エフェソの信徒への手紙4:28 Ephesians 4:28,

盗みを働いていた者は、今からは盗んではいけません。むしろ、労苦して自分の手で正当な収入を得、困っている人々に分け与えるようにしなさい。　　　　　　（エフェソ4:28）

「盗みを働いていた者は、今からは盗んではいけません」という言葉を聞くと、エフェソ教会の信徒の中に日常的に盗みをしていた泥棒がいたのだろうか？という疑問が湧いてきます。ここで「盗みを働いていた者」というのは、窃盗や強盗をなりわいとしていた者のことなのでしょうか？もし窃盗や強盗をなりわいとしていた者がエフェソ教会の信徒たちの中にいれば、そのような者も「盗みを働いていた者」に含まれるでしょう。しかし、信徒たちの中にそのような者がいるという特別な事情があって、パウロが「盗みを働いていた者は、今からは盗んではいけません」と書いたとは考えにくいのです。むしろ、新約聖書の時代にしばしばなされていたことを念頭に置いて、「盗みを働いていた者は、今からは盗んではいけません」と書いた可能性の方が大きいでしょう。

それでは、どのようなことがなされていたのでしょうか？文字どおりの「盗み」に近いこととしては、奴隷が主人の命令で何かを買いに行ったときに、代金のお釣りの一部を自分のものにして、しかも何かずるい方法を使ってそれをわからないようにしていたということがあったのかもしれません。あるいは、家政や家計の管理をゆだねられた「管理人」が、主人の財産を自分のために使い込むようなことがあったのかもしれません。キリストがお語りになったルカによる福音書16章の「不正な管理人」のたとえ話には、その最初に「ある金持ちに一人の管理人がいた。この男が主人の財産を無駄遣いしていると、告げ口をする者があった」（ルカ16:1）とありますから、「管理人」が、主人の財産を使い込むようなことも実際にあったのでしょう。

そのように、文字どおりの「盗み」に近い行いもあったかもしれません。しかし、当時の社会において形の上では正当な取引を装いながら、実際には不正な方法で利益をあげることが頻繁になされていて、パウロはそれを「盗み」と読んでいたのではないでしょうか。新約聖書の時代のエフェソはローマ帝国のアジア州の都として繁栄していた都市でした。そこでは、さまざまな取引が行われていたに違いありません。そして、それらの取引において実質的には「盗み」であるような不正な取引が行われていた可能性は大いにあります。　　　　　　　　（10月19日の説教より）

Our daily lives encompass various aspects. For those attending school, there is the aspect of school life. For those working in companies, there is the aspect of company life. For those with families, there is the aspect of family life. Thinking more broadly, as humans live within society, everyone’s life also has the aspect of social life. Furthermore, as almost everyone lives by selling and buying goods and services using money within society, almost everyone’s life also has the aspect of economic life.

The Japanese term “keizai,” which means economy, is said to be a coined word derived from the Chinese term “keikokusaimin” meaning “to govern the nation and save the people.” From this etymology, “keizai” would seem to refer to the task of national policy: what policies the state should adopt to fulfil the necessities of its citizens’ lives. However, the English word “economy” derives from the ancient Greek word “oikonomia” (οἶκονόμία), meaning household management. Moreover, the person entrusted with managing the household and its finances was called an “oikonomos” (οἰκόνομος), translated as “steward” in the Gospel of Luke (Luke 12:42; 16:1, 3). The English word “economy,” derived from the ancient Greek “oikonomia,” carries meanings such as “management” or “thrift.” The Japanese term “keizai,” translating this, also inherently carries the meaning of “thrift.” This is evident from the fact that the Japanese term “keizaiteki” (economic) implies the ability to save on expenses.

So, what constitutes a good economic life? Considering this at the individual level, one might first think it refers to a life free from wasteful spending and practising appropriate saving. That is certainly true. However, if one avoids wasteful spending and practises appropriate saving, can we say that alone constitutes a good economic life? Must we not also earn money by appropriate means and use it for appropriate purposes? Today’s Bible passage prompts us to consider what constitutes a good economic life as Christians.

