Ephesians5

Ephesians 5 exhorts believers to walk in love, imitating Christ's sacrifice, and to live as children of light, shunning darkness and its works. It calls for wisdom, redeeming the time, and being filled with the Spirit, expressing thankfulness. The chapter concludes with instructions on mutual submission, specifically detailing the roles of husbands and wives within marriage, mirroring Christ's relationship with the Church.
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Walk in Love and Purity

1
Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; ​
2
and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell. ​

Rejecting Immorality and Greed

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But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints; ​
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nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting: but rather giving of thanks.
5
For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. ​
6
Let no man deceive you with empty words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience. ​
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Be not ye therefore partakers with them;

Walk as Children of Light

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for ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord: walk as children of light ​
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(for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
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proving what is well-pleasing unto the Lord;
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and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them;
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for the things which are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of.
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But all things when they are reproved are made manifest by the light: for everything that is made manifest is light.
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Wherefore he saith, Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine upon thee. ​

Living Wisely in the Spirit

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Look therefore carefully how ye walk, not as unwise, but as wise; ​
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redeeming the time, because the days are evil. ​
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Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
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And be not drunken with wine, wherein is riot, but be filled with the Spirit; ​
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speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
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giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
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subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ. ​

Christ and the Church: The Marriage Standard

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Wives, be in subjection unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. ​
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For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, being himself the saviour of the body. ​
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But as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives also be to their husbands in everything.
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Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself up for it; ​
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that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, ​
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that he might present the church to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
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Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his own wife loveth himself:
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for no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the church;
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because we are members of his body.
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For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh. ​
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This mystery is great: but I speak in regard of Christ and of the church. ​
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Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see that she fear her husband. ​

Study Notes for Ephesians 5

Verse 1

Following the imperative of 4:32, the call to be 'imitators of God' means reflecting His character, especially His forgiving and sacrificial love.

Verse 2

Christ's love is defined by His self-sacrifice. The imagery of 'offering and a sacrifice' echoes Old Testament terminology, emphasizing the perfection and acceptance of Christ’s atoning death.

Verse 3

Paul lists sins related to sexual impurity and greed, demanding that these vices not even be discussed among believers, as they are inconsistent with the new identity as 'saints' (holy ones).

Verse 5

Paul equates covetousness (greed) with idolatry, recognizing that misplaced ultimate desire for wealth or material things is a form of worship that displaces God. Such practices exclude one from inheriting the Kingdom.

Verse 6

The 'vain words' likely refer to false teachers who minimized the seriousness of sin or suggested that Christians could indulge in immoral practices without suffering divine judgment.

Verse 8

This verse contrasts the former state ('darkness,' an identity) with the present identity ('light in the Lord'). Christians are called to live according to this new reality, characterized by moral virtue.

Verse 14

This appears to be a quote from an early Christian hymn or prophetic utterance, serving as a call to spiritual awakening and repentance for those who remain spiritually dormant or morally compromised.

Verse 15

The command to walk 'circumspectly' means living precisely, carefully, or accurately, in contrast to the reckless living of the 'fools' (the morally and spiritually unwise).

Verse 16

'Redeeming the time' (literally, 'buying up the opportunity') urges believers to make the most of every opportunity for righteous living because the present age is characterized by evil and opposition.

Verse 18

Paul contrasts the uncontrolled, wasteful indulgence of drunkenness ('excess' or dissipation) with the ongoing, filling presence of the Holy Spirit, which results in communal worship and thanksgiving (vv. 19-20).

Verse 21

This verse serves as the foundational principle for the entire household code (vv. 22–6:9). Mutual submission, motivated by reverence for Christ, governs all relationships within the Christian community.

Verse 22

The instruction to submit is qualified by the phrase 'as unto the Lord,' meaning the wife’s obedience is ultimately an act of devotion to Christ, not merely human servitude.

Verse 23

The husband’s 'headship' is defined by Christ’s model: sacrificial love and responsibility as the 'Savior of the body.' This authority is protective, not domineering.

Verse 25

The command to husbands is extreme and unilateral: they are to love their wives with the self-sacrificial, initiating love (agape) that Christ demonstrated on the cross.

Verse 26

The 'washing of water by the word' refers to the cleansing and sanctifying power of God’s Word (the gospel message), which prepares the church to be presented to Christ.

Verse 31

Paul quotes Genesis 2:24, establishing the creation mandate for marriage as a permanent, exclusive union that results in profound intimacy ('one flesh').

Verse 32

The 'great mystery' is not marriage itself, but the hidden truth revealed by God: that the marriage relationship is a profound earthly illustration of the spiritual union between Christ and the Church.

Verse 33

This verse summarizes the section, reiterating the dual responsibilities: the husband must maintain Christ-like, self-sacrificial love, and the wife must show respect (reverence) for her husband.

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