Online Resource Library
Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPulpit Commentary - Ephesians 5:1 - 5:33
(Show All Books | Show All Chapters)
This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Be ye therefore imitators of God, as children beloved. These words are closely connected with the preceding. In Eph_4:32 he had urged the example of God in one very momentous matter; he now urges it in a more general sense and on another ground. We ought to forgive men because God has forgiven us—all admit that; but moreover, we ought to imitate our Father in his forgiveness and in his loving spirit, be-because beloved children should always imitate, and will always strive to imitate, what is good in a beloved father. Forgiving love is one of the great glories of our Father; it has been made peculiarly attractive in our eyes, because it has been exercised by him towards us; every consideration, therefore, ought to induce us to show the same spirit.
Eph_5:2
And walk in love. Taking up anew the exhortation of Eph_4:1. Let your ordinary life be spent in an atmosphere of love. Drink it in from heaven, as plants drink in the sunshine; radiate it forth from eyes and face; let hands and feet be active in the service; let looks, words, and acts all be steeped in it. Even as Christ also loved us. The passing from the Father to the Son as our Example is not a new departure; for the Son reveals the Father, the Son's love is the counterpart of the Father's, made visible to us in the way most fitted to impress us. Though Christ's love, like his Father's, is eternal, the aorist is used, to denote that specific act of love which is immediately in view. And gave himself for us. The Pauline phrase (Gal_1:4; Gal_2:20; Tit_2:14; 1Ti_2:6), simple, but very comprehensive: "himself"—all that he was as God, all that he became as Man, a complete self-surrender, a whole burnt offering. "For us," not merely on our behalf, but in our room (after verbs of giving, dying, etc.); this, indeed, being implied in the idea immediately following of a sacrifice, which, alike to the Jewish and pagan mind, conveyed the idea of a life given in room of another. An offering and a sacrifice to God. Offering and sacrifice are nearly synonymous, but the first probably includes the whole earthly career of Christ incarnate—his holy life, blessed example, gracious teaching, loving companionship, as well as his atoning death, which last is more precisely the θυσία , sacrifice. The offering and sacrifice were presented to God, to satisfy his justice, fulfill the demands of his law, and glorify his holy and righteous government. For a sweet-smelling savor. Allusion to Noah's sacrifice of every clean beast and of every fowl—" the Lord smelled a sweet savor;" that is, the whole transaction, not the offering merely, but the spirit in which it was offered likewise, was grateful to God. The whole work of Christ, and the beautiful spirit in which he offered himself, were grateful to the Father, and procure saving blessings for all who by faith make the offering their own.
Eph_5:3-21
THE WALK SUITABLE TO THE CHILDREN OF LIGHT.
Eph_5:3
But. Another of the remarkable contrasts of this Epistle; the fumes of lust are doubly odious in contact with the sweet savor of Christ's offering. Fornication and all impurity, or covetousness. The combination of covetousness with sins of the flesh, occurring several times in the apostle's writings (1Co_5:11; Eph_5:3; Col_3:5), is rather unexpected. Πλεονεξία , covetousness, means the desire of having more, which is peculiarly true of sensual sins; but it is not coupled with them by a καὶ , but disjoined by an ἢ , indicating something of another class. In the mind of the apostle, sensuality was inseparable from greed, unnatural craving for more, dissatisfaction with what was enough; hence the neighborhood of the two vices. Let it not be even named among you, as becometh saints. The practice of such sins was out of the question; but even speaking of them, as matters of ordinary conversation, was unsuitable for saints; the very conversation of Christians must be pure. The exhortation bears on Christians in their social relations; had the apostle been treating of the duty of the individual, he would have urged that such sins should never be admitted even to the thoughts or the imagination.
Eph_5:4
And filthiness; αἰσχρότης , implying that such things are disgraceful, ugly, revolting, the opposite of καλός , fair, comely, attractive. And foolish talking or jesting, which are not becoming. This would be well understood in sensual, frivolous Ephesus; a light, bantering, jesting kind of talk, seasoned with double entendres and obscene allusions, very pernicious in its moral effect. There is no reason to suppose that the apostle meant to condemn all play of humor, which is a Divine gift, and which in moderation has its own useful place as a means of refreshing and invigorating the spirit; it was the jesting associated with ribaldry that drew his reproof. But rather giving of thanks. Εὐχαριστία is somewhat similar in sound to εὐτραπελία , jesting: the reason for putting the one in opposition to the other is not very apparent; the meaning seems to be that, in place of giving vent to lively feelings in frivolous talk and jesting, it is better for Christians to do so by pouring out their hearts in thanksgivings to God for all his goodness.
Eph_5:5
For this ye know well; an appeal to their own consciences, made confidently, as beyond all doubt. That no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom. Covetousness, the twin-brother sin of uncleanness, is denounced as idolatry. It is worshipping the creature more than the Creator, depending on vast stores of earthly substance in place of the favor and blessing of God. It must receive the doom of the idolater; instead of inheriting the kingdom, he must die the death. The doom in this verse is not future, but present—not shall have, but hath, inheritance, etc. (comp. Eph_1:11, Eph_1:18). The lust of greed overreaches itself; it loses all that is truly worth having; it may have this and that—lands, houses, and goods—but it has not one scrap in the kingdom. Of Christ and God. The two are united in the closest way, as equals, implying the divinity of Christ and his oneness with the Father in the administration of the kingdom.
