3. Walking in love 5:1-6In addition to calling his readers to walk in unity (Ephesians 4:1) and holiness (Ephesians 4:17), Paul urged them to walk in love (Ephesians 5:2). He first advocated positive love (Ephesians 5:1-2) and then negatively warned to abstain from evil (Ephesians 5:3-6). read more
The self-centered practices introduced here (lust) are the opposite of love. Self-indulgence is the opposite of self-sacrifice. There should be no hint of these perversions of love in the believer’s life, even in our speech (cf. Exodus 23:13; Deuteronomy 12:30; Psalms 16:4). Sexual immorality was common among unsaved Gentiles, but it is totally inappropriate for saints. Impurity is a broader term that includes all types of uncleanness (cf. Ephesians 4:19). Greed is the lust for more and is... read more
5:3 lust, (m-8) As 'greedy unsatisfied lust,' ch. 4.19. It means the lust of having, but is not confined to gain. see Mark 7:22 . read more
The old Darkness and new Light. Rules for the Married1, 2. In close connexion with what precedes. ’It is the mark of beloved children to become imitators of a loving Father; practise the self-sacrifice of Christ, which shows how He loved us and the Father.’3-14. Special exhortation against covetousness and impurity.3. But] The five sins mentioned in Ephesians 4:25-32 are to be put away; these two are not even to be mentioned: ’saints’ are set apart from such subjects, being consecrated to God.... read more
(3) But fornication, and all uncleanness, or Christian light covetousness.—“Fornication” is closely joined (as in 2 Corinthians 12:21; Galatians 5:19; Colossians 3:5) with “uncleanness,” of which general sin it is a flagrant species. It is distinguished (as also in Colossians 3:5) from “covetousness,” or greediness. “Uncleanness” is a sin against our own body and soul (see 1 Corinthians 6:18); “covetousness” (literally, the insatiable desire for more) is a sin against our neighbour. At the same... read more
(3b) Ephesians 5:3-14 warn, with even greater fulness and emphasis, against the sins of impurity and lust, as incompatible with membership of the kingdom of heaven, as works of darkness, impossible to those who are children of light. read more
The Lessons of Childliness Ephesians 5:1 It is the great mark of the Gospel that its deepest truths are presented to us in forms taken from our daily life. The cleansing water and the simple meal are made sacraments revelations of Divine mysteries. The ties of family are the chosen emblems of our heavenly fellowship. One of these relations is set before us in the words which I have taken for my text. We all are as children in His household, heirs, indeed of a glorious inheritance, but yet... read more
32Chapter 22DOCTRINE AND ETHICSEphesians 4:25-32; Ephesians 5:1-6The homily that we have briefly reviewed in the last chapter demands further consideration. It affords a striking and instructive example of St. Paul’s method as a teacher of morals, and makes an important contribution to evangelical ethics. The common vices are here prohibited on specifically Christian grounds. The new nature formed in Christ casts them off as alien and dead things; they are the sloughed skin of the old life, the... read more
3. The Walk in Holiness and Righteousness CHAPTERS 4:17-5:21 1. Not as the Gentiles walk (Ephesians 4:17-19 ) 2. The putting off and putting on (Ephesians 4:20-32 ) 3. Followers of God (Ephesians 5:1-2 ) 4. Exhortations (Ephesians 5:3-21 ) At this point the exhortations to walk in separation begin. The “therefore” of Ephesians 4:17 refers us to the “wherefore” of Ephesians 2:11-12 . What Gentiles are in their natural condition is here once more put before us. The grace of God takes the... read more
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Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ephesians 5:3
3. once named—Greek, "Let it not be even named" (Ephesians 5:4; Ephesians 5:12). "Uncleanness" and "covetousness" are taken up again from Ephesians 5:12- :. The two are so closely allied that the Greek for "covetousness" (pleonexia) is used sometimes in Scripture, and often in the Greek Fathers, for sins of impurity. The common principle is the longing to fill one's desire with material objects of sense, outside of God. The expression, "not be even named," applies better to impurity, than to... read more