The New Testament with Commentary

Ephesians 5

Walk in love

Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children, and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a fragrant aroma. But, you should not even talk about fornication or any form of moral corruption or insatiableness1 (as is fitting for saints); nor any obscenity, nor foolish talk or coarse joking (that do not belong), but rather thanksgiving. Because you can know this for sure: no fornicator, nor anyone who is morally corrupt or insatiable (actually an idolater),2 has any inheritance in the Kingdom of the Christ and God.3 Let no one deceive you with empty words,4 for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of the disobedience.5 Therefore do not be participants with them —even though you were once darkness, you are now light in Sovereign.

Walk in light

Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit6 is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), approving what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not associate with the unfruitful works of the darkness, but rather expose/reprove them.7 (It is shameful even to speak of those things being done by them in secret.) Now all things, upon being exposed, are revealed by the light, for whatever reveals is light. Therefore He says:

“Wake up, O sleeper, and arise from the dead,

and the Christ will shine on you.”8

Walk in wisdom

See then that you walk carefully, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. That is why you must not be foolish,9 but understand what the Lord's will is. And do not get drunk on wine, which is harmful and wasteful;10 rather be filled with the Spirit,11 speaking to one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your hearts to the Lord; always giving thanks to God the Father concerning all things,12 in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.13

Relationships within the home

About wives

Wives, subordinate yourselves14 to your own husbands, as to the Lord, because a man is head of his wife as also Christ is Head of the Church—He also is Preserver of the body. Yes, just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also the wives should be to their own husbands in everything.15

About husbands

Husbands, love your own wives just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up on her behalf, in order that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of the water: in a word, that He might present her—the splendid Church—to Himself, not having a blemish or a wrinkle or any such thing, but that she be holy and blameless. Just so the husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own flesh; rather he nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the Church —for we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.16 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”17 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.

In any case, each of you individually: let each one love his own wife as himself,18 while the wife must respect her husband.

Source notes (18)

Footnote Of course doing such things is out of the question, but why can't we talk about them? If you talk about it you will think about it, which will provide an opening for temptation.
Footnote To have an insatiable desire for something (say, money) is to be dominated by that something; it has become a god, an idolatry.
Footnote According to the grammatical construction here, “Christ and God” refer to the same person.
Footnote Many ‘churches’ these days are making allowances for sexual immorality of various sorts (getting their values from Freud, not the Bible), but they will find themselves excluded from the Kingdom. Watch out for empty words!
Footnote See the note at 2:2 above.
Footnote Instead of “Spirit”, some 5% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘light’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).
Footnote I could not decide between ‘expose’ and ‘reprove’, since the verb here includes both ideas. So let us do both.
Footnote This is not a direct quote of any Old Testament passage. Not all God-given prophesies, though written down and read by subsequent generations, were included in the Canon.
Footnote The ultimate foolishness is to not understand the Lord's will.
Footnote Literally, ‘in which is dissipation’, so where did I get ‘harmful and wasteful’? Well, to dissipate is to waste, and a dictionary I have defines it as “to indulge in pleasure to the point of harming oneself”. Drunkenness always harms and wastes.
Footnote Observe that this is a command, so it depends on us. The Holy Spirit is waiting to fill us, if we will only yield to Him. For light to fill the room all you have to do is flip the switch.
Footnote We are to declare God's goodness, faithfulness and wisdom, even when we do not like what is happening.
Footnote Instead of “God”, perhaps 30% of the Greek manuscripts have ‘Christ’ (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.).
Footnote Observe that this is something she should do of her own volition, not because she is beaten into submission.
Footnote This “everything” obviously does not include things that God forbids.
Footnote Less than 2.5% of the Greek manuscripts, of objectively inferior quality, omit “of His flesh and of His bones” (as in NIV, NASB, LB, TEV, etc.—an easy case of ‘similar ending’). Flesh and bones are definitely physical, not spiritual; so what is Paul saying? Perhaps he is emphasizing that “His body” is just as real as a physical body.
Footnote This is not just poetic language, it is a chemical reality. See Genesis 2:24.
Footnote Observe that ‘wife’ is singular. Although in the Old Testament men were not condemned for having more than one wife, in the context of the Church monogamy is the norm. The instruction in verse 33 is basic: if a wife does not feel loved and/or a husband does not feel respected, negative things start to happen.

The New Testament with Commentary. Copyright © 2016 Wilbur N. Pickering, ThM, PhD. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: eBible.org. Typeset from the source files; no intended changes to scripture wording. BibleKenya is not endorsed by the rights holder.

Full source notice & licence · CC BY-SA 4.0 · SourceEdition imported 2026-10-25.