Eph_5:6
Let no man deceive you with empty words. No man, whether pagan or nominal Christian: the pagan defending a life of pleasure as the only thing to be had with even a smack of good in it; the Christian mitigating pleasant sins, saying that the young must have an outlet for their warm feelings, that men in business must put all their soul into it, and that life must be brightened by a little mirth and jollity. As opposed to what the apostle has laid down (Eph_5:5), such words are empty, destitute of all solidity or truth. For on account of these things the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience. The sophistry is swept away by an awful fact—the wrath cometh, is coming, and will come too in the future life. It comes in the form of natural punishment, Nature avenging her broken laws by deadly diseases; in the form, too, of disappointment, remorse, desolation of soul; and in the form of judgments, like that which befell Sodom and Gomorrah, or the sword which never departed from David's house.
Eph_5:7
Be not ye therefore partakers with them. If you are partakers of their sins, you must be of their punishments too. Refuse all partnership, therefore. Your natural instincts recoil from partnership in punishment; let your spiritual instincts recoil from partnership in sin.
Eph_5:8
For ye were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Another expressive "but." To make the contrast more emphatic, it is not said, "ye were in darkness, but are now in light;" but, "ye were darkness itself, and are now light itself," and this last is explained by the usual formula, "in the Lord." There was a celebrated Ephesian philosopher, Alexander, who was called "The Light;" but not from that source had the light come. The idea of light-giving is also involved in their being light. "Arise, shine, for thy light is come." Walk as children of light. Another expressive image, denoting close connection with light, as if they were actually born of it; hence their lives should be full of it. The figure connecting darkness with sin and light with purity, common to all languages, underlies the exhortation.
Eph_5:9
For the fruit of light is [shown] in all goodness and righteousness and truth. The exhortation is confirmed by this statement of what is the natural result of light—goodness, the disposition that leads to good works; righteousness, rectitude, or integrity, which is most careful against all disorder and injustice, and renders to all their due, and especially to God the things that are God's; and truth, meaning a regard for truth in every form and way—believing it, reverencing it, speaking it, acting according to it, hoping and rejoicing in it, being sincere and honest, not false or treacherous.
Eph_5:10
Proving what is well-pleasing to the Lord. A general rule applicable to the whole walk. To prove is to ascertain by test and experiment. Our whole walk should be directed to finding out what things are pleasing to Christ, rejecting at once everything that is not so, and clinging to all that is. We are not to follow the tradition of our people, and not to take a vague view of duty; we are to prove the matter, to put it to the test. For the supreme practical rule of the Christian's life must be to please Christ.
Eph_5:11
And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. The point of this exhortation is in the adjective "unfruitful." The works of darkness are unfruitful; they produce no goodness, give rise to no satisfaction, to no moral results that are "a joy forever;" or, if fruit they have, it is shame, remorse, despair. Contrast this with the renovating, satisfying, joy-producing, fruits of righteousness. But rather even reprove them. Do not be content with a passive attitude towards them, but take the aggressive and expose their wickedness, whether in public or in the domestic circle. A testimony has to be lifted up against ways that are so shameful and that bring down the wrath of God.
Eph_5:12
For the things that are done by them in secret it is a shame even to speak of. The groves of Ephesus were notorious for the shamefulness of lust. To speak of such deeds was not only wrong, but shameful; so extreme is the delicacy which Christianity fosters. Too much pains cannot be taken, by parents, masters of schools, and others, to foster this delicacy among the young—to exclude from conversation the faintest touch of what is unbecoming.
Eph_5:13
But all things when they are reproved are made manifest by the light. As, for instance, when our Lord reproved the hypocrisy of the Pharisees—their practices had not seemed to the disciples very evil before, but when Christ threw on them the pure light of truth, they were made manifest in their true character—they appeared and they still appear, odious. A just reproof places evil in a light that shows its true character. For everything which is made manifest is light. Literally, this is a truism; anything shone on is no longer dark, but light. The nearest approach to this, morally, is that light has a transforming power; when the light of the gospel shines on anything dark or evil, it transforms it into what is light or good. This is not uniformly true; all the light of heaven turned on hell would not make it morally light; but it is the general property and tendency of moral light to transform. The exhortation would thus mean—Use your light to reprove what is evil or dark, for not only will the true character of the evil thereby be made apparent, but your light will have a transforming power. But if this were the meaning, we should expect in the end of the verse, not φῶς ἐστι , but φῶς γινεταί , to denote this transformation. The rendering of A.V., giving to φανερούμενον an active meaning ("whatsoever doth make manifest is light"), is rejected by most grammarians, as not being consistent with the usage of the word. The meaning which that rendering gives is this: "Light is the element which makes all clear." We should thus have in the latter clause a proposition, affirming as universal what in the former clause is affirmed of one particular case; "things reproved are made manifest by the light, for it is only light that makes things clear." The exhortation to reprove would thus be confirmed by the consideration that the only way of making immoral things appear in their proper character is to let in on them the light of the gospel. The great practical point is that Christians ought to let in and diffuse the light.
