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This is part 6 of my blog commentary series on the book of Ephesians. In this post, we look at Ephesians 5:1–21 verse by verse.
Ephesians 5:1 NKJV 1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. Who is your role model in life? Who do you seek to be like? For the Christian, God is our role model. This doesn’t mean there are no others that provide a good example for us. But God alone is our perfect example. So, in what sense are we to imitate God? In the previous verse, Paul had said: Ephesians 4:32–5:1 NKJV 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. 1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. So one way we are to imitate God, is in forgiveness. We keep on messing up, but God keeps on forgiving us! We are to extend that same mercy to other people. After telling us to imitate God, Paul continues... Ephesians 5:2 NKJV 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Not only are we to show mercy, we are to walk in love. The example of love we are given is Jesus Christ giving Himself for us on the cross, to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we could receive God’s pardon. This indicates that we are to love others when it is not comfortable, when it is not convenient, and when it requires us to do something we don’t want to. Love is sacrificial. Paul continues... Ephesians 5:3–4 NKJV 3 But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. Notice the phrase 'as is fitting for saints'. God has made us all saints because of our faith in His Son Jesus Christ. But we are not only called saints, we are to live like saints. Consequently, there are certain things that shouldn’t even be mentioned among us. Such things include... Fornication - which is sex outside of marriage All uncleanness - which anything that is morally filthy Covetousness - which is greed Paul then moves on to mention three other vices, all of which have to do with the way we speak... Filthiness - obscenity (speech that is sexually inappropriate) Foolish talking - there are some people that are not serious about life, and they don’t care that they are not serious about life. They just talk whatever nonsense comes into their mind; we are not to be like that, our words should be sober and morally upright Coarse jesting - inappropriate, rude, or vulgar jokes Instead, Paul says we are to use our mouths to give God thanks, a point that Paul will repeat later. Paul continues... Ephesians 5:5–7 NKJV 5 For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with them. Whether we are Christian or not, if we behave in that way, we will not enter the kingdom of God. Paul said, 'Let no one deceive you with empty words'. We shouldn’t embrace any teaching that says that because we believe we can’t end up in hell. The wrath of God comes on all who behave in that way. Notice also that covetousness (greed) is called idolatry. If material things are our priority we are in effect worshipping them. But only God should be worshipped. Paul continues... Ephesians 5:8–10 NKJV 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. God has called us out of moral darkness into His light. We can walk in the light by living according to the Holy Spirit. When we do so, our life will be characterized by goodness, righteousness and truth. Notice that Paul says we are to 'find out what is acceptable to the Lord'. In other words we are to find out how God wants us to live. But how do we do that? The psalmist said, 'Your word is a lamp to my feet' (Psalm 119:105). We discover how God wants us to live by reading His word - the Bible. We don’t do it by following our feelings, or even by following our heart. Jeremiah 17:9 says 'The heart is deceitful above all things'. It is God's word that is to be a lamp for our feet, not our hearts. Paul continues... Ephesians 5:11–14 NKJV 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.” We are to have nothing to do with the evil works of darkness i.e. sin. Instead, our godly example is to shine like a light, in a dark world, thereby exposing sin to be what it is. Where it says ‘whatever makes manifest is light’, the Greek word for ‘makes manifest’ is in what is called the passive voice. As such, this phrase is better translated ‘whatever is made manifest is light’. In other words, Paul is describing the transformation of darkness into light. As our light shines, we can influence the way people live, so that they also become children of light as they respond to Christ, who is the source of this light. Paul continues... Ephesians 5:15–17 NKJV 15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. In view of the responsibility we have to shine Christ’s light to others, Paul says that we are to walk carefully and with wisdom. We need to walk carefully, because people are watching, and we have an enemy the devil who wants trip us up. We walk wisely by 'redeeming the time'. This means that we make the most of every opportunity to shine the light of Jesus. In other words, let Jesus be seen in you at all times. After all, 'the days are evil' and people need the light that Jesus brings. But in order to shine His light, we cannot lean to our own understanding. Instead, we need to 'understand what the will of the Lord is'. As we have seen, we do that by looking to the word of God. Paul continues... Ephesians 5:18–19 NKJV 18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, Should a Christian drink alcohol? The Bible doesn’t ban alcohol altogether, but it does prohibit drunkenness. Remember, we are to be sober people. But the result of drunkenness is ‘dissipation’ - a word that means overindulgence in sensual pleasures. Instead, we are to 'be filled with the Spirit'. The Greek word for ‘filled’ is in the present tense, which means that Paul is not describing a one-off experience. He is basically saying, 'be constantly full of the Spirit'. This means that we should always allow the Holy Spirit to have control of our lives. When the Spirit has control of our lives, the fruit of the Spirit will characterize our behavior (see Galatians 5:22-23). We are also to be ‘speaking to one another [NLT reads ‘singing… among yourselves’] in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord’. Paul continues... Ephesians 5:20–21 NKJV 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another in the fear of God. We are to be people who give God thanks 'for all things'. Do you have something? When was the last time you gave God thanks for it? Then Paul says, 'submitting to one another in the fear of God'. There is no place for haughtiness in a child of God. Paul will go on to give specific examples of how we can submit to one another in the verses that follow, but we will look at that in part 7 of this series. Summary
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Stuart PatticoPastor of Joy Community Church, Milton Keynes. Archives
August 2023
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