返回Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Eph. 5:1. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children,
As the Lord loved you, so you too love your brother and imitate God as far as possible. And one cannot here make excuses of poverty and say: if I forgive, I will suffer loss; but forgive the one who sins freely and without cost, and you have already gained great profit, that is, you have become an imitator of God. Then he points to another, more noble reason as well. "As children," he says, "beloved," that is, you have yet another necessity to imitate your Father. And since not all children imitate their father, he added "beloved," because such ones do imitate their fathers.
Eph. 5:2. Walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
Here is the foundation of everything: because when there is love, then there will be neither clamor, nor wrath, nor evil speaking, but all of this will be destroyed. Therefore he also placed the most important thing at the end. He also teaches from what we became children of God, namely: from love. Therefore we must care for it as the source of divine adoption. Just as we, having received benefit from some medicine during illness, respect even the very name of that medicine, so too must we value love, for because of it the Lord gave Himself up for us. But He gave Himself up for enemies, while you would forgive friends. Therefore you will truly imitate Christ when you do good to enemies. For only then will the word "as" retain its meaning. To die for enemies — this is the sacrifice and "a sweet-smelling aroma," which is what Christ became, having accepted death for us — His enemies. This is what it means to imitate God.
Eph. 5:3. But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints.
Having spoken about the harsh passion — anger, he moved on to the lesser evil — lust, just as the lawgiver, having said: "thou shalt not kill," which pertains to anger, then decreed: "thou shalt not commit adultery," which pertains to lust. For just as bitterness, clamor, and evil speaking are manifestations of anger, so fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness arise from lust: for by the same impulse both money and the body were loved. Therefore, let there not even be talk of these things among you, but be entirely pure, because words pave the way to deeds. Therefore, if you are holy, let your tongue also be holy. He adds the following as well.
Eph. 5:4. Likewise filthiness and foolish talking and jesting are not fitting for you, but rather thanksgiving;
As he rejected clamor, the support of anger, so now he removes "filthiness and foolish talking," as the support of fornication. Avoid, he says, jesting and shameful speech, and you will quench the flame of fornication. Then, so as not to appear burdensome and severe by cutting off the inclination to jest, he added the reason for this as well, saying: "they are not fitting for you," that is, this does not befit you at all. Just as a shoemaker will not undertake to do something unrelated to his craft, so too a Christian, being holy, must not speak things inconsistent with holiness, because this is unprofitable and unfitting for us. But if you wish to say something, let your every word be thanksgiving. And if you accustom yourself to thanksgiving, you will remember who you were and what you have become, and you will grieve over your transgressions and marvel at Him Who deemed you worthy of such blessings, and you will find it inconvenient to say anything else. For the present time is not a time for laughter and jesting, but for grief and struggle. The enemy goes about, gnashing his teeth at you, and you amuse yourself and jest? You can hardly overcome him even when you fight bravely against him — how much less when you give yourself over to amusement? What then is a jester? He is a frivolous person, becoming all things like an actor, constantly changing his speech; and this is the property of a mind that is unstable and foreign to those who serve the Rock.
Eph. 5:5. For know this, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
Eph. 5:6. Let no one deceive you with empty words,
Probably, there were some among the Ephesians who said that God, wishing to frighten, forbade these minor sins. What is so bad about a word, that a fool who utters it should be liable to gehenna? And how is a covetous person an idolater? It is to them that the apostle hints here. This is also evident from the addition: "let no one deceive you with empty words." For vain are the words that provide temporary pleasure but prove useless in practice; to lavish such words is deception. And that the covetous person is an idolater, understand from this: "you cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24). Indeed, the covetous person has departed from God and serves gold; how then is he not an idolater? And if he says that he has not set up idols, what of it? For even the more educated Greeks said that they worshiped not idols but Aphrodite and Ares, and these are passions. But the covetous person does not slaughter sheep; instead, he slaughters people and rational souls. The Greek worshiped creatures of God, but the covetous person worships his own phantom. For God did not create covetousness, but our insatiability did. And I think that Paul said this borrowing from David, but in a different form. Whereas the latter said: "the idols of the nations are silver and gold" (Ps. 113:12), Paul in his great wisdom reversed this, calling silver and gold idols. Thus, one who serves silver and gold is, without doubt, an idolater.
Eph. 5:6. For because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience;
Or because of fornication, uncleanness and idolatry, or because of such speeches of deceivers. And he calls the very disobedient "sons" of "disobedience," those who do not believe God and who spread such opinions.
Eph. 5:7. Therefore, do not be partakers with them.
Eph. 5:8. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord:
But you, he says, do not associate with them. Then he reminds them of their former wickedness, saying: consider what you were and what you have become, namely: from darkness, light. Before, both in teaching and in life, you were truly darkness, but now you are light, because you have come to know God and perform the works of light. But this happened to you not through your own virtue, but "in the Lord," that is, by divine grace. Therefore, you should have no fellowship with the sons of disobedience, upon whom wrath is coming. Once you too were such and worthy of wrath, but now no longer. Therefore do not return again to darkness.
