Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:26-27. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:26-27

“In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil an opportunity.”

Anger in its uncontrolled form is a quality that belongs to the old nature. There is a place for what is called righteous anger, but we need to make sure that it does not give an opportunity for the devil to get into our lives.

Paul seems to be saying here that anger is a reality in our human condition, and we need to deal with it in a godly manner.

Anger can be defined as an emotion which directs us to self defence or the defence of others when a threat arises. Anger can be a good thing in that it motivates us and energises us in the face of provocation or threat.

Anger is a problem when it leads to uncontrolled rage. We’re not content with a blast of the horn at a thoughtless driver, but instead we ram their car or stop them and hit them long after the threat to our safety has gone.

Anger can lead to resentment or hostility that constantly pushes other people away and destroys relationships. This kind of anger is like a psychological cancer that eats away at our soul.

A psychologist once described anger as like the “check engine” light in a car. it is a sign something is wrong and needs attention before a catastrophic failure occurs.

Anger can become a smokescreen for avoiding our own responsibility for our actions and attitudes. it leads to the reflex in which we constantly blame others for things we have done or failed to do.

Anger is a natural human emotion and, properly handled, it can be a good thing.

Jesus is moved to anger on a number of occasions, but never as a result of others provoking him. The most clear example of this is when he removed the corrupt money changes and animal traders from the Temple. John’s gospel tells us that he “made a whip out of cords” (John 2:15), suggesting that his actions were not a spontaneous rage, but a controlled fire.

We know that Jesus was tempted in all ways, but remained without sin (Hebrews 4:15). His anger must have been without sin also.

How can we be angry without sinning?

Firstly, we need to make sure that we do not allow the emotion to run away with us. Anger, or rage, can cloud our thinking so that we just want to destroy things or hurt people. This is sin.

Secondly, we need to determine if our anger is really a godly anger. Am I allowing self-protection to direct my actions, or is this a genuinely God-inspired action?

Thirdly, we should ask” Will my actions harm other people?” If we will be killing or injuring people, then we need to reconsider.

Paul tells us that we should not let the sun go down on our wrath. This is not permission to maintain the rage until a particular time of the day. We are not to think that we can allow ourselves to be offended in the evening and hold on to it for 24 hours.

Since the Jews counted each day as starting at sunset, Paul is effectively saying “Don’t hold onto your anger overnight. Start the day fresh with a new beginning and new expectations.”

This is good advice because it is hard to sleep when we are angry. Let the sun go down and unwind. Let go of the hurt, the offence, the desire to retaliate, and receive the peace of the Lord instead.

Christians are not to be people who hold on to ofence. We must forgive and release those who sin against us. This means letting the emotions go as well.

If we hold onto anger we give a place for the devil to get in and twist our spirits .

The devil can take our anger and make us permanently quick to fire up, or smouldering with resentment. If we are like this, we are not loving our neighbours with the love of Christ, and we are certainly not loving our enemies .

Anger can lead us into crimes that we would not normally consider possible, so-called crimes of passion. A life might be taken, leaving us to be thrown into jail and a fruitful life for Christ short-circuited.

Anger might lead to depression and an inability to know God’s presence much less to worship and serve Him.

The destructiveness unleashed by anger is the operating method of the devil. God builds up but satan pulls down.

Anger is a reality in our lives. It can be a positive emotion, but it is so easily subverted and twisted by satan.

Key points in these verses:

• Anger belongs to our old nature
• We need to be sure that we do not let righteous anger become a tool that Satan uses
• If we are angry we must take extra care to avoid sin
• We must not let our anger continue into a new day
• Anger can lead us away from God and into the hands of the devil

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:25. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:25

“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour, for we are all members of one body.”

In the previous section, Paul talked about putting away our old nature and putting on the new nature in Christ. We are ”created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” He gives specific instruction in how the new nature should replace the old.

In this verse, he addresses the issue of truth and falsehood.

We are to put off falsehood and speak truthfully to our neighbours.

Some translations use the word lying here, but the idea is broader than that. Yes, we are to put away deliberate lies, but there are many ways to deceive, and all of them are opposed to God.

Deception is any attempt to cause someone to believe something that is not true. That includes lies ( whether “black” or “white” lies), omissions or half-truths, using words in such a way as to make a seem better than we really are.

We must always speak truthfully to our neighbour, even if it seems difficult or costly.

We are followers of Jesus who called himself “ the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” Therefore, we are committed to truth-telling by virtue of the nature and authority of Christ.

Our culture is sometimes described as post-truth, that is sceptical or indifferent about issues about truth and falsehood. The argument is that there is no objective test of truth, and it is an obsolete concept.

Regardless of whether you seek truth or deny truth, the law of gravity still operates regardless of your opinion. It can be fatal to ignore some truths.

The Nazi propagandist Goebbels is credited with the statement that any lie repeated often enough becomes true. In our age of information saturation, people lack time or desire to investigate the veracity of political and commercial claims, and so blatant lies tend to become accepted as true.

We are not to live in this cynical way. We must remove all forms of deception and seek to be people of truth.

