Ephesians 5
1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. 2 And ▼▼walk: A term often used in a figurative way to mean "way of life" or "behavior"
walk in love, as the ▼▼Messiah: Or the Christ; the Greek word Christos means "the anointed one".
Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, c a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God. 3 But sexual immorality d and any impurity e or greed f should not even be heard of ▼▼Or be named
among you, as is proper for ▼▼saint(s)/sanctification/sanctify/sanctified: The work of the Holy Spirit that separates believers in Jesus from the world; at the time of saving faith in Jesus, the believer is made a saint; therefore, all believers are saints. The believer participates with the Spirit in a process of transformation that continues until glorification. The goal of sanctification is progressive conformity to the image of Jesus Christ.
saints. 4 Coarse and foolish talking or crude joking are not suitable, but rather giving thanks. 5 For know and recognize this: Every sexually immoral i or impure j or greedy k person, who is an idolater, does not have an inheritance in the kingdom l of the Messiah and of God. Light versus Darkness
6 Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath m is coming on the disobedient because of these things. ▼▼Lit sons of disobedience
7 Therefore, do not become their partners. 8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light o in the Lord. Walk as children of light p – 9 for the fruit of the light ▼▼Other mss read fruit of the Spirit
results in all goodness, righteousness, and truth r – 10 discerning s what is pleasing t to the Lord. 11 Don’t participate in the fruitless u works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. 13 Everything exposed by the light is made clear, v 14 for what makes everything clear is light. Therefore it is said:Get up, sleeper, w and rise up from the dead, xand the Messiah will shine on you. ▼ , z
Consistency in the Christian Life
15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk – not as unwise people but as wise – 16making the most of the time, ▼▼Lit buying back the time
,
ab because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand ac what the Lord’s will ad is. 18 And don’t get drunk ae with wine, af which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit: ag 19 speaking to one anotherin psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,
singing and making music
from your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for everything
to God the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 submitting to one another
in the fear of Christ. ah
Wives and Husbands
22 Wives, ai submit ▼▼Other mss omit submit
,
ak to your own husbands al as to the Lord, 23 for the husband is the head of the wife am as Christ is the head an of the church. He is the Savior of the body. ao 24Now as the church submits to Christ, so wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, ap just as Christ loved aq the church and gave Himself ar for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing ▼▼Or having cleansed
her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. at 28In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of His body. ▼▼Other mss add and of His flesh and of His bones
31 For this reason a man will leavehis father and mother
and be joined to his wife, av
and the two will become one flesh. aw , ax
32 This ▼
▼Mystery: Transliteration of the Greek word mysterion; a secret hidden in the past but now revealed
mystery az is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.
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