Being Angry
EPHESIANS 4:26-27
WE ARE IN THE FINAL VERSES OF CHAPTER 4 in our verse-by-verse study of the great book of Ephesians. These eight verses are for the most part practical exhortations, commands from God giving us instructions on how to live as His children. Last week we looked at the practical instruction of “Telling the Truth.”
NAS Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. (“Speak truth” is the main verb; it is an imperative, i.e., a command. “Laying aside falsehood” is not technically a second command but a participle that modifies the main verb: “having laid aside lying, speak truth”)…
SPEAKING THE TRUTH IS A MARK OF THE NEW MAN (cf. vv. Eph 4:17-24); lying is a mark of the old man. In vv.26-27 we are given the second practical instruction on how to walk worthy (4:1) and how to walk as the new man we all are in Christ. The focus is how to handle anger. I’ve titled our blog “Being Angry”…
NAS Ephesians 4:26-27 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
DOESN’T REALLY SOUND LIKE A DIFFICULT PASSAGE, DOES IT? When all is said and done, it really is not a difficult passage. However, I must tell you that getting to the “when all is said and done” point does involve some difficulties. There is much more ambiguity than first appears. Because of that fact I am going to have to spend an extra amount of time on definitions. Consequently, I know this is going to get somewhat repetitious. But I hope when you’re finished reading and thinking about anger, you will agree with me that this is a passage well worth our time to study. I found it beneficial and most interesting; hope you do too.
TO BE SURE, ANGER IS A BIG SUBJECT. The Bible has much to say about anger. The English word “anger” is found 272 times and the word “angry” is found another 90 times in Scripture; 362 times in total. That’s quite a lot.
THE LORD JESUS HIMSELF WARNED that anger was closely related to murder…
NAS Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ 22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT “ALL ANGER IS INCIPIENT MURDER.” – MacArthur (Incipient means early, beginning to develop). ”Many people, in the deepest feelings of their hearts, have anger and hatred to such a degree that their true desire is for the hated person to be dead.” –MacArthur
A MAN NAMED R.J. BEBER OF U.C.L.A., who is either a scientist or a medical doctor, I think, made this statement about anger: “a reservoir of rage exists in each person waiting to burst out.”
THE APOSTLE JOHN, IN 1 JOHN 3:15, SAID…
NAS 1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
STRONG WORDS. Anger is a strong, potentially violent emotion – that’s what anger is: an emotion, a feeling. Many people excuse their anger, but anger is a serious human trait that the Bible almost always condemns.
BEFORE WE BEGIN TO LOOK AT THE DETAILS OF OUR PASSAGE in Ephesians 4:26-27, let’s remember the context in which we find these two verses. The general context goes back to v. 1 of chapter 4…
NKJ Ephesians 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,
IN ONE VERY REAL SENSE, THE ENTIRE REST OF THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS IS an explanation of how to “walk worthy.” Chapters 3-6 have mainly to do with practical matters.
THAT’S THE GENERAL CONTEXT; THE MORE IMMEDIATE CONTEXT IS Paul’s exhortations to “put off the old man” or the “old self” and “put on the new man.” The old man is the worldly man, the self we were before Christ. The new man is the person we are in Christ and are to be in Christ.
SPEAKING THE TRUTH IS A MARK OF THE NEW MAN; lying is a mark of the old man. In vv.26-27 we are given more practical instructions on how to walk worthy and how to walk as the new man we all are in Christ. The focus is how to handle anger: “Being Angry.”
“BE ANGRY” IS GRAMMATICALLY AN IMPERATIVE, THAT IS, A COMMAND. If we were to stop our study after these two words we could conclude that we are commanded to be angry. But of course we are not stopping after two words. The two words are part of a context and context must always be the determinative factor in interpretation.
WHEN THIS COMMAND IS CAREFULLY STUDIED IN ITS CONTEXT, I THINK it will be seen that Paul’s purpose is to “permit and restrict anger, rather than actually commanding it.” – O’Brien…
“ANGRY” HERE COMES FROM THE GREEK WORD ὀργή (or-gay), a word that is found 36 times in the N.T. and more commonly translated wrath. There is another Greek word, the word θυμός (thu-mos), found 18 times in the N.T., that is also translated wrath, but, in my studied and humble opinion, leans more toward describing anger. I am not at all saying Paul made a mistake in his choice of words; of course not. I am simply leading us into a word study of anger in the Bible. The two Greek words are very close in meaning, as are the two English words. While I recognize this closeness, a closeness that makes distinguishing between the two words difficult, I would suggest that when all things are considered, there is a distinction.
