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Ephesians 5

KJV · Chapter 5/6

1Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

2And 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.

3But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;

4Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

5For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

6Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

7Be not ye therefore partakers with them.

8For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

9(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

10Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

12For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.

13But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.

14Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

16Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

19Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

20Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

21Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

22Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

23For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

24Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.

25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

27That 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.

28So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

29For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

30For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

31For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

32This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

33Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul exhorts the Ephesians to imitate God by living in love and purity, avoiding behaviors typical of spiritual darkness, and to be filled with the Spirit rather than getting drunk. He then instructs them on the relationship between husbands and wives, comparing it to the relationship between Christ and the church.

Explanation

The first part of the chapter continues the practical ethical instructions, contrasting life “as children of light” with behaviors of immorality and greed associated with “darkness.” The instruction to be “filled with the Spirit” (v.18), in contrast to drunkenness, suggests a life governed by a positive spiritual influence, expressed through communal praise and gratitude. The section on marriage, though it reflects patriarchal social structures common at the time, is radical at its core: it requires husbands to love their wives “as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” — an extraordinarily high standard of sacrificial love by first-century cultural norms, when husbands were rarely called to such a level of self-giving. The application today focuses on the central principle of mutual love, sacrifice, and respect within marriage, in light of the relationship between Christ and his church.

Fun facts

  • The quotation from Genesis 2:24 about a man leaving his father and mother and being joined to his wife, becoming “one flesh” (v.31), is applied by Paul as a profound analogy (“this is a great mystery,” v.32) for the union between Christ and the church.
  • The custom of singing 'psalms and hymns and spiritual songs' (v.19) mentioned here is one of the earliest references to organized congregational music in the early Christian communities.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Ephesians 5:1Paul asks the Ephesians to imitate the very character of God, as a child naturally imitates its parents, linking this request to the sacrificial love of Christ described in the next verse.
  2. Ephesians 5:2‘An offering and a sacrifice... for a sweetsmelling savour’ uses the language of Temple sacrifices, where the rising smoke was described as pleasing to God. Paul applies this expression to Christ’s giving of Himself on the cross.
  3. Ephesians 5:3Paul asks that certain sins not even be mentioned among Christians as though normal: sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness, behaviors common in the pagan cults and customs of the time.
  4. Ephesians 5:4Paul extends the list to speech: no filthy language or crude jokes, proposing instead a habit of giving thanks.
  5. Ephesians 5:5Paul drives home a serious point: whoever practices these sins, with covetousness treated as a form of idolatry, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
  6. Ephesians 5:6Paul warns against talk that tries to soften or justify these behaviors, cautioning that they bring the wrath of God upon those who practice them without a care.
  7. Ephesians 5:7Paul asks that the Ephesians not associate, not become partners, with people who live out the kind of behavior described in the previous verses.
  8. Ephesians 5:8Paul uses the image of light and darkness to describe the change of life: once darkness, now light, which requires living according to this new identity.
  9. Ephesians 5:9Paul pauses to explain in a parenthesis: the result of living as “children of light” is a fruit made up of goodness, righteousness, and truth.
  10. Ephesians 5:10Paul sums up the practical test of this life of light: continually discerning what truly pleases the Lord, instead of following automatic habits.
  11. Ephesians 5:11Paul asks Christians not to take part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead to expose those practices as wrong.
  12. Ephesians 5:12Paul remarks that certain things done in secret by those who live in darkness are so shameful that it is embarrassing even to speak of them in detail.
  13. Ephesians 5:13Paul describes the effect of light on what is hidden: once exposed, it becomes visible and clear, revealing what it truly is.
  14. Ephesians 5:14Paul quotes what appears to be a fragment of an ancient Christian hymn, a call to “awake” and rise, promising that Christ will give light to whoever answers that call.
  15. Ephesians 5:15Paul calls for attention to one’s way of life, contrasting those who act without thinking (“fools”) with those who make decisions wisely.
  16. Ephesians 5:16Paul asks them to make the most of the time available, “redeeming the time,” an expression that suggests seizing every opportunity, especially since they live in an evil age.
  17. Ephesians 5:17Paul links practical wisdom to truly understanding what God wants, avoiding acting foolishly out of mere habit or impulse.
  18. Ephesians 5:18Paul contrasts being drunk with wine, associated with the unrestrained festivities of the pagan cults of the time, with being filled with the Holy Spirit, both described as a kind of being “taken over” by something, but with opposite effects.
  19. Ephesians 5:19Paul describes a concrete way of living filled with the Spirit, mentioned in the previous verse: speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with the heart to the Lord.
  20. Ephesians 5:20Paul continues describing this Spirit-filled life: constant thankfulness to God the Father for everything, done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
  21. Ephesians 5:21Paul introduces the principle that opens the entire following section on marriage, parents, and servants: mutual submission among Christians, motivated by reverence for God, not imposed from the top down.
  22. Ephesians 5:22This passage about wives submitting to their husbands is another one that divides interpreters today. In context, it follows directly from the previous verse, which calls for mutual submission among all Christians, and it uses the relationship between Christ and the church as its model.
  23. Ephesians 5:23Paul justifies the instruction of the previous verse by comparing the relationship between husband and wife to the relationship between Christ and the church, with Christ also described as the savior of the body.
  24. Ephesians 5:24Paul applies the comparison directly: just as the church submits to Christ, he asks wives to submit to their own husbands in everything, within the social context of the first century.
  25. Ephesians 5:25Paul asks husbands for a love that gives itself even to the point of sacrifice, modeled on Christ’s love for the church, an unusual demand for the time, when Roman custom gave a husband authority over his wife without requiring this kind of reciprocal self-giving.
  26. Ephesians 5:26Paul describes the purpose of Christ’s love for the church: to sanctify her, cleansing her, using the image of the ritual washing accompanied by the word preached.
  27. Ephesians 5:27Paul continues the image: the final goal is to present the church to Himself, radiant and without flaw, like a bride perfectly prepared.
  28. Ephesians 5:28Paul applies the same logic of sacrificial love to husbands: love your wife as you love your own body, because caring for her is, in a sense, caring for yourself.
  29. Ephesians 5:29Paul reinforces the argument with a simple observation: no one ever hated his own body; everyone nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.
  30. Ephesians 5:30Paul justifies the previous comparison: Christians are described as members of Christ’s own body, of His flesh and of His bones, a deep connection, not just a loose figure of speech.
  31. Ephesians 5:31Paul quotes the text from Genesis about marriage — a man leaving father and mother to be joined to his wife, the two becoming “one flesh” — setting up the ground to call this a mystery in the next verse.
  32. Ephesians 5:32Paul cites the Genesis text about a man leaving father and mother to be joined to his wife, and calls this “a great mystery,” applying the image of marriage to the relationship between Christ and the church.
  33. Ephesians 5:33Paul sums up the whole section in one closing sentence: each husband should love his own wife as himself, and the wife should respect her husband, closing the teaching on marriage.

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