Ephesians 5:8-33
2. Live in the light (Ephesians 5:8–14)
As Christians, we are called to be a community whose conduct shines as a beacon to others, illuminating the way that God intended life to be lived.
Paul wrote that you are ‘light in the Lord’ (v.8). Therefore, you should live as ‘children of light’ (v.8). Light produces good fruit: goodness (generosity towards others), righteousness (doing right in relation to God and humanity) and truth. These are ways you can please the Lord (v.10).
Light exposes evil. The best way to get rid of evil is to drag it into the light. Evil thrives in the darkness, but the moment you bring it into the light, its power diminishes.
Ask God to shine the light of the Holy Spirit into your heart. If the Holy Spirit exposes an area of darkness, deal with it through confession and repentance. The moment you do so, the power of evil is broken.
3. Make the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:15–17)
Time is your most valuable possession. You can get more money but you cannot get more time.
Paul wrote, ‘Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil’ (vv.15–16). Do not fritter away your life, like a fool. Life is short – live in the moment and make the most of every day.
4. Be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18–20)
Paul contrasts the escapism of substance abuse (getting ‘drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery’) with being ‘filled’ (v.18) with the Holy Spirit: ‘Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him’ (v.18, MSG). In these verses, he uses ‘filled’ in the present continuous tense, urging us to go on and on being filled with the Spirit.
Being filled with the Spirit leads to singing ‘psalms, hymns and spiritual songs’ (v.19) instead of ‘drinking songs!’ (v.19, MSG). It leads you to worship the Lord Jesus in your heart and to give thanks to God – the very opposite of grumbling and complaining. It is characteristic of the Spirit-filled community to be grateful to God for all things, in all places and at all times. It also leads to mutual submission as we see in the next section.
5. Submit to one another with love and respect (Ephesians 5:21–33)
John Paul Getty, once the wealthiest man on the planet, who was married three times, said, ‘I would gladly give all of my millions for just one lasting marital success.’ Mutual respect is the key to a happy marriage. The vital words in verses 21–33 are ‘respect’, ‘love’ and ‘submit’. The overall heading for this section is that ‘out of respect for Christ’ (v.21, MSG), we are to ‘submit to one another’ (v.21).
The word used for submission is different from the word used for ‘obey’ (6:1). Submission is voluntarily yielding in love. It is a beautiful characteristic and it is clear from the overall heading, ‘submit to one another’ (5:21), that Paul expects mutual submission. This teaching would have been a revolutionary concept in first-century culture.
Respect is the key to a good relationship between the sexes. We are not at war. As Pope Benedict put it, ‘In Christ, the rivalry, enmity and violence can be overcome and has been overcome. It is respect throughout marriage that elevates the other and gives them the dignity and increases their confidence and self worth.’
The overall emphasis of the passage is on love. Although it is directed particularly at the husband, it would be absurd to suggest that the love is not mutual. Paul is saying that both love and submission are mutual. Love is self-giving; this is how a husband submits.
This kind of love is sanctifying (vv.26–27). It makes us holy. It makes us like Jesus. It is sensitive (vv.28–30). And it is sealed in marriage by sexual union (v.31).
And this is the New Testament context of sexual union. It is the most beautiful and the most romantic view of sex and marriage. As Robert Spaemann put it, ‘The essence of marriage is that two lives, two whole biographies, are so tied together that they become one history.’
Furthermore, these verses are precious gems to be treasured because of what they suggest about the forthcoming marriage feast of the Lamb, and the consummation of the union between Christ and his church.
Lord, please fill me today with the Holy Spirit so that I may shine in a way that pleases you and make the most of every hour of every day. Help us in all our relationships to submit to one another, respecting and loving each other and pleasing you.
Sent from my SM-A715F using
JamiiForums mobile app
