Walk In Love

  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

Be not ye therefore partakers with them. For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; ( Ephesians 5:1-20 kjv)

The Epistle of Paul to the EPHESIANS Ephesians was the capital of the chief province of Asia. It was located about one mile from Aegean Sea. The temple of Diana (Artemis) was important to the commerce of the city use the Mediterranean world considered it to be such a sacred and impeccable institution, it became the chief banking establishment in all of Asia Minor.   The great number of pilgrims that came to worship at the temple also bolstered the economy in Ephesus. In fact, population is believed to have exceeded a quarter million. Paul came to Ephesus during his second missionary journey with Aquila and Priscilla but journeyed onto Jerusalem by himself not long afterward (Acts 18: 18 -21). On his next missionary journey, Paul spent three years in Ephesus (Acts 19). He had so much influence on the people there that the craftsman who manufactured silver shrines for Diana incited a riot against him, concerned that their trade would become obsolete (Acts 19:24 -29).   As a result, left Ephesus, traveling to Macedonia (Acts 20:1). Upon a return trip to Jerusalem, he requested that the elders of the Ephesian congregation meet with him at Miletus, a city located thirty-five miles to the north, so that he could bid them his last farewell (Acts 20:16 -38) The words "at Ephesus" (Eph. 1:1) do not appear in several important Greek manuscripts. Consequently, many believe that this letter was not originally sent to the congregation at Ephesus was meant to be a letter that would be circulated to the many Gentile churches in Asia. This would explain why he would completely omit any personal greetings to believers with whom he had spent three years (Acts 19). Scholars believe that it eventually became known as the Epistle to the Ephesians because the church in Ephesus would have been the mother church from which the letter would have been distributed to the other churches in Asia. The Book of Ephesians was probably written by Paul during his imprisonment in Rome (ca.A.D. 60 -64) about the same time that he wrote Colossians and Philemon. The content the Book of Ephesians is very similar to that of Colossians; both stress doctrine and give instruction in practical Christian duties. One difference between them, however, is that Colossians portrays Christ as the head of the Church, while Ephesians goes on to display Jesus as the ascended, glorified Christ.   Also, in Colossians Paul attacks the gnostic heresy; but in Ephesians, Paul examines the splendor of Christ in glory. The major theme of this letter is that the Church (ekklesia [1577]) is the body of Christ (Eph.1:22, 23; 2:15, 16). Paul also metaphorically spoke of the Church as a building of which Christ is the chief cornerstone (Eph. 2:20 -22) and compared the Church to a bride who will soon be united with Christ (Eph. 5:21 -33). The key idea is that a body has individual parts that must operate as a unit. God's plan is to bring all believers together (Eph.1:10) with Christ as the head (Eph. 1:22, 23).  [Source for Introduction of chapter: Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible KJV edited by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D. AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 37422]