Eph_5:14
Therefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. This is evidently intended to give an additional impulse to the Ephesians to walk as children of the light; but a difficulty arises as to the source of the quotation. There is no difficulty with the formula, "he saith," which, like the same expression in Eph_4:8, is clearly to be referred to God. But no such words occur in the Old Testament. The passage that comes nearest to them is Isa_60:1," Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord hath risen upon thee." The simplest and best explanation is, not that the apostle quoted from any lost book, but flint he did not mean to give the words, but only the spirit of the passage. This is evident from his introducing the word "Christ." It must be owned that the apostle makes a very free use of the prophet's words. But the fundamental idea in the prophecy is, that when the Church gets the light of heaven, she is not to lie still, as it' she were asleep or dead, but is to be active, is to make use of the light, is to use it for illuminating the world. The apostle maintains that the Ephesian Church had got the light of heaven; she, therefore, was not to sleep or loiter, but spring forth as if from the grave, and pour light on the world. The changes which the apostle makes on the form of the prophecy are remarkable, and show that it was to its spirit and substance rather than to its precise form and letter that he attached the authority of inspiration.
Eph_5:15
Take heed then how ye walk strictly. The construction is somewhat peculiar, combining two ideas—see that you walk strictly, but consider well the kind of strictness. Do not walk loosely, without fixed principles of action; but make sure that your rules are of the true kind. Many are strict who are not wisely strict; they have rules, but not good rules. Not as unwise, but as wise. This rendering brings out the force of ἄσοφοι and σοφυὶ : "fools" (A.V.) is rather strong, for it is not utter folly that is reproved, but easy-mindedness, want of earnest consideration in a matter so infinitely vital, so as to know what is truly best.
Eph_5:16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil; or, buying up for yourselves the opportunity, the idea being that of a merchant who, knowing the value of an article and the good use to which he can put it, buys it up. The opportunity is the opportunity of spreading the light and acting according to it; and the reason assigned, "because the days are evil," indicates that, owing to the prevalence of evil, there is much need for the light over which the Christian has control. It may be hinted likewise that the prevalence of evil is apt to cool the love and diminish the zeal of the Christian; hence the need for special eagerness of spirit in the matter—he must greedily watch for his opportunity.
Eph_5:17
Wherefore be ye not unwise, hut understanding what is the will of the Lord. The "wherefore" bears on all the preceding argument: because ye are children of light; because light is so valuable and so indispensable; because your whole circumstances demand so much care and earnestness. "Unwise" is equivalent to senseless; "understanding," to both knowing and laying to heart, as in parable of sower: "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not," i.e. does not consider or ponder it, "then cometh the wicked one," etc. The will of the Lord is the great rule of the Christian life; to know and in the deeper sense understand this, is to walk wisely and to walk surely.
Eph_5:18
And be not intoxicated with wine, wherein is dissoluteness. Drunkenness is suggested because it is a work of darkness; it is the foe to vigilance and earnestness, and it leads all who yield to it to act unwisely. It is the social aspect of drunkenness the apostle has in view—the exhilarating influence of wine in company, giving a rush of high spirits. Ασωτία , from α and σωζω , the opposite of savingness, wastefulness, dissoluteness, or the process of being dissolved, involving perdition. Spoken of the prodigal son, "riotous living;" the habit which sends everything to wreck and ruin. But be filled with the Spirit. Instead of resorting to wine to cheer and animate you, throw your hearts open the Holy Spirit, so that he may come and fill them; seek the joy that the Spirit inspires when he makes you to sit with Christ in heavenly places, so that, instead of pouring out your joyous feelings in bacchanalian songs, you may do so in Christian hymns.
Eph_5:19
Speaking to one another. Literally, this would denote antiphonal singing, but this is rather an artificial idea for so simple times. It seems here to denote one person singing one hymn, then another another, and so on; and the meetings would seem to have been for social Christian enjoyment rather than for the public worship of God. In the Epistle to the Colossians it is, "Teaching and admonishing one another with psalms," and this has more of the idea of public worship; and if it be proper to express joyful feelings in the comparatively private social gatherings of Christians, it is proper to do the same in united public worship. In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. The precise meaning of these terms is not easily seen; "psalms" we should naturally apply to the Old Testament psalms, but the want of the article makes the meaning more general, equivalent to "songs with the character of the psalms;" hymns, songs celebrating the praises of the Divine Being, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; "spiritual songs" or odes of a more general cast, meditative, historical, hortatory, or didactic. But these must be "spiritual," such as the Holy Spirit would lead us to use and would use with us for our good. The two clauses correspond: "be filled with the Spirit;" "speaking in spiritual songs." Receive the Spirit—pour out the Spirit; let your songs be effusions sent forth from your hearts with the aroma of the Holy Spirit. Singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; i.e. to the Lord Jesus. Some have argued that while ἄδοντες denotes singing, ψάλλοντες means striking the musical instrument. But ψάλλω is so frequently used in a more general sense, that it can hardly be restricted to this meaning here. The great thought is that this musical service must not be musical only, but a service of the heart, in rendering which the heart must be in a state of worship.
