Ephesians 5
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EPHESIANS 5:1-4:
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. |
In Ephesians 1 we find the riches of our salvation. It is important for every believer to know who he is and what he has in the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:3 sums it all up. He says He has given us every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. The First National Bank of God is Jesus Christ, and we have everything spiritually that we will ever need in Him. We are rich today in Jesus Christ. --Wayne Barber |
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Ephesians 5:6:
"Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." |
He has convinced himself of God's favor, so therefore believes God is pleased and will guarantee him a spot in heaven. It is a false gospel with a false notion that God is waiting in hopeful anticipation of yet another coming to 'accept him'. In all this, God is taken off the throne and relegated powerless. With the simple act of raising a hand and walking down an aisle, men and women are assured that they are now "saved" and told to never doubt their 'salvation.' God's word tells us, examine yourselves! |
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Ephesians 5:8:
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light |
Wisdom about evil does not mean gazing at it, thinking about it, dwelling upon it. To do so is to be overcome. Our victory in Christ is lived out by faith – believing His promises and setting our eyes up there, not down here. -Jeff Crippen |
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Ephesians 5:15-21:
“See then that ye walk circumspectly (meaning accurately or precisely with great care) , not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God…” |
"He who sings prays twice.” -St. Augustine of Hippo It should be recognized that every individual created by God is a diamond in the rough. Diamonds, however, need grinding and polishing to develop their beauty. For this purpose God instituted the marriage relation as one of the central workshops in which that grinding and polishing process takes place. The dust and sparks may have to fly a bit in the workshop, but the two need each other in the refining process just as the diamond needs grindstone. And the submitting of each partner to this polishing operation is the key to both marriage and harmony and their individual development in the plan of God. --Stanley a Ellisen (Divorce and Remarriage in the Church p32) |
When one walks the wise path they see the fruit of their life — and sadly, when one walks the unwise path, they too see the fruit of their life. As we just read in verse 15 we should carefully choose the path that we travel.
Let me if I may describe a few “wrong paths”:
-Easy path: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13).
-Disobedient path: The Bible speaks clearly of those “Who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness (Proverbs 2:13). Also, “The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble (Proverbs 4:19).
Things that were at one time shameful to even speak of are paraded in plain view today; this is how far we have strayed from the path God intended us to follow. The Bible speaks of those “Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked (Proverbs 2:14).
-Destructive path: “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead” (Proverbs 2:18).
-Deadly path: You may be saying at this very moment, “I know what I am doing.” But God says, “There is a way the seems right to a man, But the end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
--Lance Stevens
Let me if I may describe a few “wrong paths”:
-Easy path: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13).
-Disobedient path: The Bible speaks clearly of those “Who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness (Proverbs 2:13). Also, “The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble (Proverbs 4:19).
Things that were at one time shameful to even speak of are paraded in plain view today; this is how far we have strayed from the path God intended us to follow. The Bible speaks of those “Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked (Proverbs 2:14).
-Destructive path: “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead” (Proverbs 2:18).
-Deadly path: You may be saying at this very moment, “I know what I am doing.” But God says, “There is a way the seems right to a man, But the end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
--Lance Stevens
In Ephesians 5:15-21, the Bible says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly (meaning accurately or precisely with great care) , not as fools, but as wise. Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God…”
Let me begin by saying that there are two ways to walk in this world, wisely or unwisely.
When one walks the wise path they see the fruit of their life — and sadly, when one walks the unwise path, they too see the fruit of their life. As we just read in verse 15 we should carefully choose the path that we travel.
Let me if I may describe a few “wrong paths”:
-Easy path: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13).
-Disobedient path: The Bible speaks clearly of those “Who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness (Proverbs 2:13). Also, “The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble (Proverbs 4:19).
Things that were at one time shameful to even speak of are paraded in plain view today; this is how far we have strayed from the path God intended us to follow. The Bible speaks of those “Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked (Proverbs 2:14).
-Destructive path: “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead” (Proverbs 2:18).
-Deadly path: You may be saying at this very moment, “I know what I am doing.” But God says, “There is a way the seems right to a man, But the end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
Now how about when we choose the “right path” — carefully determining what you do: “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Next, be careful to choose what we think: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. -Lance Stevens
Let me begin by saying that there are two ways to walk in this world, wisely or unwisely.
When one walks the wise path they see the fruit of their life — and sadly, when one walks the unwise path, they too see the fruit of their life. As we just read in verse 15 we should carefully choose the path that we travel.
Let me if I may describe a few “wrong paths”:
-Easy path: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Matthew 7:13).
-Disobedient path: The Bible speaks clearly of those “Who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness (Proverbs 2:13). Also, “The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble (Proverbs 4:19).
Things that were at one time shameful to even speak of are paraded in plain view today; this is how far we have strayed from the path God intended us to follow. The Bible speaks of those “Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked (Proverbs 2:14).
-Destructive path: “For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead” (Proverbs 2:18).
-Deadly path: You may be saying at this very moment, “I know what I am doing.” But God says, “There is a way the seems right to a man, But the end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
Now how about when we choose the “right path” — carefully determining what you do: “Test all things; hold fast what is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Next, be careful to choose what we think: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. -Lance Stevens
| American statesman Bernard Baruch once said “Whatever failures I have known, whatever errors I have committed, whatever follies I have witnessed in private and public life, have been the consequences of action without thought.”
The exhortation here is to NOT be foolish. The antedote to that is to "understand" what the Lord's will is. Not just to know what it is, but to understand it. Man, in his finite reasoning, may by nature have a limited attention span. If he has no idea why he is doing something he may get lost or give up. If he has some kind of understanding of the purpose, it creates a motivation and for those most inspired it creates an unwavering ability to see the task all the way through, regardless of how things might look on the way. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see," (Heb. 11:1). Faith is not without reason nor is it based on a lack of evidence, as most contemporary dictionaries and ant-theists like to proclaim. |
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Ephesians 5:22:
22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. |
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Ephesians 5:22-33:
as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. |
If one reads Pauls comments in I Corinthians Chapter 7 there “appears” to be a contradiction. I do not think there is, but I guess I think the Ephesians verses by themselves paint a picture worthy of the Byzantine era when that which was “holy” was separate from the real world. There has to be a pragmatic reality to verse that makes the application practical. (or at least I believe so). The way I see it, Very few, if there are any (I am just opting there might be..I do not know of any) marriages that actually live the Ephesians portrayal of marriage with only that text as the descriptive. I see Paul’s commentary in I Corinthians as basically bringing home the reality of it in a practical sense. So putting them BOTH together (considering the whole counsel) ..the Ephesians verse lays out the standard, but Paul’s commentary lays out the practical reality of the standard: we live in planet earth and there will be problems. And Jesus came before both of the Epistles and clearly stated that marriage ends at death, implying it is worldly institution—one that we can learn from–but still temporal. I just want to be clear that I do not see a contradiction, but I do emphatically do not believe Paul’s comment was about an unsaved vs saved marriage. He had some comments earlier in the chapter about unbelievers marrying believers which should go without saying if those entering into marriage understand anything about love to begin with. |