THE ENGLISH DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS OF “WRATH” AND “ANGER” ARE: Wrath is strong anger, a desire for vengeance. Anger is displeasure, annoyance. Again, the two words are hard to clearly distinguish. Synonyms of wrath and anger are almost identical.
ANGER, I MIGHT CAUTIOUSLY SAY, IS VISCERAL, INSTINCTIVE, PRIMITIVE, whereas wrath, while it often can mean these very things, is also often more cerebral, measured, and restrained. In the Bible there is considerable overlap of the two Greek words (one would be forgiven for thinking they are synonyms), but overall, this distinction, I believe, holds true…
IN THE BIBLE, THERE IS SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT THAT HELPS US distinguish between the two words, and that important something is context. By studying the entire passage in which the words appear we are more able to tell the difference between wrath and anger.
THE LEADING GREEK LEXICON, KNOWN AS BDAG (Bauer, Danker, Arndt, and Gingrich), defines ὀργή (or-gay), the word found in v. 26, is defined as: 1. state of relatively strong displeasure, w. focus on the emotional aspect, anger 2. strong indignation directed at wrongdoing, w. focus on retribution, wrath… (That “emotional” part makes distinguishing between wrath and anger all the more difficult – TAR).
θυμός (thu-mos) IS DEFINED BY BDAG AS 1. intense expression of the inner self, freq. expressed as strong desire, passion, passionate longing 2. a state of intense displeasure, anger, wrath, rage, indignation.
YOU CAN SEE HOW CLOSE THESE TWO DEFINITIONS ARE. I would suggest, however, that BDAG makes a distinctive statement about one of the words. ὀργή (or-gay), BDAG says, is marked by strong indignation directed at wrongdoing. With θυμός (thu-mos), on the other hand, BDAG makes no such qualifying statement. I think this gives us a key to understanding the difference between the two very similar words.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, BIBLICAL WRATH OFTEN CARRIES THE DIMENSION of righteous anger, while simple anger usually does not… Generally, biblical wrath is positive; generally, biblical anger mostly is not… Biblical wrath most often refers to God’s righteous indignation; biblical anger is also associated with divine judgment – we have seen that in our recent studies of Revelation – but often it is not. We are commanded to be ὀργή (or-gay), as v. 26 in our study today; we are never commanded to be θυμός (thu-mos).
RIGHTEOUS ANGER, WHAT I SUGGEST SHOULD BE REFERRED TO AS “WRATH,” is good and is commanded by God. “Anger that is sin, on the other hand, is anger that is self-defensive and self-serving, that is resentful of what is done against oneself. Anger that is selfish, undisciplined, and vindictive is sinful and has no place even temporarily in the Christian life. But anger that is unselfish and is based on love for God and concern for others not only is permissible but commanded.” – MacArthur
NOT ALL COMMENTATORS BELIEVE V. 26 IS REFERRING TO RIGHTEOUS ANGER.
AFTER MUCH STUDY AND THOUGHT, I HUMBLY BELIEVE THAT although ὀργή (or-gay) is used in Ephesians 4:26, and although ὀργή (or-gay) may often be seen to be righteous anger, Paul did not intend ὀργή (or-gay) to be seen as righteous anger. I think the anger Paul is talking about in v. 26 is negative anger, human, emotional anger.
HOWEVER, (I pray you’re staying with me!) having said that, I want to emphasize the difficulty inherent in this discussion. For example, of ὀργή (or-gay), the same word I am suggesting should be seen as good anger in Ephesians 4:26, is used by Paul in chapter 2, v. 3 to describe bad anger…
NAS Ephesians 2:3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath (ὀργή [or-gay]), even as the rest.
THIS CLEARLY SHOWS THAT THE SAME WORD CAN MEAN DIFFERENT THINGS in different contexts. While this fact may be said to support a righteous anger interpretation of 4:26, I don’t think it is. I think (ὀργή [or-gay]) means bad anger, unrighteous, emotional anger, and I think that’s why Paul is quick to follow “Be angry” with three qualifications.
