Walk in Love (Ephesians 5:1-21)
These questions are intended to generate discussion. The premise of some of these questions is blatantly false to help you think through the Scriptures. Scripture must always be the final authority.
“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.”
The “therefore” goes back to the previous verse. One is to be an imitator of God, therefore, in his forgiveness. Why is forgiving another imitating God? How important is it to forgive? If one can never fully imitate God (i.e., imitate God perfectly), why even bother?
One is to imitate God as a beloved child. How do children imitate their parents? What lessons are there for the way a Christian is to imitate his Father?
“And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
The Ephesians were to “walk in love.” Why did the Ephesians need to walk in love. Why do we today need to walk in love?
How does a Christian walk in love? In other words, how does a person who is walking in love act?
The Ephesians were to walk in love as Christ loved. How much did Christ love? Why is his love the measure for how a Christian is to love? Is it even possible for a Christian to love as Christ loved? Why or why not?
Not only did Christ love us, he “gave himself up for us.” In what way(s) did Jesus give himself up? How was his giving himself up “for us?”
Must a Christian also give up himself for others? In what way(s)? How should Jesus’s example impact the way a Christian gives of himself for others.
Jesus gave himself for us as “a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” In what way(s) was Jesus a fragrant offering to God? In what way(s) was Jesus a sacrifice to God? Why did we need Jesus to be a sacrifice to God?
“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.”
What is the big deal with sexual immorality? Shouldn’t a person be free to do whatever he chooses with his body? Notice that sexual immorality should not even be named among Christians. Why must there not even be a hint of sexual immorality in the church? How should the church respond when there is a hint of sexual immorality?
We’re living at a time of immense change in sexual morality. Homosexuality, cohabitation, premarital sex, etc. are commonplace, and we’re out of step with society if we don’t just approve. Is it perhaps time to be more open minded and to approve of a different sexual ethic? Why or why not? How can Christians survive in a world that is as immoral as ours? How can the church do a better job of reaching people who are immoral? The church must be a welcoming place for all sorts of immoral people. That in absolutely no way means that people can continue to live in sin. We must be like Jesus with the woman caught in adultery; he forgave her sin but told her to go and sin no more. How can the church welcome people living in sin without compromising the truth of the gospel?
The Christian must also not be engaged in impurity. What is the difference between impurity and sexual immorality? The Greek term for impurity was used for the foulness of a wound or sore. In a moral sense, the Greek term meant depravity. Is there much depravity in the world today? What are some kinds of depravity we see today? How does a person know what is and is not pure?
The Christian must also not be engaged in covetousness. What is covetousness? Why can a Christian not be covetous? Is the American way a way of covetousness?
Sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness “must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” Why must these three sins not even be named among Christians? Why is it “proper among saints” not to even have a hint of these sins in the church? How should the church respond if there is a hint of these sins? How should the church respond if there is actual sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness among saints (instead of just a hint)?
“Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”
There must not be filthiness among Christians. The Greek term referred to shame and dishonor. The filthiness Paul mentioned here surely still has a sexual connotation; that really fits the context.
As we have repeatedly said, the first century world was extremely sexually immoral. Pornography covered many Greek vase paintings. The outside walls of inns often included pictures of the prostitutes inside and the respective prices for those prostitutes. Therefore, early Christians had sexually explicit stuffed down their throats at every turn (we aren’t the first to face that problem). In what ways is sexually explicit stuff crammed down our throats?
Because the Ephesians would have been exposed to filthiness just walking down the street (as are we), they may have had a problem keeping themselves pure. How can a Christian keep himself pure in such a wicked, vile, wicked, and immoral society? What can a Christian do when confronted with filthiness?
There must not be foolish talk among Christians. “Foolish talk” is literally “stupid words” in the Greek. The idea is talk that just wastes time. How can talk waste time?
There must not be crude joking among Christians. The wording here indicates “the dexterity of turning a discourse to wit or humor that ends in deceptive speech, so formed that the speaker easily contrives to wriggle out of its meaning or engagement.” After a banquet, the guests would sit around and talk making jokes. There was often a jester there who would make puns. Since Paul has been speaking about sexual immorality and turns to that subject in the next sentence, several people see “crude joking” to be making a double entendre and some other inappropriate wordplay.
