The Three “Be’s”
Paul’s next three sections I call the three “Be’s”: “Be sure” (5:5), “Be careful” (5:15), and “Be subject” (5:21). In each he extends and makes more concrete his exposition of what membership in the community, or “walking” in faith means for God’s subversive counter-revolutionary people. In fact, our key posture image “walk” appears in the first two sections (vv.8 and 15).
“Be Sure” (5:3-14)
This section is in two parts (5:3-5; 6-14). The first deals with various forms of disobedience, the second with the disobedient and the difference baptism makes. Each section is marked by Paul’s concern for certainty on the matters he addresses: “be sure” in v.5 and “Let no one deceive you” on v.6.
5:3-5
God’s people, set apart for God’s service (“saints,” v.3), children of the Holy One of Israel (Is.17:7), are marked by their Father’s holiness. That rules out the presence of the corruptions Paul highlights: vapid and vulgar talk, sex, compromises of various sorts, and greed/idolatry (more on this later).[1] No “talk-show” mentality shall govern our conversations with each other. No greed shall mark our lifestyles either. The church is to be the kind of people whose life does not give credence even to rumors of such things. Or when such things happen they are dealt with in constructive and health-generating ways (see comment on 5:26).
Rather, it is “thanksgiving” that marks this people out as God’s people. Elsewhere in Ephesians “giving thanks” is related to being filled with the Spirit (5:20). Thanksgiving turns our hearts and minds to God and all that God is and has done for us. Gratitude orients us to life as gift and generosity as a way of being. It invites us to treasure God’s gifts (esp. each other) and encourage others to live into their giftedness. Thanksgiving anchors our attention on God’s agenda and opens us to his call to action. New Testament scholar Peter O’Brien even calls thanksgiving “a virtual synonym for the Christian life” (see esp. Rom. 1:21; 14:6; 2 Cor. 4:15; Col. 3:17).[2]
In my reformed tradition thanksgiving or gratitude is considered the chief response of faith to God’s grace. In fact, in The Heidelberg Catechism, a 16th century statement of faith in the PC(U.S.A.)’s Book of Confessions, gratitude is the rubric used to characterize the entirety of a faithful human response to God!
The most interesting feature of this verse is Paul’s equation of greed with idolatry, or more precisely, the greedy person with an idolater (v.5). Greed is not usually paired or associated with idolatry. It grabs one’s attention. Perhaps that’s part of what Paul intended.
19th century preacher Albert Barnes suggests four reasons why greed is not taken too seriously by us:
(1) it is so common; (2) it is socially acceptable; (3) it is not so easy to definitively define what is greed; and (4) because the public conscience is seared.[3]
This situation still prevails today, 150 years later. And it probably wasn’t all that different in Paul’s day. Except they took it more seriously than we do. The Jewish tradition and early church teaching strongly condemned greed and what we would call today materialism. They linked greed with injustice as well.
In addition to our passage here, three other texts also equate greed and idolatry. Colossians 3:5 makes the same equation. And Jesus twice makes it (Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13). And this same seriousness attends Christian attitudes toward greed on through till the modern period till it became, in effect, our de facto religion.
What does he mean by this equation of greed with idolatry, though?
Brian Rosner helps us understand.
“Greed and idolatry in the ancient world in fact had a lot in common. First, both focused attention on items made of gold and silver. In biblical and Jewish tradition, these two metals are frequently associated with both the greedy, who can be called literally ‘lovers of silver’, and the idols of pagan worship, beginning with the golden calf. Secondly, both the greedy and the idolater visited pagan temples—the latter for obvious reasons, and the former since in antiquity the temples operated not only as places of worship but as banks. And thirdly, both greed and idolatry, according to moral exhortation found in the New Testament, were considered to be of such gravity that they ought to be “fled”; greed in 1 Timothy 6:11 and idolatry in 1 Corinthians 10:14.[4]
In sum, then, greed is idolatry in that it is a distorted, misdirected love. The “sweet poison of the false infinite,” as C. S. Lewis aptly called it in his science fiction novel Perelandra.
“Be sure,” Paul warns, such practices and lifestyles disqualify one from “the kingdom of Christ and God”. Here, as elsewhere in the New Testament, such statements mean habitual practice of these things, not a singular occurrence. We all fail or fall from time to time. If our response on those occasions is repentance and renewed pursuit of God, that is as it should be. If, however, we rationalize, deny, or ignore these failures, virtually justifying them, we stand in danger of repeating them and falling into habitual patterns which place us in the jeopardy Paul warns against here.
In this first part of the “Be Sure” section Paul diagnoses the most common sins which betray our Lord and nullify our witness to the new life and new creation we have and are in him. He is blunt and uncompromising here. Sins of tongue corrode the quality of our community and do not build one another up or minister grace to them. Ravenous greed, that is our insatiable appetite for more and more stuff, not only leads to injustice (e.g. extremes of poverty and wealth in the church, not to mention the world) but sunders our relation to God at its root.
In the next section Paul moves on to a prescription.
