The first three verses of Ephesians chapter 2 teach us that every human being ever born of man and woman is, by nature, characterized or marked by the wrath of God. We come from the womb into the world as sinners. Yet there is an even greater catastrophe than this. Because of sin, there is the more serious problem of being under the wrath of God himself. God’s wrath is not like that of man. It is not the result of a bad temper, spite, malice or revenge. Unlike the wrath of man, God’s wrath is neither arbitrary nor dependent upon mood.
Today many Christians find wrath to be offensive, and some have sought to eliminate the idea of a propitiatory sacrifice from their understanding of atonement. But as much as we might like it to be otherwise, wrath is a dominant theme of Scripture; and unless wrath is personally dealt with by Christ, you remain an enemy of God, forever guilty and shamed. But, brothers and sisters, if there be any joy, it flows from Christ’s personal wrath-absorbing work on your behalf. Full atonement can it be?!?