Eph_5:20
Giving thanks always for all things; this being not only a most Christian duty, but an excellent way to keep the heart in good tone, to keep up happy feelings—the duty not being occasional, but "always," and not for things prima facto agreeable only, but "for all things" (see Job_2:10; Rom_8:28). In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. God the Father is the proper Object of thanksgiving, as of prayer generally; but the thanks are to be given in the Name of Christ. That is, through him who has brought in the economy of grace, whereby for wrath we get blessing, for suffering we get reward, for misery glory; whereby, in short, the whole aspect of life is brightened, and even the greatest trials and sorrows turned into real blessings.
Eph_5:21
Subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ. The last of the participial exhortations depending on the general exhortation of Eph_5:15 to walk strictly, Most commentators connect it with the three immediately preceding participles (speaking, singing, giving thanks), but are unable to find a link of connection. Better connect with Eph_5:15. Mutual subjection is part of a wise, circumspect walk, i.e. mutual recognition of each other's rights and of our obligations to serve them. In some sense we are all servants, i.e. we are bound to serve others; the very father is, in this sense, servant of his child. So in the Christian Church we are all in a sense servants ("By love serve one another," Gal_5:15; comp. Mat_20:26-28; Joh_13:15, Joh_13:16). This view is in harmony with the humble spirit of the gospel. Pride leads us to demand rigorously from others what we fancy they owe to us; humility, to give to others what Christ teaches that we owe to them. The one feeling is to be discouraged, the other exercised and strengthened. In the verses following we have this precept split up into its constituent filaments. The reading of R.V., "in the fear of Christ," has more authority than A.V., "in the fear of God." It brings to our mind the wonderful example of Christ in this clement of character (comp. Luk_2:51; Heb_5:8). Reverential regard for him should inspire us with the same spirit (Php_2:5-8).
Eph_5:22
Eph_6:9.—EXHORTATION TO RELATIVE DUTIES.
Eph_5:22
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Lord. Though Christianity emancipates and elevates woman, it does not release her from the duty of subjection. The relation to the husband is intensified in order to enforce the duty: "your own husbands," τοῖς ἰδιοῖς ἀνδράσι : as we say, "she deserted her own child." The "as to" denotes a parallel duty: as it is your duty to be subject to Christ, so also to your husbands (see next verse).
Eph_5:23
For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the Head of the Church. The woman was made for the man (Gen_2:18; 1Ti_2:13), showing the Divine purpose that the man should be the head and center of the household, and that the position of the wife, as wife, should be one of subordination. Parallel to this arrangement is the relation of Christ to the Church. In words, at least, all admit the headship of Christ, and the subordination of the Church to him. The Christian household, on a much lower level, should exemplify the same relation. Being himself savior of the body. This is not said by way of contrast, but still by way of parallel. The very saviorship of Christ should find an analogy in the Christian husband. The husband should be the ever-vigilant and self-denying protector, guardian, deliverer, of his family, though his saving power can never come near the high level of Christ's A husband reckless of these obligations virtually ceases to have any claim on the subjection of the wife and the family. The very comparison of the husband to the Savior implies that, while there is a certain analogy, there is a still greater contrast. This is implied in the first word of the following verse. Between the lines we read this thought: "Not that the parallel between Christ's saving function and the husband's extends to the highest things."
Eph_5:24
But [it exists so far as to enforce this exhortation] as the Church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their husbands in everything. Let there be a subjection in the one case parallel to that in the other, for such is the Divine will and purpose. Any subjection due to the husband must be modified by what is due to God, for as the husband may not require for himself, so the wife may not give to him, what is God's: God's will is paramount over all. Of the three wills that may be in collision, viz. God's, the husband's, and the wife's—the duty of the wife is to take them in this order, having regard first to God's, next to her husband's, and last to her own.
Eph_5:25
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave himself for her. The husband's duty to the wife is enforced by another parallel—it ought to correspond to Christ's love for the Church. This parallel restores the balance; if it should seem hard for the wife to be in subjection, the spirit of love, Christ-like love, on the part of the husband makes the duty easy. Christ did not merely pity the Church, or merely desire her good, but loved her; her image was stamped on his heart and her name graven on his hands; he desired to have her for his companion, longing for a return of her affection, for the establishment of sympathy between her and him. And he gave himself for her (comp. Eph_5:2), showing that her happiness and welfare were dearer to him than his own—the true test of deep, real love.
Eph_5:26
That he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word. The immediate object of Christ was to cleanse her, and for this end he used the Word as a purifying agent, washing her by means of it. The difference between selfish and unselfish love is seen here: a selfish lover cares for his wife in his own interest—like Samson, desires to have her simply because she pleases him, and, in his converse with her, thinks, not of her good, but of his own enjoyment; but the love of an unselfish lover constrains him to seek her good, to do nothing that will hurt her and damage her in any manner of way, but to do everything that he believes will advance her well-being, especially in the highest sense. He finds her polluted (comp. Eze_16:1-63.), and his great instrument of cleansing is "the Word" (comp. Joh_15:3; Joh_17:5)—the Word in all its searching, humbling, rebuking, correcting, informing, stimulating, refreshing, consoling power. There is no express allusion to baptism, τῷ λουτρῷ τοῦ ὕδατος is explained by ἐν ῥήματι , "the Word" being the great sanctifying medium, and baptism a figure (1Pe_3:21).