Eph. 5:8. Walk as children of light,
That is, decently and as befits one who walks in the light. Moreover, He commands us to be a light for others as well. For a son of light is, of course, himself also light.
Eph. 5:9. Because the fruit of the Spirit consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
As if explaining to us who is a child of light, he says: the one who has the fruit of the Spirit. For the Spirit produces fruits, not those which we spoke of earlier, but the opposite of them: "goodness," which is opposed to irritation and anger; righteousness, which is opposed to covetousness; and truth, which is opposed to the false pleasure of impurity. And he speaks of "all goodness" — goodness toward all, not only toward friends, but even toward enemies.
Eph. 5:10. Test what is well-pleasing to God,
To discern is the task of the mature, who are able to judge. Therefore, it is characteristic only of an immature and ignorant understanding to choose what is not pleasing to the Lord, such as the aforementioned passions.
Eph. 5:11. And do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even expose them.
Eph. 5:12. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
The works of darkness and sin are fruitless, because they bring nothing other than death and shame. Therefore, one must not participate in such works, but on the contrary, expose them, that is, admonish those who do such things. But how is it said in another place: "do not judge"? This is said instead of: "do not condemn." Exposing is one thing and judging is another: the first serves for correction, while the second serves for ridicule and punishment. And moreover, "do not judge" speaks of the most insignificant sins. For this reason he also adds: "Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye?" (Matt. 7:3). Paul also hints at certain indecent deeds that had found their place in Ephesus.
Eph. 5:13. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light,
Having said that you are the light, and that light exposes what is hidden in darkness, he adds: therefore, if you are virtuous, the wicked will not be able to hide. For just as a thief would not enter in the light of a lamp, so by the light of your virtue they too will be caught, especially if they are exposed by your instructive words.
Eph. 5:13. For everything that is made manifest is light.
As a wound, when closed, does not admit any healing, so also sin. But when it is exposed, it becomes light — not the sin itself, but the one who commits it. For when, having been subjected to reproof, he brings repentance and receives forgiveness, will not the darkness depart from him? Or he is saying that your life, when it is open, is light, because no one hides his blameless faith and activity. But what is secret is hidden precisely because it is worthy of darkness; and this is what must be brought out into the open and reproved.
Eph. 5:14. Therefore it says: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."
He calls the person living in sins sleeping and dead. For he is both foul-smelling, like a dead man, and inactive, like one sleeping, and he dreams and imagines phantoms. But when someone awakens from sin, then Christ illumines him, that is, shines upon him, just as the sun does for those who have awakened from sleep. But as long as he remains in sins, he hates the light and does not come to it. And He says this not only concerning unbelievers, but also concerning believers. You can also find a distinction between the sleeping and the dead. Many who do evil but do not approve of what is done could be called sleeping. They are easily awakened. And to them the expression "arise" applies. But others, who both do evil and justify it, could be called dead, since it is harder to call them back to good. Nevertheless, the word calls out to them as well, that they should arise, for one must not despair concerning the possibility of a change of nature.
Eph. 5:15. Therefore, watch how you walk carefully, not as unwise, but as wise,
Again he warns against bitterness and anger, as if saying to them: you are sheep in the midst of wolves, many bear malice against you, even your own household members; see to it that you give no one an occasion for enmity; apart from the faith, let no one accuse you of anything else, but show respect and every obedience where there is no harm to the faith, and be as doves. For wisdom or prudence consists in keeping oneself pure and not taking revenge on anyone.
Eph. 5:16. Redeeming the time,
He does not teach us craftiness, but since, he says, the time is not yours and you are sojourners, strangers, and outsiders, do not seek honor and glory, nor vengeance, but endure all things and by this redeem the time; give up everything, whatever may be demanded of you. Just as a rich man, seeing those attacking him with the intent to take his life, gives up everything and saves himself, so you too give up everything in order to save what is most important, that is, the faith.
Eph. 5:16. because the days are evil.
He does not censure the essence of days, for the essence of a day is light, of course, and hours, and what is evil in them? But he seems to censure the days for what is done in them. Just as we also commonly say: I had a bad day, of course on account of what happened during it, and what comes from evil people, not from God. Thus, the days are called evil because of the predominance of the rule of evil people.
Eph. 5:17. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of God is.
Since, he says, in the present days wicked people prevail, you, as wise ones, should take care not to give them any occasion against yourselves: for in this consists the will of God, to keep yourselves pure, with the preservation of faith as well.
