◄ Ephesians 5 Devotional Commentary ►

Ephesians 5:1

Having detailed our unity in the Spirit, our union with Christ, and the unsearchable riches of God that have been freely bestowed on us by grace, Paul contrasts the corrupt lives of unregenerate man with the normal Christian walk, which should exhibit the tenderness, forgiveness, and grace that we see in the character of God and the life of Christ.

Having built up this worthy argument, Paul then exhorts us, read more...

Ephesians 5:2

Just as our letters and emails are not divided into chapters and verses, so Paul's epistles show one continuous flow of thought throughout, which the Holy Spirit has seen fit to include in the canon of Scripture for our learning. As with all Scripture, every verse should be taken in context and the factors relating to this verse are connected with holy living, godly behaviour, gracious speech, and a grateful and forgiving heart. We are exhorted to let no one read more...

Ephesians 5:2

As His children, we are called to imitate our Father in heaven. We are to be like Him in thought, word, deed, and motive. We are to follow His example and use Him as our role model for our inner life, and our hidden moments... as well as our outer behaviour and attitude towards others. Just as God is holy, we are to be holy in all our conduct.

The only way we can imitate the immortal, omnipotent God is to look to Christ, Who is read more...

Ephesians 5:6

For three wonderful chapters, Paul has been telling the Ephesians what are the incredible riches of God's grace toward us. He is reminding us of the supernatural position and privileges that are ours, simply by grace - through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is because these amazing gifts and graces have so readily been bestowed on unworthy sinners such as us, that Paul starts to exhort us to put on the new man. We are read more...

Ephesians 5:8

We have been lifted up out of a world of deep darkness into the light of the glorious gospel of God's grace. Our walk through this life as the children of God, is to become a day-by-day lifestyle that is pleasing and honouring to the Lord.

Our life-walk should be a reflection of His goodness and grace, His righteousness and integrity, His kindness and gentleness, His truth and His sincerity. Our Christian life should reflect His read more...

Ephesians 5:14

While the first part of Ephesians is an exposition of Scripture where Paul reminds us of the wonderful advantages that are ours in Christ, the last section moves to exhortation where we are instructed in Christian conduct and charged to live as sons of God and joint heirs with Christ. 

We are to be imitators of God and live our lives through the power of the indwelling Spirit. We are to be filled with the Spirit, to walk in read more...

Ephesians 5:18

For three wonderful chapters in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul outlines our privileged position in Christ. He tells of our redemption by grace through faith in Him, of reconciliation with our Heavenly Father, and of our glorious transfer from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son.

He also tells of the amazing work of the indwelling Holy Spirit and the honour of being baptised by Him, into the Body of Christ. read more...

Ephesians 5:21

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul identifies the qualities of the man or woman who walks as a child of light, and is filled with the Spirit of God. To walk in spirit and truth and to be filled with the Holy Spirit, results in a Christ-like life of godly self-sacrifice and the production of an abundance of spiritual fruit for the benefit of others and to the glory of God.

Paul describes the spirit-filled Christian as one who read more...

Ephesians 5:22

Having been given a breathtaking description of our privileged position in Christ and the astonishing benefits of trusting His finished work on the Cross for our salvation, Paul outlines the importance of being spirit-filled and walking in holiness. He then guides us through the process of its practical application in our everyday lives, and in particular in connection with the relationships that we have with one another.

The read more...

Ephesians 5:25

The Lord Jesus is the federal head of the new creation and the very personification of love, for the Man, Christ Jesus was also the eternal Son of God united in one human body. One in Spirit with the Father and yet a true Kinsman of humankind, Christ loved His God and Christ loved His Bride, the Church.

We read that GOD so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son to be the sacrifice for sin. Christ was made sin for the read more...

Ephesians 5:26

Paul used the special relationships between a husband and wife to exemplify the intimate communion there is between Christ and the Church. The marriage relationship is patterned on Christ's sacrificial love for His Church; for Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. But the sacrificial love that Christ has for His Church also has a cleansing element, as well as a sanctifying effect upon Her.

The Church is cleansed and read more...

Ephesians 5:27

In the past, Christ manifested His love towards us in that He died to pay the price for our sins; He redeemed us by His blood. At redemption we were positionally sanctified and set apart for Him, but throughout our life on earth we are in a process of being sanctified, for He who started a good work in us has promised to complete it in the day of Christ Jesus.

This beautifying process, which takes a lifetime to complete, is to read more...

Ephesians 5:30

Salvation for pre-Cross believers who lived in the dispensation of the Law and post-Cross believers who live in the dispensation of the grace-of-God, is given and received in the same way; for salvation is by God's grace through man's faith in the God's Word. In this Church age, salvation is ours by grace through faith in the death, burial, and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Salvation is always a matter of faith, but the read more...

Ephesians 5:32

The Word of God gives much importance to the institution of marriage and the intimate relationship and responsibilities between a man and a woman, when they are joined in holy matrimony. Marriage is a sacred reflection of the union between Christ and His Church, and was ordained by the Triune God in the eternal council chambers of heaven, before the world began.

It was God who instituted the marriage bond, and He laid out the read more...