Eph_5:27
That he might present to himself the Church glorious. The ultimate end, to which Eph_5:26 is introductory. Christ both gives and takes the bride; he presents her to himself—the day of his espousals being in the state of glory (Rev_21:2), and all the training of this life being designed to fit her for that condition. She becomes glorious at last through assimilation to himself (2Co_3:18; Joh_17:22). Not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. The idea is that of a body perfectly free from blemish, typical of a soul perfectly delivered from sin—of a character perfected in all grace and goodness. But that it should be holy and without blemish. The same truth expressed in positive form, which in the preceding clause is expressed in the negative. Nothing could more clearly denote perfection of character—the full development of the character with whatever of variety may arise from differences in natural gifts and constitution, or convey a more glorious idea of the destiny of redeemed humanity. To be, as it were, the bride of Christ is a high destiny in point of condition; but it would be miserable if character did not tally with condition; this agreement, however, is secured, for the Church is to be holy and without blemish.
Eph_5:28
Even so ought husbands also to love their own wives as their own bodies. A new illustration is introduced here to throw light on the bearing of the husband to his wife, and the οὕτως seems to refer, not to what goes before, but to what follows (comp. in Eph_5:33). He that loveth his own wife loveth himself. His wife is part of himself, so that not to love her as himself is not only a sin against law, but a sin against nature.
Eph_5:29
For no man ever hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as Christ also the Church. To hate one's wife is as irrational as to hate one's own flesh, and as, on the other hand, men constantly nourish and cherish their flesh, protecting it from hurt, seeking to heal it when hurt, and generally to promote its welfare and comfort, so ought husbands to act towards their wives. In this aspect of the case, too, the sharp eye of the apostle finds an analogy between the relation of the wife to the husband and that of the Church to Christ, expanded in the next verso.
Eph_5:30
For we are members of his body [being], of his flesh, and of his bones (the last seven words omitted in many manuscripts and in the R.V.). The reference is to the original formation of woman as narrated in Gen_2:1-25. Her very name indicated that she was "taken from man." She was taken from him and given to him. So the Church is taken from Christ and given to him. Taken from his body, sprung from his incarnation and his crucifixion and resurrection, the spiritual offspring of his humanity, and then given to him, to be his servant, nay, above a servant, his companion, friend, and confidant for evermore. If it had not been for the body of Christ (Heb_10:5) the Church could have had no existence. No bride fit for the King of heaven could have sprung from the earth. As Eve came from the opened side of Adam, so figuratively the Church springs from the pierced side of Jesus.
Eph_5:31
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they two shall come to be one flesh. Quoted in substance from Gen_2:24. It seems to be introduced simply to show the closeness of the relation between man and wife; it is such as in a sense to supersede that between parent and child. The apostle (as appears from the next verse) has in view, at the same time, the parallel truth—the closeness of the relation between Christ and the Church; it too in a sense supersedes the relations of nature (comp. Luk_14:26; Mat_12:50).
Eph_5:32
This mystery is a great one; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the Church. The matter referred to is the typical relation between the marriage of man and wife, and the union of Christ and the Church. It is called a mystery, and it is not said, as is said of another mystery, referred to before (Eph_3:5), that it has been completely explained. Some light has been thrown upon it, but that is all. It is implied that there is something of mystery in many of the relations between things natural and things spiritual, but that in the depth and grandeur of the sub-jeer, the mystery connected with the marriage relation is pre-eminent—it is "a great mystery" The analogy of the wind to the Holy Spirit; the springing up of plants to the resurrection; the melancholy sounds of nature to the prevalence of sin; and many other analogies, present vague shadows of truth, the clear, full forms of which we cannot see. When the day breaks and "the shadows flee away," such things will appear in a clearer light.
Eph_5:33
Nevertheless let each of you severally so love his own wife even as himself. The "nevertheless" refers to the unsolved part of the mystery: whatever may be mysterious, there is no mystery as to this, as to the duty of each husband to love his wife even as himself: that, as already shown, is clear from many considerations. And let the wife see that she fear her husband. Not, of course, with the slavish fear of one terrified and trembling because of a stronger being, but with the holy respect due to one to whom, by the will of God, she stands in a subordinate relation. The relation of Sarah to Abraham may again be referred to as indicating the true ideal of the relation of the wife to the husband.
I. SINS OF THE FLESH DENOUNCED, with a corresponding sin of the spirit—covetousness (Eph_5:3, Eph_5:4).
II. REASONS WHY SUCH SINS SHOULD BE RENOUNCED BY CHRISTIANS.
1. NO such person has any inheritance in the kingdom of God (Eph_5:5).
2. The wrath of God cometh—is present and visible—for such things on very evil men (Sodom and Gomorrah, Canaanites, etc.) (Eph_5:6).
