Ephesians 5:3

Walk in Love

1 Therefore^a be imitators of God as dear ^bchildren.

2 And ^awalk in love, ^bas Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God ^cfor a sweet-smelling aroma.

3 But fornication and all ^auncleanness or ^bcovetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

4 ^aneither filthiness, nor ^bfoolish talking, nor coarse jesting, ^cwhich are not fitting, but rather ^dgiving of thanks.

5 For¹ this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any ^ainheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

7 Therefore do not be ^apartakers with them.

Walk in Light

8 For you were once darkness, but now you are ^alight in the Lord. Walk as children of light

9 (for ^athe fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),

10 ^afinding out what is acceptable to the Lord.

11 And have ^ano fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather¹ expose them.

12 ^aFor it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.

13 But ^aall things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light.

14 Therefore He says:
^a“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”

Walk in Wisdom

15 ^aSee then that you walk¹ circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,

16 ^aredeeming the time, ^bbecause the days are evil.

17 ^aTherefore do not be unwise, but ^bunderstand ^cwhat the will of the Lord is.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?

<< Ephesians 5:2

Ephesians 5:4 >>

What Does Ephesians 5:3 Mean?

Ephesians 5:1-4

Do we see a similarity between this passage and Romans 12:1-2: "Present your bodies a living sacrifice. . . . And do not be conformed to this world"? Paul is saying the same thing here, also mentioning the shunning of fornication, uncleanness, covetousness, filthiness, and other things, that is, sinful behaviors, how the world does things. The point is that we fulfill the showing forth of God's praises through being a godly example to the world. Showing forth God's praises involves our witness of how God lives.

But to do so requires sacrifice—putting human nature to death and overcoming indwelling sin. It is not easy. It requires disciplining ourselves, controlling ourselves, saying, "No!" to ourselves. On the other hand, it also requires us to say, "Yes, I need to do this good thing"—in service, in kindness, in mercy, in love. Either way—positively or negatively—we will have to sacrifice as a sacrifice is involved in almost any act of love.

If we conform to the ways of the world, how can we possibly show forth the praises of God? We would be just like the people of this world. Peter means that, in showing forth the praises of God, we must live contrary to the carnal ways of the world. The principle also includes the preaching of the gospel to the world, giving it a verbal representation of the praises of God through explaining His purpose.

Now, making acceptable sacrifices through Jesus Christ involves doing activities more frequently thought of as being "priestly." Such sacrifices include things like prayer (which we do privately) and study (which we also do on our own). When there is nothing else to distract us, we carve out private time with God's Word—come right before Him, into His presence. Making acceptable sacrifices also includes meditation, whenever and wherever. God tells Joshua in Joshua 1:8, "You shall meditate in [the Book of the Law] day and night." In Psalm 119:97, the psalmist says, "[The law] is my meditation all the day."

It includes praying about the multitude of subjects God reveals in His Word. It means praying for leaders in the church, both the faithful ones and those who have gone astray, at least for a time. It also includes the activities that Paul mentions in Hebrews 13:15-16: offering "the sacrifice of praise to God" and doing good works and sharing our blessings. Jesus advises in Matthew 6:3 that in doing such things, we should not let our right hand know what our left hand is doing. Most of these deeds are things that we are to do privately.

John W. Ritenbaugh
New Covenant Priesthood (Part One)

Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Ephesians 5:3:

Luke 12:15

<< Ephesians 5:2

Ephesians 5:4 >>

Join 137,262+ readers

A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning

Consistent Bible study is hard to start.

The Berean gives you the starting point: one scripture and a focused commentary in your inbox each morning — read it in minutes, or go as deep as you like.

Free, daily, and spam-free. We never share your address. Unsubscribe anytime.

Walk in Love

Walk in Light

Walk in Wisdom

What Does Ephesians 5:3 Mean?

A Verse and a Thought,Every Morning

A Verse and a Thought,
Every Morning