Ephesians 5

5:1 Imitate God . . . in everything you do: Primarily by expressing love (5:2; cp. Matt 5:44-45, 48). • because you are his dear children: Just as children follow their parents’ example, believers should follow God’s example (1 Cor 4:14-17).

5:2 Christ’s love is shown especially in his offering himself as a sacrifice for us (cp. 5:25; John 15:13; Rom 5:8). Christian love is motivated by and modeled after Christ’s sacrificial love (see Phil 2:5-8). • Paul draws on Old Testament imagery, where the smell of a burning sacrifice was a pleasing aroma to God (see Lev 1:9; 2:2; cp. Rom 12:1).

5:3-5 God’s people (literally holy ones) must have a holy lifestyle, avoiding the immorality common among unbelievers (cp. 4:19; Col 3:5).

5:4 The speech of God’s people is to be characterized by thankfulness to God (see 4:29; 5:3, 12).

5:5 Many similar statements describe the kind of person who will not inherit the Kingdom of . . . God: See 1 Cor 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 22:15; cp. Col 3:5-6. • For a greedy person is an idolater: The things greedy people desire become their gods (see Matt 6:24).

5:6 The anger of God will fall at his final judgment (see Rom 1:18; Col 3:5-6; cp. John 3:36).

5:7 Don’t participate: Cp. 2 Cor 6:14–7:1.

5:8 Darkness is ignorance of God and his ways and being dominated by sin (see 4:18). • Light from the Lord is Christ’s good news (see John 8:12). As people of light, believers live in fellowship with God, in whom there is no darkness (see 1 Jn 1:5-7; 5:9; cp. Matt 5:14-16; John 8:12; 12:35-36, 46; Rom 13:12; 2 Cor 6:14; 1 Thes 5:4-8; 1 Pet 2:9).

5:9 God’s people are to do what is good and right and true, in harmony with God’s light (cp. Rom 12:2; some early manuscripts read Spirit instead of light; cp. Eph 4:22-24; Matt 7:16-20; Gal 5:22-23).

5:10 Carefully determine what pleases the Lord: The point is to obey God’s will, not simply to understand it (cp. Rom 12:2; Phil 1:10).

5:11 expose them: By the light shining from their lives (cp. John 3:20-21; Rom 13:12; 1 Pet 2:9), not by verbally accusing or condemning people (see 1 Cor 5:9-13).

5:13-14 “Awake, O sleeper”: This might be a fragment from an unknown Christian song, perhaps based on texts in Isaiah (cp. Isa 26:19; 52:1; 60:1). It calls on God’s people to turn from their sinful darkness and live in the full light of Christ.

5:15 Fools have no understanding of God and his ways, but those who are wise do know God and understand his ways (see Job 28:28; Prov 1:7; 2:1-22).

5:16 Make the most of every opportunity: See also Col 4:5. • in these evil days: See Matt 24:6-12, 15-22; 2 Thes 2:3-10.

5:18 The Holy Spirit, not wine, should dominate believers’ lives (see Prov 23:29-35; cp. Acts 2:15-18). • be filled: The grammar here suggests that believers’ lives are to be continuously filled with and governed by the Holy Spirit.

5:19-20 Lives filled with the Holy Spirit will be expressed in singing . . . and making music (Col 3:16-17). Joyful praise, worship, and giving thanks are fitting responses to God’s saving grace. • among yourselves: Singing together builds up the body of Christ. • The Lord hears the music in our hearts. • in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is our mediator and representative as we approach God (cp. John 14:13-14; 16:23-27; Rev 22:4).

5:21–6:9 Paul gives specific instructions on how believers are to relate to one another in a Christian home (see also Col 3:18–4:1; 1 Pet 2:18–3:7). Love and respect are to characterize all relationships in the body of Christ as an expression of believers’ commitment to the Lord himself.5:21 And further, submit to one another: The verb form links it with the command to be filled (5:18). This general instruction (cp. Phil 2:3) applies to all three relationships that Paul discusses: wives and husbands (Eph 5:22-33), children and their parents (6:1-4), and slaves and their masters (6:5-9). For believers, submission is not expressed out of fear or desire for personal gain, but out of reverence for Christ.

5:22-33 Christian wives are to submit to their husbands, showing them respect. Equally important, Christian husbands are to love their wives (see Col 3:18-19). Christian marriages become a reflection of the union and relationship between the Lord and the church.5:22 Submission is part of the life to which the wives’ Christian commitment calls them (see 1 Cor 11:3-10; 14:34-35; Col 3:18; 1 Tim 2:11-12; Titus 2:5; 1 Pet 3:1-6).

5:23-24 a husband is the head of his wife: To be the head is to have authority (see 1 Cor 11:3). • Christ is the head of the church: See Eph 1:22; 4:15; Col 1:18; 2:10, 19.

5:25-33 Christian husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church—that is, sacrificially, for Christ gave up his life for her (5:2; cp. Col 3:19; 1 Pet 3:7).

5:26 washed by the cleansing of God’s word: The church has been cleansed by the message of good news. God has forgiven the sins of his people through Christ’s sacrificial death (John 15:3; cp. Titus 3:5; 1 Pet 3:21).

5:27 a glorious church without a . . . blemish: The church’s sins have been forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice, and her life is purified by the Holy Spirit. As a result, the church stands holy and without fault before God. Cp. 1:4; 2 Cor 11:2; Col 1:22; Rev 19:7-8; 21:2.

5:28-29 Husbands should prize and cherish their wives, for in marriage the two have become one (see 5:31).

5:31 The unity of husband and wife should motivate the husband to care for his wife.

5:32 it is an illustration: Both the unity of husband and wife and the unity of Christ and the church are a great mystery (see study note on 1:8-10).

5:33 Paul summarizes his teaching on the relationship between husbands and wives (5:22-33). Christian marriages should be marked by love and respect.