Eph. 5:18. And do not be drunk with wine,
And further he restrains anger, because excess in wine also makes people wrathful and insolent. And that he censures excess is clear, for he did not say "do not drink," but "do not get drunk." But drunkenness comes from excess, since the moderate use of wine provides both health (as the apostle himself says in the epistle to Timothy – 1 Tim. 5:23) and gladness, as David testifies (Ps. 104:15). And Scripture moreover says (Prov. 31:6): "Give wine to those who are bitter of soul," that is, merriment to those who are in sorrow. For it softens grief and distress. Therefore God also made our bodies moderate, so that they would be content with little and would aspire to the other life.
Eph. 5:18. from which comes debauchery (ἀσωτία);
That is, immoderate consumption. For drunkenness does not bring health, but destroys not only the body, but also the soul. This is what ἀσωτία means – the squandering of health. Or the word ἀσωτία, in its common usage, denotes here fleshly intemperance. For from drunkenness comes debauchery.
Eph. 5:18. But be filled with the Spirit,
Eph. 5:19. edifying yourselves with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord,
Do you want to be merry, he says? Avoid filling yourself with wine, and fill yourself with the Holy Spirit. And you will achieve this if you learn psalmody. For those who sing psalms are filled with the Holy Spirit, just as those who sing satanic songs are filled with an unclean spirit. To sing psalms in the heart means to sing with understanding and without distraction. For he sings psalms in the heart who attends to what he sings. And notice, after he has cleansed the soul from bitterness and other passions, then he urges us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit will not simply come, but will fill our hearts. And with such a light existing within us, every other virtue will also be easy and readily accomplished.
Eph. 5:20. giving thanks always for all things to God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
"Always": not only in peace, but also in sorrow, and not only for what is good, but also for what is grievous, for what we know, and for what we do not know. For all things serve for our benefit, even though we do not realize it. And one must give thanks to the Father in the "name of our Lord Jesus Christ," that is, invoking the name of the Lord Jesus, and turning to Him as the mediator both of the benefit and of the thanksgiving itself.
Eph. 5:21. submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Here again is love, for from it proceeds obedience to one another: not according to any worldly or human calculations, but in the "fear," he says, "of God." For those who submit to one another for the sake of God will never fall into temptation nor be separated, having such a firm bond.
Eph. 5:22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord,
Not without reason and not in vain does Paul devote great care to marriage, for God too from the beginning was especially concerned with it. For He joined with Adam his sister — no, more than that — his daughter; but what am I saying? His own flesh. Then, as the race multiplied, He also widened the boundaries of marriage, so as not to confine love within the narrow limits of kinship alone. Indeed, our very life is sustained by marriage. Therefore he says: "Wives, submit to your own husbands." For if marriage is distinguished by harmony, then the children will be well brought up, the servants will fulfill their duty, and everything concerning neighbors and friends will go well. Submit as to the Lord. But how then is it written in another place: if anyone does not part from his wife and the wife from her husband, he cannot follow Me (Luke 14:26)? For if one must submit as to the Lord, how does He say that one must part for the Lord's sake? Because the word "as" does not everywhere denote perfect equality. Or: "submit," knowing that you are serving God — that is, even if not for the husband's own sake, then at least for the Lord's sake. For if the one who resists the higher authority resists the ordinance of the Lord, then all the more so the wife who resists her husband. And conversely, the wife who submits to her husband submits to the Lord.
Eph. 5:23. because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the Church, and He Himself is the Savior of the body.
He presents the reason that wives must obey, and places the reason and cause of love in the fact that the husband occupies the position of ruler and guardian (for he is the head, in his words, and savior), while the wife occupies the position of the subordinate (for she is the body). Just as Christ, being the Head of the Church, cares for her and protects her, so too the husband is the guardian of his own body, that is, his wife. How then should the body not submit to the head, which cares for and protects it?
Eph. 5:24. But as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives to their own husbands in everything.
From this you will understand more clearly what he said above: "submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." Since wives must submit to their husbands as the Church to Christ, and the Church and wives constitute this, then as to Christ, the wife must submit to her husband. But in what manner? Does he always command submission? Even when the husband is inclined toward unbelief? But Paul is not speaking now about unbelieving husbands, but about believing ones, about whom he was undoubtedly writing.
Eph. 5:25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up for her,
You have seen how Paul compels the wife to submit to you in the same measure as the Church submits to Christ; now hear how, on the other hand, he compels you to love her and not to treat her despotically. Love her, then! To what measure? As Christ loved the Church. Care for her as Christ cares for the Church. If it were necessary to suffer and even to die for her, do not refuse. For you, being already united with her by love, would do this; but He did this when she was in enmity against Him and was an adulteress. And just as He brought back to Himself the one who had turned away from Him not by threats and violence, so you yourself, if you should notice that your wife is withdrawing from you and seeking dissipation, try to draw her to yourself with greater love and care. And if you should suffer something for her sake, do not reproach her; for Christ does not reproach the Church either.
Eph. 5:26. that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water through the word;
So, she was depraved, impure, and without form, but He was not disgusted by her, and so you too should not be disgusted by your wife, even if she were ugly and worthless. And that the Church was ugly, listen: "you were once darkness," and what is blacker than darkness? They served malice and envy, and what can be more impure? Disobedient, foolish, and even blasphemous, and what can be more vile than this? And yet, He gave Himself up for her, as if she were beautiful and wonderful. And He cleansed her "with the washing of water," that is, baptism. "By means of the word." Which word? In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Eph. 5:27. that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church.
Not simply pure, but "glorious"! And just as Christ is the source of all blessings for the Church, so you too be the same for your wife; and just as He imparted spiritual beauty to the Church, so you too strive for this, and not for bodily beauty. And if you seek spiritual beauty in your wife, you will soon create it in her, setting her in order and making her glorious in spirit both for yourself and for God.
Eph. 5:27. not having spot, or blemish, or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
These words refer to the passions of the soul. Defilements are recent passions that are easy to wash away, which also caused dishonor; vices, however, are passions that have grown old over time — these are what made people unclean and are difficult to wash away. But the divine bath cleansed all of this and made them holy and blameless.
Eph. 5:28. So ought husbands to love their wives as their own bodies:
Not as a more important and most necessary example does he now point to this (for it is clear that the relationship of Christ to the Church is far more important than this example), but as one that is nearer and more at hand. Precisely so that no one might say that He was God and gave Himself up — he shows us this necessity in another way. "Ought," he says, to love, that is, this matter is not a favor but a debt and a necessity, because a wife is your body. Thus, the example of Christ he brought not only to show that one ought to love, but also to show that one ought to care for her well-being. "That she might be," he says, "holy and blameless." But the example of the body he put forward only in relation to love.
Eph. 5:28. loving his wife loves himself.
Eph. 5:29. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the Church,
He says that everyone applies intense and most diligent care for their own body, and so should you toward your wife. And again he brings Christ as an example, showing that Christ also loved us as His own flesh.
Eph. 5:30. because we are members of His body,
That is, we have a great kinship with Him.
Eph. 5:30. From His flesh and from His bones.
For He came from our substance, just as Eve from Adam. And as there the closeness was so great, so it is with us as well. And from another perspective too, we are "of His flesh and of His bones," because just as He was born of the Spirit without conjugal union, so are we in the baptismal font; and because having received the mysteries, we are from that moment divinely re-created. In short, he says that we have the highest closeness to Him. For both visibly He is a partaker with us in flesh and blood, and invisibly He is the source of our spiritual rebirth, just as Adam was the source of Eve's creation.
Eph. 5:31. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
Here is yet another example, namely: when someone, having left his parents, is united with her. And he did not say: will live together with her, but: "shall cleave," indicating an inseparable union. And the words "one flesh" are understood also simply, as the great John Chrysostom says: shall be one flesh; but they can also mean something else, namely: the two shall be for the production of one flesh, that is, a child.
Eph. 5:32. This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church.
That is, Moses pointed to something great and wondrous. And truly it is a mystery — to leave those who gave birth to him, labored for him, and did him good, and to cleave to one whom he had never seen and who had not even begun to do him good. Indeed, this is a great mystery, if only it is understood as referring to Christ, as a prophetic word about Him. For He too left the Father, not in the sense of a change of place, but by condescending to the assumption of flesh, and came to the bride who did not know Him at all, and became one with her in spirit. For "he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with the Lord" (1 Cor. 6:17). How then can one condemn marriage, when Paul presents it as an image of the mystery of Christ and calls it a mystery?
Eph. 5:33. So let each one of you love his own wife as himself;
However, he says, although I have set this forth allegorically, nevertheless it was also said for the sake of the wife, and the allegory does not destroy the literal indication contained therein regarding the relationship of husband to wife. For each man ought to love his own wife and cherish her as himself. And do not tell me that the wife has this or that defect, because in your own body there are many defects as well — for example, a dislocated arm, a lame leg, a damaged eye — but you do not cut them off; rather, you deem them worthy of even greater care.
Eph. 5:33. And let the wife fear her husband.
Since equality produces disorder, he therefore introduces fear, so that one would be the head — the husband. By fear here he means special respect and restraint — a fear befitting free persons, not a slavish one. In such fear, love too will find support for itself and will, in turn, support it. And the wife will love her husband as a part of the body loves the head, and will fear him, that is, honor him as the head. But what if the wife will not fear? You still love and do your part; likewise, even if the wife is not loved, let her still maintain fear. And notice that about the husband's duty to love his wife, he spoke at length, but about fear he does not elaborate, because he wishes the former to prevail, namely love. And the wife, as has been said, should fear with a fear that proceeds from love, not one that arouses trembling and dread, from which hatred rather springs; but so as not to contradict, not to rebel, and not to seek supremacy. For although there is one flesh, and she has authority and is equal in honor in this respect, the wife is the second authority, while the husband holds greater significance.