5:6-14
In v.6 Paul doubles down on his theme: “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes on those who are disobedient.” You can’t be a counter-revolutionary subversive for God’s kingdom if you’re enmeshed in the very activities with the very people that need to be subverted!
Therefore Paul uses another sun-word[5], “be associated” (co-participants), here with another to follow in v.11. Only here he negates them: “do not be associated with them”. Obviously, he cannot mean never have contact with folks who do these sorts of thing. This would be impossible (1 Cor.5:10), on the one hand, and counter to the mission of the church on the other. No, what Paul means here is that we do not “join up” with them. That is, we do not derive our sense of identity and purpose in life from them and we do not share with them in their disobedient attitudes and actions.
In v.8 we meet two features we have already seen in ch.2: the “once . . . but now” contrast (2:3-4, 11 and 13) and the baptismal setting of change from one state to another (darkness to light) in 2:5-6, 14-16. Baptism dramatizes the change in our life brought about by Christ. This change is both real and pervasive. So real and pervasive that in consequence Paul admonishes his churches to “live (literally “walk”) as children of light”. Again we meet the characteristic pattern of Paul’s ethics: become what you already are.
Indeed, Paul mixes familial and agricultural images here to capture the reality and depth of this baptismal change. “Children” are to bear light’s “fruit” – acts that embody goodness, justice, and truth[6] - essential characteristics of Christ himself. Neufeld Yoder notes the role of this triad of terms in Ephesians:
“All three virtues are prominent in Ephesians: justice and truth are constituent elements in the creation of the new human in the likeness of God (4:24) and are the first items listed in the divine armor in 6:14. They are thus related to the ‘nature’ of the new human and also constitute the way the new human acts. No other virtue is as frequently stressed in Ephesians as truth (1:13; 4:21, 24, 25; 6:14 . . .) At the same time, goodness takes on a comprehensive quality, especially in 2:10 where it is explicitly related to works. . .[7]
This triad of virtues is what is “pleasing to the Lord”, what we are to “try to find out” (v.10).
Baptism transforms God’s people into light. God’s light is reflected in the world through attitudes and actions embodying God’s goodness, justice, and truth by those who seek and embrace them. Paul rounds off this section in vv.11-14 with some direction on how the transforming power of God works itself out in practice.
We meet our second sun-word in this section here. It carries the same sense of non-participation in the “works of darkness” as we saw in v.7. It’s worth re-iterating that Paul is not talking about physical separation or non-contact. He’s not promoting the church becoming a “holy huddle” turned in upon itself. Rather, as we will see, we are called to “expose” the works of darkness which presumes contact and relationship with others.
Paul’s reason for our non-participation in these activities is that they are “unfruitful”. In v.9 we learned that the “fruit” God desires and has given us to bear consists of goodness, justice, and truth. “Unfruitful” actions, then, are those that do not promote these virtues. Indeed, they actively work against them.
Our task as the people of God is to “expose” these actions, some of which take part under the cover of darkness because they are exceedingly “shameful”. Paul may have sexual sins in mind here. If so, it is not because they are worse than other sins, but because they display in graphic ways the distortions living apart from God creates in our lives. But what does Paul mean by “expose them”?
In simplest terms: be a contrast to them. In word and deed, attitude and action, embody a different way of life that exhibits and recognizes the goodness, justice, and truth of God. Goodness is the human shape of God’s love in this world, justice the human shape of God’s way in this world, and truth the human shape of God will in this world. By living, loving, listening, laughing, lingering in and with those we encounter from day to day in these ways differences will be demonstrated and noticed. The light of God’s way and will shine through the church making visible what’s really going on the world.
Here we meet the public face of the discernment we met in v.10. There the community works to discern what God would have them do, what is pleasing to him. We can call this the inner face of discernment. To live as a contrast to the world around them is a public demonstration of the fruits of such inner discernment, hence its public face.
Exposure by the light is not to one-up those outside the church. It’s not to condemn or embarrass them, though it may occasionally do this. Rather the purpose of this exposure of deeds of “darkness” is evangelical. It intends to open the way of life to them. That’s what Paul seems to point toward in the first phrase of v.14: “for everything that becomes visible is light.” When God’s light shines on someone or something that person or things takes on the quality of light; it becomes light. Our intent in living as and spreading divine light is transformative through exposure of darkness to light.
Paul closes out his exhortation to “be sure” by quoting a traditional saying (“Therefore it says”) that recalls baptism as the event and sacrament of the transformative power of light. His churches have shared in this sacramental event and Paul reminds them of the certainty they share because of it. They were once “Sleepers” but have now awakened and experienced resurrection because Christ has shined on them.
This language of shining and light would also remind Paul’s hearers of the great prophecy of Isaiah 60:1-5:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.
Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
Lift up your eyes and look around;
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.”
they all gather together, they come to you;
your sons shall come from far away,
and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.
Then you shall see and be radiant;
your heart shall thrill and rejoice,
because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,
the wealth of the nations shall come to you.”
