Ephesians 5

1 ¶ Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
This is a deal breaker for most of us. We are to walk in love. How? As Christ also hath loved us.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
Are you ready? Can you walk like you are commanded here?
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Are you really committed?
2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 15 For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: 16 To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life. And who is sufficient for these things? 17 For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.
When you are around a truly saved person you feel differently than when you are around an unsaved person.
But, back to the verse, we are called to walk in love AS CHRIST ALSO HATH LOVED US.
Do you believe that Christ loves you even when you are wrong? Did He stop loving you when you sinned? When you make a decision based on the best knowledge you have and it turns out to have a bad consequence did Christ stop loving you?
You say, I’m your friend. But, if I don’t behave the way you think I should or the way you think is right, or godly, or Christian, will you still be my friend? If I mess up? Will you still be my friend? Will you stand by me to cheer me on when I am obedient to Christ and to weep and mourn with me when I fall? Will you warn me when I’m about to sink down into that pit ahead of me that I’m digging?
If I’m wrongheaded and stubborn will you make yourself available for God to use you to intervene? Or will you just rattle off a few words to condemn me and then leave me?
How does Christ love you? Isn’t it more than at the Cross? Doesn’t he offer you fellowship every day and especially when you need it? Haven’t you been able to cry out to Him WHEN you were stuck in the quicksand of your sin?
Or does your Christ only talk to you through His word when you’re RIGHT with Him? Do you walk in love as Christ also loved you?
We are often self righteous and afraid to get our hands dirty. We’ll be friends as long as you don’t cause us any trouble or cause us to question what we believe.
Isn’t Christ there for you when you’re in a prison cell? Bankruptcy? Divorce? Illness? Death? Right or wrong? Stubborn or willing to listen? What about you? You say, I’m your friend? Until what?
We can’t lose our salvation. Christ doesn’t cut us off. We’re the ones who cut off fellowship and refuse to talk to our Saviour or to listen to Him. I’m not talking about giving money to someone who is buying drugs? That’s not love. That’s helping someone to sin. I’m not talking about making it easy for you to be wrong. I’m talking about standing by you to help you along or pick you up when you fall. Or to be there when God says, block his way. Keep him from death and destruction.
John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
I’m asking you again, “do YOU walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us”? I’ve learned a lot about friendship in the last few months. Call me an acquaintance. Say you like me. Be friendly. But don’t call me a friend unless you’re willing to stick your neck out for me. Christ died for us. Are we even willing to risk a small thing for our friends?
Do you walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us? Christ didn’t commit any of the sins I’m guilty of but He died for them AS IF HE HAD. Remember the Pastor’s sermon about giving up your house and your reputation.
Don’t think you’re like Christ because you faithfully attend church, read your Bible occasionally, and mutter half hearted prayers or even use holy language when you pray or talk. This verse is where the rubber hits the road. The proverb goes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating”. What kind of a taste does your life leave in God’s mouth?
When I stand before Him, if He says, did you love your friends in me, as I loved you? I’m going to hang my head in shame. I’m great at giving advice and smarmily declaring, “well, I don’t do that” or “I can’t be a part of that” or “you should go to church” or “you just need to read your Bible”. What a hypocrite. How many times has someone I know been in danger and have I said to God, “use me Lord, help my friend, please, Lord?” What can I do to make things right for my friend?
Walk in love as Christ also hath loved us.
3 ¶ But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
This isn’t the first time that fornication, sexual sin, has been put together in a verse with covetousness. In the history of the world regarding sin around Romans 1:29, Paul gives us the descent of man from God to wicked corruption. Here is Romans 1:29;
Romans 1:29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
Col ossians3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Now, we know that fornication includes any sexual contact with someone to whom you are not married before God. Notice, I didn’t say the state. I have news for you, the state is not God and the state sanctioning your marriage has nothing to do with God sanctioning it.
But, what is covetousness? Well, to covet is to want something that is not yours;
Deuteronomy 5:21 Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet thy neighbour’s house, his field, or his manservant, or his maidservant, his ox, or his ass, or any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Micah 2:2 And they covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage.
It also means, in a less offensive way, to want something that you don’t have;
1Corinthians 12:31 But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
But, in the church age, in general, it is not good to covet. Here are the precepts of the Law given to Moses that Paul says we, as Christians, are to follow;
Romans 13:7 ¶ Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. 8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Be content with what you have. Our consumer oriented society and all our advertising is no better than a man standing in front of a strip joint and yelling, “step right in, see the girls”.
1 Timothy 6:6 ¶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Our entertainment media is run on advertising which teaches you from the day you were old enough to understand to want things you don’t have and that getting those things, whether they be material possessions or pretty people, you’ll be happy. Hogwash.