Eph. 5:1. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children,
As the Lord loved you, so you too love your brother and imitate God as far as possible. And one cannot here make excuses of poverty and say: if I forgive, I will suffer loss; but forgive the one who sins freely and without cost, and you have already gained great profit, that is, you have become an imitator of God. Then he points to another, more noble reason as well. "As children," he says, "beloved," that is, you have yet another necessity to imitate your Father. And since not all children imitate their father, he added "beloved," because such ones do imitate their fathers.
Eph. 5:2. Walk in love, as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
Here is the foundation of everything: because when there is love, then there will be neither clamor, nor wrath, nor evil speaking, but all of this will be destroyed. Therefore he also placed the most important thing at the end. He also teaches from what we became children of God, namely: from love. Therefore we must care for it as the source of divine adoption. Just as we, having received benefit from some medicine during illness, respect even the very name of that medicine, so too must we value love, for because of it the Lord gave Himself up for us. But He gave Himself up for enemies, while you would forgive friends. Therefore you will truly imitate Christ when you do good to enemies. For only then will the word "as" retain its meaning. To die for enemies — this is the sacrifice and "a sweet-smelling aroma," which is what Christ became, having accepted death for us — His enemies. This is what it means to imitate God.
Eph. 5:3. But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints.
Having spoken about the harsh passion — anger, he moved on to the lesser evil — lust, just as the lawgiver, having said: "thou shalt not kill," which pertains to anger, then decreed: "thou shalt not commit adultery," which pertains to lust. For just as bitterness, clamor, and evil speaking are manifestations of anger, so fornication, uncleanness, and covetousness arise from lust: for by the same impulse both money and the body were loved. Therefore, let there not even be talk of these things among you, but be entirely pure, because words pave the way to deeds. Therefore, if you are holy, let your tongue also be holy. He adds the following as well.
Eph. 5:4. Likewise filthiness and foolish talking and jesting are not fitting for you, but rather thanksgiving;
As he rejected clamor, the support of anger, so now he removes "filthiness and foolish talking," as the support of fornication. Avoid, he says, jesting and shameful speech, and you will quench the flame of fornication. Then, so as not to appear burdensome and severe by cutting off the inclination to jest, he added the reason for this as well, saying: "they are not fitting for you," that is, this does not befit you at all. Just as a shoemaker will not undertake to do something unrelated to his craft, so too a Christian, being holy, must not speak things inconsistent with holiness, because this is unprofitable and unfitting for us. But if you wish to say something, let your every word be thanksgiving. And if you accustom yourself to thanksgiving, you will remember who you were and what you have become, and you will grieve over your transgressions and marvel at Him Who deemed you worthy of such blessings, and you will find it inconvenient to say anything else. For the present time is not a time for laughter and jesting, but for grief and struggle. The enemy goes about, gnashing his teeth at you, and you amuse yourself and jest? You can hardly overcome him even when you fight bravely against him — how much less when you give yourself over to amusement? What then is a jester? He is a frivolous person, becoming all things like an actor, constantly changing his speech; and this is the property of a mind that is unstable and foreign to those who serve the Rock.
Eph. 5:5. For know this, that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God.
Eph. 5:6. Let no one deceive you with empty words,
Probably, there were some among the Ephesians who said that God, wishing to frighten, forbade these minor sins. What is so bad about a word, that a fool who utters it should be liable to gehenna? And how is a covetous person an idolater? It is to them that the apostle hints here. This is also evident from the addition: "let no one deceive you with empty words." For vain are the words that provide temporary pleasure but prove useless in practice; to lavish such words is deception. And that the covetous person is an idolater, understand from this: "you cannot serve God and mammon" (Matt. 6:24). Indeed, the covetous person has departed from God and serves gold; how then is he not an idolater? And if he says that he has not set up idols, what of it? For even the more educated Greeks said that they worshiped not idols but Aphrodite and Ares, and these are passions. But the covetous person does not slaughter sheep; instead, he slaughters people and rational souls. The Greek worshiped creatures of God, but the covetous person worships his own phantom. For God did not create covetousness, but our insatiability did. And I think that Paul said this borrowing from David, but in a different form. Whereas the latter said: "the idols of the nations are silver and gold" (Ps. 113:12), Paul in his great wisdom reversed this, calling silver and gold idols. Thus, one who serves silver and gold is, without doubt, an idolater.
Eph. 5:6. For because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience;
Or because of fornication, uncleanness and idolatry, or because of such speeches of deceivers. And he calls the very disobedient "sons" of "disobedience," those who do not believe God and who spread such opinions.
Eph. 5:7. Therefore, do not be partakers with them.
Eph. 5:8. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord:
But you, he says, do not associate with them. Then he reminds them of their former wickedness, saying: consider what you were and what you have become, namely: from darkness, light. Before, both in teaching and in life, you were truly darkness, but now you are light, because you have come to know God and perform the works of light. But this happened to you not through your own virtue, but "in the Lord," that is, by divine grace. Therefore, you should have no fellowship with the sons of disobedience, upon whom wrath is coming. Once you too were such and worthy of wrath, but now no longer. Therefore do not return again to darkness.
