Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Sermon text with /italics/ and *bold* and John 3:16 and [[v.

20|bible:Eph]].

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Literary Context:

The immediate context of Ephesians 5.15-33 falls within the second half of Ephesians, acting as a transitional passage, the culmination of the numerous number of imperatives Paul uses beginning at Ephesians 4.25.

From [[5.15|bible:Eph5.15]]

on, Paul's focus in wise walking (living), that is walking in a manner directly related to the transformation of the previous verses.

Verse [[5.15|bible:Eph5.15]] is Paul's final use of pe??pat?? in Ephesians.

It is the last of five uses of the word in the second half the book beginning at [[4.1|bible:Eph4.1]],

"I exhort you all, therefore, bound in the Lord, to walk worthily of the calling to which you all were called"; [[4.17|bible:Eph4.17]],

"This, therefore, I say and implore in the Lord, that you never again walk as the Gentiles walk in futility of their minds"; [[5.1-2|bible:Eph5.1-2]],

"Be, therefore immitators of God just as His beloved children and you must walk in love, just as Christ also love us and gave himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God, a fragrant aroma"; [[5.8|bible:Eph5.8]],

"For you all were once darkness, but now light in the Lord, you all must walk as children of light."

These five occurances of pe??pat?? for their referent depend upon Ephesians 2.8-10.

The believer is saved by grace through faith.

Though salvation is not by works, God has prepared in advance good works that believers might walk in them.

And yet, Paul exhorts the Ephesians and commands them with imperatives to walk.

Paul intentionally chose, "walk," as his metaphor for life and behavior in the book because the image of walking fits with his theology of good works.

The believer does not do good works or work good, rather he simply walks.

Walking is an action that comes naturally to people.

It just happens.

Walking is a normal and natural as breathing.

This is one serious flaw in dynamic equivanlent translations and a few semi-literal translations which translate, pe??pat?? as "live" instead of "walk."

These translations cause the reader to miss out on the simplicity of Paul's command.

Living is viewed as a hard and challenging activity, requiring strain, focus and work, things which Paul seems to have been seeking to avoid.

Louw and Nide list twenty four synonyms for behavior and conduct in their lexicon, but Paul chose pe??pat?? specifically to be a thematic word for Ephesians.

Clearly his emphasis is not doing, but being.

The following occurances of pe??pat?? in Ephesians flow from Ephesians 2.10.

In [[4.1|bible:Eph4.1]] and [[4.17|bible:Eph4.17]].

Paul describes two manners of walking.

One follows is a call to walk in a worthy manner of God's calling and the other of the former life as unbelievers.

The choice is clear.

Only one of these paths fits the picture of [[2.10|bible:Eph2.10]].

Walk worthily in the manner you have been called, in the good works God has prepared beforehand that you might walk in them.

The next three uses acts a examples of how the believer ought to walk.

The believer is to walk in love, as children of light, and as wise.

This entire passage continually builds, each imperative building upon the foundation of the previous.

So that by the time Paul readings arrive at [[5.15ff|bible:Eph5.15]], he give his audience twenty-two imperatives in 17 separate verses.

In the verses coming up to the household codes the imperative is used five more times.

But what is most interesting is that there are only two more uses of the imperative mood in the rest of chapter five, both directed toward the husband and both are the same verb, "a?apa?." Which is nothing new or at all limited to only the husband.

As mentioned above, the entire body is commanded to walk in love ([[5.2|bible:Eph5.2]]).

The passage, [[5.15-33|bible:Eph5.15-33]], also has some distinct linguistic elements connecting it to the rest of the book as well, both in vocabulary and syntax.

The first of these appears in the the occurance of "????µa" in [[5.17|bible:Eph5.17]],

one of seven occurances.

The significance of the repetition will be discussed at length in the exegesis.

In [[5.2|bible:Eph5.2]],

"?a? pe??pate?te ?? ???p?, ?a??? ?a? ?

???st?? ???p?se? ?µ?? ?a? pa??d??e? ?a?t?? ?p?? ?µ??" is repeated again in the passage with "?? ??d?e?, ??ap?te t?? ???a??a?, ?a??? ?a? ?

???st?? ???p?se? t?? ?????s?a? ?a? ?a?t?? pa??d??e? ?p?? a?t??" in [[5.25|bible:Eph5.25]]

The direct connection discussed above is rather evident.

