EPHESIANS 5:6

The Bible says in Ephesians 5:6, “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” This is an interesting command. “Let no man deceive you…” It is your responsibility to not be deceived. You have control in that area. There are many deceivers, but you will only become deceived by them if you fail to obey this command. It is a very common warning given in the New Testament. Jesus said, “Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.” Romans 16:17 says, “…mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.”

There are false teachers. There always have been false teachers, and there always will be. Many people have been deceived by the false teachers of the human race. Do not be one of them. Many of the false teachers are smarter than you, some of them are extremely well educated, some of them are very charismatic and attractive, and they are excellent speakers. How do you avoid being deceived by them? Perhaps Ephesians 5:6 gives one clue. It says, “Let no man deceive you with vain words…” Their words will deceive you. Of course, if you know the Word of God, then you will not be deceived by vain words. Be careful. Some people are deceived because they want to hear someone who is good at telling jokes, or they want to hear someone who will tell them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. Do not make that kind of mistake. If you know the real thing thoroughly, God’s immutable Word, then it is much less likely that you will be deceived when someone comes your way with vain words. By the way, vain words are empty words, words of no value. They are words of no true value because they are not the truth.

Concerning the vain words, i.e. the false teachings, the last part of Ephesians 5:6 says, “for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.” God is not pleased with the false teachers. Notice that the verb “cometh” is in the present tense and in this verse signifies a future event. This is the exact same word that Jesus used also in the present tense when Jesus said in Revelation 22:20, “Surely I come quickly.” False teachers have captivated millions and sometimes it appears they are winning the battle of truth against error, but the Day of Judgment is coming. The Truth is coming and His name is Jesus Christ. He will deal with the teachers of falsehood.

Notice that the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. It is not just the individual sins that people do that must be judged, but it is also the fact that people refuse to repent of those sins. It is the fact that people continue in their sinful ways purposefully that brings the wrath of God. This wrath of God is His righteous anger as Judge of the universe. God is a holy judge, a good judge, and He must punish sin. He loves to forgive through Christ, but those who refuse to repent, i.e. those who continue to be known as sons of disobedience, will be punished.

The verses of scripture starting back in the middle of Ephesians chapter four have emphasized the responsibility of the saved people to choose to put off the old man and to put on the new man, which is characterized by a righteous way of life. The question then becomes: what about the people of the world who will by nature be performing the deeds of the old man because that is all they have? They do not have a new nature, and therefore their lifestyles cannot be and will not be anything like the believers who walk in fellowship with Jesus. Ephesians 5:7 says, “Be not ye therefore partakers with them.” They are children of disobedience. But we wish to obey the Lord Jesus. Those are two different goals that send us in different directions.

This verse is easy to understand. “Be not ye therefore partakers with them.” There are certain things that they partake of that we cannot partake of. What are these things? Perhaps the best way to define them is to look at the immediate context of Ephesians chapter five. “Be not ye therefore partakers with them.” They are called children of disobedience. Anything that they do that is in disobedience to the clear teachings of God’s Word, do not partake with such things. What are those things? You have to know God’s Word to know what those things are, but you can start with the Ten Commandments. Any activity of the world that is contrary to any of the Ten Commandments, then do not partake with that. For example, there is the command, “Thou shalt not lie.” Some people cheat on their taxes. They lie to the government. Do not be one of them. Another example is the command, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” Some people of the world freely commit sexual sins, and recommend that others do the same. Many of the people of Hollywood are bad about that. This passage in Ephesians chapter 5 warned against fornication, whoremongers, and unclean persons. Do not join with anyone in the acceptance of or in the performance of such things. Such things are not to be joked about or looked at or portrayed as if they are positive instead of negative. Of course, there is one last command that covers just about everything, “Thou shalt not covet.” Ephesians 5:3 said that “covetousness” should not even be named once among believers in Christ. Do not partake with the people of the world who are enslaved with materialism or any other kind of covetousness. The strong selfish desires that they have are closely aligned with their disobedience to God.

Of course, Ephesians 5:6 was a verse of warning against false teachers and false teaching. Therefore, the command to not be a partaker with “them” refers also to the false teachers and to those who have been deceived by the false teachers. Some people want unity so badly that they compromise in their alliances. This ought not to be. Study the truth and teach the truth. This is the kind of unity that you want to create as much as you can in a world of confusion: Whoever will come and agree with your statement of faith and receive your teachings of truth, be united with them. Whoever will not do so, “Be not ye therefore partakers with them.”

Ephesians 5:8 gives another reason to not be a partaker with those who do not serve God. It says, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light.” This verse is a continuation of the point that Paul had just made that believers should not partake of the evil deeds being done by unbelievers. There is no fellowship between light and darkness. True darkness is the absence of light. The problem was lack of light. That was the problem that you had until Jesus came unto you. Therefore, since Jesus brought you into the light, do not go back into the ways of darkness.

