Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

5:3 sexual immorality. This general term (Gk. porneia) covers all sexual sins, including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, etc. Covetousness is a jealous longing for what others possess (Ex. 20:17), and it amounts to idolatry (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5). named. Christians must be careful to guard their integrity and public reputation because public sins dishonor God, who has chosen them to be holy (see note on Eph. 1:4). saints. See note on 1:1.

5:4 Thanksgiving, in contrast to crude joking and foolish talk, is the positive way to speak, and it also counteracts covetousness (see v. 3). The way to avoid coveting others' possessions is to concentrate with thanks upon the good things the Lord has given (see vv. 19-20).

5:5 idolater. Covetousness places one's ultimate allegiance in the acquisition of the possessions of others, which often leads to other grave sins (e.g., 1 Kings 21:1-19). Paul says this is tantamount to idolatry (see also Col. 3:5). inheritance. See Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30. kingdom. Paul speaks of Christ ruling now from the right hand of God (see 1:20-22; cf. Rom. 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:24-27; Col. 3:1; etc.). Believers have already been brought into his redemptive kingdom (see Eph. 2:6; Col. 1:13-14), although it will be consummated only at his second coming (1 Cor. 15:20-24; 2 Tim. 4:1). For Paul the kingdom of God in its fullness is the eternal realm that believers will finally and fully enter through resurrection immortality (1 Cor. 15:50; 1 Thess. 2:12), but it should also be experienced in some measure now in this age, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).

5:6 deceive you . . . because of these things. A common deception throughout church history has been the notion that professing Christians can lead unrepentant, sinful lives after conversion to Christ (see 2 Tim. 3:1-9; 2 Pet. 2:1-3; Rev. 2:14, 20) and not suffer the consequences. But these practices lead to the wrath of God in judgment (e.g., Rev. 2:21-23). sons of disobedience. This Hebrew-inspired phrase describes people who habitually live in disobedient sin without repentance and thereby prove themselves to be children of the devil (see note on Eph. 2:2; also John 8:44; 1 John 3:10), like Judas, "the son of destruction" (John 17:12).

5:7 become partners. Paul is not telling Christians to avoid all contact with nonbelievers but to avoid joining with them in their sin.

5:8 Walk as children of light. See 1 John 1:5-7. Cf. also Ps. 27:1; Isa. 9:2; 42:6; 49:6; John 9:5; Acts 13:47; 26:18.

5:9 Fruit of light is similar to fruit of the Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:22-23).

5:10 The Bible gives general principles for life, but followers of Christ must use wisdom to discern how to apply those principles to the concrete issues of their lives. The book of Proverbs is of great help in this regard. Such wisdom may be defined as "the skill of godly living," which one must thoughtfully discern, apply, and practice in order to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.

5:11 Expose means either to reprove or to convince through argument and discussion (also v. 13), at the same time taking great care not to gossip or to slander others. Instead, Christians should show by their lives and their wise interactions that the works of darkness are not to be ignored among God's holy people.

5:14 it says. The quotation is not of any one OT passage but is probably a combined reference to several places, especially in Isaiah: "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you" (Isa. 60:1; see 9:2; 26:19).

5:16 making the best use of. This phrase translates the Greek exagorazō, which can also mean "redeem" or "purchase." Christians must actively take advantage of the opportunity to do good (cf. Ps. 90:12). Wisdom is especially needed in an evil age where the pathway of holiness is not always immediately clear until one reflects upon God's Word and discerns his holy will.

5:17 understand . . . the will of the Lord. This does not mean that a person tries to discern God's secret counsel (his "hidden will") but that he applies God's general guidelines for life as found in the Bible (his "revealed will"; cf. Deut. 29:29 and note on Eph. 5:10).

5:18 Wine was the staple drink of the ancient Mediterranean world and was fermented in order to preserve it from turning into vinegar. be filled with the Spirit. As earlier (see note on 4:28), Paul expresses a negative exhortation (what the saints are to stop doing) along with a positive command (what the saints are to start doing). Whereas wine can control the mind and ruin one's judgment and sense of propriety, leading to debauchery, in contrast with this, being "filled with the Spirit" leads to self-control along with the other fruits of "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [and] gentleness" (Gal. 5:22-23). The command in Greek (plērousthe) is a present imperative and does not describe a onetime "filling" but a regular pattern of life.

5:19 Being filled with the Spirit results in joyful praise through singing and making melody. This may refer to different kinds of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs found in the OT Psalter. It seems more likely, however, that Paul is referring both to the canonical psalms and to contemporary compositions of praise (see also Col. 3:16). "Spiritual" communicates the influence of the Holy Spirit's filling (Eph. 5:18) in the believer's acts of praise.

5:20 To pray in the name of Jesus means to pray in faith, trusting in him as our mediator with God the Father on "the throne of grace" (John 14:6; Heb. 4:16; 10:20; see also note on John 14:13).