Paul now gives the reason for this as “ we are all members of one body.” This then raises the question “who is my neighbour?”

It might seem that Paul is limiting his definition of neighbour to fellow Christians. We have a duty to our Christian brothers and sisters to walk in honesty. Deception is about taking advantage of other people for our own game.

We must not use deception or falsehood in anyway in connection with the Christian family.

But Paul does not generally use the word neighbour to describe Christians. Jesus made it clear that to love our neighbour is to love everyone that we might interact with.

If we adopt this definition of neighbour, then Paul’s command here is open-ended. We must deal truthfully with everyone and not just our fellow christians.

In all of our business dealings, our family relationships, our friendships and so on, we must always speak truthfully.

This can be painful when we are filling in tax forms or don’t have enough cash to pay for items at a stall with an honesty box. It becomes very costly when we break the law and and are not caught.

Paul relates this commitment to truth in all situations to being a part of the Body of believers. God’s people are people of truth. Together we follow Christ, and He requires us to walk in truth. If one part of the Body is tainted by falsehood then the whole body is weakened.

Key points in this verse:

• We are to put off falsehood
• We must speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
• This commandment flows from the nature of Christ
• We have to speak the truth always, not just within the church

Here is my commentary on Ephesians 4:23-24. I am publishing these once or twice a week, but you can read all of the available articles at our web-site, http://www.new-life.org.au

Ephesians 4:23-24

“…, to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

We are to be made new in the attitudes of our minds.

God is not impressed by our cognitive intelligence or academic abilities. He knows more than we can ever know. He desires us to have a new mind that is changed in its attitude.

Attitude describes our approach to life, to others, to God, and to ourselves.

An attitude of arrogance means that we have an opinion about ourselves that is higher than it should be. We treat other people as inferior, God as needing us, and our failure as somebody else is full.

An attitude of fear means that we approach life and other people as wanting to hurt us. We see God as a capricious judge ready to smite us if we step out of line.

An attitude of boldness means that we trust our own abilities, and talents to succeed in any situation.

These attitudes, and many others, are sinful. They belong to the old self, the old person. They are wrong because their emphasis is on self .

As Christians, our attitudes need to be renewed, made over, so that God is at the centre.

Arrogance should be replaced by humility that recognises that we are all made by God, and in that sense, I am no more entitled then any other person.

Fear should be replaced by faith. I am a child of God, and I can trust in His protection, provision, and direction at all times. If God is for us, who can stand against us?

Rather than being bold because of my own abilities, I can be confident in God’s purposes in my life .

Every self-centred attitude needs to be taken off and replaced by God’s attitude .

We take off our old self in order to put on a new self. The word here in Greek is kainos, which means something completely new. It is a new species, a new type, not something renovated and made new again.

In Christ, we have a new mind, a new nature, a new self. We might think of Christ’s resurrection body which was recognisable (most of the time) but had new powers that his old body did not have. Our new self has continuity with the old person, but we are something completely new and different.

We are told to put on this new self. This is not “reinventing myself” as some try to do. To put on the new self means that we co-operate with the Holy Spirit to get rid of all those qualities which Paul ascribes to the Gentiles and to become more like Christ.

This new self is created to be like God in true righteousness and true holiness.

This new self is being fashioned by God to imitate him. This is not a sausage factory cloning process in which we are all forced to be a particular personality. God creates unique reflections of His nature which we carry in a unique way.

The core of this new self is true righteousness and true holiness.

Righteousness is doing what is right all the time. We were once sinful people, but now we are righteous. We have been declared righteous by God through our faith in Christ. We now have to become righteous, that is to live out that state in our daily living.

There is a self-centred form of righteousness, which seeks to draw attention to itself, often by pointing out the failings of others. Self-righteousness is the self declaring that it is right and other people are not.

True righteousness, on the other hand, is the ability to live God’s way without drawing attention to the fact. It is a form of humility in which the person just gets on with living their own best life without seeking recognition or reward for doing what is right.

To be holy is to be dedicated to God’s use. A holy vessel is one which is set apart for worship .

To be a holy person means that my life is dedicated to God’s purposes, set apart for him. I no longer make any attempt to direct my life the way I want. My plans and ambitions are surrendered to God.

This does not mean that we stop aspiring to achieve things or to seek promotion. It does mean that we allow the Lord to set the parameters for every part of our life.

False holiness seeks to be recognised for religious deeds. This is a kind of fake religion which Jesus derided. He told us we are not to pray on the street corners or announce our giving with a fanfare.

True holiness seeks God for who God is, not for the accolades of men and women. I fast for God’s glory not for mine. I pray to seek God’s will not to impress others.

True righteousness and true holiness keep their focus on their source which is God. My good deeds, such as they are, flow from my relationship with God not from my own strength of character.

Key points in this verse:

• God is remaking our attitudes so that He is our focus not ourselves.
• We need to put on a new self which glorifies God rather than glorifying ourselves
• We are created to be like God in a unique way.
• True righteousness and true holiness flow from God as we seek Him for who He is