3. They belong to the world of darkness, and Christians are children of light (Eph_5:8).
4. Christians, as living in the Spirit, should bring forth the fruit of the Spirit (Eph_5:9).
5. They should ascertain and follow only what is pleasing to Christ (Eph_5:10).
III. REASONS WHY SUCH SINS SHOULD BE REPROVED BY CHRISTIANS.
1. They are so evil that it is a sin even to speak of them (Eph_5:12).
2. The true character of such sins is seen by light let in on them (Eph_5:13).
3. The light has a tendency to transform (Eph_5:13), and by letting in the light that shows the odiousness of the sin you may be the means of changing the sinner; while you reprove you may also improve him.
4. It is for this purpose the Church has got the light—when the light is brought to her, her Lord calls on her to awake and shine (Eph_5:15). Such precepts and considerations have a wider bearing than Ephesus and its groves. Sins of the flesh flourish even in Christian lands. Young men! lay these things to heart; fear God and keep his commandments, and be not misled by any of the sophistry to which you listen; for they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts.
Eph_5:15-21
(1) apart,
(2) in Christian society.
I. APART.
1. Walk circumspectly, or strictly, not carelessly.
2. Walk wisely, taking pains to ascertain that you so walk as to gain the great end.
3. Redeem the time, or buy back the opportunity (see Exposition).
4. Understand; i.e. lay to heart and follow the will of Christ.
5. Avoid intoxication and all wild excitement and unhallowed pleasure.
6. Be filled with the Spirit, and the holy, blessed emotions which he genders.
II. IN CHRISTIAN SOCIETY.
1. Cultivate Christian song, and make melody in your heart to the Lord.
2. Let thanksgiving have a special place in your exercises.
3. Submit yourselves one to another in the fear of the Lord.
As Christians have not only duties, but also joys, belonging to their individual life, so they have both duties and joys belonging to their social life. What is most characteristic of the social duties of Christians is mutual submission; consideration of one another—of what is due by one to another, and still more of the loving service which one may be able to render to the other. What is most characteristic of their social joys is the element of thankfulness in which they flourish; they should ever live as those, who in Christ have received mercies beyond all calculation; and they should make abundant use of song to give expression to such feelings and to deepen them in so doing. This joyous element goes a long way to give brightness to the social life of Christians; they will not miss the more carnal delights on which worldly men set so much store, but will feel that God puts joy in their hearts, more than in the time that their corn and wine increased.
Eph_5:22-33
I. THE WIFE'S DUTY. Submission to the husband as to the Lord (Eph_5:22). Reasons for this.
1. The husband is the head of the wife (Eph_5:23).
2. There is a parallel between the husband and Christ (Eph_5:23).
3. Even in respect of Christ's saving power, the parallel holds to a limited, though very limited, extent (Eph_5:23).
4. The parallel is close enough to require the subjection of the wife (Eph_5:24).
II. THE HUSBAND'S DUTY. To love his wife. This is enforced:
1. By the consideration of what Christ felt and did for his Church.
(1) He loved the Church (Eph_5:25).
(2) He gave himself for her (Eph_5:25). And the object for which he did so.
(a) His immediate object (Eph_5:26).
(b) His ultimate object (Eph_5:27).
2. By the consideration of the closeness of the relation of the wife to the husband as his own flesh. This relation is considered
(1) naturally (Eph_5:28, Eph_5:29);
(2) symbolically (Eph_5:30).
The Church taken from Christ; given to Christ. The relation of the husband to his wife supersedes (in a manner) the relations of nature. The relation of the Church to Christ does so too (Eph_5:31). But the subject is mysterious (Eph_5:32). Yet one practical obligation is very clear (Eph_5:33).
The constitution of the Church, like that of natural society, involves mutual duties. Nothing can be complete unless each party performs his share. While it is the woman's part to be in subjection, it is the husband's part to love. The one balances the other. It is the duty of the wife to be subject even though the husband does not love, and the duty of the husband to love even though the wife is not subject; but how hard, difficult, almost impossible, such duties thus become! If the husband withhold love, he is wronging his wife, and altogether subverting the relation between them. Let' it ever be observed that, while God has joined husband and wife together, he has joined the husband's love to the wife's subjection; what, therefore, God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
I. THE DUTY HERE COMMANDED. "Be ye imitators of me." It is to do
(1) what God does;
(2) because he does it;
(3) as he does it.
The special point of imitation here is the duty of showing a forgiving spirit to one another.
II. WHY WE SHOULD IMITATE GOD.
1. Because we are his "dear children." Whom should children imitate but their father? Believers have had experience of their Father's wisdom, love, and power, and it is only an instinct of filial love to imitate such a Father.
2. Because we were originally made in his image (Gen_1:26), and though that image has been marred by sin, it is to be renewed in the process of a Christian experience (Eph_4:23).
3. Holiness consists in the imitation of God. "Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1Pe_1:16).
4. The prospect of perfect likeness to God in the day of our Lord's appearing. (1Jn_3:2.)
III. MEANS TOWARDS THE FULFILMENT OF THIS DUTY.
1. Pray without ceasing, especially for fuller measures of his grace, for larger disclosures of his love, for a deeper insight into his truth.
2. Live continually as being under his eye. (Psa_139:6, Psa_139:7.)
3. Consider how others have followed him. (1Co_11:1.)—T.C.
Eph_5:2
I. THIS WAS THE GREAT DUTY OF THE LAW. "All the Law is fulfilled in one word, even in this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' (Gal_5:14). "The end of the commandment is love" (1Ti_1:5). All our duty to our neighbor is summed up in love. Love supplies the motive-power to all right relations with our fellow-men.
II. THIS WAS THE NEW COMMANDMENT OF CHRIST, "A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another" (Joh_13:34). The love thus newly enjoined has certain important characteristics.
1. It must be the love of deeds, not words. "Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (1Jn_3:18).
2. It must be ardent. "Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves" (1Pe_4:7, 1Pe_4:8).
3. It must be self-sacrificing. "We ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1Jn_3:16).
4. It ought to be a love well guided and controlled. "This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all judgment" (Php_1:9).
5. It ought to be a constant love like that of Christ. "Having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end" (Joh_13:1).
6. It ought to be a decisive test as to our condition in God's sight. "He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him" (1Jn_2:10). "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren" (1Jn_3:14).
7. It must be a love recommended by the highest examples. "God is love." "If God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." We are to "walk in love, as Christ also loved us." "Let the same mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Php_2:5).—T.C.
Eph_5:2
I. WHO OFFERED HIMSELF? It was Christ, the only begotten Son of God. It was his own voluntary act. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (Joh_15:13). "Who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal_2:20). It was love that prompted the gift of himself—eternal, infinite, free.
II. WHAT DID HE OFFER? Himself. Not the blood of others, much less the blood of bulls and goats. It was the offering of the body of Christ (Heb_10:10).
III. FOR WHOM? For us, while we were yet enemies (Rom_5:10). Whether he died in our stead or merely for our benefit is determined by the context, which represents him as giving himself "an offering and a sacrifice." This language marks the distinctly substitutionary character of Christ's death, just as he is himself described elsewhere as "a ransom for many."
IV. TO WHOM DID HE OFFER HIMSELF? To God. That is, with the design that God might accept the sacrifice. God had pleasure in the death and atonement of his Son.
V. IN WHAT MANNER? "As an offering and a sacrifice." The term "offering" applies to propitiatory sacrifices, as well as to free-will offerings (Heb_10:18, Heb_10:14). The additional word, "sacrifice," marks the clearly propitiatory character of his offering (Heb_7:27).
VI. WITH WHAT RESULT? "For a sweet-smelling savor." This phrase is applied to propitiatory as well as to free-will offerings, as, for example, to the burnt offerings of Noah (Gen_8:21). The sacrifice of Christ was well-pleasing to God, who could henceforth manifest his character "as just, and the Justifier of him who believeth in Jesus." The whole passage teaches us:
1. The unsoundness of that theology which sees in the sufferings of Christ, not a propitiatory sacrifice, but the love, faith, and submission of God's Son, as an example to man. This view is altogether one-sided.
2. The unsoundness of that theology which sees in his sufferings a mere exhibition of love, without that element of righteousness which made these sufferings necessary. If love alone could save, why should he have suffered or died at all? It is the atoning love that is the element of consolation to man.
3. The unsoundness of that theology which sees the redeeming power of Christ in his birth rather than in his death, as if the event of Bethlehem were transcendently more important than the event of Golgotha.
4. That there is in Christ's love, not merely a force of argument or motive, but a very rule or measure, of the love which we ought to exercise toward each other in the bonds of the gospel.—T.C.
Eph_5:3-5
I. THEY ARE EXPRESS VIOLATIONS OF THE DIVINE LAW. (Exo_20:14.)
II. THEY ARE DISHONOURING TO GOD AND HIS HOLINESS. The corruption that is in the world through lust is inconsistent with the Divine nature (2Pe_1:4).
III. THEY THWART THE DESIGN OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, which is "to purify a people to himself" (Tit_2:14); "to cleanse us from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit" (2Co_7:1). Jesus suffered in the flesh that we should die to the flesh (1Pe_4:1).
IV. THEY GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT, whose office is to sanctify us (Eph_4:29, Eph_4:30). "That pure and holy dove will not dwell in a cage of unclean and filthy birds."
V. THEY DISHONOUR THE BODY, which is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1Co_6:18). They waste it as well as dishonor it (Pro_5:11).
VI. THEY WAR AGAINST THE SOUL in every sense of the term—against its life, its aspirations, its happiness (1Pe_2:11). They even darken the judgment and the understanding (Hos_4:11). No sort of sin so hardens the heart.
VII. THEY PROVOKE GOD'S AUGER. (Col_3:5, Col_3:6; Jer_5:7; Eph_5:6.) "For the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience." They subject transgressors to God's judgment, for "whoremongers and adulterers God wilt judge "(Heb_13:4). And they keep them out of heaven (1Co_6:9; 1Co_6:5). These sins of impurity are not even to be named among saints, who are to be pure in thought, pure in heart, pure in speech, pure in life. "Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof" (Rom_6:12). To this end we must:
1. Avoid all the occasions that prompt to impurity:
(1) idleness (Eze_16:49);
(2) evil company (Pro_7:25); and
(3) all other sins (Pro_1:25).
