Ephesians 5:5-7 5For you must know 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.
Paul continues his appeal to the Ephesians to stay away from certain activities that will pull them away from God and back to their old lives of ignorance of the ways of Christ. Temptation is a dangerous thing, and Christians must flee far away from their old lives. Verse 5 begins with an emphatic reminder of what the Ephesians should now. The verb is a rare perfect active (iste) followed by a present active participle of knowing (ginōskontes). The affects of this construction is that Paul is reminding the readers of what they came to know at some point in the past, namely, when they became believers (4:20-21), and what they should still know as the grow in their faith in Jesus Christ. If they fail to grow, they will remain in their ignorance, which is not excuse for the sins of the Gentiles (Romans 1:20).
What they should know is given the next clause (marked by hoti). Paul lists three more vices that reflect his earlier statement in verse 3. He repeats the words as predicate adjectives from the earlier verse, sexual immoral, impure, and coveteous. The last word is clarified as a form of idolatry. Each of these vices are the result of selfishness and disregard for God’s laws. They are the opposite of the holiness and righteousness of the new life (4:24). Paul makes this explicitly clear in the last phrase of this verse. Everyone (pas) who is involved in these activities will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and God. This statement is significant as further proof for the divinity of Christ. The kingdom belongs to both the Father and Son. Both are sovereign over this kingdom. Paul does not explain any doctrine of the Trinity here, but it is clear that this thinking was in his mind even if he did not or could not explain it.
These verses are a strong warning and call to repentance for any persons who claim to believe in Jesus but are caught up still in the old life of sin. These three vices cover all people in one way or another. Although people may not actually commit sexual immorality, it is rampant in our culture through the media. It is easy to fall into the trap of lust, as Jesus warned against in Matthew 5:27-30. Likewise, it is difficult to live a holy life when there is so much compromise around us. A little slip here and there, just “mistakes,” give an apology, and life goes on. The more this happens, the less holiness there is and the more impurity infiltrates the lives of believers and churches. Finally, coveting gets down to the root of the sin problem: idolatry. We create idols that we like and that we can control. Sadly, these same idols begin controlling us. The temptations are subtle, and we must be constantly vigilant. The answer is that we must be “washed . . . sanctified . . and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11).
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