Ephesians 5

The chapter follows a progression from character (imitation of God) to conduct (avoiding darkness) to community (mutual submission) and finally to covenant (marriage as a reflection of Christ).

• Christ shall give light to those who awake and arise (v. 14).

• Be followers (imitators) of God (v. 1).
• Walk in love (v. 2).
• Walk as children of light (v. 8).
• Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness (v. 11).
• Reprove works of darkness (v. 11).
• Walk circumspectly (v. 15).
• Redeem the time (v. 16).
• Be filled with the Spirit (v. 18).
• Submit yourselves one to another (v. 21).
• Wives, submit unto your own husbands (v. 22).
• Husbands, love your wives (v. 25).

• No immoral or covetous person has an inheritance in the kingdom (v. 5).
• Let no man deceive you with vain words (v. 6).
• Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess (v. 18).

• Ephesus was a major urban center known for the Temple of Artemis, where illicit 'secret' practices were common; Paul's warning regarding things done in 'secret' (v. 12) likely contrasts Christian conduct with these pagan mystery rituals.
• The concept of 'redeeming the time' (v. 16) reflects the ancient understanding of time (kairos) as an opportunity to be seized.

• Roman household codes (often structured around hierarchy) are here reframed through the lens of Christ's self-sacrificial love, radically altering the duty of the husband toward his wife compared to contemporary Greco-Roman standards.

• This chapter functions as the moral application of the doctrinal truths established in chapters 1-3. It explicitly transitions from theology to ethics with the 'therefore' (οὖν - G3767) in verse 1.

• Paul uses the Genesis 2:24 account of creation as an authoritative precedent, demonstrating how the New Testament interprets the Old Testament as revealing truths about Christ and His Church.
• Matthew Henry observes that the sins mentioned, particularly covetousness, are akin to idolatry because they displace God as the supreme object of trust and satisfaction, a recurring theme throughout biblical teaching.

• Ephesians 5:14 appears to be an allusion to prophetic calls for Israel to awake (e.g., Isaiah 60:1), applied here to the awakening of the spiritually dead through Christ.
• Ephesians 5:31 explicitly quotes Genesis 2:24.

• μιμητής (mimētḗs) [G3402]: An 'imitator' or 'mimic', calling for an active reproduction of God's character.
• περιπατέω (peripatéō) [G4043]: Literally 'tread all around,' figuratively used here for one's total life conduct.
• πλεονεξία (pleonexía) [G4124]: 'Greed' or 'covetousness,' literally 'a desire for more,' which the text uniquely equates to idolatry.
• μυστήριον (mystērion) [G3466]: 'Mystery,' referring to a divine secret previously hidden but now revealed by God.

• This passage is at the heart of historic theological debates regarding the nature of the husband-wife relationship. Complementarian interpretations view the headship and submission commands as reflecting established, God-ordained roles. Egalitarian interpretations often emphasize the reciprocal submission mentioned in verse 21 as the governing principle for all subsequent household duties. Both perspectives prioritize the Christ-Church analogy (vv. 22-33) as the supreme standard for marriage.
• The term 'reprove' (v. 11) indicates that the light of the Christian life is not passive; it creates a confrontation with darkness simply by existing.

• The phrase 'washing of water by the word' (v. 26) is debated; some scholars interpret it as a reference to baptism, others to the cleansing power of the preached Gospel, and others to both.