Skip to main content

Ephesians 4:31

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.
(NIV)
This verse might be best served with some definitions.

  • Bitterness - Just what it says, bitterness. It is a bitter root that produces a bitter fruit.
  • Rage - Usually translated as Wrath. It has to do with a passionate anger. This is the person who is fuming. They are bubbling over with anger.
  • Anger - This word has also been translated as wrath. It is most definitely referring to the actions associated with anger. It doesn't have to mean this, but their can also be the association with violence. This is the person who is acting out on their anger, in a sinful way.
  • Brawling - Ok, I just learned something new, this word has to do with making an outcry, or a crying. After I read the definitions, what immediately jumped into my mind was the person who yells when they are angry. He may not do something violent, but he is letting everyone know exactly how angry he is. He is a yeller!
  • Slander - This word has everything to do with hurting someone with speech. This is the person who is angry with someone else, and all they do is go around the office telling everyone just how they have been wronged. It may be all truth, that doesn't make it right. We are not to use our words to injure someone else.
  • Malice - This could mean evil, ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity, or trouble. The root word where this word comes from has to do with a evil state of mind. I am no greek theologian, but this seems to be an all-encompassing word to cover any other form of anger that hasn't been mentioned. Bottom line, we are to be a changed people, and angry at the world and all of the people in it isn't to be a part of who we are.
(All definitions are Strong's definitions, thanks to this site.)
Labels:

Comments

  1. Anonymous8/02/2007 10:00 AM

    ......thanks mate,
    I'm soaking it up.......I don't think there'll ever come a time
    when I don't need to be reminded
    of these things ......well, unless I become a hermit.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Matt Harmless8/03/2007 5:35 AM

    If you became a hermit, I would have no one to comment on this blog any more, and that would be a sad day.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Please add some additional commentary to this verse. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Popular posts from this blog

Jonah 2:10

And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. (NIV) Don't you just love fresh starts. They're not always fresh, but they are a start. The God that we serve is a God of fresh starts. My mind goes to the many times that Christ reached out his hand, pulling a lame man to his feet, and saying, "...now go and sin no more." Or the woman caught in adultery, "...neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more." Only a God of grace will allow a swallowed man to repent. Praise Him.
4 comments
Continue Reading »

Psalm 136:4

to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever. (NIV) If this verse said, "to him who does great wonders..." it would still be a great verse. We could talk about all of the wonders that God does. Everything from the rings of Saturn and the Sombrero Galaxy to the forming of a child inside its mothers womb or even how electrons are spinning around the atoms and not flying off. We could talk about all of those things and marvel at His wonders. But get this, all of the great wonders are His! He doesn't just get credit for great wonders, He gets credit for all of them, because the verse says, "to him who alone does great wonders..." God has no counterpart. He has no arch-rival. There is none like Him, and He is the only one who is doing the wonderful stuff! He is the changer of hearts and lives. He is the redeemer. He is the savior. He is the God who hears and the God who sees. And the most wonderful of all, His love endures Forever!
3 comments
Continue Reading »