ALTHOUGH GOD COMMANDS US IN 4:26, “BE ANGRY,” this command is immediately followed by three negative qualifications or explanatory practical directives. The first of divine instructions is “do not sin”…
“ANGER THAT IS SELFISH AND UNCONTROLLED IS ALWAYS SINFUL.” – Garner
“YET DO NOT SIN.” The NAS translation includes the word “yet.” It is the only English translation to do so. Although the word “yet” is not in the Greek text and the NAS translation is interpretive, I think this is a commendable approach. I think the interpretation committee of the NAS may in fact be correct in their assessment of the tone of the verse. The more I studied the question and the more I thought about it, I found myself accepting their interpretation.
“SIN” IN THE BIBLE IS a word that generally means to miss the mark, such as when throwing a spear. It can also mean to miss or lose one’s way. “Generally it means ‘to fail to accomplish one’s purpose, to go wrong. Over a dozen different Hebrew and Greek words are used in Scripture for sin.” – Hoehner… Briefly, sin is intentional, that is, “it denotes a conscious and deliberate false step as opposed to an inadvertent mistake. In this context, however, the sin is against a person and/or God.” – Hoehner
IT IS HELPFUL IN OUR STUDY, I BELIEVE, TO REMIND OURSLEVES THAT anger, that is the θυμός (thu-mos) anger, usually the selfish, emotionally driven anger, is listed in Galatians 5 as one of the works of the flesh…
NAS Galatians 5:19-21 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
IN GENERAL, HUMAN ANGER IS CONSIDERED SINFUL IN THE BIBLE. I think we can say in a general way that Paul in our passage is not promoting righteous anger – though ὀργή (or-gay) is the Greek word used; he is cautioning us against the dangers of anger. Righteous anger is very difficult to define and even harder to justify in a totally selfless way.
“ALTHOUGH V. 26 RECOGNIZES THAT ANGER WILL OCCUR, V. 27 INDICATES how dangerous anger is. Later on in chapter 4, in v. 31, Paul repudiates all anger.” – Lincoln…
NAS Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath (θυμός [thu-mos]) and anger (ὀργή [or-gay]) and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. {I am hesitate to tell you for fear of confusing you further but here the Greek words are seemingly reversed; “wrath” is not ὀργή (or-gay) but θυμός (thu-mos), and “anger” is not θυμός (thu-mos) but ὀργή (or-gay)}…
PAUL IN V. 26 IS AGAIN QUOTING FROM THE O.T., from Psalm 4:4 in the Greek Septuagint (LXX; the Greek translation of the Hebrew O.T.)…
LXE Psalm 4:4 Be ye angry, and sin not; feel compunction upon your beds for what ye say in your hearts. Pause.
THE ESV VERSION IS…
ESV Psalm 4:4 Be angry, and do not sin; ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah
THE NLT TRANSLATION OF PSALM 4:4 IS NOT ONLY QUITE GOOD, BUT may in fact have convey the spirit of Ephesians 4:26…
NLT Psalm 4:4 Don’t sin by letting anger control you. Think about it overnight and remain silent.
THE NAS TRANSLATION OF PSALM 4:4 IS…
NAS Psalm 4:4 Tremble, and do not sin; Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah.
THE HEBREW WORD THAT IS USED IN PSALM 4:4 (רגז [ra-gahz]) is a word that really means to tremble or quiver, to be caught in restless emotion. In this context, the admonition means to tremble or shake in fear so as not to sin. The sense is stand in awe of the Lord and do not sin.
ANGER IN AND OF ITSELF IS NOT NECESSARILY SINFUL. It can even be virtuous, as we have seen, if it is rightly motivated and rightly directed. Anger is sinful, however, if it is allowed to control us.
HOW CAN WE ALWAYS TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHTEOUS, controlled anger and selfish uncontrolled anger?
“NO ONE FEELS HIS OR HER ANGER IS UNJUST.” – Snodgrass… Too often we are ignorant of situations where righteous anger may be called for, and we are prone to rationalizing our selfish, emotionally driven anger.
“RATIONALIZATION” IS A WORD THAT BELONGS IN THIS DISCUSSION. It is a word that belonged in our last study on “Telling the Truth,” but I already had too much material and had to leave it out. Maybe you couldn’t give a dictionary accurate definition of this word, but you know what it means. You know what it means because we all regularly do it to some degree.
