Eph 5 | TNotes | STEP | 5:1 Imitate God ... in everything you do: Primarily by expressing love (5:2 ; cp. Matt 5:44-45 , 48 ). • because you are his dear children: Just as children follow their parents’ example, believers should follow God’s example (1 Cor 4:14-17 ).

5:1 ^a Imitate God ... in everything you do: Primarily by expressing love (5:2 ^b; cp. Matt 5:44-45 ^c, 48 ^d).

• because you are his dear children: Just as children follow their parents’ example, believers should follow God’s example (1 Cor 4:14-17 ^e).
5:2 ^f Christ’s love is shown especially in his offering himself as a sacrifice for us (cp. 5:25 ^g; John 15:13 ^h; Rom 5:8 ⁱ). Christian love is motivated by and modeled after Christ’s sacrificial love (see Phil 2:5-8 ^j).

• Paul draws on Old Testament imagery, where the smell of a burning sacrifice was a pleasing aroma to God (see Lev 1:9 ^k; 2:2 ^l; cp. Rom 12:1 ^m).
Summary for Eph 5:3-5: 5:3-5 ⁿ God’s people (literally holy ones) must have a holy lifestyle, avoiding the immorality common among unbelievers (cp. 4:19 ^o; Col 3:5 ^p).
5:4 ^q The speech of God’s people is to be characterized by thankfulness to God (see 4:29 ^r; 5:3 ^s, 12 ^t).
5:5 ^u Many similar statements describe the kind of person who will not inherit the Kingdom of ... God: See 1 Cor 6:9-10 ^v; Gal 5:19-21 ^w; Rev 22:15 ^x; cp. Col 3:5-6 ^y.

• For a greedy person is an idolater: The things greedy people desire become their gods (see Matt 6:24 ^z).
5:6 ^aa The anger of God will fall at his final judgment (see Rom 1:18 ^ab; Col 3:5-6 ^ac; cp. John 3:36 ^ad).
5:7 ^ae Don’t participate: Cp. 2 Cor 6:14–7:1 ^af.
5:8 ^ag Darkness is ignorance of God and his ways and being dominated by sin (see 4:18 ^ah).

• Light from the Lord is Christ’s good news (see John 8:12 ^ai). As people of light, believers live in fellowship with God, in whom there is no darkness (see 1 Jn 1:5-7 ^aj; 5:9 ^ak; cp. Matt 5:14-16 ^al; John 8:12 ^am; 12:35-36 ^an, 46 ^ao; Rom 13:12 ^ap; 2 Cor 6:14 ^aq; 1 Thes 5:4-8 ^ar; 1 Pet 2:9 ^as).
5:9 ^at God’s people are to do what is good and right and true, in harmony with God’s light (cp. Rom 12:2 ^au; some early manuscripts read Spirit instead of light; cp. Eph 4:22-24 ^av; Matt 7:16-20 ^aw; Gal 5:22-23 ^ax).
5:10 ^ay Carefully determine what pleases the Lord: The point is to obey God’s will, not simply to understand it (cp. Rom 12:2 ^az; Phil 1:10 ^ba).
5:11 ^bb expose them: By the light shining from their lives (cp. John 3:20-21 ^bc; Rom 13:12 ^bd; 1 Pet 2:9 ^be), not by verbally accusing or condemning people (see 1 Cor 5:9-13 ^bf).
Summary for Eph 5:13-14: 5:13-14 ^bg “Awake, O sleeper”: This might be a fragment from an unknown Christian song, perhaps based on texts in Isaiah (cp. Isa 26:19 ^bh; 52:1 ^bi; 60:1 ^bj). It calls on God’s people to turn from their sinful darkness and live in the full light of Christ.
5:15 ^bk Fools have no understanding of God and his ways, but those who are wise do know God and understand his ways (see Job 28:28 ^bl; Prov 1:7 ^bm; 2:1-22 ^bn).
5:16 ^bo Make the most of every opportunity: See also Col 4:5 ^bp.