Covetousness is not something that glorifies God. Look at all of the trouble David caused by coveting Uriah’s wife. See all the sins that flowed from that one.
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Here are three forbidden things; filthy talking, foolish talking, and jesting. In the context of these admonitions we would probably think from a common sense point of view that there is nothing wrong with telling a joke that has a point in it. All of the great preachers used jokes. It would seem to me that we’re talking about the kind of joking that insults, ridicules, or belittles other people or groups of people.
This is also an admonition against using filthy language and vulgar language. This seems to be the common sense explanation.
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
We’ll match up the statements in verse three; fornication is matched up with whoremonger or one who frequents prostitutes or someone who is what they call today “a player”, uncleanness with an unclean person, and covetousness with a covetous man, who Paul labels as an idolater.
Also note God regards stubbornness as idolatry:
1Samuel 15:23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Now, a covetous person, one who always wants things that are not his, has another problem. He really worships idols, the idols he has set up in his own heart, like the new plasma TV, the new SUV, the new house in the gated community, etc. etc. These are the things he identifies with, not Christ. It always amazes me how Christians can set so much stock in the things they have and want, or want and deliberately don’t have. Yes, you can be an idolater in reverse, by deliberately denying yourself useful things you can afford that would aid you in your serving of Christ for the purpose of making yourself feel spiritual. Then, you have joined that large group of people who have set their own self-righteousness up in their heart as an idol.
I have lost weight because I have accepted that I simply, like most people, eat more food than I need in order to live. I, thanks to the Lord, no longer covet food. I no longer get comfort from stuffing my face. Gluttony is another one of those sins Baptists like to overlook. In fact, we glory in it.
Now some preachers think that the last part of this verse is saying you can’t get into heaven if you practice these sins. They think the “inheritance in the kingdom” is salvation. There’s is a works based religion. You don’t get to heaven by works.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
The inheritance is a reward. Your salvation is a gift.
Here is another verse that confuses some people.
1Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
And again,
Galatians 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Do you have flesh? Are encased in flesh? These are the works of the flesh. Flesh can’t inherit the kingdom of God. The people he’s referring to here are believers. Christians who don’t live right will lose their reward, the inheritance of the kingdom.
1Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
If you continue in the works of the flesh you, the saved person, will have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. Your flesh and its works have no inheritance in God’s kingdom.
Luke 19:12 He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And he called his ten servants (saved people), and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 14 But his citizens hated him, (unsaved people) and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. 15 And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. 16 Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. 17 And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities. 18 And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds. 19 And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities. 20 And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: 21 For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow. 22 And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: 23 Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury? 24 And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. 25 (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) 26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. 27 But those mine enemies (unsaved people), which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.
The moral of this verse might be, don’t mess with these sins or you will receive nothing in the way of an inheritance when Christ comes back. But remember, there isn’t one of us who hasn’t fooled with some of these sins in our own hearts and the heart is just as important as the outward flesh, as Christ has pointed out.
Proverbs 16:9 A man‘s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
Proverbs 19:21 There are many devices in a man‘s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.
Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
There are many Christians who aren’t worth the shot and powder it would take to blow them into Hell but their salvation is assured and their inheritance is something different.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
It’s for these sins that God’s wrath comes down on the unsaved. We, as Christians, don’t have any business being caught up in them. No one can tell you its okay. The children of disobedience are mentioned back in 2:2.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
We were all unsaved at one time. Now, we are supposed to be different.
10 Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
1Thessalonians 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
Test all things. See what the Lord finds acceptable. Use the Book as your guide. Is it good or is it not?
11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
Point a light at the works of those people who walk in darkness. Reprove them. Expose them. Make it clear to other Christians what the Bible has shown you that is not acceptable.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Many of our sins, ones that we have in our thought life each and every day, I can’t even speak about in front of women and young people. It would be hard to even talk to a room full of guys about our testimony and what we struggle with in private.
13 But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
When these wicked things are exposed we shine that light on them, the light that comes from the Bible.
14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
We were dead and Christ called us to live by being born again and Christ gives us light. He has called those who are spiritually dead to get up, to arise from the dead, and Christ will give us light.
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Be careful, walk carefully, know what you’re doing, being wary, not as fools, but acting wise.
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Matthew 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Evil can also be defined by the Bible as being disaster, trouble, and calamity, as well as malicious.
Genesis 37:33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
Isaiah 45:7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
Isaiah 47:11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
Remember, context usually determines meaning and the first time a word is used usually determines the meaning for the majority of times it is used. Evil can be sinful iniquity and it can be malice and trouble.
