Aug 7, 2013

Ephesians 5a: "...not even a hint of sexual immorality"


Ephesians Chapter 5
Paul has spent previous chapters explaining all the foundational riches and blessings that we have in Christ Jesus.  Now Paul begins to tell us how we need to act, walk and live.  Paul begins Chapter 5 by exhorting us to "live a life of love,  but then addresses something that isn't so loving.

3But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. Ephesians 5:3 &4

Paul begins his list of un-loving things by starting with "fornication"  and we see how Satan has deceived us and distorted things, because the world equates fornication with love.  In fact they use the term" let's make love" when they are really referring to fornication.  Here in Ephesians we see that fornication is something that is lacking in true love.  A person who entices someone into an act of fornication, is not really considering the other person, but really only considering themselves and their own desire for some kind of fulfillment;  emotional, sexual or otherwise.  They are not considering that they are leading the other person into a damning sin, into one of those works of the flesh that Paul says "they who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God".  So it is really a very unloving thing to lead a person into something that is so destructive to that person's spiritual walk in life!  ...this is total disobedience to the ways of God, so it is not considerate or loving towards the other person.  It is a very un-loving act.  It would only be Satan's deception and lies that would lead a person  to think that it's an act of love.  It is rather, ... an act of lust.  True love is not involved, as if you really loved the person, you would be considerate of their conscience and their feelings;  you would not want to place them under the guilt that they would feel afterwards, the shame and other negative feelings that they would experience as a result of the relationship.  Paul places fornication at the top of his list of unloving acts.  Instead he says, "walk in Love".

*adapted from Chuck Smith's expositional on Ephesians

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