Ephesians
Chapter 5
As God’s most loved children, aim to imitate him.
Follow the way of love, just as Christ loved you. He gave himself up for us and became the offering and sacrificial victim, whose fragrance rises to God.
Since you are holy, there must be no hint of sexual immorality, greed, or any kind of impurity among you; these should not be named among you.
Likewise, avoid using scandalous words, nonsense, and foolishness, as they are inappropriate; instead, give thanks to God.
Know this: no depraved, impure, or greedy (that is an idolater) will have a part in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
The Kingdom of Light
Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for these are the sins God is about to condemn in those who do not obey.
Avoid associating with such people.
You were once darkness, but now, you are light in the LORD. Behave as children of light;
the fruits of light are kindness, justice, and truth, in every form.
You, yourselves, seek out what pleases the Lord,
and avoid participating in unfruitful works of darkness; instead, expose them.
Indeed, it is shameful even to speak of what those people do in secret,
but once it is exposed to light, everything becomes clear; and what is hidden is revealed through light.
Therefore, it says: ‘Sleeper, wake up! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.’
Pay attention to your conduct. Do not live like the unwise, but as responsible people.
Try to make good use of the present time because these days are evil.
So do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Do not get drunk: wine may cause lightheartedness, but instead be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Gather together to pray, using psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and celebrate the Lord in your heart,
giving thanks to God, the Father, in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord, always and for everything.
Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Husband and Wife
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
The husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is also the Savior.
And as the church submits to Christ, so should a wife submit in everything to her husband.
As for you, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
He cleansed her and made her holy through baptism in the word.
Because he desired a radiant church—without stain, wrinkle, or blemish—but holy and blameless, he had to prepare and present her to himself.
Similarly, husbands should love their wives as they love their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
And no one hates his own body; instead, he nurtures and cares for it. That is exactly what Christ does for the Church
since we are members of his body.
For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
This is a very great mystery, and I am referring to Christ and the church.
As for you, let each one love his wife as himself, and let the wife respect her husband.
Commentaries
Christian Conduct.
The first thing Paul asks of his communities is a complete break from their pagan past. The descriptions are direct and blunt: darkness, ignorance, hardness, impurity, deceit. The Apostle sees the new life of the Christian expressed in concrete actions: honesty, dedication to work, truthfulness, kindness, respect for others, compassion, and forgiveness. This is the image of the Christian: someone who lives and goes out of their way to help others, a creator of the alternative community that Christ brought us through his death and resurrection.
The Kingdom of Light.
Light and darkness: here is another image with biblical resonances that Paul uses to exhort the Ephesians to conduct themselves as “children of light,” reminding them that “once you were darkness” (8). Most of Paul’s Christian communities lived in the great cities of the Empire, where the widespread moral decay of the time was most evident and notorious. Paul, in the end, seems to invite the Christian community to remain vigilant, like the wise virgins of the Gospel, waiting for the bridegroom with their lamps lit with hymns and songs inspired by the “night” of the evil times in which they live (Mt 25:1-13).
Husband and Wife.
Paul has been urging unity and harmony within the Christian community. Now, he turns his attention to the family unit, often called the domestic Church, comprising husband and wife, children, and, in those times, slaves as well. The Old Testament depicts God as the husband and the community as his wife, using bold imagery such as Isaiah 62:5: “The joy that a husband finds in his wife, your God will find in you.” The final chapters of Revelation use this same symbolism to conclude the Bible, ending with the wife’s urgent plea to her husband: “Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev 22:20). This biblical imagery vividly illustrates the powerful love relationship between Christ and the Church, with the Church symbolized and made present through the Christian sacrament of marriage.