Eph. 5:8. Walk as children of light,
That is, decently and as befits one who walks in the light. Moreover, He commands us to be a light for others as well. For a son of light is, of course, himself also light.
Eph. 5:9. Because the fruit of the Spirit consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.
As if explaining to us who is a child of light, he says: the one who has the fruit of the Spirit. For the Spirit produces fruits, not those which we spoke of earlier, but the opposite of them: "goodness," which is opposed to irritation and anger; righteousness, which is opposed to covetousness; and truth, which is opposed to the false pleasure of impurity. And he speaks of "all goodness" — goodness toward all, not only toward friends, but even toward enemies.
Eph. 5:10. Test what is well-pleasing to God,
To discern is the task of the mature, who are able to judge. Therefore, it is characteristic only of an immature and ignorant understanding to choose what is not pleasing to the Lord, such as the aforementioned passions.
Eph. 5:11. And do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even expose them.
Eph. 5:12. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret.
The works of darkness and sin are fruitless, because they bring nothing other than death and shame. Therefore, one must not participate in such works, but on the contrary, expose them, that is, admonish those who do such things. But how is it said in another place: "do not judge"? This is said instead of: "do not condemn." Exposing is one thing and judging is another: the first serves for correction, while the second serves for ridicule and punishment. And moreover, "do not judge" speaks of the most insignificant sins. For this reason he also adds: "Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye?" (Matt. 7:3). Paul also hints at certain indecent deeds that had found their place in Ephesus.
Eph. 5:13. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light,
Having said that you are the light, and that light exposes what is hidden in darkness, he adds: therefore, if you are virtuous, the wicked will not be able to hide. For just as a thief would not enter in the light of a lamp, so by the light of your virtue they too will be caught, especially if they are exposed by your instructive words.
Eph. 5:13. For everything that is made manifest is light.
As a wound, when closed, does not admit any healing, so also sin. But when it is exposed, it becomes light — not the sin itself, but the one who commits it. For when, having been subjected to reproof, he brings repentance and receives forgiveness, will not the darkness depart from him? Or he is saying that your life, when it is open, is light, because no one hides his blameless faith and activity. But what is secret is hidden precisely because it is worthy of darkness; and this is what must be brought out into the open and reproved.
Eph. 5:14. Therefore it says: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light."
He calls the person living in sins sleeping and dead. For he is both foul-smelling, like a dead man, and inactive, like one sleeping, and he dreams and imagines phantoms. But when someone awakens from sin, then Christ illumines him, that is, shines upon him, just as the sun does for those who have awakened from sleep. But as long as he remains in sins, he hates the light and does not come to it. And He says this not only concerning unbelievers, but also concerning believers. You can also find a distinction between the sleeping and the dead. Many who do evil but do not approve of what is done could be called sleeping. They are easily awakened. And to them the expression "arise" applies. But others, who both do evil and justify it, could be called dead, since it is harder to call them back to good. Nevertheless, the word calls out to them as well, that they should arise, for one must not despair concerning the possibility of a change of nature.
Eph. 5:15. Therefore, watch how you walk carefully, not as unwise, but as wise,
Again he warns against bitterness and anger, as if saying to them: you are sheep in the midst of wolves, many bear malice against you, even your own household members; see to it that you give no one an occasion for enmity; apart from the faith, let no one accuse you of anything else, but show respect and every obedience where there is no harm to the faith, and be as doves. For wisdom or prudence consists in keeping oneself pure and not taking revenge on anyone.
Eph. 5:16. Redeeming the time,
He does not teach us craftiness, but since, he says, the time is not yours and you are sojourners, strangers, and outsiders, do not seek honor and glory, nor vengeance, but endure all things and by this redeem the time; give up everything, whatever may be demanded of you. Just as a rich man, seeing those attacking him with the intent to take his life, gives up everything and saves himself, so you too give up everything in order to save what is most important, that is, the faith.
Eph. 5:16. because the days are evil.
He does not censure the essence of days, for the essence of a day is light, of course, and hours, and what is evil in them? But he seems to censure the days for what is done in them. Just as we also commonly say: I had a bad day, of course on account of what happened during it, and what comes from evil people, not from God. Thus, the days are called evil because of the predominance of the rule of evil people.
Eph. 5:17. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of God is.
Since, he says, in the present days wicked people prevail, you, as wise ones, should take care not to give them any occasion against yourselves: for in this consists the will of God, to keep yourselves pure, with the preservation of faith as well.
