What is the meaning of Ephesians 5:5? For of this you can be sure Paul opens with a rock-solid guarantee: “For of this you can be sure”. The Spirit wants us settled, not guessing, about who will and will not share eternity with God. Compare this tone of certainty with Jesus’ own words in John 3:3–5 and the warning lists in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; they, too, speak with unflinching clarity. No immoral person • “Immoral” points to sexual sin—any practice outside God-ordained marriage (Hebrews 13:4). • Scripture consistently pairs sexual immorality with divine judgment (1 Thessalonians 4:3–6; Revelation 21:8). • A lifestyle of unrepentant immorality exposes a heart that refuses Christ’s lordship. No impure person • Impurity widens the lens beyond outward acts to inward filth—thoughts, fantasies, motives (Matthew 5:27–28). • God calls believers to be “pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8) and to “purify yourselves” (1 John 3:3). • Ongoing impurity without repentance contradicts the new nature promised in 2 Corinthians 5:17. No greedy person (that is, an idolater) • Greed craves more—money, status, pleasure—making self the center. • Paul labels greed “idolatry” again in Colossians 3:5, because whatever rules the heart usurps God’s rightful throne (Matthew 6:24). • A pattern of grasping reveals worship of stuff rather than the Savior. Has any inheritance • “Inheritance” points to the eternal blessings reserved for God’s children—incorruptible, undefiled, unfading (1 Peter 1:4). • Those dominated by immorality, impurity, or greed forfeit this inheritance; they show they were never born into God’s family (1 John 3:9–10). • The warning is not about a believer losing salvation but about exposing counterfeit faith (Matthew 7:21–23). In the kingdom of Christ and of God • One kingdom, ruled by both Christ and the Father, underscores Jesus’ deity (Colossians 1:13; Revelation 11:15). • Entry is granted by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8–9), yet genuine faith is evidenced by a transformed life (Titus 2:11–14). • Citizens of this kingdom walk in light (Ephesians 5:8–10) and eagerly await its full revelation (2 Peter 1:11). summary Ephesians 5:5 draws an unmistakable line: habitual, unrepentant immorality, impurity, or greed signal a heart still in rebellion, outside the kingdom. The verse assures us that God’s standard is unchanging, His judgment certain, and His inheritance reserved for those made new in Christ and confirmed by lives of growing holiness. |
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