Filthiness, foolish talking, and crude joking “are out of place.” Why are they out of place? Is there ever a place for filthiness, foolish talking, and crude joking?
Instead of filthiness, foolish talking, and crude joking, there is to be thanksgiving. For what should the Christian be thankful? How can the Christian express his thanksgiving?
“For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
Why does the sexually immoral, impure, and covetous have no place in God’s kingdom? Can those people find a place in God’s kingdom if they repent? The Greek term is “all” (everyone well expresses the sense). The idea is that there will be no exceptions. Any unrepentant person who is sexually immoral, impure, or covetous will not have a place in God’s kingdom. It doesn’t matter how good or righteous or repentant you are in other areas, if you are sexually immoral, impure, or covetous, you have no part in God’s kingdom.
Paul said that covetousness is idolatry. How is covetousness idolatry? In what way(s) can anything become an idol? Why do you think Paul singled out covetousness here?
The sexually immoral, impure, and covetousness have no part in the “inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” What is “the kingdom of Christ and God?” What is the inheritance one can have in that kingdom?
“Let not one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
The Ephesians were not to be deceived with “empty words.” The Greek term for “empty” means “void” or “fruitless.” When used of people the term sometimes meant “destitute,” i.e., someone was empty of worldly goods. The word was also used to describe camels which had no burden. Thus, the idea here is that these words are bereft of any meaning; the words are absolutely meaningless.
The context requires us to understand that people were speaking “empty words” about three things—sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness. Do people today speak “empty words” about sexual immorality? What are some examples of “empty words” about sexual immorality? Do people today speak “empty words” about impurity? What are some examples of “empty words” about impurity? Do people today speak “empty words” about covetousness? What are some examples of “empty words” about covetousness?
Because of these things—sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness—the wrath of God is coming. Just think about that statement for a moment! Sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness are part and parcel of our society. How many teens engage in sexual immorality? Many retirement communities have had outbreaks of sexually transmitted diseases. How much impurity do we see all the time? How many people engage in covetousness?
Because of those things—things so common and accepted in our culture—God’s wrath is coming upon “the sons of disobedience.” What does that say about the way Christians or should not engage in our culture? What should we do because God’s wrath is coming upon “the sons of disobedience?”
What is God’s wrath? Why should one wish to escape his wrath? How can one escape his wrath? God’s wrath, Paul said, comes “upon the sons of disobedience.” What does the phrase “sons of disobedience” mean? Who are the “sons of disobedience?”
“Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.”
In what way(s) can Christians become partners with the disobedient? How can a Christian keep from becoming a partner with the disobedient? In other words, what steps should a Christian take to keep from becoming like the world?
Why should Christians not become partners with the disobedient? Paul answered that question: “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” In what ways were Christians darkness before they came to Jesus? Were those of us raised in the church really and truly darkness before we came to the Lord? In what ways are Christians “light in the Lord?” How do we demonstrate that we are “light in the Lord?”
“Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Jewish texts often described what is good as “light” and what is evil as “darkness.” Biblical texts continued that metaphor, as Paul did here.
Paul referred to Christians as “children of light.” In previous studies, we have noted the Semitic expression “son of” to mean that one is that thing. For example, “son of man” is a man or “child of a dog” is a dog, etc. Therefore, for Paul to call Christians “children of light” means that Christians themselves are light. In what ways are Christians light? “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 Jn 1:5). Obviously, if a Christian is God’s child, he will be what God is. How should the fact that God is light impact the way we see ourselves as light?
Jesus: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8:12). The Christian is not the light of the world in the same way as Jesus. However, are there ways the Christian should be “the light of the world” like his Lord?
Christians are to walk as children of light. This is the second time Paul used “walk” to mean “live” in this passage (the first time is at verse 2). How do Christians live as light?