In verse 28 of today’s Bible passage, we find this exhortation: “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need” (NIV 2011). Hearing the words “anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer” naturally raises the question: “Were there ‘anyone who has been stealing’ among the believers in the Ephesian church who were habitually stealing?” Does ‘anyone who has been stealing’ here refer to an individual whose livelihood was theft or robbery? If such individuals existed among the Ephesian believers, they would certainly be included in this description. However, it seems unlikely that Paul wrote “anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer,” specifically because of such individuals among the believers. It is far more probable that he wrote it with practices common in New Testament times in mind.

What, then, might have been the practices? As something approaching literal “stealing,” it could have involved a slave, sent by his master to purchase something, keeping part of the change for himself and using some cunning method to conceal it. Or perhaps a “manager” entrusted with managing the household or finances might have misappropriated his master’s property for his own benefit. In the parable of the “the dishonest manager” in Luke chapter 16, which Christ recounted, it begins: “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions” (Luke 16:1). This suggests that a manager embezzling their master’s property was indeed a reality.

Thus, there may have been actions bordering on literal “stealing.” However, in the society of that time, it was frequently the case that people would disguise their actions as legitimate dealings on the surface, while actually gaining profit through dishonest means. It is likely that Paul was referring to this as “stealing.” Ephesus in New Testament times was a prosperous city, the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Undoubtedly, various dealings took place there. And it is highly probable that within these dealings, unfair dealings occurred which were essentially “stealing.”

Unfair dealings were frequently practised even in the Old Testament era. The prophets of that time denounced them severely. The ancient Kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms after King Solomon’s death: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Both kingdoms perished under God’s judgement because their kings and people acted contrary to his teachings. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah by the Babylonian Empire in 587 BC. This signified that God used the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires as instruments to execute his judgment upon the Northern and Southern Kingdoms. The Northern Kingdom of Israel experienced a period of temporary prosperity before its downfall. This was the era of King Jeroboam II, who reigned for forty years from 793 to 753 BC. However, this era of prosperity was also a time when the wealthy oppressed the poor through unjust practices. This is evident from the prophecies of Amos, a prophet active in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II. Let me read Amos 8:4-6.

Hear this, you who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
saying, “When will the new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And the Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
that we may buy the poor for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandal
and sell the chaff of the wheat?”

In the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the reign of Jeroboam II, wealthy merchants amassed fortunes by selling grain at inflated prices. Under the guise of legitimate dealing, they engaged in fraudulent practices: “make the ephah small and the shekel great.” That is, when selling grain, they used ephah measures (approximately 39 litres) smaller than the standard to measure the quantity of grain, and weights heavier than the standard to measure the silver coins received as payment. This allowed them to obtain more silver for a smaller quantity of grain. Moreover, they even tampered with the scales, which should have been a symbol of fairness. In addition to this, with their accumulated wealth, merchants lent money to impoverished farmers. If a farmer should be unable to repay even a debt as small as the price of “a pair of sandals,” they were enslaved for their debt.

The Israelites, who had been slaves in Egypt, were liberated from Egyptian bondage by God’s grace and given the land of Canaan as their inheritance, becoming a free people. Therefore, for the Israelites to become slaves again was contrary to God’s will. However, in unavoidable circumstances, it was permitted for an Israelite to temporarily enslave himself. Specifically, Exodus 21:2 stipulated: “When you buy a male Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, but in the seventh he shall go out a free person, without debt.” This likely envisaged a debtor serving as a slave to his creditor when unable to repay a debt.

However, wealthy merchants would purchase impoverished peasants for the price of “a pair of sandals,” enslaving them to work for themselves or reselling them to other wealthy individuals for further profit. It is likely that these impoverished peasants were not released in the seventh year. One Old Testament scholar remarked that it was only in exceptional cases that someone who had once become a slave could resume an independent life.

Thus, in the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the 8th century BC, while ostensibly operating within legitimate frameworks, unfair dealings were conducted to amass wealth and enslave peasants. Observing this distorted state of prosperity, the prophet Hosea, active in the same era, denounced wealthy people: “Swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed” (Hosea 4:2). Considering these words of the prophets, it becomes clear that the term “stealing” as used by the Old Testament prophets encompasses a far broader meaning than the ordinary concepts of theft or robbery we typically associate with the word. The prophets interpreted the eighth commandment of the Decalogue, “You shall not steal,” in a broad sense encompassing unfair dealings, applying it to the people of their time. Therefore, when Paul wrote, “Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer,” he undoubtedly meant to the believers: “Have you gained wealth through unfair dealings? If so, cease doing so from now on.”

