Sorry for the late posting. The internet has. been. slow. and. would. not. load! But, here it is, quite long - if you like to skip right down to the Greek word studies, scroll down till you see the bold and italicized Greek words for anger...from there down is where you will find the word study and the steps in and out...
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| A good thing to remember as we think about how we relate to others, plus a peaceful image to encourage us through a tough study... |
STEPS INTO AND OUT OF ANGER
A Study on Ephesians 4:26, 31-32
When angry, do not sin; do
not ever let your wrath (your exasperation, your fury or indignation) last
until the sun goes down. Let all bitterness and
indignation and wrath (passion, rage, bad temper) and resentment (anger,
animosity) and quarreling (brawling, clamor, contention) and slander
(evil-speaking, abusive or blasphemous language) be banished from you, with all
malice (spite, ill will, or baseness of any kind). And become useful and helpful and kind to one
another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted),
forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:26, 31-32 Amplified Bible
The
entire passage of Ephesians 4 tells us that the effectiveness of the Holy
Spirit in our lives is reflected in how we treat others. We show if we are plugged in to
the power of the Holy Spirit within us (or not) by our treatment of those around us, especially our family and including ourselves.
Again, our
attitudes toward each other reflects how effective we are allowing the Holy Spirit within us
to be.
Wounds
and offences from the actions of others are part of the tribulation of living
in a fallen world; they are inevitable.
However, God has provided a way for us to find relief from the consequences
of these realities through the act of forgiveness.
In
Matthew 6:12, Jesus says, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have
forgiven our debtors”. In verses 14
and 15 He further states, “For if you
forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive
you. But if you do not forgive men their
sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
“This is love: not that we
loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for
our sins…We love because He first loved us.
If anyone says, `I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar, For
anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom
he has not seen. And he has given us
this command; `Whoever loves God must also love his brother.’ 1 John 4:10; 20-21 – This
speech talks about unresolved hate developing into an inability to fully
experience God’s love and express passionate love back to Him. (You could say the ability to worship Him
will be hindered.)
Our
relationship with each other directly impacts our fellowship with God. When brethren are at odds with each other,
the Holy Spirit is grieved.
There
are three main words in the Greek translated as “anger” in our New Testament.
First is righteous anger – “ORGE”. It is appropriate as long as we limit its
intensity and
duration. This is the type of anger found in Ephesians
4:26a.
Second is a simmering kind of anger
- “PARORGISMOS”.
This is the type of anger or
provocation that we
should not let the sun go down on. It is an undercurrent
that is hidden and festers and
grows. When left unchecked, it can turn
into…
Third is a violent kind of anger – “THUMOS”. It lashes out at someone else. It is an
outburst of wrath from
inward indignation. It quickly blazes up
and quickly
subsides. This word is
never translated anger, but as wrath.
Why
do we have the third kind? Usually
because that other person has violated a boundary which we have established (whether
we have formally identified the boundary or not) and we have not addressed the
issue with the individual.
Verse
31 contains the steps into bitterness, the process beginning with malice and
moving eventually into brimming over bitterness.
Verse
32 contains the steps out.
There
are six key words in verse 31 (and the original Greek word is included):
1.
bitterness (PIKREA),
2.
wrath (THUMOS),
3.
anger (ORGE),
4.
clamor (or brawling – depending on your translation of the Bible) (KROWGAY),
5.
slander (BLASPHEME), and
6.
malice (KAKIA).
1.
Malice is a condition of depravity or badness defined as “malignity” if
it is active in action and as “trouble” if it is passive in action. Malice is “Kak-ee’-ah” in Greek (such a
fitting sounding word!). Malice comes
from our old carnal nature. When the
presence of malice is revealed, we can bring this place of our heart to Jesus
for regeneration and healing.
2.
If we don’t handle the malice, it moves into evil speaking, gossip
and/or slander.
Slander
(“blas-feem” in Greek) means: to speak
something, wrong or true, about another
individual
with the purpose of hurting that person’s reputation. (Webster’s)
3.
Now if we don’t arrest the slander, we experience clamor.
