The Wrath Of God – A Holy Action

Issues – February 2025 – Grace & Truth Magazine

The Wrath Of God
A Holy Action

Here are five of God’s intrinsic, essential or core characteristics as recorded in the Scriptures:

“God is love” (1 Jn. 4:8,16 NKJV).“God is light” (1:5). “God is jealous” (Nah. 1:2). God is eternal (Rom. 9:5; Dt. 33:27). “God is holy” (Ps. 99:9).

However, nowhere in the Scriptures does it say that God is wrath.

Let’s look at Psalm 99:9, which says, “Exalt the LORD our God, and worship at His holy hill; for the LORD our God is holy.” The term “the LORD our God” refers to our Lord Jesus Christ, who is “the Word” (Jn. 1:1,14) and the “holy Servant” (Acts 4:27). “In Him there is no sin” (1 Jn. 3:5), “He … knew no sin” (2 Cor. 5:21) and “committed no sin” (1 Pet. 2:22). Therefore He, or any person of the triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), being intrinsically holy, cannot act in an unholy wrathful manner. With you and me this is possible, as “the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (Jas. 1:20), but when God must act in wrath it is not sinful; it cannot be sinful or wrong.

It is necessary to realize that there is a difference between an inherent character quality, like the five listed above, and a specific but required action: such as wrath. God can only act in accordance with His essential character. He cannot do anything but exactly that. His actions must be carried out within the confines of His intrinsic being.

God’s wrath was displayed in the New Testament as well as in the Old. Take, for instance, the action of the Lord Jesus when He drove the merchants and money changers from the temple as recorded in John 2:13-17: “Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. And He said to those who sold doves, ‘Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!’ Then His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.’”

One may suggest that this was not a display of wrath but simply of righteous anger. Yet consider this: He used a scourge to drive out those who desecrated the temple! During this cleansing of His Father’s house, He demonstrated two of his intrinsic characteristics: light and holiness. Light exposes the deeds of darkness (3:20-21). Holiness demands a separation of that which is sacred from that which is profane, or not holy. In purging the temple area of the sinful activity of these men, the Lord Jesus – the Light – revealed the state of the merchants and money changers as thieves (Mt. 21:13). His holiness demanded the expulsion of that which was sinful from God’s dwelling place.

The Lord acted in accordance with His character, exemplifying the demand of Scripture, “Be angry, and do not sin” (Eph. 4:26). This can be seen by the fact that the only damage done by the Lord was to the men who were abusing the people and changing this “house of prayer” into a common market. So, what did He do that showed His wrath without any element of sin?

• He drove the men out of the temple. As He exposed their thievery, it no doubt hurt their dignity and their pride, both of which needed to be exposed, reprimanded and corrected.
• He drove out the sheep and the oxen. Note however, these could be reclaimed by their owners so no damage was done or personal loss caused.
• He poured out the changers’ money and overthrew their tables. Again, the fact that the money was poured out onto the ground would allow it to be collected later at no financial penalty to the owners.
• He forced the sellers of doves to take the birds away. He did not upset the cages so that the birds could fly away. Again, there was no financial loss to the merchants.

In His wrath, the Lord’s mercy was also revealed. It was noted that nothing was lost and no property damage inflicted. Only a firm hand was used and a stern message delivered to the thieving perpetrators of shameful commerce in the temple. They got off easy compared to what they deserved! In their thievery they broke the eighth commandment, “You shall not steal” (Ex. 20:15) and the appropriate punishment should have been death, “for the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).

One may still argue that this incident in the temple was not harsh enough to be considered wrath. Yet it reflects God’s true character of the more serious activities corresponding to the wrath of God. All are done without transgressing His intrinsic character!

Whether it is a deed done by the Lord Jesus in His incarnation, when He walked here as Man, or as the LORD God of the Old Testament, or even things He will do in the future, the wrath of God is a real thing! Many in the past who refused to obey His righteous statutes felt that wrath.* Interestingly, “wrath of God” is actually mentioned more often in the New Testament than in the Old. The important thing is that all must recognize that whenever He acts – even in wrath – it is in absolute righteousness and in total accord with His holy nature. In truth, it is His holy character that demands that He must act in wrath when this is required.

In this present age, the believer and the unconverted alike should be careful as to what they do and believe. The Scriptures record, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6) – a very serious warning for all who do not believe. Thankfully, all true believers who have been saved through faith “wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Th. 1:10).

ENDNOTE
* For a few examples of God acting in wrath, see: Ex. 15:7, 32:11-12; Num. 11:33; Dt. 29:23; Josh. 22:20; 2 Ki. 22:17; Ezra 5:12.

By G. H. B.