The light’s fruit “is found in all that is good and right and true.” Paul seemed to be telling his readers precisely what it means to walk as children of light, i.e., as they walk as children of light, their fruit will be “all that is good and right and true.” What is someone’s fruit? How can your fruit be good? How can your fruit be right? How can your fruit be true?
The Christian must “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” “Try to discern” is one Greek word. The term often means to prove; it extrabiblical literature, the word often means to examine a metal to determine whether or not it is genuine. In the New Testament, the word often carries the nuance of examination. It’s the word for example, Paul used, when speaking of the Lord’s Supper, he said, “Let a man examine himself. . . .” The word here has the nuance of testing or proving to see what’s right.
How can a Christian discern what is pleasing to the Lord? Are there times a Christian must try to find out what pleases God? In other words, are there times when the Word of God isn’t as clear as we’d like? How does the Christian discern God’s will at times like that?
“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”
In context, “the unfruitful works of darkness” certainly are sexual immorality, all impurity, and covetousness. We obviously understand that a child of God, a child of the light, can have no part in such “unfruitful works.” However, notice that Paul called these sins “unfruitful.” How are the sins Paul mentioned “unfruitful?” Is there any kind of fruit that they do bring?
Notice that sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness are called “unfruitful works of darkness.” In what ways are these sins works “of darkness?” When do people most often engage in sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness [theft]? Why?
The Christian is to expose these “unfruitful works.” Why should a Christian expose sin? In what way should a Christian expose sin? I don’t think Paul has any intention of a Christian’s exposing sin like the scribes and Pharisees exposed a woman’s adultery in John 8. I think he’s speaking more about the Christian’s exposing sin by being light; that is, after all, what he said at verse 13.
“For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.”
This is the reason the Christian cannot participate in the “unfruitful works of darkness” and why he must expose them. If “it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret,” why did Paul speak of them? Why do some people like to brag about their sin?
“But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light.”
It’s quite obvious to understand how this works in a literal way. How does this work in a spiritual way? What’s the value of having sin exposed? What’s the value of having one’s own sin exposed? Why would someone wish to leave a sin that has been exposed?
“Therefore is says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
There is no Old Testament quotation that says this. Isaiah 60:1 comes closest. However, the way Paul introduced the quote makes it sound as though he were referring to inspired Scripture. This is something like Matthew 1:23 where Jesus was to be called a Nazarene. There, I personally believe that a prophet spoke those words, and the prophecy was passed down orally. We know that many sayings were passed down orally (cf. Acts 20:35).
The way Paul quoted this statement makes it sound as though his readers were very familiar with the quotation. It’s very possible that this is part of an early Christian hymn based on Isaiah 60:1. There were Spirit-inspired hymns in the first century (cf. 1 Cor 14:26ff); it’s, therefore, likely that what we have here is an early Christian hymn the Spirit himself inspired.
It’s also possible that this statement came from an inspired document we no longer possess. Some apostolic writings have been lost to history. Paul, for example, wrote a letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 5:9) that no longer exists. The fact that Paul referenced his first epistle authoritatively leads me to believe that the letter was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Why would God allow inspired writings to be lost instead of preserved? There is a high likelihood they would be repetitive with what we already have. The first-century Christians didn’t have the world wide web and email; they didn’t even have a reliable mail service. Therefore, many congregations probably needed to be told the same thing. The important thing for us to remember is that we have every single word from God that we need (2 Pet 1:3).
Why would the sleeper be equated with being dead? In what way(s) will Christ shine on him?
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Once more Paul used “walk” to discuss the way one lives. The verb in Greek is a present active indicative. The present tense refers to continual action in the present. In other words, Paul refers to one’s total lifestyle for one’s total life. Why is the way a person lives important?
How does someone “look carefully” at the way he lives? Doesn’t looking carefully at the way you live imply living a planned life? How does someone go about living a planned life?
One must look carefully how he lives, “not as unwise but as wise.” How do unwise people live? How do wise people live?
How can someone make the best use of his time? What does the amount of evil in the world have to do with making the best use of your time?
How evil are the days?
