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Continuation of general instructions (1–21). Instructions for Wives and Husbands (22–33) Eph.5:1–21. At the end of Chapter IV of Ap. found out enough what he meant by “righteousness” to which he called his readers (Eph. 4:24). He now gives instructions regarding "holiness" (see same verse). It is he who warns readers against being carried away by vices that are contrary to Christian holiness (Eph. 5:1–10), and then invites them to expose these vices (Eph. 5:11–14), demanding that Christians themselves do not give rise to temptation by their behavior (Eph. 5:15–17). Instructions on Christian purity by Ap. concludes with an invitation to readers to be filled with the Spirit of God (Eph. 5:18–21). Eph.5:1. So, imitate God, like beloved children, Eph.5:2. and live in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as an offering and sacrifice to God for a sweet aroma. These two verses are the conclusion to Ephesians 4:32. In relation to each other, love and forgiveness should reign between Christians. An example for them, firstly, should be God Himself, who forgives us our sins (cf. Matthew 5:45 and Matthew 6:13–14), and then the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, out of love for us, offered Himself as an “offering” (προσφοράν), namely as a sacrificial bloody offering (θυσίαν) for in order to atone for our sins before God (an indication of the redemptive meaning of the death of Christ cf. Heb. 10:10). - “Into a pleasant fragrance.” The sacrifice of Christ was completely pleasing to God (cf. Lev. 1:9). Eph.5:3. But fornication and all uncleanness and covetousness should not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints. Eph.5:4. Also, foul language and idle talk and ridicule are not becoming for you, but, on the contrary, thanksgiving; “Fornication” is the most common vice in paganism. "Should not be named". Not only should these vices not exist, but Christians should not talk about them among themselves, so as not to lead one of their own to bad thoughts. - “Foul language...”. These are sins of the tongue. Our Slavic translation gives a very specific concept about “ridiculousness” (actually: good treatment - ευτραπελία). This is “blasphemy” or sacrilege, that is, in our opinion, mockery of sacred objects. (The famous expression “koschun” comes from the ancient word “koschey”, which meant a young man from a good family. Such koshchei served at the courts of the ancient great princes and, obviously, in conversations with each other they were not embarrassed by the requirements of decency...). Even the Roman writer Plautus noticed in the Ephesians a penchant for obscene jokes, and therefore Ap. quite thoroughly draws the attention of his readers to this vice. – “Thanksgiving” – for all that believers have received in Christ (see Eph. 2:11 et seq.). Eph.5:5. for know that no fornicator, or unclean person, or covetous person, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Eph.5:6. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for for this reason the wrath of God comes on the sons of disobedience; It is also necessary to take into account the fact that these vices lead to very sad consequences: those who succumb to them will not receive the Kingdom of Heaven (see 1 Cor. 6:9, 10) 17. - “Christ and God”. Christ here is placed on the same level with God and thus the idea of ​​His consubstantiality with the Father is given. Eph.5:7. therefore, do not be their accomplices. Eph.5:8. You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord: walk as children of light, Eph.5:9. because the fruit of the Spirit consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth. Ap. draws the conclusion from what has been said that Christians should not participate in those deeds that are characteristic of these sons of disobedience. Even earlier, when they, one might say, were “darkness” or were in moral darkness, such deeds were possible among them, but now they need to live as “children of light” because they have become light or bearers of the gospel light and purity (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14-15). After all, they are under the influence of the Spirit of God, and this should be reflected in the well-known “fruit” that Christians should bear. Such fruits are “all goodness,” that is, a generally good, virtuous life, “righteousness,” or justice in relation to people, and “truth,” that is, the absence of everything false, of which there was so much in the life of the pagans. Eph.5:10. Test what pleases God Further, Christians should, under all circumstances, imagine how God Himself relates to one or another of their affairs, and ask themselves what God wants from them. Eph.5:11. and do not participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but also reprove. Ap. returns to the instruction begun in Ephesians 5:7. He urges readers not to have fellowship with