Ephesians 4:26-27
SOME “UNCONVENTIONAL WISDOM” ABOUT ANGER:
This passage is about dealing with anger that is to be expressed within the body of Christ.
When Paul commands his readers to “be angry”, the verb is in the second person plural – “you all be angry.” This is completely consistent with the context of this passage in which Paul is dealing with the entire body rather than just individual believers. So the kind of anger that Paul is commanding his readers to express here seems to be limited to that which is expressed within and by the body. That is why Paul can come back just a few verses later (v. 31) and instruct his readers to get rid of all their individual anger.
Although there may very well be times that we are justified in expressing this kind of righteous indignation individually, Paul seems to be limiting it to the body as a whole in this passage. That is a key concept in allowing us to get a right understanding of the principles Paul is teaching here.
Secondly, We are to be angry at that which Robs God of His Glory.
When I read Paul’s command to “be angry”, my first question is “Be angry about what?”
As Aristotle said:
Anybody can become angry—that is easy; but to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way—that is not easy.
So am I to be angry that the Mariners will probably be in last place again this year; or with the person in the express lane with a full cart of groceries, or with the person who said something hurtful to me? How about the driver that cut me off in traffic? James described these as “man’s anger”:
“My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” James 1:19-20 (NIV)
So if that’s not what Paul is writing about here, what does he mean? I think the key to answering that question is to take a look at the verse that Paul quotes here. The first part of verse 26 is a word-for word quote of Psalm 4:4 from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the OT. We don’t have time to look at the entire Psalm, but let’s take a moment to look at verses 2-4 of Psalm 4:
How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods? Selah Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. Psalm 4:2-4 (NIV)
David wrote this Psalm out of his distress, probably at a time when his son Absalom rebelled against him. And in verse 2, David reveals the object of his anger. While David has certainly been hurt by others, even his own flesh and blood, his righteousness indignation is directed towards those who had turned God’s glory into shame. By seeking falsehood rather than the truth – the very thing Paul has already addressed in verse 25 – his enemies have robbed God of His glory. But in verse 4, David is warned against allowing that righteous anger to become sin.
When sin is allowed to remain within the body of Christ, it robs God of the glory that is to be His through the church. In Ephesians Chapter 3, Paul described for us the glory that Jesus is to receive through His body, the church:
“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Ephesians 3:10, 11 (NIV)
It is the church through which God chooses to reveal His manifold wisdom, not just here on earth, but also in the heavenly realms. And when that occurs, God receives glory:
“to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” Ephesians 3:21 (NIV)
But when there is open, rebellious, continuous sin that is allowed to remain within the body, it prevents the body from revealing the wisdom of God in the way that he ordained and that robs God of His glory. Now obviously, because the church is made up of human beings who are sinners by nature, the church is never going to be completely free from sin. So I’m certainly not suggesting that we are to be angry at every little sin in each other’s lives or that we are to be on some continuous witch hunt to try and root out those sins.
In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul describes the kind of sin within the body that we are to be angry about:
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?” 1 Corinthians 5:1, 2 (NIV)
From this passage we can determine the characteristics of the kind of sin that robs God of His glory within the body:
• Sin that robs God of His glory in the body:
o Evident
The sin that Paul describes was apparently well-known within as well as outside the body.
o Continual
The grammar indicates that this was not just a onetime slip. The immorality had come to the point where it was a consistent lifestyle.
o Unrepentant
Not only was the man himself not repentant, the entire body was actually proud of his immorality.
When there is that kind of sin in the body, we ought to get angry, not because of what that sin does to us or to our reputation, but because of the way that it robs God of the glory that he intends the church to give to Him as it manifests His wisdom to the world. More tomorrow...you are loved!
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