Ephesians 5

 

In his chapter Paul the apostle encourages Christians to live after the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus laid down his life for us in love, so we are called to also lay our lives down for him and therefore also for others. 1 John 2:6 says, "whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did." This is what Paul tells us to do in the first half of the chapter. We have to be willing to give up anything and everything in our lives to Jesus so we can live our lives the way he lived his life; a life of love and sacrifice, focused on serving God and others. Jesus said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world," and in verse 8 here Paul says, now that we have accepted Jesus, we are the children of God, and therefore children of light. This means learning how to live our lives like Jesus, and finding out what pleases God. Romans 12:1-2 says, "offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." So we will find out what pleases God if we are living this way, a way that is sacrificial unto God and others every day; a living sacrifice. We no longer are supposed to look like the rest of the world, but now we live a life of unconditional love, and we see things differently and respond to things differently. We have to be willing to give up anything that is dark in our lives so we can be fully filled with Jesus Christ and His Spirit. Paul says not to even mention with the disobedient do in secret. What this basically means is that we are to live our lives like Jesus and be the best example we can be to those around us of the character of Jesus and his love, even if that means giving up things we may like doing but aren't Godly or good for us or others. Now that our lives haven't changed by Jesus, Paul encourages us inverse 16 to make the most of every day, every hour, every second. Everything we do and everything we are is to be fully devoted to Jesus so that he can work in our lives to make us more like him and give us the opportunity to fulfill our purpose in shining His light of love in this dark world.

 

In submitting our lives to Jesus, Paul says in the second half of the chapter that this also affects the relationships that we have with people in our life. Having a relationship with Jesus makes us the best version of ourselves, and also gives us the best version of any relationship we can have in this world, by serving and loving one another. The most intimate relationship any two humans can have in this world is holy marriage. Paul shows how surrendering to Jesus teaches us to be the best husband or wife that we can be, by putting Jesus at the center. More than that, Paul reveals that the whole purpose of marriage is actually to show the tremendous love God has for us. As a husband and wife come together in the most intimate relationship possible, it represents the loyalty and unconditional devotion that Jesus has for us and that we also should have for him, because only through full devotion to God can we find the truest fulfillment in life, the deepest love, and our life's true purpose: to know God and to be known by God. This devoted relationship to Jesus will guide us in living like Him and loving like Him in every relationship and opportunity we experience in this life.

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