“RATIONALIZE” MEANS to offer a reasonable, rational explanation for something, to make something rational. What’s wrong with that? Nothing. We all want to be rational and logical and consistent. When we make something rational we eliminate the irrationality of it.
BUT THERE IS A NEGATIVE CONNOTATION IN THE DEFINITION of rationalize. The third connotation in my dictionary says this about the word: 3. to devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for one’s behavior. Often when we rationalize we justify our words and our behavior, we excuse ourselves. Human beings are experts in rationalizing their words and behavior. It is too easy to rationalize our anger as being righteous.
THE SECOND NEGATIVE INSTRUCTION PAUL GIVES IS “DO NOT LET THE SUN go down on your anger.” “Paul set a time frame on the believer’s anger. His point is that anger should be short-lived. The embers of anger are not to smolder in our hearts. We are not to allow anger to fester. Instead, we are to keep short accounts. Harboring anger overnight is not a healthy spiritual, emotional, and even physical practice.” – Garner/TAR
“IT IS POSSIBLE THAT PAUL, IN GIVING THIS ADVICE, WAS CONSCIOUSLY following what the Pythagoreans recommended (Pythagoras [ca. 570 to 490 B.C.] was one of the most famous and controversial of ancient of Greek philosophers. He was most famous for his mathematical theories and how reality could be expressed in arithmetical relationships. – TAR). Plutarch said that ‘if betrayed into angry reviling, they made it their rule to shake hands before sunset.’” – Foulkes
OTHERS BELIEVE PAUL HAD PSALM 4:4 IN MIND. Let’s look at Psalm4:4 again, this time from the NET translation. In this translation, which is also followed by the NAS, reads “tremble” instead of “be angry”…
NET Psalm 4:4 Tremble with fear and do not sin! Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways! (Selah)
“TREMBLE BEFORE GOD AND SIN NOT AGAINST HIM. The verb expresses any sort of disquietude, or strong emotion, that is, the agitation of anger as well as fear.” – Perowne… “The original Hebrew text, with its injunction about an attitude toward God, may well speak of trembling rather than anger.” – Lincoln…But it must also be said that Paul is quoting not from the original Hebrew but from the Greek translation of the Hebrew text in the Septuagint…
YET ANOTHER SCHOLAR I READ (Lincoln) suggested that Ephesians 4:26 should be read “If you are angry, do not sin”…
THOUGH THERE IS SCHOLARLY DEBATE ABOUT THE PRECISE MEANING OF Psalm 4:4 and Paul’s exact intention in quoting from it, when all things are considered, I believe there is little doubt that Paul is talking about anger, not trembling…
“THE FORCE OF EPHESIANS 4:26-27 MAY BE CONVEYED BY A PARAPHRASE, ‘Anger is to be avoided at all costs, but if, for whatever reason, you do get angry, then refuse to indulge such anger so that you do not sin.’ In this way, the exhortation is very much in line with the view of anger elsewhere in the N.T.” – Lincoln…
LET’S LOOK IN CLOSING AT V.27. Verse 27 is closely linked with v. 26.
THE THIRD QUALIFIER IS “DON’T GIVE THE DEVIL AN OPPORTUNITY.” “If we don’t settle our anger quickly, the Devil will see an opportunity to manipulate the situation for his own evil schemes. Nursed grievances give him a foothold in our lives that can lead to additional wrong attitudes and actions that hurt for years and destroy loving relationships within the body of Christ.” – Garner
SATAN IS ALWAYS TO BE RESISTED…
NAS James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
THE VERY FACT THAT PAUL INCLUDES THIS THIRD QUALIFIER SHOULD TELL US all we need to know about anger. Anger opens the door for Satan to come in…
WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, MAYBE THE NAS TRANSLATION IS THE BEST: “Be angry, and yet do not sin.”
AGAIN IN GENERAL, for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, “anger and the estrangement which accompanies it, both as cause and result, are incompatible with the new relationships of those who are members of one another in the body of Christ.” – Lincoln
A GOOD PASSAGE FOR “NEW MEN” AND “NEW WOMEN.” New men and new women are people who manage their anger biblically. Amen?
– Professor Thomas A. Rohm
