Eph 5:18-32 | TNotes | STEP | 5:18 The Holy Spirit , not wine , should dominate believers’ lives (see Prov 23:29-35 ; cp. Acts 2:15-18 ). • be filled: The grammar here suggests that believers’ lives are to be continuously filled with and governed by the Holy Spirit.

5:18 ^a The Holy Spirit, not wine, should dominate believers’ lives (see Prov 23:29-35 ^b; cp. Acts 2:15-18 ^c).

• 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 ^d Lives filled with the Holy Spirit will be expressed in singing ... and making music (Col 3:16-17 ^e). 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 ^f; 16:23-27 ^g; Rev 22:4 ^h).
Summary for Eph 5:21-6:9: 5:21–6:9 ⁱ Paul gives specific instructions on how believers are to relate to one another in a Christian home (see also Col 3:18–4:1 ^j; 1 Pet 2:18–3:7 ^k). 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 ^l And further, submit to one another: The verb form links it with the command to be filled (5:18 ^m). This general instruction (cp. Phil 2:3 ⁿ) applies to all three relationships that Paul discusses: wives and husbands (Eph 5:22-33 ^o), children and their parents (6:1-4 ^p), and slaves and their masters (6:5-9 ^q). 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 ^r 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 ^s). Christian marriages become a reflection of the union and relationship between the Lord and the church. 5:22 ^t Submission is part of the life to which the wives’ Christian commitment calls them (see 1 Cor 11:3-10 ^u; 14:34-35 ^v; Col 3:18 ^w; 1 Tim 2:11-12 ^x; Titus 2:5 ^y; 1 Pet 3:1-6 ^z).
Summary for Eph 5:23-24: 5:23-24 ^aa a husband is the head of his wife: To be the head is to have authority (see 1 Cor 11:3 ^ab).

• Christ is the head of the church: See Eph 1:22 ^ac; 4:15 ^ad; Col 1:18 ^ae; 2:10 ^af, 19 ^ag.
Summary for Eph 5:25-33: 5:25-33 ^ah 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 ^ai; cp. Col 3:19 ^aj; 1 Pet 3:7 ^ak).
5:26 ^al 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 ^am; cp. Titus 3:5 ^an; 1 Pet 3:21 ^ao).
5:27 ^ap 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 ^aq; 2 Cor 11:2 ^ar; Col 1:22 ^as; Rev 19:7-8 ^at; 21:2 ^au.
Summary for Eph 5:28-29: 5:28-29 ^av Husbands should prize and cherish their wives, for in marriage the two have become one (see 5:31 ^aw).
5:31 ^ax The unity of husband and wife should motivate the husband to care for his wife.
5:32 ^ay 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).