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
In this context, notice that the foolish one is the one who does not understand the will of the Lord. Throughout Scripture, “fool” often refers to someone who refuses to learn or do the will of God. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps 14:1). Luke 11:37-41. “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Rom 1:22-23). Therefore, being “foolish” means to act without regard to the will of Almighty God. Thus, how does a foolish person act?
Instead of being foolish, one is to “understand what the will of the Lord is.” How can someone understand the will of the Lord? When do you know that you truly understand the will of the Lord?
“And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.”
One is not to get drunk with wine. Wine clearly falls into the danger category, for wine can cause much heartache.
- Noah embarrassed himself by becoming drunk (Gen 9:20-27).
- Nabal had some sort of medical incident after becoming drunk (maybe a stroke or a heart attack?), but the Lord struck him for his rudeness to David (1 Sam 25:36-38).
- David got Uriah drunk in hopes that he would go home to Bathsheba, but he refused (2 Sam 11:13); even drunk, Uriah was more honorable than David.
- Elah, king of Israel, was killed when he was “drinking himself drunk” (1 Ki 16:8-10).
- King Ahasuerus “was merry with wine” when he commanded Queen Vashti to come so that people could look at her beauty (Est 1:10-12).
- You could probably add stories of people who knew who suffered heartache because of alcohol or some other addiction.
Scripture warns against wine. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Prov 20:1). “Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and slumber will clothe them with rags” (Prov 23:20-21). Proverbs 23:29-35.
However, wine and strong drink are also presented as divine blessings in Scripture. If the Israelites were obedient to the Lord, he would send rain so they would have their wine (Deut 11:13-14). About tithing, notice what God commanded through Moses: Deuteronomy 14:26. Hezekiah had great wealth from God, and part of that wealth was storehouses for wine (2 Chr 32:27-28). “Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine” (Prov 3:9-10). How can wine be both a curse and a blessing from God?
If one gets drunk with wine, “that is debauchery.” The Greek term for “debauchery” basically means “wastefulness.” How is getting drunk with wine wasteful? What does drunkenness waste? Why can a Christian not be wasteful?
Instead of being filled with wine, the Christian is to “be filled with the Spirit.” How does the Christian become filled with God’s Spirit? How is God’s Spirit the answer to drunkenness and wastefulness? To what other problems in life is God’s Spirit the answer?
Part of being filled with the Spirit is “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.” There are some who advocate for instrumental music who say that this passage says nothing about the worship assembly; therefore, nothing this text says about singing can be applied to the assembly. Since the New Testament, they claim, says nothing about singing in the assembly, one can use instrumental music. They are correct in noting that the context is the Christian life. Paul has encouraged the Christians in Ephesus to live the right way—e.g., to look carefully how they walk and not to get drunk.
I would make a couple points.
One: The worship assembly is a part of a Christian’s walk.
His attendance and his devotion and participation in the assembly says a great deal about his Christian’s walk. In other words, if a Christian is walking properly, he is in the corporate assembly.
Two: Paul’s command at verse 19 cannot be fulfilled apart from the assembly.
He said that the church is to be “addressing one another.” The Greek grammar of this sentence shows that you are addressing me while I am addressing you. In other words, I’m singing to you while you are singing to me. That rules out choirs and solos.
It is impossible to sing to someone while being sung to by that same person unless we are in the same place at the same time. While there are some times that each of us cannot be present for illness or other reasons and may need to watch online, I cannot fulfill this command through online worship. While the context is the Christian’s life, this command can only be fulfilled when Christians are together.
The Christian is to address his fellow Christians in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” What is a psalm? What is a hymn? The Greek term connects a hymn with praise. In other words, a hymn would be a song that praises God. What is a spiritual song? Are there some psalms, hymns, and songs that are inappropriate for worship? How does the Christian determine what is appropriate to sing and what is not appropriate to sing?
The Christian is to be “singing and making melody to the Lord with [his] heart.” God, through his Apostle, has informed the church how she must conduct her musical service: Singing and making melody in the heart. Since God has been specific, we cannot add anything to his command. There are many who claim that since God did not say, “Thou shalt not use mechanical instruments of music in worship,” one is free to do so. That fails in several ways:
Common sense.