the works of darkness. He calls these things “fruitless” because “darkness” is generally a condition under which it is impossible for plants to bear fruit: only sunlight gives trees the power to bear fruit. And in fact, wicked deeds lead people only to destruction and death (cf. Rom. 6:21–23). But Christians, in relation to such matters, should not limit themselves only to moving away from them: they must also “convict” them with the word (ελέγχειν - cf. 1 Timothy 5:20). Some interpreters by “reproof” mean exposure with one’s life, but one cannot agree with such an interpretation, because exposure with one’s life is already meant in the words: “do not participate in affairs”... Moreover, the verb ελέγχειν is usually used in the sense of verbal exposure 18 . Eph.5:12. For what they do in secret is shameful to even talk about. It is necessary to expose vicious deeds because they are, in fact, so terrible that it is disgusting to even talk about them; This must be said in particular about those who are dressed in a veil of secrecy 19. Eph.5:13. Everything that is revealed is made manifest by the light, for everything that becomes manifest is light. The benefit of exposure is that “everything that is revealed,” that is, being discovered in the light of Christian truth (“from the light”) becomes obvious in its nature - in this case, this is said about pagan vices, which are more strongly shaded in their ugliness before the light of Christian morality. - “For everything that is happening...” that is, this is already the general law of existence: everything that can be seen appears to be “light” or light, uncovered (“light” is here in the general meaning of the word, i.e. something illuminated). Eph.5:14. Therefore it is said: “Awake, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Because reproof is useful, and God turns to the sinner, who is in spiritual sleep, as if in a state of death, with the call: “get up” (instead of: “it is said”, as in the Russian translation you need to read: “says” - in Greek λέγει). It is unknown where these words came from. It is best to accept the assumption that they constitute an excerpt from some Christian hymn, in which there are some echoes from the book of St. Isaiah (Is. 52:1 - “rise”, Is. 26:19: “the dead will rise” and Is. 60:1: “your light will come”). Eph.5:15. See therefore that you walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise, Eph.5:16. Treasuring time, because the days are evil. While reproaching others, Christians themselves are certainly obligated to take care of themselves. “Look, do ..”. more precisely: “look how carefully you act” (caution is necessary). – “Treasuring time” – more precisely: “buying time, acquiring it as property.” This Ap. teaches believers to use every moment of time, as if bought with money, to do good deeds. A foolish person does not value time, thinking that it is worthless, but a wise person understands its full significance. He is also prompted to do this by the consideration that “the days are evil,” that is, our time is such that it requires the exertion of all forces, the use of all the time in order to be able to do something truly useful. Eph.5:17. So, do not be unreasonable, but understand what the will of God is. “Therefore” - more precisely: “for this reason,” that is, for the sake of the fact that you need to be wise (Eph. 5:15). - “Do not be unreasonable” - that is, do not show yourself like that: the expression: μή γίνεσθε does not convey the idea here that the Ephesian Christians are actually unreasonable. A person is unreasonable when he does not make proper use of his reason, and Christians, of course, were not like that, although they could become. “Know”, that is, try to determine in each case what the will of God is here (according to other readings - the will of the Lord, i.e. Christ). Eph.5:18. And do not get drunk with wine, which causes debauchery; but be filled with the Spirit, In order to clearly understand the requirements of God's will, it is necessary to eliminate everything that prevents a person from concentrating within himself. Here, first of all, the passion for wine is such an obstacle. Instead of, like the pagans, getting drunk with wine, in which “licentiousness” or all intemperance originates (ασωτία 20), Christians must be “filled with the Spirit,” that is, achieve fullness through the Spirit of God (εν πνεύματι). Ap. as if he wants to say that Christians will have the desired fullness of joy, but they will receive this joy only by surrendering themselves to the influence of the Holy Spirit. Eph.5:19. speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, How can we achieve this fullness of true Christian spiritual joy? Firstly, turning to each other (in Russian incorrectly: “edifying oneself”) in various forms of Christian poetry: “psalms x” - most likely, New Testament ones, which were composed by the Christians of that time (see 1 Cor. 