Ephesians 4.26b-The Prohibition to Not Sin By Failing to Practice Church Discipline
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday October 9, 2025
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 4:26b-The Prohibition to Not Sin By Failing to Practice Church Discipline
Lesson # 288
Ephesians 4:26 Each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of permitting yourselves to be justifiably angry with the result that each and every one of you as a corporate unit continue to make it your habit of not committing sin. Each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of not letting the sun go down when justifiably angered. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 4:26 is composed of the following:
(1) command: orgizesthe (ὀργίζεσθε), “Each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of permitting yourselves to be justifiably angry” (Lecturer’s translation).
(2) prohibition: mē hamartanete (μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε), “each and every one of you as a corporate unit continue to make it your habit of not committing sin” (Lecturer’s translation).
(3) prohibition: ho hēlios mē epidyetō epi tō parorgismō hymōn (ὁ ἥλιος μὴ ἐπιδυέτω ἐπὶ τῷ παροργισμῷ ὑμῶν), “Each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of not letting the sun go down when justifiably angered.” (Lecturer’s translation)
The conjunction kai (καί) is a marker of result, which means the first prohibition in this verse is presenting the result of obedience to the command, which required the recipients of this epistle continue making it their habit of being justifiable angry because of the unrepentant sinful behavior in the Christian community.
The prohibition required them to continue making it their habit of not sinning by practicing the command to love one another which would require them to administer church discipline to the guilty party.
Therefore, this use of the conjunction would indicate that the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia, who were the recipients of this epistle, must continue making it their habit of expressing justifiable anger because of the unrepentant sinful behavior in the Christian community “with the result that” they continue making it their habit of not sinning by practicing the command to love one another which would require them to administer church discipline to the guilty party.
Therefore, the implication is that if the Christian community did not express righteous indignation because of the unrepentant sinful conduct of a member of their community, then this would result in the community sinning against God and their fellow believer involved in unrepentant sinful behavior because it would result in their failure to administer church discipline with regards to the guilty party.
In other words, if they express righteous indignation or justifiable anger because of the unrepentant sinful conduct of a member of their community this would result in their administer church discipline with regards to the guilty party.
Their justifiable anger would not only motivate them to practice church discipline with regards to the guilty party but also prevent them from sinning against God and their fellow apostate believer by failing to do so.
The verb hamartanō (ἁμαρτάνω) pertains to committing sin against another human being and God since it pertains to violating God’s law, which governs their conduct in relation to their fellow human being.
As was the case with the second person plural form of the verb orgizomai (ὀργίζομαι), the referent of the second person plural form of this verb hamartanō (ἁμαρτάνω) is the recipients of this letter, who were Gentile Christian community living throughout the Roman province of Asia.
In both instances, the second person plural form of these two verbs is not only speaking of the recipients of this letter as a corporate unit but also as individuals.
Therefore, this verb hamartanō (ἁμαρτάνω) expresses the idea of members of the Gentile Christian community committing sin.
It indicates that they would sin against God and their fellow believer who is involved in unrepentant sinful activity because they failed to administer church discipline with the guilty party.
Thus, this word expresses the idea that they would be sinning against God and their fellow believer as a result of not administering church discipline.
The meaning of the verb hamartanō (ἁμαρτάνω) is negated by the negative particle me (μή), which denies the idea of the meaning of this verb and thus, it denies the idea of the recipients of this letter sinning against each other.
Together, they form a prohibition, which forbids them from sinning by not administering church discipline when a member of the Christian community unrepentant about their sinful activities.
Like the verb orgizomai (ὀργίζομαι), the verb hamartanō (ἁμαρτάνω) is used with church discipline in mind.
Therefore, this verb and the negative particle me (μή) form a prohibition, which required the members of the Gentile Christian community to not commit sin against God and their fellow believer who is involved in unrepentant sinful activity by practicing the command to love one another, which would require them to confront the guilty party in gentleness and in private.
If the guilty party repents, this confrontation will result in the guilty party receiving forgiveness and thus reconciling with them to the rest of the Christian community.
Like the verb orgizomai (ὀργίζομαι), the present imperative conjugation of the verb hamartanō (ἁμαρτάνω) is a customary present imperative.
Therefore, this indicates that Paul is commanding the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia “to continue to make it their habit of” not committing sin against God and those in the Christian community who are involved in unrepentant sinful behavior.
They would obey this prohibition by practicing the love of God with regards those members of this community who are involved in unrepentant sinful activities, which would require church discipline to be administered to the guilty party.
The interpretation of the present imperative conjugation of the verb hamartanō (ἁμαρτάνω) can be supported by the fact that Paul affirms in Ephesians 1:15 that the recipients of this epistle were practicing the love of God when interacting with each other.
Thus, they were not sinning against God or a member of the Christian community who has sinned because they were practicing divine love.
This prohibition has the force of a general precept and does not make a comment about whether the action is going on or not.
However, as noted above, Ephesians 1:15 that the recipients of this epistle were practicing the love of God when interacting with each other.
Thus, they were not sinning against God or the guilty member of the Christian community because they were practicing the love of God, which would require them to administer church discipline with the guilty party.