• in these evil days: See Matt 24:6-12 ^bq, 15-22 ^br; 2 Thes 2:3-10 ^bs.
5:18 ^bt The Holy Spirit, not wine, should dominate believers’ lives (see Prov 23:29-35 ^bu; cp. Acts 2:15-18 ^bv).

• be filled: The grammar here suggests that believers’ lives are to be continuously filled with and governed by the Holy Spirit.
Summary for Eph 5:19-20: 5:19-20 ^bw Lives filled with the Holy Spirit will be expressed in singing ... and making music (Col 3:16-17 ^bx). Joyful praise, worship, and giving thanks are fitting responses to God’s saving grace.

• among yourselves: Singing together builds up the body of Christ.

• The Lord hears the music in our hearts.

• in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is our mediator and representative as we approach God (cp. John 14:13-14 ^by; 16:23-27 ^bz; Rev 22:4 ^ca).
Summary for Eph 5:21-6:9: 5:21–6:9 ^cb Paul gives specific instructions on how believers are to relate to one another in a Christian home (see also Col 3:18–4:1 ^cc; 1 Pet 2:18–3:7 ^cd). Love and respect are to characterize all relationships in the body of Christ as an expression of believers’ commitment to the Lord himself. 5:21 ^ce And further, submit to one another: The verb form links it with the command to be filled (5:18 ^cf). This general instruction (cp. Phil 2:3 ^cg) applies to all three relationships that Paul discusses: wives and husbands (Eph 5:22-33 ^ch), children and their parents (6:1-4 ^ci), and slaves and their masters (6:5-9 ^cj). For believers, submission is not expressed out of fear or desire for personal gain, but out of reverence for Christ.
Summary for Eph 5:22-33: 5:22-33 ^ck Christian wives are to submit to their husbands, showing them respect. Equally important, Christian husbands are to love their wives (see Col 3:18-19 ^cl). Christian marriages become a reflection of the union and relationship between the Lord and the church. 5:22 ^cm Submission is part of the life to which the wives’ Christian commitment calls them (see 1 Cor 11:3-10 ^cn; 14:34-35 ^co; Col 3:18 ^cp; 1 Tim 2:11-12 ^cq; Titus 2:5 ^cr; 1 Pet 3:1-6 ^cs).
Summary for Eph 5:23-24: 5:23-24 ^ct a husband is the head of his wife: To be the head is to have authority (see 1 Cor 11:3 ^cu).

• Christ is the head of the church: See Eph 1:22 ^cv; 4:15 ^cw; Col 1:18 ^cx; 2:10 ^cy, 19 ^cz.
Summary for Eph 5:25-33: 5:25-33 ^da Christian husbands are to love their wives just as Christ loved the church—that is, sacrificially, for Christ gave up his life for her (5:2 ^db; cp. Col 3:19 ^dc; 1 Pet 3:7 ^dd).
5:26 ^de washed by the cleansing of God’s word: The church has been cleansed by the message of good news. God has forgiven the sins of his people through Christ’s sacrificial death (John 15:3 ^df; cp. Titus 3:5 ^dg; 1 Pet 3:21 ^dh).
5:27 ^di a glorious church without a ... blemish: The church’s sins have been forgiven through Christ’s sacrifice, and her life is purified by the Holy Spirit. As a result, the church stands holy and without fault before God. Cp. 1:4 ^dj; 2 Cor 11:2 ^dk; Col 1:22 ^dl; Rev 19:7-8 ^dm; 21:2 ^dn.
Summary for Eph 5:28-29: 5:28-29 ^do Husbands should prize and cherish their wives, for in marriage the two have become one (see 5:31 ^dp).
5:31 ^dq The unity of husband and wife should motivate the husband to care for his wife.
5:32 ^dr it is an illustration: Both the unity of husband and wife and the unity of Christ and the church are a great mystery (see study note on 1:8-10).
5:33 ^ds Paul summarizes his teaching on the relationship between husbands and wives (5:22-33 ^dt). Christian marriages should be marked by love and respect.