The revelation in the book of Ephesians is progressive. According to this principle we would expect chapter five to be more advanced than the previous four chapters. In chapter one there is a sketch with a plan. Then in chapter two this plan is carried out, it advances in chapter three, and it comes to its development in chapter four. In this message we shall consider the progress in chapter five.
It is not easy to understand the book of Ephesians, because it was written in a very deep way. When we read this book, we need to dig into its depths in order to discover the basic elements.
Another principle is that a writer always has a basic thought within him before he writes something. This principle applies to Paul’s writing in Ephesians 5. Chapter five of Ephesians must have certain basic elements or factors. If we can find these basic factors, we shall have the key to understanding this chapter.
In the foregoing message we saw that in chapter four of Ephesians there were certain basic factors: the Body, the Body mingled with the Divine Trinity, the development in life and grace and truth. One point I did not emphasize in the previous message is that the Body mingled with the Trinity in the development of life and grace and truth is altogether for the new man. The concept of the church as the Body is found in chapter one. The issue of the divine dispensing of the Divine Trinity is the church, which is the Body of Christ, the fullness of the One who fills all in all (1:23). Hence, the first concept concerning the church in Ephesians is that of the Body. In chapter two the Body is mentioned again, and the thought of the new man is brought in. In His death on the cross, Christ abolished all of the commandments in ordinances to create a new man out of the Jews and the Gentiles (2:15). This new man in chapter two is the Body. In chapter one the thought of the Body is introduced, and in chapter two the thought of the new man is introduced. However, in chapter one the Body is not developed, and in chapter two the new man is not developed. In Ephesians 4 there is the development of the Body. In chapter four we see that the Body is mingled with the Trinity in life, grace, and truth. Eventually, in its development the Body is the new man. Therefore, the development of the Body in its being mingled with the Divine Trinity in life, grace, and truth is for the new man.
Now let us come to chapter five of Ephesians. According to the principle of progression, this chapter should be another step of advancement.
It is not easy for us to see what is in Ephesians 5 because we have layer upon layer of veils covering our spiritual eyes. No matter what our background may be, we may say that we Christians all have four layers of veils that hinder our sight. Because of these veils, we may read the Word and yet not see anything. The first veil is related to the fact that we are natural. Every living creature has a certain kind of nature. A dog has a dog’s nature, and a cat has a cat’s nature. Of course, as human beings, we have a nature that is higher than that of a dog or a cat. The human nature created by God includes an ethical element. This means that by nature we are ethical. It is according to our created human nature to do good and to be good. Even little children have in their nature the inclination or tendency to be good. When they are right, they are proud and want you to see them, but when they are wrong, they want to stay away from you. They do not want others to see that they are wrong or know that they are wrong. This indicates that by nature human beings are ethical. This comes from God’s creation. The first veil is this ethical element in our created human nature.
The second veil is culture. Every race of mankind has its culture. It is extremely difficult for us to forget our culture. Culture is a thick veil that keeps us from seeing the truth in the Bible.
The third veil is religion. Very few people have no religion at all. Christianity is a religion with many different beliefs. In a sense, every belief is a religion.
The fourth veil is also related to ethics, but to ethics that come from education and training, not to the ethics that are in man’s nature by creation. For example, the ethical teachings of Confucius have influenced people of different nationalities in the Far East. In the West people are influenced by ethics that are according to the teachings of Christianity.
Everyone has these four layers of veils: the natural makeup with its ethical element, culture, religion, and the ethics acquired through teaching or training. These four matters have become part of our constitution. This means that our being is constituted of our nature, culture, religion, and ethics.
If you are still under these four layers of veils as you read Ephesians 5, you will not be able to understand this chapter properly. You will not understand such matters as being imitators of God as beloved children or walking in love. However, if you are a wife, you may be happy to learn that Ephesians 5:25 commands husbands to love their wives. Suppose a sister has been bothered by her husband and feels that he has been rather cold toward her. While she is thinking this way about her husband, she reads chapter five of Ephesians. Although she may not understand any other verse, she may pay attention to the verse regarding husbands loving their wives. Actually, she does not receive anything from the Scriptures. Instead, she inserts her own thought into the Bible.
A brother who is a husband may do the same thing with the verse that says that wives should be subject to their own husbands. He may not pay attention to Paul’s word about husbands loving their wives, but he may be happy to read that Paul tells the wives to be subject to their own husbands.
These two illustrations show us our problem when we come to the Word. Whenever we come to the Bible, we come with our thought, concept, desire, aspiration, attitude, opinion, or understanding. All these things have their source in our nature, culture, religion, and ethics. It is difficult to find a Christian who comes to the Bible free from the influence of these four things. The Lord Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3). If we are truly poor in spirit, we shall not be occupied by our nature, culture, religion, or ethics. Then we shall come to the Word with an empty spirit, a pure heart, and a sober mind.