Ephesians 5:1-6:24 So you must keep on following God's example, as dearly loved children of His,

Williams⁽ⁱ⁾ ¹ So you must keep on following God's example, as dearly loved children of His, ² and practice living in love, just as Christ loved you too and gave Himself for you as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ But sexual vice and any form of immorality or sensual greed must not so much as be mentioned among you, as that is the only course becoming in God's people; ⁴ there must be no indecency, silly talk or suggestive jesting, for they are unbecoming. There should be thanksgiving instead. ⁵ For you may be absolutely sure that no one who is sexually impure, immoral or greedy for gain (for that is idolatry) can have a part in the kingdom of Christ and God. ⁶ Stop letting anyone deceive you with groundless arguments about these things, for it is because of these very sins that God's anger comes down upon the disobedient. ⁷ So you must stop having anything to do with them. ⁸ For at one time you were darkness itself, but now in union with the Lord you are light itself. You must live like children of light, ⁹ for the product of light consists in practicing everything that is good and right and true; ¹⁰ you must approve what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹ Stop having anything to do with the profitless doings of darkness; instead you must continue to expose them. ¹² For it is disgraceful even to mention the vices practiced in secret by them; ¹³ and yet anything that is exposed by the light is made clear to them, for anything that is made clear is light. ¹⁴ So it is said: "Wake up, sleeper; get up from the dead, and Christ will make day dawn on you." ¹⁵ So you must be very careful how you live, not thoughtlessly but thoughtfully, ¹⁶ and continue to make the most of your opportunities, for the times are evil. ¹⁷ So stop becoming senseless, but understand what the Lord's will is. ¹⁸ Stop getting drunk on wine, for that means profligacy, but ever be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ and always be speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Keep on praying and praising the Lord with all your heart; ²⁰ continue giving thanks for everything to God our Father; ²¹ keep on living in subordination to one another out of reverence to Christ. ²² You married women must continue to live in subordination to your husbands, as you do to the Lord, ²³ for a husband is the head of his wife, just as Christ is the Head of the church, His body, and Saviour of it. ²⁴ Just as the church is subject to Christ, so the married women in everything must be subject to their husbands. ²⁵ You married men must love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, ²⁶ to consecrate her, after cleansing her through His word, as pictured in the water bath, ²⁷ that He might present the church to Himself as a splendid bride without a blot or wrinkle or anything like it, but to be consecrated and faultless. ²⁸ This is the way married men ought to love their wives, as they do their own bodies. The married man who loves his wife is really loving himself, ²⁹ for no one ever hates his own physical person, but he feeds and fosters it, just as Christ does the church; ³⁰ because we are parts of His body. ³¹ Therefore, a man must leave his father and mother and so perfectly unite himself to his wife that the two shall be one. ³² This is a great secret; I mean this about Christ and the church. ³³ But each one of you married men must love his wife as he loves himself, and the married woman, too, must respect her husband. ⁶ ¹ Children, obey your parents, for this is right. ² "You must honor your father and mother" -- this is the first commandment, with a promise to make it good ³ "so that you may prosper and live a long life on earth." ⁴ You parents, too, must stop exasperating your children, but continue to bring them up with the sort of education and counsel the Lord approves. ⁵ You slaves must practice obedience to your earthly masters, with reverence and awe, with sincerity of heart, as you would obey Christ, ⁶ not serving them as though they were watching you, but as true slaves of Christ, trying to carry out the will of God. ⁷ Heartily and cheerfully keep on working as slaves, as though it were for the Lord and not for men, ⁸ for you know that everyone, slave or free, will get his reward from the Lord for anything good he has done. ⁹ You slave-owners, too, must maintain the same attitude toward your slaves, and stop threatening them, for you know that their real Lord and yours is in heaven, and that He never shows partiality. ¹⁰ From now on you must grow stronger through union with the Lord and through His mighty power. ¹¹ You must put on God's full armor, so as to be able to stand up against the devil's stratagems. ¹² For our contest is not with human foes alone, but with the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark world; that is, with the spirit-forces of evil challenging us in the heavenly contest. ¹³ So you must take on God's full armor, so as to be able to take a stand in the day when evil attacks you, and, after having completely finished the contest, to hold your own. ¹⁴ Hold your position, then, with your waist encircled with the belt of truth, put on right-doing as a coat of mail, ¹⁵ and put on your feet the preparation the good news of peace supplies. ¹⁶ Besides all these, take on the shield which faith provides, for with it you will be able to put out all the fire-tipped arrows shot by the evil one, ¹⁷ take the helmet salvation provides, and take the sword the Spirit wields, which is the word of God. ¹⁸ Keep on praying in the Spirit, with every kind of prayer and entreaty, at every opportunity, be ever on the alert with perfect devotion and entreaty for all God's people, ¹⁹ and for me that a message may be given me when I open my lips, so that I may boldly make known the open secret of the good news, ²⁰ for the sake of which I am an envoy in prison: so that, when I tell it, I may speak as courageously as I ought. ²¹ That you may also know how I am, Tychicus, our dearly loved brother and a faithful minister in the Lord's service, will give you all the information; ²² that is the very reason I am sending him, to let you know how I am and to cheer your hearts. ²³ Peace to the brothers and love with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ Spiritual blessing be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.