All believers are called to walk in love just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself for us and the same manner, the husbands are commanded to love just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.

Condering the already blurred distinctions between family life and church life, these parallel statements affirm the context of the household codes to essentially be an extension of the life and activities of the church or perhaps a specific example and application of Paul's words above to individual relationships.

The third linguistic connection between [[5.15-33|bible:Eph5.15]] and the rest of the book is Paul's repetition of another theme: that of two becoming one found in [[5.31|bible:Eph5.31]].

This is a concept Paul introduces in chapter two of Ephesians referring to the Jews and Gentiles and is directly expressed in [[2.15|bible:Eph215]].

Paul's intentions of chapters two and three deal most specifically with the reconciliation between the Jews and the Gentiles.

Thus within this potential parallel, the question arises whether the same concept is the theme of Paul's so called "household codes."

I would argue that it is for sevenal reasons.

The words themselves contain multiple similarities and more specifically, the concept of making one out of two, "and the two will be one flesh" / "so that He might create two into one new man, making peace."

One might argue against the parallel on the grounds that Paul is quoting Genesis in [[5.31|bible:Eph5.31]],

but who is to day that Paul did not either already have Genesis 2 in mind when (or even before) he was writing the beginning of Ephesians or that the concept of two being made one was in his mind already concerning both sets of relationships before he thought of using Genesis 2 to add weight to his argument.

This second reason for the connection between the verses also strengthens my argument concerning Genesis as well.

Paul immediately states that the mystery of two becoming one speaks of Christ and the church.

Yes, Paul is talking about marriage in these verses, but the passage still continues the theme of the church of chapters two and three.

These verses are utterly connected because of Paul's use of the word mystery in verse [[32|bible:Eph5.32]],

for in chapters two and three, he names the mystery of the gospel as being that the Gentiles with the Jews are fellow heirs and partakes of the promise in Jesus (Eph 3.4-6).

From a social perspective, it is only logical that Paul would write about reconciliation between husbands and wives as a specific example of his words in the first half of the book.

According to the information in the cultural section.

The marriage relationship and the expectations for the wife all completely benefitted the husband.

Husbands did not love their wives necessarily, marriage was for procreation, not love and the correction of the marriage relationship brings reconciliation.

Just and Jews and Gentiles have reconciliation and unity in the church through love, husbands and wives also find untily and reconciliation through love.

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Exegesis:

!! Ephesians 5.15-17

([[15|bible:Eph5.15]]Watch,

therefore, carefully how you all walk, not as fools but as wise, ([[16|bible:Eph5.16]]

[and as a result] making the most of the time because the days are evil.

([[17|bible:Eph5.17]])

Because of this, do not be foolish, but understand the will of God.

([[15|bible:Eph5.15]])

Verse fifteen begins with a command, ß?epete, followed by ???.

BDAG speaks of ???with an imperative as having intensive and inferential force.

Interestingly enough, the previous commands of the preceding section each have a "???" as well.

While, Paul might have simply used the particle to merely introduce result, "so, therefore, consequently, accordingly, then..." The seriousness of his content (the reconciliation of chapters 2-3, the tearing down of the walls of hostility) in the previous passage and the passion with which he prayed in [[3.14-20|bible:Eph3.14-20]]

suggests that the sense of "???" in [[5.15|bible:Eph5.15]]

and with the previous imperatives is more forceful than merely inferential.

Paul connects with ß?epete the adverb, "a???ß??," glossed as precision or exactness, [["with focus on careful attention."|text:William

Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed.

(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).

39.]]

William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed.

(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).

39.

Such an adverb used directly after "???" and describing ß?epete also seems to necessitate that the force of Paul's statement should be as if it is capitalize.

"WATCH, THEREFORE, CAREFULLY how you all walk, not as fools but as wise."

Paul is still talking to the church as a whole.

Walking is used figuratively to refer to the life and behavior of the believers, both on an individual and corporate level.

His command stands in contrast to the previous verse in which the sleeper is called to wake.

Instead of sleeping, during which a person has his eyes closed, ß?epete!

Do not sleep, keep you eyes open and walk not as fools, but as wise.

A textual issue exists in verse fifteen concerning whether a???ß?? modifies "watch" or "walk."

The case for both externally could go either way.

The context of the passage, particularly with the contrast of sleeping and watching in the verses [[14-15|Bible:Eph5.14-15]]

suggests that the adverb should go with the imperative, "watch."