Eph. 5:18. And do not be drunk with wine,
And further he restrains anger, because excess in wine also makes people wrathful and insolent. And that he censures excess is clear, for he did not say "do not drink," but "do not get drunk." But drunkenness comes from excess, since the moderate use of wine provides both health (as the apostle himself says in the epistle to Timothy – 1 Tim. 5:23) and gladness, as David testifies (Ps. 104:15). And Scripture moreover says (Prov. 31:6): "Give wine to those who are bitter of soul," that is, merriment to those who are in sorrow. For it softens grief and distress. Therefore God also made our bodies moderate, so that they would be content with little and would aspire to the other life.
Eph. 5:18. from which comes debauchery (ἀσωτία);
That is, immoderate consumption. For drunkenness does not bring health, but destroys not only the body, but also the soul. This is what ἀσωτία means – the squandering of health. Or the word ἀσωτία, in its common usage, denotes here fleshly intemperance. For from drunkenness comes debauchery.
Eph. 5:18. But be filled with the Spirit,
Eph. 5:19. edifying yourselves with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord,
Do you want to be merry, he says? Avoid filling yourself with wine, and fill yourself with the Holy Spirit. And you will achieve this if you learn psalmody. For those who sing psalms are filled with the Holy Spirit, just as those who sing satanic songs are filled with an unclean spirit. To sing psalms in the heart means to sing with understanding and without distraction. For he sings psalms in the heart who attends to what he sings. And notice, after he has cleansed the soul from bitterness and other passions, then he urges us to be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit will not simply come, but will fill our hearts. And with such a light existing within us, every other virtue will also be easy and readily accomplished.
Eph. 5:20. giving thanks always for all things to God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
"Always": not only in peace, but also in sorrow, and not only for what is good, but also for what is grievous, for what we know, and for what we do not know. For all things serve for our benefit, even though we do not realize it. And one must give thanks to the Father in the "name of our Lord Jesus Christ," that is, invoking the name of the Lord Jesus, and turning to Him as the mediator both of the benefit and of the thanksgiving itself.
Eph. 5:21. submitting to one another in the fear of God.
Here again is love, for from it proceeds obedience to one another: not according to any worldly or human calculations, but in the "fear," he says, "of God." For those who submit to one another for the sake of God will never fall into temptation nor be separated, having such a firm bond.
Eph. 5:22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord,
Not without reason and not in vain does Paul devote great care to marriage, for God too from the beginning was especially concerned with it. For He joined with Adam his sister — no, more than that — his daughter; but what am I saying? His own flesh. Then, as the race multiplied, He also widened the boundaries of marriage, so as not to confine love within the narrow limits of kinship alone. Indeed, our very life is sustained by marriage. Therefore he says: "Wives, submit to your own husbands." For if marriage is distinguished by harmony, then the children will be well brought up, the servants will fulfill their duty, and everything concerning neighbors and friends will go well. Submit as to the Lord. But how then is it written in another place: if anyone does not part from his wife and the wife from her husband, he cannot follow Me (Luke 14:26)? For if one must submit as to the Lord, how does He say that one must part for the Lord's sake? Because the word "as" does not everywhere denote perfect equality. Or: "submit," knowing that you are serving God — that is, even if not for the husband's own sake, then at least for the Lord's sake. For if the one who resists the higher authority resists the ordinance of the Lord, then all the more so the wife who resists her husband. And conversely, the wife who submits to her husband submits to the Lord.
Eph. 5:23. because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the Church, and He Himself is the Savior of the body.
He presents the reason that wives must obey, and places the reason and cause of love in the fact that the husband occupies the position of ruler and guardian (for he is the head, in his words, and savior), while the wife occupies the position of the subordinate (for she is the body). Just as Christ, being the Head of the Church, cares for her and protects her, so too the husband is the guardian of his own body, that is, his wife. How then should the body not submit to the head, which cares for and protects it?
Eph. 5:24. But as the Church submits to Christ, so also wives to their own husbands in everything.
From this you will understand more clearly what he said above: "submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord." Since wives must submit to their husbands as the Church to Christ, and the Church and wives constitute this, then as to Christ, the wife must submit to her husband. But in what manner? Does he always command submission? Even when the husband is inclined toward unbelief? But Paul is not speaking now about unbelieving husbands, but about believing ones, about whom he was undoubtedly writing.
Eph. 5:25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave Himself up for her,
You have seen how Paul compels the wife to submit to you in the same measure as the Church submits to Christ; now hear how, on the other hand, he compels you to love her and not to treat her despotically. Love her, then! To what measure? As Christ loved the Church. Care for her as Christ cares for the Church. If it were necessary to suffer and even to die for her, do not refuse. For you, being already united with her by love, would do this; but He did this when she was in enmity against Him and was an adulteress. And just as He brought back to Himself the one who had turned away from Him not by threats and violence, so you yourself, if you should notice that your wife is withdrawing from you and seeking dissipation, try to draw her to yourself with greater love and care. And if you should suffer something for her sake, do not reproach her; for Christ does not reproach the Church either.
