- This Week's Bible Reading
February 10, 2026
Ephesians 5:1-4
King James Version
“1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 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.
3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.”
Context:
In Ephesians 4:32, Paul had just finished urging the church to forgive one another as God forgave them. He wrote Ephesians 5:1-4 to show believers what a life shaped by God’s love should look like and to warn them away from behaviors that contradict their new identity in Christ.
What is the meaning of Ephesians 5:1-4?:
In Ephesians 5:1-4, Paul shifts from the general "how-to" of Christian living to a much more intimate motivation.
He isn’t telling the Ephesians to follow God like a soldier follows a general; he's telling them to mimic God like a child mimics their parents. A child doesn't copy their parents because of a rulebook; they do it because they are "dear children" who adore them.
- Verses 1–2: “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.”
Paul grounds our behavior in our identity. Since we are loved by God, we should naturally want to act like Him. He points to Christ's sacrifice as the ultimate template. We are to imitate God and walk in Christ like, self giving love.
- Verse 3: “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;”
Ephesus was a city famous for its temple to Artemis and a culture that celebrated excess. Paul warns against sexual immorality, impurity and greed because these behaviors belong to the darkness they were rescued from. His goal is to keep the church living in ways that reflect God’s goodness and righteousness.
- Verse 4: “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.”
Ephesians 5:4 teaches that a believer’s speech should reflect a holy life, not the old patterns they were rescued from. Paul lists the three kinds of speech to avoid and then gives the positive alternative. He says these things are “not convenient,” meaning they are not fitting for someone who belongs to Christ. Instead, the believer’s mouth should be marked by “giving of thanks.” Gratitude shifts the heart toward God, builds others up, and keeps speech aligned with the new life believers have received.
In Summary
To summarize Ephesians 5:1-4, Paul is essentially giving us a blueprint for how to live as a reflection of the Divine, moving away from a lifestyle of "taking" to one of "thanksgiving."