²⁷ nor give place to the devil.

The devil seeks opportunity to use unconfessed sinful anger to do damage to our spiritual lives.

nor give place to the devil.

“Give place” is to give the devil a platform to do further damage to our soul. “Place” carries the idea of foothold. It is very dangerous to give the devil room to operate in our lives. Uncontrolled anger is a foothold, platform, or inroad to sin further on a persistent basis.

The devil will move deeply into our lives if we let uninhibited anger dominate our mode of conduct toward others. He will gain a stout foothold within us if we become an ongoing angry person. An attitude of anger invites the devil to control us.

The Greek indicates that the believer is to stop an action that is already going on: “Stop giving place to the devil.” Ephesian believers had already allowed the devil to gain a footing in their lives by allowing settled anger to rest in their souls.

PRINCIPLE:

The devil will exploit our anger if we let it get out of control.

APPLICATION:

Satan looks for opportunities to get a foot in the door of our lives. Habitual anger will afford that opportunity for him. It will create a devil’s workplace. That workplace will establish a stronghold of antagonism toward others. It is possible then to give the devil a place to live in our souls.

Smoldering resentment also gives the devil room to operate in our attitudes. It gives him a foundation to do deep damage to our spiritual lives. He will exploit us if we let him. We offer him opportunity to put a throttlehold on our bearing to life. He can by this control our antipathy toward others by using our orientation to anger.

If we carry anger over a protracted period of time, we then give the devil a beachhead to expand his attack on our souls. Anger becomes an avenue of attack in other areas of our lives. The believer winds up carrying a Trojan horse around with him.

Sometimes the devil takes advantage of those who are deeply concerned about defending truth. If we defend truth in anger and without love, then the devil will take that and use it for his own ends.

By not keeping short accounts with our anger but instead letting it settle into our souls, we allow the devil to control our minds. Sin piled upon sin is fertile ground for the devil to work. Attitude sins, as over against individual sins, create a pattern of rebellion against God. That is why we must immediately own and confession our sin as quickly as possible. Confession is something we must do on a regular basis. The Bible describes the Christian life as a “walk.” A walk is to take one step after another and doing it over and over again. Continual confession is where we keep short accounts with God.

Ga 5:16, I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.