BT18: A great deal of discussion by Christians on the topic of anger has been based on Ephesians 4:26 ("Be angry . . ." NASB). Analyze the meaning of this verse and discuss whether or not it supports the positive view of human anger normally drawn from it.

In Ephesians, Chapter Four, the Apostle Paul was teaching about the importance of living one's new life in Christ. Ephesians 4:1-3 says, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." He spoke about the importance of growing spiritually and of maturing into the Christian that each follower of Christ should be. Christians should be in one accord with the Holy Spirit, and they should also be zealous about working for the Lord.

In Verse 17, Paul began speaking about the ungodly behavior of the Gentiles and cautioned the people of the Ephesian church to not be like them. Christians are to put off falsehood, speak the truth, and put on their new self. Within this context, Paul then wrote Ephesians 4:26-27, which says, "'In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold."

These verses do not explicitly say to refrain from all anger. The Greek word "orgizo" was used for anger, and it means to provoke, to arouse to anger, or to be provoked to anger. The Greek word "hamartano" was used for sin, and this word means to wander from the law of God. When Paul wrote this epistle, he must have recognized that a person can be angry yet not wander from the law of God. Otherwise, he would have simply said to not be angry.

Matthew 21:12-13 says, "Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 'It is written,' he said to them, 'My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers.'" In this instance, Jesus was angry at those that had denigrated the temple, and He threw them out of His Father's house. The question becomes, then, how Christians can apply this example of behavior by the One who was without sin.

Without exception, the first lesson is that anger is an emotion that should be controlled. Paul even wrote to not let the sun go down on one's anger without the person having first made right the anger that has been earlier exhibited. Jesus was angry, but Scripture does not give any hint that He was ever out of control. The second lesson is to let one's anger be an expression of God's anger. When Jesus threw the moneychangers out of the temple, He was doing so as a representative of God. Christians can be angry with those that trample on God's statutes, but their anger should not venture into potentially illegal forms of expression. A Christian can justifiably be angry at doctors that abort babies, but killing the abortion doctor is never a proper biblical solution. Matthew Henry wrote, "If we would be angry and not sin (says one), we must be angry at nothing but sin; and we should be more jealous for the glory of God than for any interest or reputation of our own" [1].

1. Matthew Henry, Matthew’s Henry Commentary - Acts to Revelation (McLean, Virginia: MacDonald Publishing Company), page 707.

Tom of Bethany

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