14:26), “doxologies x” or hymns – also New Testament ones and “spiritual hymns x” or, more precisely, odes, which are named “spiritual” in their origin from the Holy Spirit (an example of this is 1 Cor. 13) 21. Secondly, such a mood is achieved by chanting the Lord Jesus Christ in our hearts and, finally, thirdly, by constantly offering gratitude to God in the name of Christ. The latter, that is, thanksgiving, is especially useful because the one giving thanks, remembering the benefits of Christ, remains, so to speak, in the sphere in which Christ Himself resides. Eph.5:21. submitting to one another in the fear of God. This verse introduces the following admonitions to wives, husbands, and other members of the Christian family. Eph.5:22–33. To the wives of Ap. commands that they obey their husbands, and commands husbands to love their wives to the point of being willing to lay down their lives for them, just as Christ gave Himself up to death for the salvation of people. At the same time, Ap. expounds the doctrine of Christian marriage as an image of the single inextricable union of Christ with the Church. Eph.5:22. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, “As to the Lord,” that is, your obedience should be as if it were obedience to Christ Himself, that is, just as sincere, just as complete. Eph.5:23. because the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body. The basis for such obedience is that the husband is the “Head of the wife” (cf. 1 Cor. 11:8, 9), moreover, having as his example Christ Himself in His relation to the Church. - “And He...”, i.e. Christ, is called the head of the Church because He is its savior (“body”, i.e. the Church). Eph.5:24. But just as the Church submits to Christ, so do wives to their husbands in everything. “But as a Church...”. i.e.: but from here it follows (αλλά) that as the Church... “In everything” - of course, in that which does not violate the requirements of Christian morality. – Regarding what the Apostle said about the relationship of a wife to her husband, some theologians say that Paul’s ethics are no longer applicable to the needs of the present time. Everything that the Apostle said was said by him as if with reference to the imminent approach of the end of the world and was not intended for the continued existence of the Christian Church. Now life relationships are not at all the same as those that existed under the Apostles, and, in particular, the position of women has radically changed... But one cannot agree with such reasoning. Ethics Ap. Paul is based on the teaching of Christ, which for us Christians remains the highest authority in all religious and moral matters, especially since Christ in His life fulfilled the moral requirements that He offers to all His followers. Then. Ethics Ap. Paul represents an organic revelation of the Christian faith, as it was proclaimed by Christ and the Apostles, and if this faith is preserved among modern Christianity, then the Apostolic morality must be preserved with it... Further. Apostolic ethics is applicable to all times and relationships because it is not a casuistic moral code, which aims to streamline individual moral acts, but expresses only universal, great moral fundamental thoughts and principles, the application of which in individual cases is left to the person himself and is possible under the most diverse circumstances. Finally, history teaches us that any deviation from the basic provisions of New Testament ethics was accompanied by dangerous consequences both for individuals and for the whole society. Thus, it is necessary to recognize that New Testament morality in general and in particular the ethics of Ap. Paul has an abiding, permanent significance in the lives of Christians of all times. In particular, there is nothing to be embarrassed by the fact that Ap. Paul here demands the wife's submission to her husband, which contradicts the modern teaching about female emancipation and the equality of the wife with her husband. First of all, you need to realize that Ap., like Christianity in general, does not at all want to humiliate a woman. Christianity, on the contrary, freed woman from the slavish position in which she found herself in the pre-Christian world, and recognized her religious and moral equality with man. If Ap. subordinates a woman to a man in the conditions of domestic life, then he does this in accordance with the creative establishment of God, according to which both sexes have their own special advantages and boundaries of activity. The husband’s advantage is physical strength, intelligence and volitional energy, the woman’s advantage is the disposition to practical activities, sincerity and the energy of passivity. Accordingly, it will be a complete injustice if a woman is assigned the same duties as a man, and if she is given those rights that can only be granted to people who bear certain duties, that is, men: rights must always