American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Ephesians 5
1
Be you therefore followers of God, as dear children;
Reference
Parallel theme
Matthew 5:48
Matthew 5:45
Jeremiah 31:20
References God
1 John 4:11
Ephesians 4:32
Colossians 3:12
Leviticus 11:45
John 1:12
Hosea 1:10
2
And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling smell.
Reference
Love
John 13:34
Galatians 2:20
Colossians 3:14
1 Corinthians 16:14
1 Peter 4:8
Parallel theme
Matthew 20:28
Titus 2:14
Genesis 8:21
References Christ
2 Corinthians 2:15
2 Corinthians 8:9
3
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becomes saints;
Reference
4
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
Reference
5
For this you know, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Reference
Kingdom
Galatians 5:21
Parallel theme
Colossians 3:5
Revelation 22:15
Ephesians 5:3
Revelation 21:8
Galatians 5:19
1 Timothy 6:10
References God
Hebrews 13:4
6
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things comes the wrath of God on the children of disobedience.
Reference
Judgment
Romans 1:18
Colossians 3:6
Parallel theme
Matthew 24:4
Colossians 2:8
Mark 13:5
Matthew 24:24
2 Thessalonians 2:3
References God
1 John 4:1
Word
1 Peter 2:8
Colossians 2:4
8
For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
Reference
Darkness
Colossians 1:13
Ephesians 4:18
Light
John 8:12
1 John 1:7
Acts 26:18
John 12:46
John 12:36
Isaiah 9:2
Jeremiah 13:16
Parallel theme
Ephesians 2:2
9
(For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Reference
Good
3 John 1:11
Romans 15:14
Romans 2:4
Righteousness
Ephesians 6:14
1 Timothy 6:11
Philippians 1:11
Hebrews 11:33
10
Proving what is acceptable to the Lord.
Reference
Parallel theme
Hebrews 12:28
1 Peter 2:5
1 Thessalonians 5:21
1 Peter 2:20
Romans 14:18
1 Timothy 2:3
Philippians 1:10
Jeremiah 6:20
References Lord
Psalm 19:14
Proverbs 21:3
13
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatever does make manifest is light.
Reference
14
Why he said, Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light.
Reference
Light
2 Corinthians 4:6
John 9:5
John 8:12
Parallel theme
1 Thessalonians 5:6
Isaiah 52:1
Isaiah 51:17
Romans 6:13
Resurrection
Isaiah 60:1
Isaiah 26:19
Colossians 3:1
16
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Reference
Evil
Amos 5:13
Ephesians 6:13
Ecclesiastes 12:1
Psalm 37:19
Parallel theme
John 12:35
Galatians 6:10
Romans 13:11
Ecclesiastes 9:10
1 Corinthians 7:26
Redemption
Colossians 4:5
17
Why be you not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Reference
Parallel theme
Romans 12:2
1 Thessalonians 5:18
Colossians 1:9
Ephesians 5:15
Jeremiah 4:22
1 Peter 4:2
Colossians 4:5
John 7:17
References Lord
Psalm 111:10
Job 28:28
19
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Corinthians 14:26
Psalm 95:2
Acts 16:25
Psalm 62:8
Matthew 26:30
References Lord
Psalm 86:12
Sin
Psalm 147:7
James 5:13
Spirit
Colossians 3:16
Isaiah 65:14
20
Giving thanks always for all things to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Reference
Parallel theme
Ephesians 5:4
References God
Hebrews 13:15
Philippians 4:6
2 Thessalonians 1:3
2 Thessalonians 2:13
References Jesus
Colossians 3:17
1 Thessalonians 5:18
1 Peter 2:5
References Lord
Psalm 34:1
Isaiah 63:7
21
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Reference
Parallel theme
Philippians 2:3
Ephesians 5:24
Ephesians 5:22
Hebrews 13:17
1 Timothy 3:4
Galatians 5:13
1 Timothy 2:11
1 Corinthians 16:16
References God
1 Peter 5:5
1 Peter 2:17
23
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body.
Reference
24
Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Reference
25
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
Reference
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.
Reference
28
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself.
Reference
29
For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the church:
Reference
31
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
Reference
32
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Reference
Parallel theme
Revelation 21:2
Isaiah 54:5
John 3:29
1 Timothy 3:16
References Christ
2 Corinthians 11:2
Colossians 2:2
Summary of Ephesians 5
Ephesians 5 teaches that Christians should imitate God's love, reject immoral and destructive lifestyles, live wisely as people transformed by Christ, remain continually filled with the Holy Spirit, express gratitude through worship, and allow Christ's sacrificial love to shape marriage through responsible love, respect, unity, and mutual devotion.
