by a charitable subscription, so the addition of τὸ� is not superfluous.

ἵνα ἔχῃ μεταδιδόναι τῷ χρείαν ἔχοντι. Neither St Paul (1 Timothy 6:17 f.) nor our Lord (Luke 16:9) denounces the institution of private property. Both find its chief end in the power that it gives for social service.