When Jesus saved you, the Holy Spirit came to be a part of your life. The Holy Spirit wants to produce the fruit of the Spirit, and that fruit has everything to do with the activities that you are involved in. Ephesians 6:9-10 says, “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth; Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.” Notice the word “all.” Everything that is good, everything that is righteous, and everything that is true is what the Lord wants our lives to be producing.

Ephesians 5:11 says, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.” Again the whole issue is made very clear. The things that people do who are in darkness are called “unfruitful works.” That is the problem. Their works are not produced by the Spirit, no matter what the works are, and therefore such works are not acceptable to the Lord Jesus Christ. It says to have “no fellowship with the unfruitful works.” It is the wrong works that is the problem. This does not mean that you do not be friendly or polite or kind to those enslaved to darkness, but you have no fellowship with the works. In no way will you participate in the things that they do that should not be done: the things mentioned in this chapter are sexual immorality and human covetousness. That is one of the errors of Hollywood: an acceptance of and a pursuit of sexual immorality. The bed in marriage is undefiled, but in any other context sex is of the works of darkness. Those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ will not participate in that darkness. That is a good reason not to support Hollywood or to in any way be involved with what they produce.

I should have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, and also I should actually “reprove” them. The word “reprove” is talking about your speech: what you say in regards to the works of darkness. The works of darkness should not be joked about, and the works of darkness should not be mentioned in any way to give the impression that such works are approved of or accepted. Notice that it is the “works” that are reproved and not the people who do the works. The goal is to win the people over to Christ. God loves them. Say what should be said about their works, but make sure that they still realize that you love them for Christ’s sake.

When we speak about the works of darkness, we reprove those works. Even so there is a limit to the degree to which we speak about those works. That is why Ephesians 5:12 says, “For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.” Do not go into great detail speaking of the works of darkness. Think and speak about good things. The few times that you do mention the works of darkness, mention them briefly and use reproof when you mention them.

Notice that the sinful works that the unbelievers do are called “works of darkness” and we are told that these works are “done of them in secret.” So often the guilty conscience runs and hides from God or at least attempts to do so. That is one of the reasons that most crimes are done at night and so are many other sinful activities. That is one of the reasons that people lie to themselves about what they really have done and the guilt of it all. What is important for such individuals is that they come to the truth about their sinfulness so that they can repent and find the blessing of forgiveness in Christ.

That is what the conscience is for in the first place. It is important that people realize the truth about themselves and stop hiding from it. In other words, they need the light to shine into their souls. Ephesians 5:13 says, “But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever does make manifest is light.” That is the work that the light does: the light makes manifest the things that are reproved. That is good work, because when that happens people have a chance to turn from their wicked ways to Christ and to find His loving forgiveness. Again, that ties back to believers reproving the works of darkness. When you do so, you are working with Christ in that great work of His as the Light of the world.

Unbelievers need to wake up to their need of Christ as Savior, but sometimes believers have something to wake up from also. Sometimes believers go to sleep spiritually speaking. Sometimes they are in such a sound sleep that they even appear to be dead spiritually speaking. Ephesians 5:14 says, “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.” This verse expresses the principle that in order to get close to Christ, you are the one who needs to take the initiative. “Draw nigh unto God, and He will draw nigh unto you.” If you want to consistently live by faith and walk in fellowship with Christ, then you must consistently turn your eyes to Christ. Everyone needs light. Christ is the light of the world. You must be looking to Christ every day in everything that you do or you will be like someone walking in darkness.

Ephesians 5:15-16 gives a very good reason to make sure that you are spiritually awake through Christ. It says, “See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” The word that is translated “circumspectly” means “diligently.” It is important to walk diligently because if you do not, then you are unwise. Someone might ask the question, “What exactly does it mean to walk diligently?” That question is answered by the phrase “redeeming the time.” The word that is translated “redeeming” means to pay for something: to buy it. When you pay for something, it becomes yours. It enters into your possession. You could do nothing with it until it became yours. That is why you bought it. And that is the way time is. You must do something in order to make the proper use of time, or else you will waste your time. It will go by without you having used it unless you redeem it: unless you show the proper diligence with respect to the time that is given to you. Understand that you only have so much time, and use it well for the Lord. Tomorrow may not come.

When you use diligence in order to make proper use of time, you must do it on a daily basis. That is why verse 16 speaks of individual days. Live life one day at a time, making the best use possible of your time in each day, and then you are a wise person, and then you are walking in the light that Christ gives to you. Ephesians 5:16 says, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Life has everything to do with a battle between good and evil. The implication is that evil is winning the battle over you, whenever you waste time and fail to take possession of it. God gives everyone the exact same amount of time: twenty-four hours in each day. One of the great differences between each human being is the degree to which each person uses the time wisely that God gives to them. Jesus said, “I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work.”

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