Anger and the Holy Spirit
The following is a conversation between Dr. Neil Anderson and friend/Freedom in Christ Board Member, Matt Massingale.
Neil Anderson: We’re still on the subject of anger, but we’re going to look at anger mores in holistic manner right now.
Matt Massingale: I’m going to ask Neil some questions that you might consider asking him if you had the opportunity to sit down with him and just talk. For starters—what was going on in the garden when man was created in the garden? Man was created in God’s image, but what was that like?
NA: When you consider all of the grandeur of creation that has shown forth the glory of God and the expanse of the work of His hand, one of the most overlooked aspects of it is that you simply can’t imagine it. When you marvel about our galaxy, it’s amazing to know that our galaxy is just one small part of a larger system of galaxies. All of that universe is lifeless and void, but the Creator himself is living and eternal; he is the mind behind the universe. Then he picks this little planet called Earth and created life—the birds of the sky, the beasts of the field, the fish of the sea. Then He did something totally unique in all of the universe. He took a piece of clay and breathed into it the breath of life; God shared His life—His eternal life—with somebody created in His image. In this dinky little planet, He shared His life so that Adam could become a living being, both physically and spiritually. If hadn’t eaten from the Tree of Life, I believe he could have lived forever by fulfilling his purpose here as having dominion over the birds of the sky, beasts of the field, and fish of the sea.
MM: What exactly does that mean?
NA: I think he was basically to rule over planet earth and his descendants. I believe that the life he possessed at that time would have been, frankly, eternal. But he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and he died—not physically at first, but spiritually which meant he was separated from God. From that time on, everyone who was born after that was born in the trespasses of sin. What you need to see is that the first fear that he experienced is what I call primordial fear. It was the absence of life, and that has permeated all of humanity since that time. But it wasn’t just that—Cain and Able became angry; all of a sudden people were depressed and angry; and the whole issue was they were separated from God because they had died spiritually. So God set this incredible plan in motion to restore a fallen humanity. To this day, that’s what Jesus came to give us: life. Eternal life is not something that you get when you die. “He who has the Son has the life.”
The conviction that I have is that we have a tendency to diagnose certain flesh patterns that people have and zero in on specifically fixing anger or a sex problem or a depression problem, but the problem is a life problem. We’re not connected to the source of Life; so all we do is manage to heal wounds superficially. We often accept temporal cures for what is an eternal problem. And if we look at anger that way, we miss the point. The vast majority of people that come in to me with a problem is symptomatic; they’re not coming with the root cause. Even psychiatrists know that. Listen to this story:
I’m sure that you get many letters, but I felt I needed to share our story with you. I also know that you have heard many sordid things in your years of ministry, so I will not hold back. Forgive me if I get too personal, but I think you need to know it all to understand the magnitude of what has taken place.
My boyfriend and I little over a year ago. We were both in relationships and found each other online in the “looking for affairs” section. We started having an affair, and as we got to know each other better, we discovered that we have a lot in common. None if good, by the way. You see, both of us came from dysfunctional families with unhealthy religious backgrounds. He was raised in a Jehovah's Witness “church” where he was molested by several men and women of the congregation including his mother and sister, beginning at age 6. Sex, that is deviant sex, was love to him; so he lived his life in search for it. He’s a sex-addict.
I grew up in a dysfunctional home and attended a very legalistic church. As a result of the neglect/abuse I suffered as a child, I learned that sex and men would give me what I was lacking. I too am a sex-addict. There are many stories and dark experiences that we both have had in result of this. There has been some sex encounters, multiple partners and affairs, and involvement in sexually deviant behaviors to numerous to list. I cringe now when I think of what we both have seen and done, as individuals and as a couple.
Now, add the rage disorder we both struggle with. With substance abuse, illegal activities, and pretty much every other type of bondage you can think of, we a couple of train wrecks. Since we got along so well, we decided to leave our marriages for each other, destroying families in the process. So here we are living our lives, doing anything and everything our flesh desired.
Then one day we had a conversation about church; we both had come from religious backgrounds after all. It started out with a random thought, but then something changed. We both had a desire to go back to church. We found one we both liked, but the guilt and shame we felt from our lives made it difficult. I wanted to run out every time the worship started. I got very uneasy and antsy. I heard voices saying that I didn’t belong, that I wasn’t like these people, that I was filth. My being there would only make them dirty instead of making me clean. I would have negative even evil thoughts towards other people there; it was so unlike me. It went this way for a while. I would go, but I would shut down mentally as we entered the church so I got nothing out of it.