Man communicates to one another using silence all the time. For example, my favorite bike shop closes at 3:00 in the afternoon. Imagine I’m out around 3:30, and I have a problem. Will I take my bike to Jeff? What if I tell Jeff, “But the sign doesn’t say you’re closed at 3:30?”
God could not tell us everything that is right and wrong. The Bible says absolutely nothing about pornography. Does that make it right? The Bible says absolutely nothing about abortion. Does that make it right? The Bible clearly teaches that lust is wrong and that human life begins at conception. God gave me a brain, and he expects me to use it.
Scripture makes abundantly clear that when God speaks specifically, everything else is excluded. The case of Moses’ striking vs. speaking to the rock (Num 20:7-13). We rightfully point to Moses’ pride (cf. v 10: “Shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”); however, Moses didn’t do what God said. Because Moses didn’t do precisely what God said, he wasn’t permitted to enter the Promised Land. From my perspective striking the rock instead of speaking to it is miniscule in the grand scheme of things. However, God had been specific, and Moses disobeyed. They “have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind” (Jer 19:5). Hebrews 1:5. Hebrews 7:12-14. Therefore, the Christian only has the right to sing and make melody in his heart, nothing else.
The next part of this lesson is going to be technical as we study the Greek behind “making melody in your heart.” While I will discuss the meaning of Greek words in my sermons, I attempt not to get too technical. Here, I don’t have a choice, for the Greek make abundantly clear that there are to be no mechanical instruments used in worship. The Greek Orthodox Church, which obviously uses the Greek text, doesn’t use instrumental music in their worship for the same reasons we don’t.
This Greek term occurs five times in the New Testament. “I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing (psallo) to your name” (Rom 15:9). “I will sing praise (psallo) with my spirit, but I will sing (psallo) with my mind also” (1 Cor 14:15). “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody (psallo) to the Lord with your heart” (Eph 5:18-19). “Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise (psallo)” (Js 5:13).
In classical Greek, the term psallo referred to the touching of a string. Aeschylus (525-456 BC), the well-known Greek playwright, used psallo for the plucking of a hair. Five hundred years before Jesus, this would have been the word you used to tell your son not to pull his baby sister’s hair. Euripides (480-460 BC) used the term to mean the “twanging” of a bowstring. psallo was also used to reference the “twitching” of a carpenter’s line so that it would leave a mark. Plutarch did use the term to refer to the “plucking” on the strings of an instrument. In fact, the term came to mean the touching of the fingers to the strings of an instrument, rather than using a pick.
Therefore, one of the main argument proponents of instrumental music in worship have used in the term psallo. The argument is that since psallo often referred to the playing of a stringed instrument and both Paul and James use the word, instrumental music must be acceptable to God. But just how valid is that argument?
If psallo in the New Testament means to play a stringed instrument, instrumental music is required before God. Notice that James uses this Greek verb to refer to the reaction of the cheerful. If I’m in my car and cheerful, I cannot sing unless I have an instrument to play along with my singing. What about mothers who might sing “Jesus Loves Me” to their children at night? They would be sinning by not using instrumental music. What if this small congregation couldn’t find someone who could play the piano or the guitar or the harp or some other instrument?
Most of those who advocate that psallo means to play a stringed instrument assert that the term only allows instrumental music, not that it’s required. For example: “Psalmos (or its cognate verb psallo) is used to mean instrumental music, or a song played to musical accompaniment in the Greek Old Testament. . . . For this reason and others we believe that Paul’s us of the term psalm shows that God approves the use of instrumental music in our teaching and admonishing. However, they do not establish that such music must be used at all times.” How can it not? If psallo means to play an instrument, God has commanded it, and we refuse to do so, we are sinning against God! It can be no other way.
If psallo means to play a stringed instrument in the New Testament, we each one must play a stringed instrument. Notice Ephesians 5:19 again: We are to be “addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody (psallo) to the Lord with your heart.” The term is a plural participle in the original. Therefore, each individual Christian is to be making melody (not just someone playing a piano or a guitar or some other instrument). God would be commanding something based upon musical talent.
