April 19, 2020. Ephesians 4:25-27

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TONGUE and TEMPERAMENT. EPHESIANS. 4:25-27. 4/19/2020. #18.

Ephesians 4:25-27 [New King James Version (NKJV)]

²⁵ Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. ²⁶ “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, ²⁷ nor give place to the devil.

• Head, heart, and honesty
  • Paul answers the question, “What does putting off the old man and putting on the new man look like?” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
    • From Ephesians 4:25-5:33 Paul deals with how a spiritual believer acts (the largest portion deals with Christian husbands)
    • Luke 3 John the Baptist told audience what is entailed with repenting of one’s sins
  • Paul begins with honesty, the foundation of all relationships
  • “Put away lying” lit. is “put off falsehood (pseudo)”
    • More than just telling the truth
    • Notice “putting away” = stop doing what you are doing
    • Falsehood comes in many forms:
      • To cover wrongdoing
      • To hide motivations
      • Deceiving to obtain a desired selfish goal
      • To withhold important necessary information
  • To be an honest person, true to highest moral principles
  • Speak truth to neighbor (unlike versus 15, “speak” is in this passage)
    • Literally, “speak truth with your neighbor” (honest dealings)
    • Different use of neighbor than in Luke 10 (Good Samaritan)–refers to fellow believers in this context
  • We are members one to another
    • If we lie to fellow believers we lie to ourselves
    • Same concept as marriage (Ephesians 5:29-33 to be one flesh is to treat spouse as self)
  • Familial = to care for one another as a family
• A tempered temper
  • One can’t tell your spouse that the Bible commands you to be angry
    • The entire context = be angry, but do not sin
    • A direct quote from Psalm 4:4 (Be angry, and do not sin / Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still.)
  • Anger is a natural emotion, at times unavoidable
    • God expressed anger against Israel in the Wilderness
    • Tension between Paul and Barnabas
    • Saul was angry against David
    • Jonah 4:1-11 – Jonah was angry that God refused to destroy Nineveh, but allowed his shadow gourd to die
  • Anger is a necessary emotion (vexation against adversity)
    • Anger is a reaction to tension or irritation
    • Three primary emotions: love, fear, and anger
    • Necessary anger: Moses exacting punishment at the Golden Calf fiasco; Jesus driving out the money changers
  • Selfish anger is sin
    • Genesis 4, Cain killing Abel
    • Saul killing the high priests
    • Jezebel threatening Elijah
  • Do not sin
    • Anger is not the sin; but a wrong response to it is sin
    • Anger calls for action (response, restraint, reflection)
    • James 1:19-20 a faith-based response furthers God’s will
    • Intent: be angry but do not sin
• Response in the sunshine
  • Anger needs to be dealt with promptly, so it does not fester
    • Should be dealt with quickly
    • Reconcile, rebuke, or turn it over to the Lord
  • Festering anger gives Satan an opportunity to use you to sin
    • Bitterness of soul leads to destruction (Cain)
    • Loss of perspective (Jonah)
  • Some anger must be dealt with before the throne alone
    • Romans 12:18 some people will not reconcile with you
    • Some violations leave deep scars (raping of Tamar)
    • Some irritations are ongoing (Peninnah mocking Hannah)

Key Verse:

Jonah 4 [New King James Version (NKJV)]

¹ But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he became angry. ² So he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish; for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm. ³ Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live!” ⁴ Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” ⁵ So Jonah went out of the city and sat on the east side of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, till he might see what would become of the city. ⁶ And the Lord God prepared a plant and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery. So Jonah was very grateful for the plant. ⁷ But as morning dawned the next day God prepared a worm, and it so damaged the plant that it withered. ⁸ And it happened, when the sun arose, that God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head, so that he grew faint. Then he wished death for himself, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” ⁹ Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” ¹⁰ But the Lord said, “You have had pity on the plant for which you have not labored, nor made it grow, which came up in a night and perished in a night. ¹¹ And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”