Allusion to this prophecy reminds Paul’s churches of their calling and vocation. They are that people of Abraham whom God intends to use to spread his divine blessing to everyone else. They are, as I have been calling them in this commentary, God’s subversive counter-revolutionary people. Isa.60 relates this calling and vocation directly to God’s arising and shining on his people which enables them to arise and shine on the world!
Thus we can “be sure” that we belong to the light and have been delivered and enabled to shine that light and refrain from being shackled to or consumed by the practice of darkness that were formerly their lifestyle. The certainty of God’s transforming work for and in us and the reminders of our identity and vocation are powerful aids in our efforts to live as God would have us.
We Practice “Walking” as God’s Subversive Counter-Revolutionary People (11): 5:3-14
Few things have captured the church’s heart and imagination in North America than the idolatry of greed. Few would even try to deny it. In fact, we done our best to try and bless and sanctify our greed and priority of the pursuit of wealth. In the early church it was not so. Among the most eloquent dissenters from the idolatry of greed is St. John Chrysostom, the aptly named “golden tongue”. We can do little better than to hear from him about this utterly crucial matter.
1. St. John Chrysostom[8]
“Nothing is more fallacious than wealth. It is a hostile comrade, a domestic enemy.”
“How think you that you obey Christ's commandments, when you spend your time collecting interest, piling up loans, buying slaves like livestock, and merging business with business? ... Upon this you heap injustice, taking possession of lands and houses, and multiplying poverty and hunger.”
“Do you wish to honor the Body of the Savior? Do not despise it when it is naked. Do not honor it in church with silk vestments while outside it is naked and numb with cold. He who said, 'This is my body,' and made it so by his word, is the same that said, 'You saw me hungry and you gave me no food. As you did it not to the least of these, you did it not to me.' Honor him then by sharing your property with the poor. For what God needs is not golden chalices but golden souls.”
“In the matter of piety, poverty serves us better than wealth, and work better than idleness, especially since wealth becomes an obstacle even for those who do not devote themselves to it. Yet, when we must put aside our wrath, quench our envy, soften our anger, offer our prayers, and show a disposition which is reasonable, mild, kindly, and loving, how could poverty stand in our way?”
“For we accomplish these things not by spending money but by making the correct choice. Almsgiving above all else requires money, but even this shines with a brighter luster when the alms are given from our poverty. The widow who paid in the two mites was poorer than any human, but she outdid them all.”
“Every day the church here (in Antioch] feeds 3000 people. Besides this, the church daily helps provide food and clothes for prisoners, the hospitalized, pilgrims, cripples, churchmen, and others. If only ten [other groups of] people were willing to do this, there wouldn't be a single poor man left in town.”
“The rich man is not one who is in possession of much, but one who gives much.”
What would have to happen in you and in your church to take Chrysostom’s counsel to heart and reorient our lives around the gospel call to live simply, give generously, and serve the poor and needy in our neighborhoods?
2. Sins of the tongue feature large in scripture. Among the “obscene, silly, and vulgar talk” Paul warns against here, surely gossip ranks as the least feared and most practiced. Few things undo the fabric of our community more insidiously and comprehensively than gossip. I define gossip simply as anything we say to others about people that we would not say to them personally. There may be some legitimate exceptions to this but by and large most of the time this definition will apply. And it’s those usually small and seemingly inconsequential things we share about others as a matter of course that undo us. Such banter assumes that the lives, reputations, motivations, and intentions of others are legitimate matters of conversation between us and others who normally know little or nothing about such. Nevertheless they speculate about them together in a way that negatively shapes our attitudes and actions about these sisters and brothers in the body.
Here’s an excerpt from C. S. Lewis’ famous sermon “The Weight of Glory”. If we take him seriously, we will never engage in gossip again. A bold claim, I know. Yet see if you don’t agree after reading Lewis’ words.
“It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbor. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour’ glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is with immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to ne perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind )and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner – no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your sense. If he is you Christian neighbor he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ . . . the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.”[9]
Ponder and pray over these words. And then ponder and pray over them again. And again, until God uses them to change the way relate to each and every person you meet, and particularly the way we talk and shape our own and others’ attitudes and behavior toward them.
[1] Yoder Neufeld notes, “The radical covenanters at Qumran censured such behavior severely (thirty days for someone who ‘giggles so that his voice is heard,’ along with such inappropriate behavior as spitting, exposing oneself, speaking ill of fellow members of the community, or falling asleep at meetings)”, Ephesians, 229.
[2] Cited in Snodgrass, Ephesians, 269.
[3] Cited in Brian Rosner, “Unmasking Greed,” at http://www.matthiasmedia.com/briefing/2000/02/unmasking-greed/
[4] Brian Rosner*
[5] See ch.7 for list of other clusters of sun-words in Ephesians.
[6] The “fruit” language is also found in Gal.5:22, the “fruit of the Spirit”, with a more extensive list of qualities.
[7] Yoder Neufeld, Ephesians, 233.
[9] http://www.verber.com/mark/xian/weight-of-glory.pdf
