Luk 6:45

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart

Religion seated in the heart

1.

Christ referred true religion to the heart as the seat of its vitality.

2. Nor is it in essence alone that religion is thus intensely spiritual and inward; religious acts, to have reality and value, must proceed from the heart, and fairly represent its spiritual frames.

3. What, then, is this good treasure of the heart? True religion is an inward principle of holy living, through consecration to a holy God. (J. P.Thompson.)

Prepared heart treasures

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh; and our best abundance of the heart must be slowly and in quietness prepared. The cattle, when they rest, are yet working to prepare from the grass that sweetest and most wholesome of beverages–milk. So must we prepare the abundance of the heart. If the milk of our word is to flow from us nourishingly, we must turn the common things of daily life–the grass–by slow and quiet processes, into sweet wisdom. In retired, meditative hours the digesting and secreting powers of the spirit act; and thus ourselves are nourished, and we store nourishment for others. (T. T. Lynch.)

Words reveal hearts

Our words are the commentaries on our wills; for when we speak we make, as it were, a dissection of our own hearts, and read an anatomy-lecture upon ourselves. Our wanton talk discovers a stew in our heart; when our words are swords, our hearts are a slaughter-house; when we bear false witness, that is the mint; when we worship Mammon, that is the temple. The heart is the shop and workhouse of all evil Pro 4:23-24; Mat 15:19). (A. Farindon.)

The rising of the sun is known by the shining beams; the fire is known by its burning; the life of the body is known by its moving: even so certainly is the presence of Gods Spirit known by the shining light of a holy conversation; even so the purging fire of grace is known by the burning zeal against sin, and a fervent desire to keep Gods commandments; even so, certainly, the life and liveliness of faith is known by the good motives of the heart, by the bestirring of all the powers, both of the soul and body, to de whatsoever God wills us to be doing, as soon as we once know He would have us do it. He that hath this evidence hath a bulwark against despair, and may dare the devil to his face; he that bath this hath the broad seal of eternal life, and such a man shall live for ever (Act 9:6; 1Jn 2:3). (J. Mede.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 45. A good man] See Clarke on Mt 12:35.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart,…. This, because of its suitableness and agreement with what goes before, is placed by Luke here; though, according to Matthew, it was spoken at another time and place, unless it should be a repetition there;

[See comments on Mt 12:35]

for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. The Vulgate Latin, Arabic, Ethiopic, Syriac, and Persic versions, leave out the word “his”; and the two latter read “lips”, instead of “mouth”;

[See comments on Mt 12:34].

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Bringeth forth (). In a similar saying repeated later. Mt 12:34f. has the verb (throws out, casts out), a bolder figure. “When men are natural, heart and mouth act in concert. But otherwise the mouth sometimes professes what the heart does not feel” (Plummer).

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Evil. See on Luk 3:19.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart,” (ho agathos anthropos ek tou agathou thesaurou tes kardias) “The truly good man out of the truly good treasure of the heart,” Mat 12:33, the new man, 2Co 5:17.

2) “Bringeth forth that which is good;” (propherei to agathon) “Brings forth gently that which is good,” in a moral and ethical sense, as a pattern of the new nature, Eph 2:10; Jas 1:22. The good in heart is, can be, good in life’s behavior.

3) “And an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart,” (kai ho poneros ek tou ponerou) “And the wicked one out of and from the wicked heart,” the unregenerate heart, by nature a child of wrath, Eph 2:1; Jer 17:9.

4) “Bringeth forth that which is evil:” (propherei to poneron) “He gradually, repeatedly, brings forth that which is wicked,” morally and ethically by nature, Isa 1:4-6; Mat 12:35.

5) “For of the abundance of the heart,” (ek gar perisseumatos kardias) “For out of the overflow of the heart,” Pro 15:2; Pro 15:28.