Eph. 5:26. that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water through the word;
So, she was depraved, impure, and without form, but He was not disgusted by her, and so you too should not be disgusted by your wife, even if she were ugly and worthless. And that the Church was ugly, listen: "you were once darkness," and what is blacker than darkness? They served malice and envy, and what can be more impure? Disobedient, foolish, and even blasphemous, and what can be more vile than this? And yet, He gave Himself up for her, as if she were beautiful and wonderful. And He cleansed her "with the washing of water," that is, baptism. "By means of the word." Which word? In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Eph. 5:27. that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church.
Not simply pure, but "glorious"! And just as Christ is the source of all blessings for the Church, so you too be the same for your wife; and just as He imparted spiritual beauty to the Church, so you too strive for this, and not for bodily beauty. And if you seek spiritual beauty in your wife, you will soon create it in her, setting her in order and making her glorious in spirit both for yourself and for God.
Eph. 5:27. not having spot, or blemish, or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
These words refer to the passions of the soul. Defilements are recent passions that are easy to wash away, which also caused dishonor; vices, however, are passions that have grown old over time — these are what made people unclean and are difficult to wash away. But the divine bath cleansed all of this and made them holy and blameless.
Eph. 5:28. So ought husbands to love their wives as their own bodies:
Not as a more important and most necessary example does he now point to this (for it is clear that the relationship of Christ to the Church is far more important than this example), but as one that is nearer and more at hand. Precisely so that no one might say that He was God and gave Himself up — he shows us this necessity in another way. "Ought," he says, to love, that is, this matter is not a favor but a debt and a necessity, because a wife is your body. Thus, the example of Christ he brought not only to show that one ought to love, but also to show that one ought to care for her well-being. "That she might be," he says, "holy and blameless." But the example of the body he put forward only in relation to love.
Eph. 5:28. loving his wife loves himself.
Eph. 5:29. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the Church,
He says that everyone applies intense and most diligent care for their own body, and so should you toward your wife. And again he brings Christ as an example, showing that Christ also loved us as His own flesh.
Eph. 5:30. because we are members of His body,
That is, we have a great kinship with Him.
Eph. 5:30. From His flesh and from His bones.
For He came from our substance, just as Eve from Adam. And as there the closeness was so great, so it is with us as well. And from another perspective too, we are "of His flesh and of His bones," because just as He was born of the Spirit without conjugal union, so are we in the baptismal font; and because having received the mysteries, we are from that moment divinely re-created. In short, he says that we have the highest closeness to Him. For both visibly He is a partaker with us in flesh and blood, and invisibly He is the source of our spiritual rebirth, just as Adam was the source of Eve's creation.
Eph. 5:31. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
Here is yet another example, namely: when someone, having left his parents, is united with her. And he did not say: will live together with her, but: "shall cleave," indicating an inseparable union. And the words "one flesh" are understood also simply, as the great John Chrysostom says: shall be one flesh; but they can also mean something else, namely: the two shall be for the production of one flesh, that is, a child.
Eph. 5:32. This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and to the Church.
That is, Moses pointed to something great and wondrous. And truly it is a mystery — to leave those who gave birth to him, labored for him, and did him good, and to cleave to one whom he had never seen and who had not even begun to do him good. Indeed, this is a great mystery, if only it is understood as referring to Christ, as a prophetic word about Him. For He too left the Father, not in the sense of a change of place, but by condescending to the assumption of flesh, and came to the bride who did not know Him at all, and became one with her in spirit. For "he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with the Lord" (1 Cor. 6:17). How then can one condemn marriage, when Paul presents it as an image of the mystery of Christ and calls it a mystery?
Eph. 5:33. So let each one of you love his own wife as himself;
However, he says, although I have set this forth allegorically, nevertheless it was also said for the sake of the wife, and the allegory does not destroy the literal indication contained therein regarding the relationship of husband to wife. For each man ought to love his own wife and cherish her as himself. And do not tell me that the wife has this or that defect, because in your own body there are many defects as well — for example, a dislocated arm, a lame leg, a damaged eye — but you do not cut them off; rather, you deem them worthy of even greater care.
Eph. 5:33. And let the wife fear her husband.
Since equality produces disorder, he therefore introduces fear, so that one would be the head — the husband. By fear here he means special respect and restraint — a fear befitting free persons, not a slavish one. In such fear, love too will find support for itself and will, in turn, support it. And the wife will love her husband as a part of the body loves the head, and will fear him, that is, honor him as the head. But what if the wife will not fear? You still love and do your part; likewise, even if the wife is not loved, let her still maintain fear. And notice that about the husband's duty to love his wife, he spoke at length, but about fear he does not elaborate, because he wishes the former to prevail, namely love. And the wife, as has been said, should fear with a fear that proceeds from love, not one that arouses trembling and dread, from which hatred rather springs; but so as not to contradict, not to rebel, and not to seek supremacy. For although there is one flesh, and she has authority and is equal in honor in this respect, the wife is the second authority, while the husband holds greater significance.