Paul begins by calling believers to imitate God as beloved children, explaining that the most visible expression of this imitation is a life shaped by love, especially the self-giving love demonstrated by Christ when He gave Himself for His people.
He then warns Christians to reject sexual immorality, impurity, greed, shameful speech, foolish behavior, and crude joking, because believers have received a new identity that should produce holiness rather than continued participation in the patterns of their former lives.
Paul particularly identifies greed as idolatry, showing that sinful behavior is not merely about individual actions but can reveal misplaced devotion when people allow desires for possessions, pleasure, status, or personal satisfaction to take God's rightful place.
Christians are therefore called to live as children of light, producing goodness, righteousness, and truth while carefully discerning what pleases the Lord and refusing to participate in the unproductive works of darkness.
Paul urges believers to make the most of their opportunities because their time is limited and the surrounding world contains many influences that can pull them away from God's purposes, making wisdom and deliberate decision-making essential parts of Christian maturity.
Instead of being controlled by wine and its destructive effects, believers should be filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing God's Spirit to influence their thoughts, relationships, worship, speech, gratitude, and everyday conduct.
Spirit-filled life is expressed through worship with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, continual thanksgiving to God through Christ, and a willingness to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Paul then applies this principle to marriage, beginning with the relationship between wives and husbands and ultimately focusing much more extensively on the husband's responsibility to love sacrificially, using Christ's love for the church as the highest standard.
Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it, and Paul uses this sacrifice as the model for husbands, meaning that marital leadership cannot properly be understood as selfish control because its Christian pattern is self-giving responsibility.
Paul explains that Christ's purpose is to sanctify and cleanse the church so that He may present it as holy and glorious, making the relationship between Christ and His church the central theological model behind his teaching on marriage.
Marriage therefore becomes more than a social arrangement because it points toward the profound relationship between Christ and the church, while the husband and wife are called to express this relationship through love, respect, unity, care, and faithful commitment.
The central message of Ephesians 5 is that believers who have received new life in Christ should walk in love and holiness, reject the darkness of their former lives, use their time wisely, live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, worship with gratitude, and allow Christ's sacrificial relationship with the church to transform the way husbands and wives understand love, responsibility, respect, and unity.
Paul begins by calling believers to imitate God as beloved children, explaining that the most visible expression of this imitation is a life shaped by love, especially the self-giving love demonstrated by Christ when He gave Himself for His people.
He then warns Christians to reject sexual immorality, impurity, greed, shameful speech, foolish behavior, and crude joking, because believers have received a new identity that should produce holiness rather than continued participation in the patterns of their former lives.
Paul particularly identifies greed as idolatry, showing that sinful behavior is not merely about individual actions but can reveal misplaced devotion when people allow desires for possessions, pleasure, status, or personal satisfaction to take God's rightful place.
Christians are therefore called to live as children of light, producing goodness, righteousness, and truth while carefully discerning what pleases the Lord and refusing to participate in the unproductive works of darkness.
Paul urges believers to make the most of their opportunities because their time is limited and the surrounding world contains many influences that can pull them away from God's purposes, making wisdom and deliberate decision-making essential parts of Christian maturity.
Instead of being controlled by wine and its destructive effects, believers should be filled with the Holy Spirit, allowing God's Spirit to influence their thoughts, relationships, worship, speech, gratitude, and everyday conduct.
Spirit-filled life is expressed through worship with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, continual thanksgiving to God through Christ, and a willingness to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Paul then applies this principle to marriage, beginning with the relationship between wives and husbands and ultimately focusing much more extensively on the husband's responsibility to love sacrificially, using Christ's love for the church as the highest standard.
Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it, and Paul uses this sacrifice as the model for husbands, meaning that marital leadership cannot properly be understood as selfish control because its Christian pattern is self-giving responsibility.
Paul explains that Christ's purpose is to sanctify and cleanse the church so that He may present it as holy and glorious, making the relationship between Christ and His church the central theological model behind his teaching on marriage.
Marriage therefore becomes more than a social arrangement because it points toward the profound relationship between Christ and the church, while the husband and wife are called to express this relationship through love, respect, unity, care, and faithful commitment.
The central message of Ephesians 5 is that believers who have received new life in Christ should walk in love and holiness, reject the darkness of their former lives, use their time wisely, live under the influence of the Holy Spirit, worship with gratitude, and allow Christ's sacrificial relationship with the church to transform the way husbands and wives understand love, responsibility, respect, and unity.