6) “His mouth speaketh.” (lalei to stoma autou) “His mouth speaks, repeatedly,” Jas 3:10, and thereby shows the state, condition, or nature of the heart, Jer 17:9.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

Luk 6:45

. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth good Such is the statement with which Luke concludes the discourse; and I have no doubt that he intended to describe, without a figure, the kind of judgment which Christ orders us to make from the fruits Believers ought to examine carefully what kind of doctrine is taught by those who profess to be the servants of God. “Titles (he says) are of little value, till the speaker give actual evidence that he is sent by God.” Yet I am far from saying, that this passage may not be applied to a general doctrine, And certainly the last clause, out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh, has a more extensive reference than to false prophets: for it is a common proverb. Is it objected, that the tongues of men lie, and that men of the worst hearts are often the best speakers? I reply: Christ merely points out here what is a very ordinary occurrence. For, though hypocrites express in words what is different from the feelings of their hearts, that is no reason why we may not justly and appropriately call the tongue the portrait of the mind.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(45) A good man out of the good treasure.See Note on Mat. 12:35. There the words are spoken in immediate connection with the judgment which the Pharisees had passed on our Lord as casting out devils by Beelzebub, and follow on a reproduction of the similitude of the tree and its fruit. The sequence of thought in that passage helps us to trace a like sequence here. Out of the good treasure of his heart the good man would bring forth, not harsh or hasty judgment, but kindness, gentleness, compassion; out of the evil treasure the man who was evil, the hypocrite who judged others by himself, would bring forth bitterness, and harsh surmises, and uncharitable condemnation.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

45. See Mat 12:35.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good,

And the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil,

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

And why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not do the things which I say?”

Jesus then points out that our hearts are like a treasure store. If we are Christians God had filled us with His treasures. He has put His Holy Spirit within us. He has created within us a new heart (2Co 5:17). He has filled our hearts with His love (Rom 5:5). And the truly good man, the true Christian, whose heart is thus full of good treasure, will bring that forth to the world. He brings forth what is good. All that he brings forth is a blessing. But the non-good only have evil treasures in their hearts. When they reach into their hearts and lives they only bring forth what is harmful, and unhelpful, and evil. (There really is no argument from this to support the idea that a man can be a Christian but not change. Such a view is an insult to Christ and to God).

For in the end it is what is in the heart that will come from the mouth. We speak as we are, and reveal what we are by our words. Do we want to know what a man’s heart is like? Listen to what he says. He cannot keep it hidden for long. For out of the abundance that is in the heart (or otherwise) the mouth speaks.

Jesus then applies the lesson practically. Here are words that can so easily come from the mouth, ‘Lord, Lord.’ But the test of their genuineness is whether we do what He says. This is not, however, contradicting the previous line, for eventually the mouth will reveal whether Jesus is Lord or not. It is rather emphasising the same truth from a different viewpoint.

‘Lord, Lord.’ The repetition stresses the depth of the profession (compare Gen 22:11; Gen 46:2; Exo 3:4; 1Sa 3:10). This person is making a great outward show of his submission. He is trying to make a huge impression, both in the eyes of Jesus and in the eyes of man. But Jesus is saying that such submission is worse than no submission if we do not do what He says. It is only obedience which really shows that He is our Lord. Otherwise we are simply emphasising our own hypocrisy.

The question here is not as to whether ‘we have made Jesus Lord of our lives’. God does not humble Himself to a position where He leaves such a choice to us. For the fact is that if we are Christians we profess Jesus as Lord, and God and Creator, to Whom we are responsible in all things. He is therefore our Lord. And the point here is that if we call Him ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what He says we are hypocrites and fools. We can only expect destruction, as the following illustration makes clear.

The Security Of The One Who Hears The Words Of Jesus And Does Them (Luk 6:47-48).

Jesus now ends His message with a forceful parable. He likens all who claim to be disciples to compare themselves with two men who set about building themselves a house. One built firmly on a rock. He was like the man who hears Jesus’ words and does them. The other built directly onto the earth with no foundations. He was like a man who hears Jesus’ words and does not do them.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Luk 6:45 . The application. Comp. Mat 12:35 .

. . . refers here also to spoken words . See . . .

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

Ver. 45. See Mat 12:33-35 .

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

45. ] Again the closest connexion of sense and argument; nor is this verse (De Wette) put here because of the similarity of the preceding verses to Mat 12:33 reminding the compiler of Luk 6:35 there. Do these expositors suppose that our Lord only once spoke each of these central sayings, and with only one reference?

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament