Ephesians Chapter Five
Ephesians Chapter Five
In this chapter Paul continues to warn and encourage the believers to walk in a life of love for God and for one another. He warns about getting involved in the perverse and deviate behavior of the world, not in a manner of harsh judgment, but to say that the kinds of inappropriate behavior that is carried on in the world excludes people from being able to have any active part in the domain of the Kingdom of God in the earth. He encourages with the fact that the outworking of God’ Spirit within them is goodness and right relationship with God and the revelation of his truth which brings forth behavior that delights God. He exhorts them to live a life of thankfulness to God for what he has done for them in Jesus Christ.
What follows is a description of the virtues of submission and honor and sacrificial love to one another in the family of God, and he uses particular reference to marriage, demonstrating marriage as a picture of the love and honor that exists between Christ and the Church which is the bride of Christ.
EPHESIANS CHAPTER 5 - CONTEMPORARY ALIGNED VERSION (SPIRITCODE)
1. If God feels and acts this way to you as his dear children, then it is good for you to do the same
2. Living a life of love, just as Christ loves us and has given up all that he is and all that he has for us. And he presents this for his Father to take the utmost joy and delight in.
3. But as for unlawful sexual immorality and impurity, and selfish greed, don’t let anyone label you with that kind of inappropriate behavior
4. Or filthy and vulgar talk or rude repartee. None of this is appropriate for you. But what is appropriate is language that expresses your thankfulness to God and your expectation of his goodness
5. You already know that no-onr trading in perversity or selfish defrauders who trust in images that make empty promises of power will share with Jesus in his real domain of power he shares with his Father.
6. Don’t let anyone delude you with their empty words and promises. It is because of these things that these obstinate and deluded people suffer the consequences of God’s indignation.
7. So don’t share in that rebellious lifestyle with those people.
8. Once you too were deluded by the same kind of darkness as them, but now your life can shine as people who live in God’s light.
9. (The outworking of God’ Spirit within you is goodness and right relationship with God and the revelation of his truth)
10. Bringing forth behavior that delights God.
11. Don’t get involved with the hopeless
agendas of darkness but expose them for what they really are.
12. It’s a disgrace to even talk about the things they do behind closed doors.
13. But when things are exposed for what they really are they come out into the light. What brings things into the light is light itself.
14. Which is why he says ‘Wake up if you are asleep and rise up from out of death and you too will get light and revelation from Christ himself.’
15. Be sure then, that you live with an awareness of what is going on. Be wise and don’t get caught off guard.
16. Make the best use of the time God gives you because you live in evil times.
17. Don’t be careless in your thinking but think things through so you will know what God would have you to do.
18.And don’t come under the influence of wine to the point where you become a danger to yourself and to others. Come under the full influence of the Spirit of God instead.
19. Talk and sing with one another the words of the psalms and the holy and spiritual songs. And sing these things heartily to The Lord, like you really mean them.
20 Always be grateful to God for everything and thank The Father in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
21. Give a place of honor to one another out of reverence and awe towards God.
22. Wives should give honor to the husbands, as they would honor The Lord
23. Because the husband serves his wife with executive leadership, just as Christ does for his church, and he protects her in every way.
24. And just as the church submits to this executive leadership of Christ, so the wives should receive this same leadership from their husbands and not hold back.
25 Husbands you should sacrificially love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and put his life on the line for her.
26. So that he could set her apart from all others and see her as chaste and pure because of his life giving word to her.
27. That he might take her hand in marriage and see her proudly displayed to all, without any kind of blemish or imperfection, but set apart for him, untarnished.
28. That is how men ought to love their wives, as if they were looking after their own health and wellbeing. A man that looks after his wife in this way is really also looking after himself.
29. No one despises his own physical welfare, but he looks after himself and keeps himself healthy, just like the Lord wants to do for his church.
30. We are part of his body, in all of its entirety.
31. This is why a man will leave his father and mother and become joined as one with his wife.
32. This is a mysterious concept to understand, but I am making reference to Christ and his church.
33. So I sum it up by saying that each one of you men love his wife and look after her just as he would look after himself, and for wives to honor and respect their husbands.