Then one day I remember The Steps to Freedom in Christ. I had taken the class years prior in a church but never actually did the Steps. I figured attending the class was close enough anyway. I ordered “Victory Over the Darkness” and “The Bondage Breaker,” but “The Bondage Breaker” came first so we started that. We were both having a hard time at first, but it was a little bit harder for me. The day I knew Satan had a hold of me was when my husband was trying to love me through one of the steps, and a voice—not my own—told me to hurt him. I could feel my jaw clench and my eyes narrow, as the hate rose up in me. I had a literal burning desire to harm him. The awareness of that moment that Satan was controlling me was indescribable; it scared me straight.
Since that day we both have surrendered to God. We completed the Steps to Freedom. All of them. We are attending church every week. We have daily devotions both together and privately. We pray and read the Word. We have stopped all of the sinful behaviors we were involved in before. Our anger has subsided. People have continually commented the changes. We have inner peace. The noise in my head is finally gone. We have become involved in ministry and are working diligently everyday to serve our Lord in obedience. We have a real passion for people like us now and want to help others find the freedom that we have found. The changes we have had happen in our lives is nothing short of an act of God. Where we came from and where we are now, makes me want to weep with gratitude, and I often do. The Lord is good and faithful, and He never leaves us nor forsakes us—even people like us. He is waiting with open arms
This is a multi-dimensional testimony. Even if you were to help this person through a normal repentance process but you never helped them resist the devil, there would not be complete healing. The voices in her head—what do you think that is? The answer is deceiving spirits. So you’ve got to have a holistic answer. We have a tendency to compartmentalize psychological and spiritual as separate entities. That’s a false dichotomy. It’s never not psychological because our mind, will, and emotions are always involved. They’re as much a part of the problem as they are the solution. But it’s never not spiritual either. There is no time when God is not here, and there is no time when it is safe to take off the armor of God. The possibility of being deceived or accused is just a part of reality, if we can understand that. We have to rely on God’s Word to open our eyes to see this because it’s not something that you can simply examine.
I’ve never really tried to look at someone and simply say, “We’re going to solve your anger problem.” It’s bigger than that.
MM: Where does the issue of control come from?
NA: Let’s face it, God had given dominion to Adam and Eve, but when they sinned, that fell to Satan. At this point Satan had become the god of this world; he had deceived the whole world. We’re not here to focus on the devil though.
A good way to determine your own spiritual condition right now is to get totally alone, close your eyes, and see how well you tolerate solitude. Can you sit there with a quiet mind? Are you at peace? It’s a wonderful position to be in. Almost everybody that has come to me in the past has said No way, I can’t do that. And quite frankly, this is why many people drink and take drugs—because they have no mental peace. Scripture tells us that we can walk by the flesh or walk by the Spirit; this is a choice that all of us make. You can’t blame anyone else for your choice.
MM: Let’s go back to the Garden and the control issue we were talking about earlier. When the serpent comes on the scene, he tells Adam and Eve that they really can’t trust God. But why did he tell them that they couldn’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? Satan told them, “He’s holding out on you, and you really can’t trust his motives.” It was a control issue that they wanted to take control. But when you really look at that, you see that they didn’t know God even though they had been spending time with Him. And since they didn’t know him, they didn’t trust him, and the first reaction they had when they were separated from him was fear. Then anger came with Cain and Able.
When we don’t feel like we’re in control, it’s easy to experience fear. And fear often results in anger.
NA: We’re all struggling with our learned experiences. We have these “hot-buttons” that people push sometimes which lead to the immediate reaction of anger, or frustration, or guilt. Those are just flesh patterns. But there is a confidence that we can have in Christ knowing that we have been crucified in Christ. We have been identified in Christ with his life, death, his burial, resurrection, ascension, and we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me. And the life I now live is no longer in the flesh. Now therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you walk by the Spirit, you won’t follow through with the desires of the flesh. But you have to first repent. You have to deal with the issues that are affecting your intimacy with God. So if you’re struggling with pride or rebellion or unconfessed sin, trying to practice this isn’t going to work. The foundation of overcoming flesh-patterns begins by faith and repentance.
What God has given us is His life. We are temples of God; Christ indwells us. Everything we have to recover is within us! The Holy Spirit was sent to you not only to empower you but to guide you into all truth—the truth that will set you free.
Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.