I have absolutely no musical talent. I tried to play the trombone in the school band, but I was horrible! But if God is commanding that I play a stringed instrument, he’s requiring that I use that non-existent talent for his glory. Of course, God requires nothing that I cannot do. In the Parable of the Talents, we read that the master gave “to each according to his ability” (Matt 25:15).
If psallo authorizes instrumental music, it only authorizes stringed instruments. The word means to touch the strings. Therefore, any wind instrument is out; I couldn’t use drums or a tambourine; I could not use an electronic keyboard. I could only use a stringed instrument.
Furthermore, the piano would be out. Yes, I know that the piano has strings, but you do not touch them when you’re playing. You hit keys that move hammers that touch the strings. Psallo means to touch the finger to the string. If I were using a guitar, I couldn’t use a pick. I’d literally have to touch the strings.
Those who affirm that psallo authorizes instrumental music overlook the fact that words change. F. F. Bruce, a well-known evangelical scholar of the late 20th century, wrote, “Words are not static things. They change their meaning with the passage of time.” In the King James Version, “conversation” means “manner of life” and today it means “manner of speaking.” If you watch the Flintstones, you’ll have a “gay ol’ time.” I seriously doubt that those lyrics would be written that way today.
The term psallo drastically changed its meaning over the course of time. E. A. Sophocles’ Greek Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine Periods (From B.C. 146 to A.D. 1100) defines psallo as “chant, sing religious hymns.
The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament completed about 250 years before Jesus, had a major influence on the development of psallo in the New Testament’s usage of the term. There are places in the Greek Old Testament where psallo certainly means to sing on a stringed instrument. “Whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand” (1 Sam 16:23). “Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre” (1 Sam 19:9). It is important to notice that in both of those passages the instrument is mentioned in the context. It’s not just that there was playing, but the author informs us precisely what the instrument was upon which the playing took place.
But there are other places in the Septuagint where psallo clearly refers to vocal music. “My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises (psallo) to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed. And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long” (Ps 71:23-24). The idea here is clearly vocal music, for the text speaks of lips shouting for joy and the tongue talking of God’s righteousness. “Sing to him, sing praises (psallo) to him; tell of all his wondrous works!” (Ps 105:2). The idea in this verse is clearly vocal praise, for the psalmist says that one is to “tell of all” God’s works.
Some might say that these two references do not demonstrate that psallo carried a vocal connotation in these passages. After all, one might say, “Someone could shout for joy with the lips while he played on an instrument.” However, such a claim overlooks the use of Hebrew parallelism. In Hebrew poetry, the second line often repeats the exact same idea in slightly different words. For example, notice Psalm 1:2: “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” Delighting in the law of the LORD is the same thing as meditating on that law day and night. Therefore, in Psalm 71 shouting to the Lord for joy is the same thing as singing praises to God; in Psalm 105, singing praise to God is the same thing as telling of his wondrous works. Since one cannot shout to the Lord with ones lips by using an instrument and one cannot tell of God’s wondrous works by using an instrument, psallo refers purely to vocal praise in these two psalms.
The Greek construction in the Septuagint is quite important for New Testament usage. When psallo is used to refer to instrumental music, the typical construction is to use the preposition en (with/on) and put the instrument played in the dative case. That is, for example, the construction at 1 Samuel 19:9 where David plays upon his lyre to calm Saul’s evil spirit. However, when the Lord is mentioned as the one to whom the music is directed, the Lord is mentioned in the dative case without the preposition en.
That becomes important as one looks at Ephesians 5:19. If Paul intended psallo to mean “to play,” he has specified the instrument upon which the playing is to be done-the human heart. Paul’s use of psallo cannot be used to advocate instrumental music in light of the term’s use in the Septuagint.
