All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you

Ephesians 4:17-32 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

So I say this, and affirm in the Lord, that you are to no longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, ¹⁸ being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; ¹⁹ and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. ²⁰ But you did not learn Christ in this way, ²¹ if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, ²² that, in reference to your former way of life, you are to rid yourselves of the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, ²³ and that you are to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, ²⁴ and to put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

²⁵ Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are parts of one another. ²⁶ 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. ²⁸ The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather he must labor, producing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. ²⁹ Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. ³⁰ Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. ³² Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Today’s text says: Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are parts of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather he must labor, producing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.  Again, Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.  Psalm 37:8 says: Cease from anger and abandon wrath; Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.  How is it that we are to be angry but not sin?   If we are angry, bitter or upset about the things that offend us, we sin and give the devil an opportunity to lead us to doing evil. We should instead only be angry at the things that offend God.

Jesus is our perfect example of righteous anger. He did nothing to resist those who persecuted and crucified Him. In Matthew 21:12-13 it says:  Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all those who were selling and buying on the temple grounds, and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He said to them, “It is written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer’; but you are making it a den of robbers.”  Rather than be angry at the things that offend us, we should consider how the things we do and embrace might offend God. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says:  Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.  What things that are an offense to God might Jesus cast out or overturn from our lives?  The text says: No longer walk just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their minds, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves up to indecent behavior for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness… Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth… Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice.  In Luke 6:27-28;35-38  Jesus says:  “I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who are abusive to you… love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”

In Luke 17:5-6 it says:  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” But the Lord said, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”  The apostles though had not asked for the faith to perform some great miracle. Look at the context in verses 1-4:  Now He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”   The text ends saying: Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Perhaps the greatest challenge to our faith, what we need to increase our faith to do, is to truly be able to love and forgive others as Jesus did. In John 14:12-14 Jesus says: “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”   If rather than being angry at others, we ask that Jesus would forgive them, He will do it.  Perhaps the greatest work that we can do is that rather than being a stumbling block, we should be a stepping stone, that they would see the love of God demonstrated in the cross, for them to hear the words Jesus said in Luke 23:34: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”   

Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.