Clamor
(“krow-gay” in Greek) means:
a.
to demand, to complain, to gripe (Webster’s)
b.
A cry, outcry, clamor, vociferation.
A cry of sorrow, wailing, lamentation.
(Perschbacher’s
Greek Lexicon)
c.
An outcry (in notification, tumult or grief). (Strong’s 2906)
d.
An onomatopoeic word, imitating the raven’s cry. Denotes an outcry; in Ephesians
4:31 it signifies the tumult of
controversy. (Vine’s
Expository Dictionary of
New Testament Words)
We
“clamor” because we are moving towards anger through believing the
slander. Through
our
outcry, we are motivating ourselves to “righteous indignation”.
4.
If we don’t handle the clamor, it moves into ORGE anger. Remember, ORGE is appropriate only as long as
we limit its intensity and duration.
When ORGE becomes a more settled or abiding condition of mind, maybe
with a view to taking revenge, an individual is well on their way to…
5.
Wrath, or THUMOS, that more agitated condition of anger that precludes
strong and quick outbursts which quickly subside, only to come forth once again
if not checked.
6. At anytime
along the way we could have stopped the process, but left unchecked it
automatically
moves into bitterness. Bitterness means acridity, or poison
(Strong’s 4088). This is the final fruit
of
a long harvest of fleshly activity. It is a condition that is a state of
being. Just as poison is toxic to our
bodies, bitterness is toxic to our lives.
It can contaminate those around us, and can cause us actual physical
problems.
When we have entered into
bitterness, the individual you are struggling with begins to dominate your
time and your attention. It is the desire of harm towards another individual’s
life.
We
end up hurting ourselves more than we could ever hurt another. We were not created to harbor these intense
negative emotions; our bodies were not designed to endure the long term effects
of such emotions There is a high cost of
getting even….
Milton Layton in “Escaping the
Hostility Trap” states:
Anger that has developed into
bitterness has been called the chief saboteur of the mind, a significant factor in the formation of many
serious diseases, and the leading cause of misery, depression, inefficiency, sickness, accidents,
loss of work time, and financial loss in industry. No matter what the problem – interpersonal
conflict, alcohol consumption, a child’s defiance, nervous or physical diseases – the elimination of hostility
is a key factor in its solution.
There
is physical cost – a chemical imbalance can occur that is the same as that
which precludes the development of high blood pressure, ulcers, fatigue,
headaches, and can even deepen the lines of your face! And can even affect the health of our bones
(Proverbs 17:22; 14:30). Intense negative emotions can damage the
health of our bones – medical science has discovered that the enzymes that the
glands secrete cause the deterioration of the bones.
John
Blender, author of “How to Live 365 Days of the Year”, writes that most of our
physical illnesses are caused by intense wrong emotions that we have let
dominate our heart.
There
are emotional and mental consequences as well, such as depression, a certain
mind set, destruction of relationships and self confidence, etc.
*****************
How
do you stop verse 31?
1. MAKE
A CHOICE (Put it away in verse
31)
Don’t wait until you feel
better. You will never feel like
stopping, you must “do” until you “feel”. We must make an unemotional decision
which is dictated by our will.
2. BE
KIND (Verse 32)
Demonstrate acts of love towards one
another. This is an act of the will, not
based on any emotion. This is a kind of building treasure
into another individual – “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Before long, your emotion will be present,
too.
How do we do this, practically
speaking?
1.
Make a conscious choice to do acts of love.
2.
Ask God to show you what to do.
Build treasure into the heart of the individual.
3.
Be tenderhearted, one toward another.
This is a very vulnerable position – people are so inconsistent and
unjust even in Christian circles. Don’t
become cynical or sarcastic about the spiritual things, don’t even joke about
spiritual things, because it will change you – it will harden your heart to the
conviction of the Holy Spirit.
You must choose tenderheartedness
instead of hardness of heart. When you
do, even with those who have
hurt you, He will give you the grace:
to forgive,
to see that person as
God’s tool to deepen our spiritual life,
to see what has happened
to us as a mirror of what we have done to God,
to act out of the
forgiveness we have been forgiven with
to see His woundedness
instead of our hurt –