Early Christians used psallo to refer to vocal praise. Those who know Greek best declare that psallo means vocal praise in the New Testament. W. E. Vine who produced the well-known Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, said, “The word psallo originally meant to play a stringed instrument with the fingers, or to sing with the accompaniment of a harp. Later, however, and in the New Testament, it came to signify simply to praise without the accompaniment of an instrument.” Ralph Earle who wrote Word Meanings in the New Testament, says, “‘Making melody’ is one word in Greek, psallontes. The verb psallo meant first to strike the strings of a harp or lyre. Then it meant to ‘strike up a tune.’ Finally it was used in the sense ‘to sing.’”
The argument that psallo includes instrumental music also ignores the history of the early church. It is an undeniable fact that the earliest Christians did not use instrumental music. All church historians recognize this fact. If psallo meant to sing with accompaniment in the New Testament, why did the early Christians disobey that command?
As the Christian is filled with the Spirit, he is to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Paul has just instructed the Christians to sing and make melody in their hearts to the Lord. It would seem that contextually one way the Christian gives thanks to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is through singing. In what ways does singing express thanksgiving to God? Why are songs a good resource for expressing one’s thanksgiving unto God? Can you think of some examples of songs or hymns which express thanksgiving to God?
The Christian is to give “thanks always and for everything to God the Father.” An extremely basic question: What is thanksgiving? What are some of the methods a Christian can use to express his thanksgiving?
The Christian is “always” to be giving thanks. Does the Christian always feel like giving thanks? What can he do at such times? How can the Christian orient his life so that he is always giving thanks to God?
The Christian is to give thanks “for everything.” Come on! There are horrible things which befall Christians: illness, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, divorce, financial woes, the effects of other people’s sins, etc., etc. How on earth is a Christian to give thanks for such trouble?
How can a Christian find ways to give thanks even in the worst of situations? It might help to remember that Paul wrote this epistle from prison. What would possess a man in prison to say that the Christian is to give thanks “for everything?”
The expression of thanksgiving is to be made “to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Why express thanksgiving to God the Father? What does “in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” really mean? Jesus instructed the disciples to ask in his name. “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (Jn 14:13-14). Does this simply mean we add “in Jesus’s name” to the end of our prayers?
The final quality of the Spirit-filled Christian is submission to one another: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The word Paul used here means to obedient. In our culture, it seems to me that submission is a rather nasty word for many people. In my opinion, feminism wasn’t driven by a desire to be equal to men but to throw off biblical submission to men. Women are inherently equal to men: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). A difference in roles doesn’t make women inferior or men superior any more than elders or preachers or others with distinct roles in the body are superior to others.
However, many women in the world are repulsed by the idea that they should be in submission in the home. How many women still use the word “obey” in their wedding vows?
Secular women, of course, aren’t the only ones who don’t like the idea of submission. We could talk about employees or students or children or a host of others. Why do non-Christians dislike the idea of submission so much? Do all Christians like the idea of submission? How do Christians sometimes show a distain for biblical submission?
Paul said that Christians are to be “submitting to one another.” In other words, each Christian is to submit to every other Christian. How do Christians submit to each other in daily life? In reality, Jesus provided an example: Philippians 4:3-7. Submission to one another is about two things: 1) Serving one another; and 2) Not insisting on one’s own way.
Paul then provided examples of submission:
- Wives and husbands. Wives submit to their husbands through obedience: “As the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands” (Eph 5:24). Husbands submit to their wives by loving them as Christ loved the church.
- Children and fathers. Children submit to their parents by obeying them, “for this is right” (Eph 6:1). Fathers submit to their children by not provoking them to anger and bringing “them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph 6:4).
- Servants and masters. Bondservants submit to their masters by obeying their “earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart” (Eph 6:5). Masters submit to their bondservants by not threatening them.
Ephesians 5:21 serves as a heading of this entire section of Scripture, and submission runs both ways—for those in authority and for those under the authority of others. Each Christian submits to every other Christian.
This submission to one another is done “out of reverence for Christ.” What is reverence? How does the Christian expression reverence for Christ? Why does one’s reverence for Christ affect the way he submits to others?
This Bible class was originally taught by Dr. Justin Imel, Sr., at Church of Christ Deer Park in Deer Park, Texas.