The big idea
In short: love the actual person, because you belong to each other. “Speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another” (4:25). Work so “that he may have to give to him that needeth” (4:28).
Christ “hath broken down the middle wall of partition” between peoples (2:14). The rest of the letter shows how to live without the wall.
The rule underneath: Law 2 · Love the actual person
Love the person in front of you: neighbor, stranger, enemy.
Keep it: Trust grows and people are cared for.
Break it: Faith turns into talk, and real people get hurt.
Shows up in: Leviticus, Proverbs, Luke, Romans, 1 John
Other rules in this book: Tell the truth, Work honestly
Live it: Playbook 02 · How to love
25Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27Neither give place to the devil. 28Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.Ephesians 4:25-28 · KJV
At a glance
- What it is
- A letter in Paul’s name to believers in and around Ephesus, a big city on the coast of what is now Turkey. 6 chapters.
- Who wrote it
- It names Paul, writing from prison (3:1). Many scholars think a follower of Paul wrote it later in his name, because the style differs from his other letters. debated
- When
- About AD 60–62 if Paul wrote it; about AD 80–90 if a follower did.
- A general letter
- Some of the oldest copies leave out “at Ephesus” in 1:1. It may have been meant for several churches.
- Read it in
- About 20 minutes.
What it says
1–3 · What God has done. The letter opens with praise for God’s plan to bring everything together in Christ (1:10). “For by grace are ye saved through faith… Not of works” (2:8–9). But grace has a purpose: “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works” (2:10). Jews and non-Jews, once split, are now one family: “ye are no more strangers and foreigners” (2:19). Paul prays they will know a love “which passeth knowledge” (3:19).
4 · One body, new habits. Keep unity “in the bond of peace” (4:3). Different gifts build up one body (4:11–12). Stop lying (4:25). “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath” (4:26). The thief should work “that he may have to give to him that needeth” (4:28). Say only what builds people up (4:29). Be kind and forgive (4:32).
5–6 · Love at home and in the fight. “Walk in love” (5:2). “Submitting yourselves one to another” (5:21). Then rules for wives and husbands, children and parents, slaves and masters (5:22–6:9). Masters must stop threatening, because God shows no favoritism (6:9). The real fight is not “against flesh and blood” but against evil powers (6:12). “Put on the whole armour of God” (6:11).
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.Ephesians 4:32 · KJV
Go deeper
- Original words. Mesotoichon, “middle wall” (2:14), is a rare word. It may point to the temple wall that kept non-Jews out of the inner courts; a stone warning sign from that wall has been found. Oikonomia (1:10; 3:2) means managing a household. God is running one house.
- Structure. Chapters 1–3 say what God has done. Chapters 4–6 say how to live, starting with “therefore” (4:1).
- The household rules. Greek and Roman writers had lists of duties for the head of a house over wife, children, and slaves. Ephesians uses the same form, but adds duties for the husband, father, and master too.
- How the laws interlock. Law 2 is the thread: “walk in love” (5:2). Law 5 is in 4:25. Law 7 is in 4:28: work honestly, and work in order to give.
Hard parts
“Wives, submit yourselves” (5:22–33)
What it says “Submitting yourselves one to another” (5:21). Then “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands” (5:22), and “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it” (5:25).
The rule underneath Power serves. The one with more power gives himself up for the other.
What people added Complementarian readers see a lasting pattern: the husband leads, and the wife follows. Egalitarian readers stress verse 21, mutual submission, and see the household rules as the culture of the time, being reshaped from within. Churches have split; this page does not settle it.
“Servants, be obedient” (6:5–9)
What it says “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters” (6:5). Masters must stop threatening, “knowing that your Master also is in heaven” (6:9).
The rule underneath Every human bears God’s image. Never use a person as a thing.
What people added The letter does not call for ending slavery. It does tell masters that they and their slaves have the same Master and are judged the same. Christians today agree slavery is wrong, and read these verses as guidance for people living inside an unjust system.
How it has been used: Defenders of slavery in the 1800s often quoted 6:5. The 1807 Slave Bible, made for enslaved Africans in the British Caribbean, kept 6:5 and cut Galatians 3:28.
The spiritual battle
What it says “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers” (6:12).
The rule underneath God first. Your enemy is not the person in front of you.
What people added Some readers see personal evil spirits. Others also see evil built into systems and powers, like empires and markets. Many hold both. Readers differ.
Translation notes that change meaning
- 5:22. In some of the oldest Greek copies, verse 22 has no verb. It borrows “submitting” from verse 21, so the two verses belong together. Some modern Bibles start a new section at verse 22 anyway.
Where it leads
- 04 · How to speak and keep your word: speech that builds up (4:25–32).
- 05 · How to work: work in order to give (4:28).
- 11 · How to live together: one family (2) and the household (5–6).
One thing to do
This week
Don’t let the sun go down
If you are angry at someone right now, deal with it before bedtime today (4:26). Name the wrong to yourself, then either talk to the person or let it go on purpose. Write in your journal what you did and how you slept.
How to read it. Read chapters 1–3 in one sitting and 4–6 in another. Notice the word “therefore” in 4:1 that joins them.