Ephesians 5
Paul calls believers to imitate God as beloved children, walking in love as Christ loved us. He contrasts the darkness of sin with living as children of light. He describes marriage as a mystery reflecting Christ and the church, where husbands love sacrificially and the church responds with reverence.
EphesiansChapter 5 of 633 versesBerean Standard Bible
In this passage: Jesus
If God speaks to you through Ephesians 5, record what He said in Doxa and come back to it.
Be imitators of God, therefore, as beloved children,
and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
Quoted in the Daily Lift, day 10: How does Noah's altar point to Jesus?
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 10: Where does this land in Christ?
But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.
For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
Therefore do not be partakers with them.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light,
for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
Test and prove what pleases the Lord.
Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that is illuminated becomes a light itself.
So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.”
Read Isaiah 60:1›Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord,
always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 46: Where does the Bible first use the word love?
to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,
and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless.
In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church.
For we are members of His body.
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 2: What is the deep sleep in Genesis 2:21?
For this reason a man will leave — Paul on marriage and Christ
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
Read Genesis 2:24›Adam's bride Eve, formed from his side while he slept. Paul reveals the deeper story: 'This mystery refers to Christ and the church.' The first marriage was a portrait of the last one.
“So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh.”
Read Genesis 2:21›This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church.
Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Read next
How to Hear God’s Voice: A Practical Guide for BelieversScripture is the record of a God who speaks. This guide covers how to hear Him today and keep what He says.Cross-references for Ephesians 5
“Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.””
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.”
“And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”
“Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.”
“Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, licensed CC BY.
Ephesians 5 on Doxa
- Noah Leaves the Ark: Why God Promised No Second Flood (Genesis 8:15-22) · Quoted in the Daily Lift, day 10
- Noah's Altar: The Pleasing Aroma Behind God's Promise (Genesis 8:15-22) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 10
- The Second Time the Bible Says 'Love' (Genesis 24:50–67) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 46
- Adam and Eve: How a Potter's Hands Made a Soul (Genesis 2) · Quoted in the Deeper Dive, day 2
- The Power of Voice: Why Speaking Changes Everything
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