The first mention of evil in the Bible has to do with it being in opposition to good in the tree that Adam was forbidden to eat from. To know what is good is to know what is evil because evil is in contraposition to good. What is good then?
Mark 10:17 ¶ And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Anything that is not of God is not good. Its real simple to ask yourself if something is not of God. A few minutes in prayer and in the Bible can usually, I say, usually, clear that up for you.
But here, the days are evil, filled with trouble and potential disaster. Be wise. Be circumspect.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
This makes it clear that you can know what the will of the Lord is. Here are some verses that show what God’s will for you is.
1Thessalonians 4:3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
1Thessalonians 5:18 In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
How do you find out God’s will by proving or testing a situation?
Romans 12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
First, you present your body as a living sacrifice, don’t line up with the world, and have your mind renewed by God, and then you can test to see what is His will.
18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
The excess is in the wine. The Japanese proverb goes man take drink, drink take drink, and then drink take man.
Proverbs 23:31 Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. 32 At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 33 Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. 34 Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of a mast. 35 They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Instead of those spirits, be filled by the Holy Spirit.
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Now, here’s one of the most perplexing things in fundamentalism. The Bible, right here, defines what it means to be filled by the Spirit and yet, you’ll hear preachers say that being filled by the Spirit means faithfully attending church or knocking on doors and handing out tracts and totally ignore WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS.
Why do you think that is?
Here is what being filled by the Spirit looks like. You talk to yourself in psalms, singing hymns which praise God, and spiritual songs which we might call gospel songs, singing in your heart. Now, we’ve been told what God’s will is with regard to always being thankful and abstaining from fornication and here we have what it means to be filled with God’s Spirit. It’s not rocket science. What’s the problem? We don’t like what it says? It doesn’t suit our own agenda? What’s going on in American fundamentalism?
Here is the fruit of the Spirit, as a reminder, to include into this mix.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
So, Christian, we have God’s will for our lives, what it means to be filled with the Spirit, and what the fruit of the Spirit being present in you is. Now, how hard is that? I hear these preachers on websites like sermonaudio.com and Fundamental Baptist Sermons.com twisting these simple Scriptures into something right out of the Koran. Beware.
20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Here we have a thankful heart again, always giving thanks FOR ALL THINGS. That’s ALL THINGS.
Job 2:10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Lamentations 3:38 Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?
Romans 5:3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Truthfully, we have all been blessed by God very much in spite of our best efforts to prevent those blessings. Living in a fallen world, with a body in a fallen state, in an environment that contains a million things designed for and bent on our destruction we sit here hearing and seeing, we will eat at dinnertime, and we will probably ride home safely. And although, at any given moment any one of us can drop dead and enter into glory, for the most part we have a reasonable expectation of seeing the sun come up tomorrow. Either way, we win. God is merciful.
21 ¶ Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Here’s the end of one thought and the beginning of the next. We are to submit ourselves to each other, not to exercise our will over each other but each of us, man and woman, submitting to each other as Christians. If there be any strong willed individual in the assembly who feels a need to dominate others, and there is always one or two in every group, then they are out of God’s will.
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Notice the common thought in these verses;
Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
Titus 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
1Peter 3:1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;
1Peter 3:5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:
This is not a call for women to submit to men, as in Islam, but for wives to submit to their OWN husbands. My wife isn’t to submit to someone else’s husband. This notion that women should shuffle their feet and never look a man in the eye and act like a mouse around all men is bunk.
And women, if you aren’t submitting yourself to your husband, AS UNTO THE LORD, you are out of God’s will. If a man won’t lead your home, he will wreck it. You have a lot to say about that. A Godly marriage takes two cooperative people.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Here is the operational structure of a Christian marriage. I say operational because it says nothing of value but organization under God only. Because between man and woman in Christ there is no difference before God as we know by Galatians 3:28. But, the structure of the family begins with the husband being the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church in heaven and he is the savior of His body on earth.
If your husband is not your head, your leader, then I guarantee you he’s not happy. We make jokes about it but a marriage where the wife is calling the shots and running her husband is a farce by God’s standards.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Does any woman here have trouble with the English in this verse? This is about a truly Christian marriage with a Christian husband and wife.
These first admonitions are given to wives as women get the first instruction. See that God delivered His curse first to Eve in Genesis 3 after cursing Satan but before Adam and 1 Peter 3.
Unfortunately, Christian men often aren’t trained to lead a wife, they are trained to by petty tyrants and dictators, selfish spoiled children who marry a copy of their mothers or they try to force their wife into being a copy of their mother. A strong willed wife and mother who is not truly in subjection to her husband is not capable of raising a son who is fit to lead a wife into anything other than misery and divorce or an early death.