Paul does not merely advise them to cease unfair dealings. In the latter part of verse 28 in today’s passage he says, “But must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need” (NIV 2011). Ceasing unfair dealings means to “work, doing something useful with their own hands.” This is only natural. Yet Paul further adds: “that they may have something to share with those in need.”

Hearing Paul’s exhortation “to share with those in need,” we may recall two things. One is the story of Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho, recorded in Luke chapter 19. Zacchaeus was regarded by those around him as a traitor and a sinner because he undertook the task of collecting taxes for the Roman emperor who ruled over the land of Judea. Though Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, was wealthy, he was hated by the people. He likely believed himself to be forsaken by God and was isolated. To such Zacchaeus, Christ extended a hand of fellowship, going to Zacchaeus’s house and staying there. Then Zacchaeus declared, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold” (Luke 19:8). He began a new way of life. That is, he changed direction from a life focused on increasing his own wealth to one of gratitude for Christ’s salvation, sharing his wealth with the poor. This is the same shift in direction that Paul encourages in today’s Bible passage.

The other point concerns how Paul carried out his ministry in Ephesus, the church to which this letter is addressed. The Acts of the Apostles chapter 20, records Paul’s words as he parted from the elders of the Ephesian church. Verses 33-35 of chapter 20 contain the following words of Paul.

“I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Interestingly, Paul does not deny that those proclaiming Christ’s gospel can receive reward from the offerings of believers. In 1 Corinthians 9:14, he says, “In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel,” acknowledging his own right to receive reward from the church. However, Paul deliberately chose not to accept reward from the Corinthian church, maintaining the stance that preaching the gospel itself was his reward (1 Corinthians 9:18). It is unclear whether Paul did not receive any reward at all from the Ephesian church. Furthermore, it is evident that during his ministry in Corinth, he did receive financial support from the Philippian church (Acts 18:5; Philippians 4:15). However, the words, “I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel,” clearly demonstrate that Paul was not motivated by a desire for reward or money in his preaching. It was precisely because Paul held such a firm conviction that he could exhort the believers in today’s passage to “share with those in need.”

I do not intend to tell you that you should give the half of your goods to the poor, as Zacchaeus did. However, I do hope that each of you will live out your Christian faith in a way that embodies Zacchaeus’ spirit, according to your own capacity. Nor do I myself intend to preach without receiving reward from the church, as Paul did. I gratefully accept reward from Shiki Kita Presbyterian Church. Yet I wish to carry out my work as a preacher, applying Paul’s spirit in the way I am able.

Dr. SAITO Kinzō, an expert in economic development theory, who was elder of Ikeda Presbyterian Church of our denomination in Osaka Prefecture, though now called home to heaven, wrote about approaches to distributing society’s wealth in his book What is Economics? (Yūhikaku, 1992). One is “egalitarianism,” which holds that since all human beings are inherently equal in personhood and should be treated equally economically, wealth should also be distributed equally. The other is “meritocracy,” which holds that fair distribution means those who work harder and contribute more to social production should be rewarded more. Egalitarianism alone risks undermining people’s motivation to work and shrinking overall social production. Conversely, meritocracy alone could deny those less favoured by ability even their fundamental right to welfare. Therefore, Dr. SAITO advocates recognising the claim of “egalitarianism” by guaranteeing all individuals living within society the welfare achievable within that society. And beyond this guaranteed level, he proposes accepting “meritocracy,” where people can cultivate their abilities to aim for greater wealth and income.

Furthermore, Dr. SAITO argues that alongside these two principles of distribution, we should consider the principle of “fair distribution of opportunity,” ensuring equal chances for people to build assets. That is, the idea is that opportunities to obtain the education and capital necessary for economic activity should be equal. It is said that economic disparities are widening in modern society. As taught in today’s Bible passage, the foundation of a Christian’s good economic life should be ensuring people gain equal opportunities for economic growth – not by acquiring wealth through unfair dealings, but by sharing wealth with those in need.