Answer
In Galatians 5:1—6:10, the apostle Paul examines the nature of the believer’s freedom in Christ. He demonstrates that Christian liberty means a life guided by the indwelling ministry of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to overcome our old, fleshly, sinful nature (see Galatians 5:16–17). Paul lists some of the apparent acts of the flesh that are directly opposite to the fruit of the Spirit: “Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like” (Galatians 5:19–21, NKJV). These acts of the flesh represent life separated from God’s Spirit or not yielded to Him.
Paul’s inventory of sins can be divided into three major groupings: sexual or sensual sins (adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness); religious or worship-related sins (idolatry, sorcery); and social or relational sins (hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries). Similar lists are found in Mark 7:20–23, Romans 1:29–32, Romans 13:13, 2 Corinthians 12:20, 1 Timothy 1:9–10, and 2 Timothy 3:2–5.
More than half of these acts of the flesh involve conflict with other people—when we put our selfish desires above the wants and needs of others. Included in the group of relational sins are “outbursts of wrath” (NKJV), alternatively translated as “fits of anger” (ESV), “outbursts of anger” (NLT, CSB, NASB), and “fits of rage” (NIV). The term in the original Greek is thymoi, which refers to an emotionally charged, impassioned boiling up of anger, indignation, and fury. Its original meaning carried a sense of causing something to “well up,” “boil up,” or “go up in smoke.”
The same word translated as “outbursts of wrath” in Galatians 5:20 appears in the book of Revelation, denoting both the fierce wrath of God (Revelation 14:10; 19:15) and Satan’s great fury (Revelation 12:12). Here in Galatians, Paul refers to human anger that is explosive, aggressive, and hostile toward others. Such uncontrolled eruptions should never be defended, excused, or justified as merely due to having a hot temper or a natural tendency to blow one’s gasket.
Outbursts of wrath are unacceptable for the Spirit-controlled Christian. Such indulgences in anger and other works of the flesh draw us away from God and our life in His Spirit. “Anyone living that sort of life,” warns Paul, “will not inherit the Kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:21, NLT). Paul is not talking about an occasional lapse into sin but a habitual lifestyle of practicing these sins.
How do Christians overcome the temptation to indulge the old sinful nature? Scripture tells us that the flesh must be crucified or put to death (see Galatians 5:24; Romans 6:1–23; Colossians 3:5–25). Jesus Christ already accomplished that work for us on the cross, but we must believe and act on that truth. Paul explains, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God” (Romans 8:12–14, NLT).
The Holy Spirit empowers us to obey God’s Word when we “clothe [ourselves] with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh” (Romans 13:14). God’s Spirit in us will constrain our outbursts of wrath, making us “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). If we yield to the Spirit, He enables us to overcome the flesh so that we produce spiritual fruit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23, NLT).
