In Ephesians 5:1–14, the believer’s walk of love imitates Christ in order to please God and avoid the dangers of the works of darkness. The passage begins by presenting an ethical basis for the call away from worldly vices. Some of the strongest warnings against sin and most graphic descriptions of sin and judgment in all of Paul’s writings are found in this passage. Our study follows the outline below:

1. The Specific Command (5:1-2)
2. The Practical Applications (5:3-4)
3. The Particular Warnings (5:5-7)

Paul calls the believers to be “imitators of God” just as children imitate the behavior of their parents. Verse 3 begins with “but,” drawing a contrast with the command to walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us. He wants to make it clear that the love to which Christ calls us stands in stark contrast with the lust of the pagan world.

In out text, Paul deals with the sin of sexual immorality. The apostle Paul commands God’s saints to eliminate sexual impurity from their thoughts, words, and deeds. Sexual purity is not an infrequent theme in Paul’s letters. He mentions purity or warns about immorality in Romans (1, 13); 1 Corinthians (5, 6, 7, 10); 2 Corinthians (6, 7, 12); Galatians (5); Ephesians (4, 5); Colossians (3); 1 Thessalonians (4); 1 Timothy (1, 3, 4, 5), 2 Timothy (3); and Titus (1, 2, 3). Since all of these letters are addressed to professing Christians in the church, God intends that all genuine Christians be reminded of and be on guard against the sexual temptation that tempts us all. 

Getting Started                          

1. One dictionary defines a ‘role model’ as someone who is worthy of imitation. Can you remember your first role model that you tried to imitate? Share your story.

• Read Ephesians 5:1-7

2. What insight, principle, or observation from Sunday’s sermon did you find to be the most helpful, eye-opening, or troubling?  

Digging Deeper

3. In verse 1, Paul calls the believers to be “imitators of God” just as children imitate the behaviour of their parents. How does the parent-child relationship that God shares with us raise the level of expectation of a changed life?  

4. Paul’s prohibitions against ungodly passions are absolute—they “must not even be named among you” (v.3). Based on Ephesians 5:1–2(and all of Ephesians 1–4), why is it “proper among saints” to separate completely from the vices of sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness?       

5. How does thanksgiving work in the heart and mind of the believer to counter the believer’s attraction to indecent behaviour (“filthiness”), words of foolishness, and crude joking (v.4)? 

The Heart of the Matter

6. Where is the balance between being in the world, but not of the world (John 17:15-16)? How can we keep a check on ourselves so that we don’t cross the line? 

7. As we strive to ‘Walk in Love’, why is it essential to have a biblical definition of love? What problems may develop if we lack such a definition? 

8. Paul places covetousness within the realm of “idolatry.” Why does Paul do this, and how does this relate to our marriage relationships?