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Ephesians
Chapter Five
Ephesians 5
Moreover, let us remark here, and it is an important
feature in this picture of the fruits of grace and of the new man, that when
the grace and love, which come down from God, act in man, they always go up
again to God in devotedness. Walk, he says, in love, even as Christ loved us
and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet-smelling savour. We see it in Christ. He is this love which comes down in
grace, but this grace, acting in man, makes Him devote Himself to God, although
it is on behalf of others. So it is in us; it is the touchstone of the
christian heart's activity.
The apostle then speaks plainly as to sin, in order that no one may
deceive himself; nor be occupied with deep truths, using them intellectually,
to the neglect of ordinary morality-one of the signs of heresy, properly so
called. He has connected the profoundest doctrines in his teaching with daily
practice. If Christ be glorified, the Head of the assembly, He is the model of
the new man, the last Adam; the assembly being one with Him on high, and the
habitation of God on earth by the Spirit, with whom every Christian is sealed.
Every Christian, if indeed he has learned the truth as it is in Jesus, has
learned that it consists in having put off the old man, and having put on the
new man, created after God in righteousness and holiness (of which Christ is
the model, according to the counsels of God in glory); and he is to grow up
unto the measure of the stature of Christ, who is the Head, and not grieve the
Holy Spirit wherewith he is sealed. The fullest revelation of grace does not
weaken the immutable truth that God had a character proper to Himself; it
unfolds that character to us by means of the most precious revelations of the
gospel, and of the closest relationships with God, which were formed by these
revelations: but this character could not alter, nor could the kingdom of God
allow of, any characters contrary to it. The wrath of God therefore against
evil, and against those who commit it, is plainly set forth.
Now we were that which is contrary to His character, we
were darkness; not only in the dark, but darkness in our nature, the opposite
of God who is light. Not one ray of that which He is was found in our will, our
desires, our understanding. We were morally destitute of it. There was the
corruptness of the first Adam, but no share in any feature of the divine
character. We are now partakers of the divine nature, we have the same desires,
we know what it is that He loves, and we love what He loves, we enjoy that
which He enjoys, we are light (poor and weak indeed, yet such by nature) in the
Lord-looked at as in Christ. They are the fruits of light [1] that are developed in the Christian; he is
to avoid all association with the unfruitful works of darkness.
But, in speaking of motives, the apostle returns to the
great subjects that pre-occupied him, and he returns to them, not only that we
should put on the character set forth by that of which he speaks, but that we
should realise all its extent, that we should experience all its force. He had
told us that the truth in Christ was the having put on the new man, in contrast
with the old man, and that we are not to grieve the Holy Spirit. Now he exhorts
those that sleep to awake, and Christ should be their light. Light makes all
things manifest; but he who sleeps, although not dead, does not profit by it.
For hearing, seeing, and all mental reception and communication, he is in the
state of a dead man. Alas, how apt this sleep is to overtake us! But in
awaking, it was not that they should see the light dimly, but Christ Himself
should be the light of the soul; they should have all the full revelation of
that which is well-pleasing to God, that which He loves; they should have
divine wisdom in Christ; they should be able to profit by opportunities, should
find them, being thus enlightened, in the difficulties of a world governed by
the enemy, and should act according to spiritual understanding in every case
that presented itself. Further, if they were not to lose their senses through
means of excitement used in the world, they were to be filled with the Spirit,
that is, that He should take such possession of our affections, our thoughts,
our understanding, that He should be their only source according to His proper
and mighty energy to the exclusion of all else. Thus, full of joy, we should
praise, we should sing for joy; and we should give thanks for all that might
happen, because a God of love is the true source of all. We should be full of
joy in the spiritual realisation of the objects of faith, and the heart
continuing to be filled with the Spirit and sustained by this grace, the
experience of the hand of God in everything here below will give rise only to
thanksgiving. It comes from His hand whom we trust and whose love we know. But
giving thanks in all things is a test of the state of the soul; because the
consciousness that all things are from God's hand, full trust in His love, and
deadness as to any will of our own, must exist in order to give thanks in
everything-a single eye which delights in His will.
In entering into the details of relationships and
particular duties, the apostle cannot give up the subject that is so dear to
him. The command which he addresses to wives, that they are to submit
themselves to their husbands, immediately suggests the relationship between
Christ and the assembly, not now as a subject for knowledge, but to unfold His
affection and tender care. We have seen that the apostle, having established
the great principles displayed in the revelation of our relationship with
God-our vocation-then deduces their practical consequences with regard to the
life and conduct of Christians: they were to walk as having put on the new man,
to have Christ for their light, not to grieve the Spirit, to be filled with the
Spirit. Now all this, while the fruit of grace, was either knowledge or
practical responsibility.
But here the subject is viewed in another aspect. It is the grace that
acts in Christ Himself, His affections, His guardian care, His devotedness to
the assembly. Nothing can be more precious, more tender, more intimate. He
loved the assembly-that is the source of all. And there are three steps in the
work of this love. He gave Himself for it, He washes it, He presents it all
glorious to Himself. This is not precisely the sovereign election of the
individual by God; but the affection that displays itself in the relationship
which Christ maintains with the assembly. [2] See also the extent of the gift, and how
marvellous the ground of confidence that it contains. He gives Himself; it is not
only His life, true as that is, but Himself. [3]
All that Christ was has been given, and given by Himself;
it is the entire devotedness and giving of Himself. And now all that is in
Him-His grace, His righteousness, His acceptance with the Father, the excellent
glory of His Person, His wisdom, the energy of divine love that can give
itself-all is consecrated to the welfare of the assembly. There are no
qualities, no excellencies in Christ, which are not ours in their exercise
consequent on the gift of Himself. He has already given them, and consecrated
them to the blessing of the assembly which He has given Himself to have. Not
only are they given, but He has given them; His love has accomplished it. We
know well that it is on the cross that this giving of Himself was accomplished,
it is there that the consecration of Himself to the good of the assembly was
complete. But here that glorious work is not exactly viewed on the side of its
atoning and redeeming efficacy, but on that of the devotedness and love to the
assembly which Christ manifested in it. Now we can always reckon upon this love
which was perfectly displayed in it. It is not altered. Jesus-blessed and
praised be His name for it!-is for me according to the energy of His love in
all that He is, in all circumstances and for ever, and in the activity of that
love according to which He gave Himself. He loved the assembly and gave Himself
for it. This is the source of all our blessings, as members of the assembly.
But this love of Christ is inexhaustible and
unchangeable. It effects the blessing of its cherished object, by preparing it
for a happiness of which His heart is alike the measure and the source, [4] to happiness of perfect purity, the
excellence of which He knows in heaven-purity suited to the presence of God,
and to her who should be in that presence for ever, the bride of the Lamb-purity
which renders it capable of enjoying perfect love and glory; even as that love
tends to purify the soul by making itself known to it, and attracting it,
divesting it of self, and filling it with God as the centre of blessing and
joy.
It is important to remark that Christ does not here
sanctify the assembly to make it His own, but makes it His own to sanctify it.
It is first His, then He suits it to Himself. Christ, who loves the church as
being His own, and who has already made it His own by giving Himself for it,
and who chooses to have it such as His heart desires, occupies Himself with it,
when He has won it, to render it such. He gave Himself for it, that He might
sanctify it by the washing of water by the word. Here we find that moral effect
produced by the care of Christ, the object which He proposes to Himself in His
work accomplished in time, and the means He uses to attain it. He appropriates
the assembly morally, sets it morally apart for Himself, when He has made it
His; for He can only desire holy things-holy according to the knowledge He has
of purity-by virtue of His eternal and natural abode in heaven. He then puts
the assembly in connection with heaven, from whence He is, and into which He
will introduce it. He gave Himself in order to sanctify it. For this purpose He
uses the word, which is the divine expression of the mind of God, of heavenly
order and holiness, of truth itself (that is to say, of the true relation of
all things with God; and that according to His love in Christ), and which
consequently judges all that deviates from it as to purity or love.
He forms the assembly for His bride, a help-meet for Him,
in which all is according to the glory and the love of God, by the revelation
(through the word, which comes from thence) of these things as they exist in
heaven. Now Christ Himself is the full expression of these things, the image of
the invisible God. Thus, in communicating them to the assembly, He prepares it
for Himself. When speaking therefore in this sense of His own testimony, He
says, "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen."
But it is this which the word is, as we have received it
from Jesus; and more especially as speaking from heaven, with the character of
the new commandment, the darkness passing away, and the true light now shining;
and consequently, the thing being true, not only in Him, but in us. The
ministry of chapter 1 is occupied with this, forming the hearts of the saints
on earth in fellowship with the Head from which the grace and the light
descended. In this manner then Christ sanctifies the assembly for which He gave
Himself. He has formed it for heavenly things by the communication of heavenly
things, of which He is Himself the fulness and the glory. But this word finds
the assembly mixed up with things that are contrary to this heavenly purity and
love. Alas! its affections-as to the old man at least-mixed up with these
earthly things, which are contrary to the will of God and to His nature. Thus
in sanctifying the assembly He must needs cleanse it. This is therefore the
work of the love of Christ during the present time, but for the eternal and
essential happiness of the assembly.
He sanctifies the assembly, but He does it by the word,
communicating heavenly things-all that belongs to the nature, to the majesty,
and to the glory of God-in love, but at the same time applying them to judge
everything in her present affections, which is at variance with that which He
communicates. Precious work of love, which not only loves us but labours to
make us fit to enjoy that love; fit to be with Christ Himself in the Father's
house!
How deeply is He interested in us! He not only
accomplished the glorious work of our redemption by giving Himself for us, but
He acts continually with perfect love and patience to make us such as He would
have us to be in His own presence-fit for the heavenly places and heavenly
things.
What a character this shews to belong also to the word,
and what grace in His use of it! It is the communication of divine things according
to their own perfection, and now as God Himself is in the light. It is the
revelation of God Himself, as we know Him in a glorified Christ, in a perfect
love to form us also according to that perfection for the enjoyment of Him; and
yet it is addressed to us, yea is suited in its very nature to us down here
(compare John 1:4) to impart these things to us by bringing in light amid the
darkness, thus necessarily judging all that is in the darkness, but in order to
purify us in love.
Observe, also, the order in which this work of Christ is
presented to us, beginning with love. He loved the assembly; this, as we have
already said, is the source of all. All that follows is the result of that love
and cannot gainsay it. The perfect proof of it is then stated: He gave Himself
for the assembly. He could not give more. It was to the glory of the Father, no
doubt, but it was for the assembly. Had he reserved anything, the love in
giving Himself would not have been perfect, not absolute; it would not have
been a devotedness that left nothing for the awakened heart to desire. It would
not have been Christ, for He could not but be perfect. We know love and
perfection in knowing Him. But He has won the heart of the assembly by giving
Himself for it. He has won her thus. She is His according to that love. Yea; it
is there that we have learnt what love is. Hereby know we love in that He gave
Himself for us. All was for the glory of the Father: without that it wouldnot
have been perfection; and the revelation of the heavenly things would not have
taken place, for that depended on the Father's being perfectly glorified. In
this the things to be revealed were manifested and verified, so to speak, in
spite of evil; but all is entirely for us.
If we have learnt to know love, we have learnt to know
Jesus, such as He is for us; and He is wholly for us.
Thus the entire work of cleansing and of sanctification
is the result of perfect love. It is not the means of obtaining the love, or of
being its object. It is indeed the means of enabling us to enjoy it; but it is
the love itself which, in its exercise, works this sanctification. Christ wins
the assembly first. He then in His perfect love makes it such as He would have
it to be-a truth that is precious to us in every way, and first, in order to
free the soul from all servile fear, to give sanctification its true character
of grace and its true extent here. It is joy of heart to know that Christ
Himself will make us all He desires us to be.
We have considered two effects of the love of Christ for
the assembly. The first was the gift of Himself, which in a certain sense
comprises the whole; it is love perfect in itself. He gave Himself. The second
is the moral formation of the object of His love, that it may be with Him;
according, we may add, to the perfections of God Himself, for that indeed is
what the word is-the expression of the nature, the ways, and the thoughts of
God.
There is yet a third effect of this love of Christ's
which completes it. He presents it to Himself a glorious assembly without spot
or wrinkle. If He gave Himself for the assembly, it was in order to have it
with Him; but if He would have it with Him, He must render it fit to be in His
glorious presence; and He has sanctified it by cleansing it according to the revelation
of God Himself, and the heavenly things of which He is in Himself the centre in
glory. The Holy Ghost has taken the things of Christ, and has revealed them to
the assembly; and all that the Father has is Christ's. Thus perfected according
to the perfection of heaven, He presents it to Himself a glorious assembly.
Morally, the work was done; the elements of heavenly glory had been
communicated to her who was to stand in that glory, had entered into her moral
being, and thus formed her to participate in it. The power of the Lord is
needed to make her participate in it in fact, to make her glorious, to destroy
every trace of her earthly abode, save the excellent fruit that results from
it. He presents her glorious to Himself-this is the result of all. He took her
for Himself, He presents her to Himself, the fruit and the proof of His perfect
love; and for her it is the perfect enjoyment of that same love. But there is
yet more. That sentence discloses to us all the import of this admirable
display of grace. The Spirit carries us back to the case of Adam and Eve, in
which God, having formed Eve, presents her to Adam all complete according to
His own divine thoughts and at the same time suited to be the delight of Adam,
as a help-meet adapted to his nature and condition. Now Christ is God. He has
formed the assembly, but with this additional right over her heart that He has
given Himself for her; but He is also the last Adam in glory; and He presents
her glorified to Himself, such as He had formed her for himself. What a sphere
for the development of spiritual affections is this revelation! What infinite
grace is that which has given place for such an exercise of these affections!
We cannot fail to notice the connection between the
cleansing and the glory, that is, that the cleansing is according to the glory
and by it; and that the glory is the completeness of, and completely answers
to, the cleansing. For the cleansing is by the word, which reveals the whole
glory and mind of God. Presented in glory she has neither spot not wrinkle; she
is holy and unblamable. This is a most important truth, and recurs elsewhere.
Compare 2 Corinthians 3:18, and Philippians 3:11 to the end. So in 1
Thessalonians3:13. What is complete in glory there, is wrought into the soul now
by the Spirit operating with the word.
This then is the purpose, the mind of the Lord, with
regard to the assembly, and this the sanctifying work which prepares her for
Himself and for heaven. But these are not all the effects of His love. He
watches tenderly over her during all the time of her sojourn here below.
The apostle, who did not lose sight of the thesis which
gave rise to this digression that is so instructive to us, says that the
husband ought to love his wife as his own body-that it was loving himself. He
was naturally led to this by the allusion to Genesis; but he immediately
returns to the subject that occupies him. No one, he says, ever hated his own
flesh; he nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the assembly. This is
the precious aspect, during time, of Christ's love, which the apostle here
presents. Not only has Christ a heavenly aim, but His love performs the work
which, so to speak, is natural to it. He tenderly cares for the assembly here
below; He nourishes it, He cherishes it. The wants, the weaknesses, the
difficulties, the anxieties of the assembly are only opportunities to Christ
for the exercise of His love. The assembly needs to be nourished, as do our
bodies; and He nourishes her. She is the object of His tender affections; He
cherishes her. If the end is heaven, the assembly is not left desolate here.
She learns His love where her heart needs it. She will enjoy it fully when need
has passed away for ever. Moreover it is precious to know that Christ cares for
the assembly, as a man cares for his own flesh. For we are members of His own
body. We are of His flesh, and of His bones. Eve is here alluded to. We are, as
it were, a part of Himself, having our existence and our being from Him, as Eve
from Adam. He can say, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest." Our
position is, on the one hand, to be members of His body; on the other hand, we
have our existence as Christians from Him. Therefore it is that a man is to
leave his natural relations, in order to be united to his wife. It is a great
mystery. Now it was just this that Christ did as man, in a certain sense,
divinely. Nevertheless every one ought thus to love his own wife, and the wife
to reverence her husband.
There remain yet certain relationships in life, with
which the doctrine of the Spirit of God is connected: those of children and
parents, of fathers and children, and of servants and master. It is interesting
to see the children of believers introduced as objects of the Holy Spirit's
care, and even slaves (for servants were such), raised by Christianity to a
position which the circumstances of their social degradation could not affect.
All the children of Christians are viewed as subjects of
the exhortations in the Lord, which belong to those who are within, who are no
longer in this world, of which Satan is the prince. Sweet and precious comfort
to the parent, that he may look upon them as having a right to this position,
and a part in those tender cares which the Holy Ghost lavishes on all who are
in the house of God! The apostle marks the importance which God attached, under
the law, to this duty. It is the first command with which He linked a promise.
Verse 3 is only the quotation of that which he alludes to in verse 2.
The exhortation to fathers is also remarkable-that they
should not provoke their children; that their hearts should be turned towards
them; that they should not repel them, nor destroy that influence which is the
strongest guard against the evil of the world. God forms the heart of children
around this happy centre: the father should watch over this. But there is more.
The christian father (for it is always those within to whom he speaks) ought to
recognise the position in which, as we have seen, the children are placed, and
to bring them up under the yoke of Christ in the discipline and admonition of
the Lord. Christian position is to be the measure and the form of the
influences which the father exercises, and of the education which he gives his
children. He treats them as brought up for the Lord, and as the Lord would
bring them up.
It will be remarked, that in the two relationships we are
considering, as well as in that of wives with their husbands, it is on the side
from which submission is due that the exhortations begin. This is the genius of
Christianity in our evil world, in which man's will is the source of all the
evil, expressing his departure from God to whom all submission is due. The
principle of submission and of obedience is the healing principle of humanity:
only God must be brought into it, in order that the will of man be not the
guide after all. But the principle that governs the heart of man in good, is
always and everywhere obedience. I may have to say that God must be obeyed
rather than man; but to depart from obedience is to enter into sin. A man may
have, as a father, to command and direct; but he does it ill if he do it not in
obedience to God and to His word. This was the essence of the life of Christ:
"I come to do thy will, O my God." Accordingly the apostle begins his
exhortations with regard to relationships by giving the general precept:
"Submit yourselves one to another." This renders order easy, even
when the order of institutions and of authority may fail. Submission, moral
obedience, can never in principle be wanting to the true Christian. It is the
starting-point of his whole life. He is sanctified unto the obedience of Christ
(1 Pet. 1:2).
In the case which has led to these remarks, it is
striking to see how this principle elevates the slave in his condition: he
obeys by an inward divine principle, as though it were Christ Himself whom he
obeyed. However wicked his master may be, he obeys as if he obeyed Christ
Himself. Three times the apostle repeats this principle of obedience to Christ
or the service of Christ, adding, "doing the will of God from the
heart." What a difference this made in the poor slave's condition!
Moreover, whether bond or free, each should receive his reward from the Lord.
The master himself had the same Master in heaven, with whom there is no respect
of persons. Still it is to masters that he says this, not to the slave; for
Christianity is delicate in its propriety, and never falsifies its principles.
The master was also to treat the slave with perfect equity-even as he expected
it from the slave-and was not to threaten.
It is beautiful to see the way in which divine doctrine
enters into the details of life, and throws the fragrance of its perfection
into every duty and every relationship; how it acknowledges existing things, as
far as they can be owned and directed by its principles, but exalts and
enhances the value of everything according to the perfection of those
principles; by touching not the relationships but the man's heart who walks in
them; taking the moral side, and that of submission, in love and in the
exercise of authority which the divine doctrine can regulate, bringing in the
grace which governs the use of the authority of God.
[1] We
should read "fruit of the light," not "fruit of the
Spirit."
[2] It
is well to notice here this character of love-love in an established
relationship. The word of God is more exact than is generally thought in its
expressions; because the expression has its origin in the thing itself. It is
not said that Christ loved the world-He has no relationship with the world as
it is. It is said that God so loved the world; this is what He is towards it in
His own goodness. It is not said that God loved the assembly. The proper
relationship of the assembly as such is with Christ, her heavenly Bridegroom.
The Father loves us, we are His dear children. God, in this character, loves
us. Thus Jehovah loves Israel. On the other hand, all the tenderness and
faithfulness that belong to the relationship in which Christ stands are our
portion in Him, as well as all that the name of Father means on its side also.
[3] It
is specially the devotedness of His love; He gives and gives Himself.
[4] When
I say (here and above) that the love of Christ is its source, it is not as if
the love of the Father and the counsels of God had not their place in it. I
speak of the blessing applied and carried out in the relationship presented in
this passage; and this relationship exists with Christ. Nevertheless it is the
same divine love.
── John Darby《Synopsis of Ephesians》
Ephesians 5
Chapter Contents
Exhortation to brotherly love. (1,2) Cautions against
several sins. (3-14) Directions to a contrary behaviour, and to relative
duties. (15-21) The duties of wives and husbands are enforced by the spiritual
relation between Christ and the church. (22-33)
Commentary on Ephesians 5:1,2
(Read Ephesians 5:1,2)
Because God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven you,
therefore be ye followers of God, imitators of God. Resemble him especially in
his love and pardoning goodness, as becomes those beloved by their heavenly
Father. In Christ's sacrifice his love triumphs, and we are to consider it
fully.
Commentary on Ephesians 5:3-14
(Read Ephesians 5:3-14)
Filthy lusts must be rooted out. These sins must be
dreaded and detested. Here are not only cautions against gross acts of sin, but
against what some may make light of. But these things are so far from being
profitable. that they pollute and poison the hearers. Our cheerfulness should
show itself as becomes Christians, in what may tend to God's glory. A covetous
man makes a god of his money; places that hope, confidence, and delight, in
worldly good, which should be in God only. Those who allow themselves, either
in the lusts of the flesh or the love of the world, belong not to the kingdom
of grace, nor shall they come to the kingdom of glory. When the vilest
transgressors repent and believe the gospel, they become children of obedience,
from whom God's wrath is turned away. Dare we make light of that which brings
down the wrath of God? Sinners, like men in the dark, are going they know not
whither, and doing they know not what. But the grace of God wrought a mighty
change in the souls of many. Walk as children of light, as having knowledge and
holiness. These works of darkness are unfruitful, whatever profit they may
boast; for they end in the destruction of the impenitent sinner. There are many
ways of abetting, or taking part in the sins of others; by commendation,
counsel, consent, or concealment. And if we share with others in their sins, we
must expect to share in their plagues. If we do not reprove the sins of others,
we have fellowship with them. A good man will be ashamed to speak of what many
wicked men are not ashamed to do. We must have not only a sight and a knowledge
that sin is sin, and in some measure shameful, but see it as a breach of God's
holy law. After the example of prophets and apostles, we should call on those
asleep and dead in sin, to awake and arise, that Christ may give them light.
Commentary on Ephesians 5:15-21
(Read Ephesians 5:15-21)
Another remedy against sin, is care, or caution, it being
impossible else to maintain purity of heart and life. Time is a talent given us
by God, and it is misspent and lost when not employed according to his design.
If we have lost our time heretofore, we must double our diligence for the
future. Of that time which thousands on a dying bed would gladly redeem at the
price of the whole world, how little do men think, and to what trifles they
daily sacrifice it! People are very apt to complain of bad times; it were well
if that stirred them more to redeem time. Be not unwise. Ignorance of our duty,
and neglect of our souls, show the greatest folly. Drunkenness is a sin that
never goes alone, but carries men into other evils; it is a sin very provoking
to God. The drunkard holds out to his family and to the world the sad spectacle
of a sinner hardened beyond what is common, and hastening to perdition. When
afflicted or weary, let us not seek to raise our spirits by strong drink, which
is hateful and hurtful, and only ends in making sorrows more felt. But by
fervent prayer let us seek to be filled with the Spirit, and to avoid whatever
may grieve our gracious Comforter. All God's people have reason to sing for
joy. Though we are not always singing, we should be always giving thanks; we
should never want disposition for this duty, as we never want matter for it,
through the whole course of our lives. Always, even in trials and afflictions,
and for all things; being satisfied of their loving intent, and good tendency.
God keeps believers from sinning against him, and engages them to submit one to
another in all he has commanded, to promote his glory, and to fulfil their
duties to each other.
Commentary on Ephesians 5:22-33
(Read Ephesians 5:22-33)
The duty of wives is, submission to their husbands in the
Lord, which includes honouring and obeying them, from a principle of love to
them. The duty of husbands is to love their wives. The love of Christ to the
church is an example, which is sincere, pure, and constant, notwithstanding her
failures. Christ gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify it in this
world, and glorify it in the next, that he might bestow on all his members a
principle of holiness, and deliver them from the guilt, the pollution, and the
dominion of sin, by those influences of the Holy Spirit, of which baptismal
water was the outward sign. The church and believers will not be without spot
or wrinkle till they come to glory. But those only who are sanctified now,
shall be glorified hereafter. The words of Adam, mentioned by the apostle, are
spoken literally of marriage; but they have also a hidden sense in them,
relating to the union between Christ and his church. It was a kind of type, as
having resemblance. There will be failures and defects on both sides, in the
present state of human nature, yet this does not alter the relation. All the
duties of marriage are included in unity and love. And while we adore and
rejoice in the condescending love of Christ, let husbands and wives learn hence
their duties to each other. Thus the worst evils would be prevented, and many
painful effects would be avoided.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Ephesians》
Ephesians 5
Verse 1
[1] Be
ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Be ye therefore followers — Imitators.
Of God — In
forgiving and loving. O how much more honourable and more happy, to be an
imitator of God, than of Homer, Virgil, or Alexander the Great!
Verse 3
[3] But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once
named among you, as becometh saints;
But let not any impure love be even named or
heard of among you - Keep at the utmost distance from it, as becometh saints.
Verse 4
[4]
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient:
but rather giving of thanks.
Nor foolish talking —
Tittle tattle, talking of nothing, the weather, fashions, meat and drink.
Or jesting —
The word properly means, wittiness, facetiousness, esteemed by the heathens an
half-virtue. But how frequently even this quenches the Spirit, those who are
tender of conscience know.
Which are not convenient — For a Christian; as neither increasing his faith nor holiness.
Verse 6
[6] Let
no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the
wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Because of these things — As innocent as the heathens esteem them, and as those dealers in vain
words would persuade you to think them.
Verse 8
[8] For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as
children of light:
Ye were once darkness — Total blindness and ignorance.
Walk as children of light — Suitably to your present knowledge.
Verse 9
[9] (For
the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
The fruit of the light — Opposite to " the unfruitful works of darkness," Ephesians 4:11.
Is in — That
is, consists in.
Goodness and righteousness and truth — Opposite to the sins spoken of, Ephesians 4:25,etc.
Verse 11
[11] And
have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove
them.
Reprove them — To
avoid them is not enough.
Verse 12
[12] For
it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
In secret — As
flying the light.
Verse 13
[13] But
all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever
doth make manifest is light.
But all things which are reproved, are
thereby dragged out into the light, and made manifest - Shown in their proper
colours, by the light. For whatsoever doth make manifest is light - That is,
for nothing but light, yea, light from heaven, can make anything manifest.
Verse 14
[14]
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and
Christ shall give thee light.
Wherefore he —
God.
Saith — In
the general tenor of his word, to all who are still in darkness.
Awake thou that steepest — In ignorance of God and thyself; in stupid insensibility.
And arise from the dead — From the death of sin.
And Christ shall give thee light — Knowledge, holiness, happiness.
Verse 15
[15] See
then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Circumspectly —
Exactly, with the utmost accuracy, getting to the highest pitch of every point
of holiness.
Not as fools —
Who think not where they are going, or do not make the best of their way.
Verse 16
[16]
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
With all possible care redeeming the time -
Saving all you can for the best purposes; buying every possible moment out of
the hands of sin and Satan; out of the hands of sloth, ease, pleasure, worldly
business; the more diligently, because the present are evil days, days of the
grossest ignorance, immorality, and profaneness.
Verse 17
[17]
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
What the will of the Lord is — In every time, place, and circumstance.
Verse 18
[18] And
be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Wherein is excess —
That is, which leads to debauchery of every kind.
But be ye filled with the Spirit — In all his graces, who gives a more noble pleasure than wine can do.
Verse 19
[19]
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and
making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Speaking to each other — By the Spirit. In the Psalms - Of David.
And hymns — Of
praise.
And spiritual songs — On
any divine subject. By there being no inspired songs, peculiarly adapted to the
Christian dispensation, as there were to the Jewish, it is evident that the
promise of the Holy Ghost to believers, in the last days, was by his larger
effusion to supply the lack of it.
Singing with your hearts — As well as your voice.
To the Lord —
Jesus, who searcheth the heart.
Verse 20
[20]
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ;
Giving thanks — At
all times and places. And for all things - Prosperous or adverse, since al]
work together for good. In the name of, or through, our Lord Jesus Christ - By
whom we receive all good things.
Verse 22
[22]
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
In the following directions concerning
relative duties, the inferiors are all along placed before the superiors,
because the general proposition is concerning submission; and inferiors ought
to do their duty, whatever their superiors do.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands — Unless where God forbids. Otherwise, in all indifferent things, the will
of the husband is a law to the wife.
As unto the Lord —
The obedience a wife pays to her husband is at the same time paid to Christ
himself; he being head of the wife, as Christ is head of the church.
Verse 23
[23] For
the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church:
and he is the saviour of the body.
The head —
The governor, guide, and guardian of the wife.
And he is the Saviour of the body — The church, from all sin and misery.
Verse 24
[24]
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in every thing.
In everything —
Which is not contrary to any command of God.
Verse 25
[25]
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave
himself for it;
Even as Christ loved the church — Here is the true model of conjugal affection. With this kind of
affection, with this degree of it, and to this end, should husbands love their
wives.
Verse 26
[26] That
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
That he might sanctify it through the word — The ordinary channel of all blessings.
Having cleansed it —
From the guilt and power of sin.
By the washing of water — In baptism; if, with "the outward and visible sign," we
receive the "inward and spiritual grace."
Verse 27
[27] That
he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle,
or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
That he might present it — Even in this world.
To himself — As
his spouse.
A glorious church —
All glorious within.
Not having spot — Of
impurity from any sin.
Or wrinkle — Of
deformity from any decay.
Verse 28
[28] So
ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife
loveth himself.
As their own bodies —
That is, as themselves.
He that loveth his wife loveth himself — Which is not a sin, but an indisputable duty.
Verse 29
[29] For
no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as
the Lord the church:
His own flesh —
That is, himself.
Nourisheth and cherisheth — That is, feeds and clothes it.
Verse 30
[30] For
we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For we —
The reason why Christ nourishes and cherishes the church is, that close
connexion between them which is here expressed in the words of Moses,
originally spoken concerning Eve.
Are members —
Are as intimately united to Christ, in a spiritual sense, as if we were
literally "flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone."
Verse 31
[31] For
this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto
his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
For this cause —
Because of this intimate union. Genesis 2:24.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Ephesians》
Eph. 5:15~16
A
driver stopped his car at an intersection and waited for the green signal. When
the green light came, he waited further to confirm it. That is, he waited until
the light turned green a second time! After that, he waited still further until
the green light flashed a third time, before he proceeded on his way. Absurd?
Of course. No one would drive like that.
But are there not Christians who live like
that driver drove? They are so overcautious that they wait for signs from God,
wait to reconfirm the signs, and then wait for an auspicious moment to act.
They are waiting almost perpetually and can never redeem the time they wasted
or the opportunities they lost.
Eph. 5:25
The story is told of a prince and his family
who were captured by an enemy king. When brought before the enemy king, the
prisoner was asked, “What will you give me if I release you?” “Half of my
wealth,” was the prince’s reply.
“And if I release your children?”
“Everything I possess.”
“And if I release your wife?”
“Your Majesty, for her I would give myself,”
said the prince.
The king was so moved by the prince’s devotion
to his family that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to
his wife, “Wasn’t the king a handsome man!” With a look of deep love for her
husband, she said to him, “I didn’t notice. I could keep my eyes only on the
one who was willing to give himself for my sake.”
Chapter 5. Be Full of Christ
Make the Most
of Every Opportunity
Understand the Lord's Will
I. Live a Life
of Love
II. Be Filled
with the Spirit
III. Relation
Between Wives and Husbands
── Chih-Hsin Chang《An Outline of The New Testament》
Chapter Five General Review
OBJECTIVES IN STUDYING THE CHAPTER
1) To see the importance of walking in love, light, and wisdom 2) To understand the responsibilities wives and husbands have toward each other 3) To appreciate the high esteem and great love the Lord has for His church SUMMARY
Paul continues to exhort Christians to walk in a manner worthy of theircalling (cf. 4:1). Having described the need to walk in unity and inpurity, he now urges them to imitate God and "walk in love" with Christas their example. Such love requires that all forms of immorality and filthy speech not even be named among them. Since the wrath of God isto come upon the sons of disobedience, Christians must not be deceivedby nor partake with those who engage in such evil deeds (1-6). Having passed from darkness to light in coming to Christ, we should also "walk as children of light". This includes producing the fruit ofthe Spirit such as goodness, righteousness and truth, therebydemonstrating what is acceptable to the Lord. We cannot participate inthe shameful works of darkness, but instead must expose them. This wedo by letting Christ's light shine in us, for such light will naturallymake the darkness manifest by way of contrast (7-14). As the days are evil and the time is short, Christians must "walk aswise" and make the best use of their time. This requires an
understanding of the Lord's will. Christians are also to be filled with the Spirit, as evidenced by singing together, praying with thanksgiving, and submitting to one another in the fear of God (15-21). The chapter ends with what we might describe as a call to "walk in matrimonial harmony". Wives are exhorted to respect their husbands,
submitting to them as to the Lord. Husbands are commanded to love their wives as Christ loved the church, and even as they love their ownbodies. In the course of such instructions Paul takes the opportunity to reveal the Lord's desire to present to Himself a glorious church,holy and without blemish, which is why He gave Himself for it (22-33). OUTLINE
I. A CALL TO WALK IN LOVE (1-7)
A. AS CHRIST LOVED US (1-2) 1. Be followers of God as dear children (1) 2. Walk in love as Christ loved us (2) a. Who gave Himself for us b. As a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God B. NOT IN IMMORALITY AND WORLDLINESS (3-7) 1. Things which should not even be named among saints (3-4) a. Fornication b. All uncleanness c. Covetousness d. Filthiness e. Foolish talking f. Coarse jesting -- Rather, giving of thanks 2. For such have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ (5) a. No fornicator or unclean person b. No covetous man, who is an idolater 3. Upon sons of disobedience will come the wrath of God (6-7) a. So don't let anyone deceive you with empty words b. Do not be partakers with them II. A CALL TO WALK AS CHILDREN OF LIGHT (7-14)
A. AS THOSE WHO ARE NOW LIGHT IN THE LORD (7-10) 1. Though once darkness, they are now light in the Lord (7a ) 2. They should walk as children of light (7b-10) a. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit (or light) in all goodness, righteousness and truth b. Proving what is acceptable to the Lord B. HAVING NO FELLOWSHIP WITH WORKS OF DARKNESS (11-14) 1. Instead expose them (11-12) a. For they are unfruitful b. It is even shameful to even speak of those things done in secret 2. Which shall be exposed (13-14) a. When made manifest by the light b. Thus we should be the light which Christ gives us III. A CALL TO WALK AS WISE (15-21)
A. WALKING CIRCUMSPECTLY (15-17) 1. Not as fools but as wise (15) 2. Redeeming the time, for the days are evil (16) 3. Not as unwise, but understanding the will of the Lord (17) B. FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, NOT WINE (18-21) 1. Singing (19) a. Speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs b. Making melody in your heart to the Lord 2. Giving thanks (20) a. Always for all things b. To God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ 3. Submitting to one another in the fear of God (21) IV. A CALL TO WALK IN MATRIMONIAL HARMONY (22-33)
A. DUTIES OF WIVES (22-24) 1. Submit to their own husbands, as to the Lord (22-23) a. For the husband is the head of the wife b. Even as Christ is the head of the church and the Savior of the Body 2. Be subject to their husbands in everything, just as the church is subject to Christ (24) B. DUTIES OF HUSBANDS (25-32) 1. Love their wives, as Christ loved the church (25-27) a. He gave Himself for it b. This He did that He might: 1) Sanctify and cleanse the church through the washing of water by the word 2) Present it to Himself a glorious church a) Having no spot or wrinkle b) Holy and without blemish 2. Love their wives as their own bodies (28-32) a. For he who loves his wife loves himself b. For no one hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it 1) Even as the Lord does His church 2) For we are members of His body c. For in marriage man and woman become one, just as with Christ and His church C. SUMMARY OF DUTIES (33) 1. Let each man love his wife as himself (33a ) 2. Let the wife respect her husband (33b) REVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE CHAPTER
1) What are the main points of this chapter?
- A call to walk in love (1-7) - A call to walk as children of light (8-14) - A call to walk as wise (15-21) - A call to walk in matrimonial harmony (22-33) 2) What are Christians to be? (1)
- Followers of God as dear children 3) How are we to walk (live)? (2)
- In love, even as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us 4) What things are not fitting for saints? (3-4)
- Fornication - All uncleanness - Covetousness - Filthiness - Foolish talking - Coarse jesting 5) What is fitting for saints? (4)
- The giving of thanks