To the young women, Paul would say, submit to your own husband in every thing and to the young men, I would suggest, don’t marry your mother.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Doesn’t Christ give us everything we need? Doesn’t He meet all of our needs? Did he not give his life for us ? Show me Christian husbands who love their wives sacrificially as Christ loved the church and gave himself for it and continues to give himself. Notice that wives were called to submit but husbands are called to love their wives. You young men need to fix this in your head before you start thinking about getting married.
You girls should be looking for this attitude before you consider saying, “yes”. Beware of petty tyrants in waiting, of kitchen table dictators, and emotional and physical abusers waiting for someone to practice on under the guise of a Christian husband.
If you are thinking of getting a Christian wife so you can have a convenient pack animal, baby maker, sex partner, and in all other cases a substitute mother, you need to grow up in the Lord. In fact, to both young men and women, other people were not put on this earth for the purpose of your entertainment or convenience. Think about it.
Woman was made to be a worthy helper for man. In every country where this Book is honored women have the highest standard of living and expectations compared to the parts of the world where the Bible is not honored.
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
He gave His life for the church that He might sanctify it and cleanse it. By what agency? His word. The Bible must be in the center of every marriage. It is the only worthy marriage manual.
Sanctify is defined here;
Exodus 29:33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
Exodus 29:37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
Exodus 30:29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy.
Leviticus 20:7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
Holy is something set apart, its different. God is Holy. Here, in the first usage, a piece of dirt is holy.
Exodus 3:5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
God uses His word to sanctify us.
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
This is the way Christ’s bride is supposed to stay clean, by washing with the word.
John 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
There is a great deal of word study that could be done about the words “spot” and “blemish” but it would just darken the waters here so we’ll move on and accept the obvious.
1 Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.
Here is how men are to love and take care of their wives, as they would regard their own flesh. It is an unhealthy and corrupt Christian that treats his wife like an expendable piece of furniture, a slave, or a pack animal. I’ve seen it and SO HAVE YOU, so don’t deny it. The fact that women have accepted that kind of treatment from a weak man, notwithstanding.
29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
No man who is not insane mutilates or damages his own body either through harmful habits or sins like gluttony. Anyone who does not do everything within his power to stay healthy and take care of his body we would think as perhaps not balanced. Here is how we are to treat our wives, as the Lord loves His church.
30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
1Corinthians 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
Colossians 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body‘s sake, which is the church:
Isn’t it interesting that blood isn’t mentioned in the description of Adam and Eve.
Genesis 2:23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
In the secular movie, City of Angels, an angel who becomes human tastes his own blood when he falls down, something he has never known before.
1Corinthians 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
Leviticus 17:11 starts with For the life of the flesh is in the blood:
OUR blood and flesh have been corrupted. It was Christ’s blood that was shed for us.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Hebrews 13:12 Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
When you unite in the flesh with another person you have committed the act of marriage no matter what you’re intentions. There are fundamentalists pastors preaching from the pulpit the Roman Catholic doctrine that if you have a wedding ceremony then, no matter what happens, you are married to that person until they die, who, in their own lives, have been serial adulterers.
If you then unite in the flesh with another person that first person is no longer married to you and you have committed adultery.
By this reasoning, I would say that the person who has committed adultery against you has released you from any obligation you have toward him. You are no longer married to him or her. The state, once again, has nothing to do with it, and your willingness to forgive “for the sake of the children” notwithstanding.
Now, so this isn’t taking too far, two homosexuals cannot unite in the act of marriage that God instituted when he made us. That is simply perversion and a consequence of a race of people denying God. Read Romans 1:16 to 2:3 for the devolution of man sexually.
32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Here is where Paul ties everything together for sure and says that the relationship between a man and his wife is meant to reflect the relationship between Christ and the church. There are a lot of things to think about in this. Men aren’t to think of themselves as a god and therefore worthy of worship and women aren’t to create a husband in their head and expect the real one to be the one they invented or be disappointed. These are things we as Christians do to Christ.
The nature of the relationship was laid out for us in the preceding verses. It is a sacrificial one of gentle leadership by example on the one side and of submission and willingness to follow in everything on the other. But, this goes against our flesh so we do have a problem with it. Oh, yeah, there is the other error where you don’t follow this but say you do. It’s like the sociopath who lies constantly and insists they aren’t lying. That’s what we Christians do. God says do things a certain way and we choose to twist that way around to suit our flesh and then we say we are doing it God’s way.
God knows us.
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Here is the summation of the whole matter.