Chapter 5 – Living In The Light

Chapter 4 ended with Paul’s exhortation to rid our lives of all the trappings of a sin-filled world. He encourages believers to “be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” He says in the opening verse of chapter 5 to follow God’s example: God in Christ has forgiven you; now follow His example by forgiving one another. Why? Because “you are His dear children.” As joint heirs with Christ and already owning all of the attributes that makes Christ who He is, we must then be like Him in all we do. Is it possible to do? Little by little, day-by-day, as we surrender to the Spirit’s lead, it is possible and one day we will reach that heavenly goal. Who do you need to forgive?

V.2- In what other way should we resemble the Lord? “Live life filled with love for others…” How much love is that? Well, Peter asked how much He should forgive “Seven times, Lord?” “No, Seventy times seven – an infinite amount of times. How much love – an infinite amount, just as He loves us, His unworthy saints!

VV.3-4 – Paul turns to the topic of sexual sins and calls for believers to separate themselves from all sexual immorality, impurity, and greed. Immorality, translated Fornication in other translations, usually means forbidden intercourse among unmarried persons. Here it probably refers to any form of sexual immorality. We see the pervasive effects on our society when, today, every form of sexual immorality is not only condoned, but also encouraged. It is in absolute contrast to God’s holiness and love, and through such sins, Satan seeks to destroy God’s holy work in His children and turn them as far away as possible from His image and will. Impurity is uncleanness and includes immoral acts, impure pictures, movies, obscene books and other suggestive materials that go along with the lives of indecency and ungodliness. Greed is better-translated covetousness and refers to sensual desire- the unquenchable greed to satisfy one’s sexual appetite outside of marriage.

We are not even to allow dirty stories or suggestive jokes, foolish talk, meaning gutter language, coarse jokes, that is, jokes with dirty, hidden meanings, to be part of our speech.

V.5 – “No immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God.” This certainly flies in the face of the sexual norms of today. Today, sex offenders are sick and need psychiatric treatment; immorality is a sickness; God calls it sin yet men condone it. Mans answer is psychoanalysis; God says the answer is repentance and turning from sin. “For a greedy person is really an idolater who worships the things of this world.” This person turns God into a joke, a curse word, and an idea to ridicule. He puts his own will above the will of God and worships the beast instead of the Creator. These are not people who, though they are now in the kingdom, will someday still receive rewards at the end time. No, though they may profess Christians, they prove by their unrepentant lifestyle that they are not saved. Can they be saved? Of course, through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus.

V.6 –“Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins…”- Watch any television program today, even most commercials, and they are full of sexual innuendo, foul language, or sexual situations. Our society is bombarded by those who say that “pre-marital,” extra-marital,” and “gay” sex (which God’s word condemns as fornication, adultery and perversion) are acceptable in our culture and ought to be legalized. Some mainstream denominations openly condone “gay” rights and go so far as to ordain openly gay ministers and perform same sex marriages. God calls such sin an abomination! We see God’s “terrible anger come down on them” in the form of venereal disease and AIDS. There are mental, nervous, and emotional disorders arising from a sense of guilt. Finally, there will be the final judgment on such sins (Heb. 13: 4).

V.V.7-9 – All of this is summed up in these last verses of the paragraph. Paul urges the Ephesians not to participate in these sinful activities. “Rather, though your hearts were once full of darkness, now you are full of light from the Lord, and your behavior should show it.” Believers have become light through the Lord and their lives should reflect their standing in Him, walking as children of light! Like fruit on the tree, this light from the Spirit within us produces what only the Spirit can produce, that is, goodness, righteousness, and truth.

V.10 -20 - As children of the Light, we are called to find out what is pleasing to the Lord, taking no part in the foolish and sinful things of this earth. A believer’s light should be so evident that his/her light should expose the evil deeds of the ungodly. Paul continues on this vein – because the light shines in us, we must be careful to not act like fools, but as those who are wise. Unbelievers are quick to jump on a Christian who stumbles and whose light dims. They are fully aware of their own sins, even if they do not admit freely of them. The bottom line is, in all things, act as the Lord would want you to act, allowing the Holy Spirit to fill and control you.