correspond to duties, and where duties are not fulfilled, rights cannot be granted. It follows from this that, by divine definition, the husband is entitled to primacy in family life, because this primacy is, strictly speaking, a set of well-known responsibilities that are beyond the power of a wife. Moreover, Ap. addresses specifically Christian wives who understand that their obedience to their husbands is not something forced from them, but is presented by them because they see in their husband a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who Himself is invisibly and mysteriously present in the family (Eph. 5:21). Once a wife obeys her husband “in the Lord,” the question of the rights of a woman-wife loses all urgency for her. Eph.5:25. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her, Eph.5:26. to sanctify it, cleansing it with the washing of water through the word; Eph.5:27. to present it to Himself as a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it might be holy and without blemish. But if the husband is the Head of the wife and the wife is obliged to obey him, then - this is where the admonition to husbands begins - husbands are also obliged to balance their demands on their wives with love. They must love their wives and love exactly as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her. Thus Ap. teaches husbands self-sacrifice for the true benefit of their wives. But now, in order to avoid any misunderstandings and misinterpretations that this demand of the Apostle could be subject to on the part of the wives, Ap. indicates the boundaries by which this self-sacrifice of the husband should be determined. Christ, he says, wanted to sanctify the Church with His self-sacrifice, having previously cleansed it with the “bath of water” or the washing that occurs in the sacrament of baptism, “through the word,” that is, through the secret formula pronounced at baptism: “in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Zlat., Theodoret). The ultimate goal that Christ had in this was to make the Church pure and immaculate and to place her next to Him as a bride on the day of His second coming, although she is already such a bride for those who are able to see her greatness (Rev. 19:7, 8). This means that a husband’s love for his wife should reach the point of self-sacrifice only where the true good of the wife is at stake: in all other cases, when the wife’s demands for the husband’s self-sacrifice do not have such a basis, it is understandable that it would be strange to demand from the husband that he certainly sacrifice himself for his wife. Eph.5:28. Thus should husbands love their wives as their own bodies: he who loves his wife loves himself. Eph.5:29. For no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and warms it, just as the Lord does the Church, Eph.5:30. because we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. Here is a new explanation of why husbands should love their wives: wives constitute their husbands’ own bodies, form, by their origin, so to speak, an integral part of their own personality. But if this is so, then the wife can be called the “flesh” of her husband, and it is natural and necessary for everyone to love their “flesh”: no one will harm their body by depriving it of necessary cares (“nourishes and warms it”). So Christ feeds the Church like the bread of life (John 6:48), and warms it like the good shepherd a lamb. After all, we are - adds Ap. - Indeed, the members of the body of Christ came from His flesh and from His bones, just as Eve came from Adam’s side. However, according to the explanation of St. John Chrysostom, the expression: “from His flesh” (“and His bones”) simply indicates that we truly came from Christ, as from a new ancestor. We can add that we have Christ within us, we carry, so to speak, His race and essence in our new existence (Ewald). Eph.5:31. Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. Eph.5:32. This mystery is great; I speak in relation to Christ and the Church. Since the wife is her husband’s own body, it is natural or in view of this - as stated in the book. Genesis (Gen. 2:24) – “man”, i.e. the husband “will leave” or must leave, according to divine decree, his “father and mother” in order to devote himself entirely to his wife and his family in general. This “mystery” of marriage, the union between a man and a woman, is extremely important, “great”: it is, in fact, difficult to understand how such an attraction of a husband to his wife was established. But Ap. Paul does not want to go into a detailed disclosure of it, but dwells only on the similarity of this mystery with the mystery of Christ’s relationship to the Church. These relationships are reminiscent of the relationship between a husband and his wife 22. Eph.5:33. So let each of you love his wife as himself; and let the wife be afraid of her husband. “So” - in Greek. πλήν actually means: “however”, “however”, but it also has the meaning of a simple transitive conjunction: “but”. “And” is here instead of “so” and therefore you can put the conjunction “but”. Ap. so imbued with the idea of ​​the importance of the secret of marriage, and the husband’s responsibilities associated with marriage, that he considers it necessary to speak about them once again at the conclusion of his speech on marriage. - “Yes, he’s afraid.” What is meant here is not slavish fear, fear of punishment, but the fear that we feel when we think about how not to offend a loved one by our action. This is the same as voluntary obedience 23. Sometimes we express the view that many vices are an inevitable consequence of the growth of culture and should not be blamed on those who are infected with them. Ap., on the contrary, precisely defines all vices as a sinful phenomenon, which should not exist in a Christian society, no matter what level of culture it reaches. Otherwise, Christians, who are so easy-going about the existence of vicious people in their midst, will be subject to the same condemnation as those people. In our time, there is a view according to which no one has the right to judge the moral character of his neighbor. Many people say that morality is a personal matter for everyone, a private matter in which no one has the right or reason to interfere. Some people who like to drink immoderately even directly call it unsolicited and unlawful interference in their affairs when the pastor of the church, for example, instills in them the idea of ​​​​the dangers of excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages... Ap. looks at things completely differently. According to his conviction, in Christian society there is nothing “private” - everything has the closest connection with the whole. And therefore, Christians are obliged to take care of the moral state of their neighbor and influence him in certain cases with a word of reproof. In fact, if one member of the body suffers, then all the others suffer with it (1 Cor. 12:26), and exactly the same thing happens in church society Ap. here he wants to say that everything vicious should not be the subject of conversation in a Christian society. By this he condemns a whole series of modern works of fiction, which choose as their subject various immoral phenomena of our time. All, for example, novels that awaken unhealthy sensuality and teach the reader to take a frivolous attitude towards the most immoral way of life should be expelled from the environment of Christian society Ap. Although he does not prohibit the use of wine in general (he only says that Christians “don’t get drunk”), he nevertheless makes it clear that wine leads to all kinds of excesses and that, therefore, it is very dangerous for many, especially - we add - because rarely can anyone determine for themselves the “measure” of drinking wine, at which the wine would not produce sad consequences for him. “Fire is put into the blood with a small amount of wine” (Bishop Theophan) In the primal Christian Church they sang a lot, as can be concluded from numerous passages of Christian hymns found, for example, in the epistles of St. Pavel. Pliny, in a letter to Trajan, says that Christians gather before sunrise and mutually sing a song to Christ as to God (Bogdashevsky, p. 623). Such chants were very useful for maintaining Christian joy in the souls of people persecuted by the pagan government. There is no doubt that even today, good singing of religious and patriotic, as well as other secular songs, would serve well in the moral education of our people, according to the saying: “where they sing, there you can remain calm - evil people do not sing.” Thus, the doctrine of marriage is revealed here. If we accept the idea that the Apostle here has in mind only marriages concluded in Christianity, then we can say that he here calls marriage a “sacrament” in the sense of a church institution. But if we see here the definition of marriage in general and in particular, concluded in paganism, then it will be necessary to understand the words of the Apostle as an expression of admiration for the greatness of the mystery, which is represented by every marriage union, no matter in what confession it is supposed. The latter seems to be supported by the understanding that John Chrysostom held in relation to this place. He says: “truly this is a great sacrament, containing some kind of unspoken wisdom” (see Bogdashevsky, p. 643) That the verb “to be afraid” (φοβεῖσθαι) really has this meaning here, and does not at all designate the wife’s position as a slave in her husband’s house, is clear from everything that has been said above about the meaning of marriage. In addition, in classical Greek the verb φοβεῖσθαι sometimes has the meaning of “respect”, “care”. Thus, Plato says that we must φοβεῖσθαι τό σῶμα - respect, honor the body (see Ewald, p. 243) You might be interested in: