Ephesians 5
1Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them.
8For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."
15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives and Husbands
22Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church— 30for we are members of his body. 31"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."[c] 32This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Footnotes:
[a] Ephesians 5:5 Or kingdom of the Christ and God
[b] Ephesians 5:26 Or having cleansed
[c] Ephesians 5:31 Gen. 2:24
3 comments:
On behalf of CRB, here are his thoughts and observations upon Ephesians 5:
8 For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it! 9 For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true. 10 Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord.
16 Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. 17 Don't act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.
I seriously feel like I should/could read this whole book of Ephesians each morning, to motivate and focus me on God's will and desires. I really like "The Message" translation here:
8 You groped your way through that murk once, but no longer. You're out in the open now. The bright light of Christ makes your way plain. So no more stumbling around. Get on with it!
It seems pretty simple to me, and it has certainly been convicting. One of the things that has eaten me up over the last few weeks at work has been a petty laziness, burying myself in trivial work or even screwing around for long periods of time, surfing the internet, and whatever. And during that time, I found myself frustrated, depressed, paranoid I wasn't getting enough done. I'm sure these two things were/are intertwined. So since the beginning of the week, I've come in, gotten my work done, started reading PDL and a devotional first thing in the morning, along with our chapter, and its focusing me not only on God, but on the work God has laid before me, here.
Lord, thank You for helping me to refocus on You, and therefore, refocusing my life in general. Thank you for the love of Christ, the love of my family, and the love of these brothers. Help me to stay out in the light, and focused on You, and staying productive--on your terms and in Your will. Thank you, Father,
In Jesus Name,
Amen
CRB
Eph 5
I agree again CRB. Not a bad one to read on a regular basis.
25And you husbands must love your wives with the same love Christ showed the church. He gave up his life for her 26to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's word.
I have to say that one of the biggest things I take out of this chapter is in the final paragraph that focuses on the husband/wife relationship. I am really starting to believe that the key to Christ-like behavior on this planet for married men is to embrace this concept and implement it at all times. Maybe I am taking it to far, but I really think that if you can treat your wife as suggested here, you will find that it transcends to almost all of your relationships. It also implies the need for our spiritual leadership in the home. Remember Mark 10:45; For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Father, help us to completely embrace and become servants
IN Christ,
cas
CRB, In the midst of a new position/job/ministry I have found my time spent on a flurry of busy-ness with very little priority on impact and kingdom. I will fritter away time on the inane and miss opportunities to know Christ more and make Him known to others more. Thanks for the reminder of not wasting the preciousness of today!
On to the text, this chapterplays on one of my favorite images/metaphors in scripture of the Light and the Dark. It goes all the way back to Creation and plays itself out in Revelation. What a reminder that we are living in "evil days." We must be vigilant. How ironic that Paul starts his section on what vigilance will truly look like with submission to the Spirit of God (vs 18), harnessing our tongues (vs. 19-20), and how we truly LOVE our wives(vs. 21-33).
CAS, I don't think you are taking it too far in your comments. Our relationship with our wives is the first expression of our hearts. We are either submitted to Christ as strong servant-leaders (a.k.a., disciples, doulos) or we are not. Our wives could let us know that;(
I pray that the Spirit of God will instill in us a desire to reflect Him in our families first and out of that flow out into our other relationships.
May we never sacrifice our homes on the altar of job promotion, status, and materialism.
In Christ's Name,
er
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