How are we filled with the Spirit? (1) Confess your sins and turn from them. (2) Surrender yourselves completely to His control. This involves the surrender of your will, your intellect, your body, your time, your talents, and your treasures. (3) Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly (Col. 3:16) – read the Word, study it, obey it. (4) Be empty of self (Gal 2:20 – “It is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me”. To be filled with Him, we must first be emptied of our selves.

The result – your hearts will be full of hymns and spiritual songs, making music to the Lord with your lives. The joy we find in right living prompts us to give thanks to the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

V.21 –another test of being Spirit filled is “submitting to one another out of reverence to Christ.” This is a difficult one for most people, that is, submitting to others in love. . No Christian is superior to any other Christian in their standing before God. We don’t submit because one believer is better than other, rather, we submit because of our respect and worship of God. He loves us and views us through Christ and His work; can we do any different?

VV.22-24 – These verses have caused as much controversy as any verses in Scripture. Several years ago, the annual Southern Baptist Convention reaffirmed their commitment to these commands and in so doing, caused a national media commotion. “You wives will submit to your husbands as you do to the Lord.” Is this true even if the woman is more intelligent, better educated, has greater scriptural knowledge, is more spiritually mature, etc. than her husband? Yes, because it is God’s established order in doing all things – relationships, government, marriage, family, even in the relationship between Jesus and the Father, Jesus submits always to His Father. The submission is mutual in God’s eyes, never a command by either husband or wife to dominate the other. The Shulamite in Song of Solomon 2:16; 6:3, says that “My beloved is mine, and I am his.”

V.25 – Though the husband’s authority has been established in vv.22-24, the emphasis moves to the ultimate responsibility of husbands in regard to their wives, which is to love them with the same unreserved, selfless, and sacrificial love that Christ has for His church. He gave everything He had, including His own life, for the sake of His church, and that is the standard of sacrifice for a husband’s love of his wife (Col. 3:19). Perhaps Eugene Peterson says it best in the Message, “Husbands go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church, a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands should love their wives.” This illustration of the love between a husband and wife is the same as that between Christ and His church –they are one.

Chapter 6 – Children and Parents

Many believers equate being Spirit filled with those outpourings we associate with charismatic or Pentecostal churches. Everyone speaking in tongues at the same time, often without interpretation, people rolling on the floor or barking like a dog, laughing continuously with “holy” laughter, handling rattle snakes as part of the worship service etc. – these are just a few of the excesses being practiced today by the “Spirit Filled” church. Every church must be Spirit filled if it is made up of Christians, for the Spirit indwells them themselves. We saw in chapter five two examples of being Spirit filled; the wife in submission to her husband and the husband equally submissive to his wife. Now we learn that Spirit-filled children willingly submit to their parents. Their attitude in obeying should be that they are obeying the Lord and obeying according to His will. Four reasons are given why they should obey: 1) It is right and follows the basic structure of the family life. 2) It is scriptural, one of the Ten Commandments and as such has a promise of long life attached to it. 3) it will be in their best interest - life full of blessing. 4) It describes the potential of a long life, although the Lord is in control of that.

V.4 - Fathers are instructed not to make their children angry with the way they are treated. Children are to be brought up with godly discipline and instruction.

V.5-9 – The third and final area of submission mentioned is the relationship between slave and master. This is equally true of the employee/employer relationship. The word “obey” refers to continuous, uninterrupted submission to one’s earthly master or employer, the only exception being in regard to a command that involves clear disobedience of God’s Word. The workplace is filled with non-believers yet Christians are called to work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. We will be rewarded for the good that we do.

V.9 – Masters must treat slaves/employees in the same manner – fair, kind, and honest, using no abusive or threatening discipline. Both have the same Master, the Lord in heaven.

VV.6-20 – We are encouraged to put on the whole armor of God, being strong with the Lord’s Own power as protection against the evil one. He has many powers and uses all kinds of strategies to destroy us – discouragement, frustration, confusion, moral failure, and doctrinal error. The Christian is always open to attack from a foe that knows he has already lost the battle and wants to take as many down with him as possible. Therefore, we must use every thing at our disposal to fight the battle and stand firm. God supplies us with the truth and with His righteousness. He gives us the Good News so that we can have peace. He supplies us with the faith we need to resist Satan, and the salvation that gives us the assurance that no matter how difficult the battle, the victory is already won. We have the Word of God that guides us in everything we do and prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit that gives us guidance in all we undertake in His name. We are never alone in the battle – it is the Lord’s.