Ephesians 5 is the fifth chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Traditionally, it is believed to be written by Apostle Paul while he was in prison in Rome, but more recently, it is suggested to be written between AD 80 and 100 by another writer using Paul's name and style. This chapter is a part of Paul's exhortation, with the particular section about how Christians should live in the world and in their responsibilities as households.
Verse 14 may be a snatch of an early hymn. Charles Wesley describes "one who sleeps" as "a sinner satisfied in his sins; contented to remain in his fallen state".
Verse 16
"Redeeming the time": from ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τὸν καιρόν, , "buying up for yourselves the opportunity".
Verse 17
"Therefore do not be unwise": from Greek: διὰ τοῦτο μὴ γίνεσθε ἄφρονες, , "for this cause become not ye foolish".
Verse 18
Biblical theologian James Dunn notes a comparison between this exhortation and Pentecost day as it is recounted in Acts 2: "As at Pentecost the effect of the Spirit could give an impression of drunkenness. The difference is that strong drink taken in excess resulted in debauchery and dissipation", whereas fullness of the Spirit came to expression most characteristically in... praise from the heart, and life lived in a spirit of thankfulness to God.
Household rules (5:21–33)
Stretching to 6:9, this part is built on "the tabulated framework of the rules for good household management rules", acknowledging a household as the basic unit of a society. The health and stability of the society depend on the "basic relationships within the household: "husband and wife", "father and children", "master and slaves". The good ethics in the Christian households, unlike in non-Christian ones, "have to be lived 'in the Lord', patterned after the unselfish, sacrificial love of Christ".
Verse 22
Verse 25
Verse 28
"As their own bodies": like a common Jewish saying that a man's wife is, "as his own body"; and it is one of the precepts of their wise men, that a man should honour his wife more than his body, and "love her as his body"; for as they also say, they are but one body; the apostle seems to speak in the language of his countrymen, as his doctrine and theirs agree in this point.
"He that loves his wife loves himself": because she is one body and flesh with him.