2. Make a covenant with our eyes (Job_31:1).
3. Watch over our thoughts (Ma Eph_2:16).
4. Delight in God's Word (Pro_2:10, Pro_2:16).
5. Continue in prayer (Psa_119:37).—T.C.
Eph_5:3-5
I. CONSIDER THE NATURE OF COVETOUSNESS. It is the inordinate love of riches, manifesting itself in several ways.
1. In the eager anxiety to attain wealth, without respect either to God's glory or our own spiritual good.
2. In a sinful acquisition of wealth by extortion or fraud. (1Ki_21:2, 1Ki_21:13; Pro_10:2; Pro_28:8.)
3. In a reluctance to use our wealth for good ends. (1Ti_6:17, 1Ti_6:18.)
II. HOW IS COVETOUSNESS TO BE REGARDED AS "IDOLATRY?" It is to make a god of our possessions and to give them the homage of our hearts. All the essential elements of idolatry are included in this worldly disposition. The covetous man transfers to riches the love, desire, joy, trust, and labor which God demands for himself. His sin is all the greater because he knows that his god is no god. The warning of the text is applicable
(1) to all whose thoughts run more upon earth than upon heaven (Luk_12:22, Luk_12:25, Luk_12:29);
(2) to all whose comfort depends upon worldly successes (Luk_12:19);
(3) to all who grudge the time that is spent in religious duties (Amo_8:5).
The sin of covetousness is, therefore, to be jealously avoided
(1) because it is odious to God "The covetous whom the Lord abhorreth" (Psa_10:3);
(2) because it is destructive to ourselves, in turning our hearts from God (1Jn_2:15), in filling our hearts with trouble and care (1Ti_6:9, 1Ti_6:10), and in keeping us out of the kingdom of God (Eph_5:5). Let us, therefore, estimate the world at its true value, meditate much on the fatherly care of our God (Luk_12:31, Luk_12:32; Mat_6:25, Mat_6:26), act in faith upon the promises (Heb_13:5), and remember the terrible brand of idolatry which rests upon covetousness. It is a solemn thought that the most common of all sins is the most serious in God's sight. Yet there is nothing in the condemnation of this sin that justifies the theory of other-worldliness, or the neglect of the duties of common life.—T.C.
Eph_5:4
I. THERE ARE THREE VARIETIES OF UNEDIFYING SPEECH.
1. "Filthiness." This term, though referring to acts as much as words, points especially to that obscenity of speech which is so disgusting to the moral sense of man. It is proof of a corrupt heart—for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh"—and, more than anything else, makes the tongue "a fire, a world of iniquity," even "set on fire of hell."
2. "Foolish talking." This is the talking that will have many idle words to answer for at the day of judgment (Mat_12:36). It is more than mere random gossip; it is the talk of fools which is folly and sin; it includes "corrupt speech" (Eph_4:29). It is aimless, senseless, frivolous talk. Our talk ought to be full of reason and purpose, and bright with happy suggestion.
3. "Jesting." The apostle does not condemn the pleasantry which lends such a grace and joy to conversation, but the wit that is allied to lewdness, brimming over in double entendres, and tending to demoralization.
II. THE APOSTLE'S JUDGMENT UPON THESE KINDS OF SPEECH. "Which are not convenient."
1. They are not so in themselves, for the character of impropriety essentially attaches to each of them.
2. They are not so in the speakers, who incur a still deeper reproach and prepare for themselves a graver judgment.
3. They are not so for the hearers, who, though they may be amused for the moment, are not profited, but rather debased by such conversation.
III. THE RIGHT USE OF THE TONGUE. "Giving of thanks." Christian cheerfulness ought to express itself, not in buffoonery or levity, but in thanksgiving and praise. We have much to be thankful for in our daily lot, and the thought of the indulgent kindness which supplies all our need ought to repress anything like foolish or scurrilous discourse. The language of thankfulness will minister grace to the hearers.—T.C.
Eph_5:6
I. IT IS NO UNUSUAL EXPERIENCE FOR WICKED MEN NOT TO SEE THE WICKEDNESS OF THEIR ACTS. The heathen regarded moral purity as a thing indifferent, and many of their moral guides palliated some of the worst features of pagan sensuality. They argued, as some have argued in modern times with a wicked levity of purpose, that tins of impurity have their origin and their justification in the very constitution of our nature, that they are not inconsistent with many social virtues, and that they are not injurious to others. It is one of the blinding effects of sin that men do not see their sin "through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart" (Eph_4:18).
II. IT IS A MISTAKE TO SUPPOSE THAT THE WRATH OF GOD IS LIMITED TO THE PRESENT LIFE, and is merely entailed through the connection established by the Divine government between sin and suffering. There is such a connection written in the physical constitution of man. Sinners often in this life receive in themselves "that recompense of their error which is meet" (Rom_1:27). The drunkard is punished here in broken health, in loss of substance, reputation, and happiness. But we are not to suppose that the laws of Providence which ensure these results exhaust the fullness of Divine wrath against sin. Scripture tells us plainly that sins of impurity entail exclusion "from the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph_5:5); that he will judge whoremongers and adulterers (Heb_13:5), and that "the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone" (Rev_21:8).—T.C.
Eph_5:7
I. THAT IT IS POSS