Ephesians 5:3

“But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints”

“But”:. sharp contrast, the following can never be considered as acts of love. “Fornication”: This word includes all unlawful sexual relationships, including such things as sexual relations prior to marriage (1 Corinthians 7:1), incest (1 Corinthians 5:1); prostitution (1 Corinthians 6:16); and adultery (Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9). “ Porneia is prostitution, and porne is. prostitute. Essentially porneia is the love which is bought and sold--which is not love at all. The great and basic error of this is that the person with whom such love is gratified is not really considered as. person at all, but as. thing. He or she is. mere instrument through which the demands of lust and passion are satisfied. Porneia describes the relationship in which one of the parties can be purchased as. thing is purchased, and discarded, as. thing is discarded and where there is neither union of, nor respect for, personality” (Flesh and Spirit p. 24). This means that in all sexual relationships outside of marriage someone is being “used”, and such relationships, no manner how much the world might protest, are not examples of genuine love. “The fornication and uncleanness which Paul severely prohibits were commonly regarded as matter of indifference. They were practiced and countenanced in all circles without scruple and without shame” (Erdman p. 108).

“It is certainly true that the ancient world regarded sexual immorality so lightly that it was not sin at all. It was the expected thing that. man should have. mistress. In his speech Pro Caelio Cicero pleads: ‘If there is anyone who thinks that young men should be absolutely forbidden the love of courtesans, he is indeed extremely severe, he is at variance not only with the license of what our own age allows but also with the customs and concessions of our ancestors. When indeed was this not done? When did anyone ever find fault with it? When was such permission denied? When was it that that which is now lawful was not lawful?'” (Barclay pp. 161-162). Therefore when the apostles condemned fornication they were not accommodating themselves to the political correctness of the times in which they lived, but rather they were appealing to an eternal standard of right. We need to be careful that we do not buy into the myth that remaining sexually pure prior to marriage is an impossible task. The cultural leaders who argue that teaching young people abstinence is. naive and worthless exercise are neither enlightened nor are they on the cutting edge, rather such people are simply making the same argument than heathen politicians made 2000 years ago.

“All uncleanness”: “Every kind of impurity” (TCNT). “Anything that makes. person unfit to come before the presence of God” (Boles p. 297). “Covetousness”: This includes greed, fraud and extortion. “Ruthless greed” (NEB). “Surely because they (fornication, uncleanness) are an especially degrading form of it, namely the coveting of somebody else's body for selfish gratification” (Stott pp. 191-192). Covetousness is often associated with immorality (1 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 6:9; Colossians 3:5). “The covetous man forgets his soul in favor of his desires. He satisfies or gratifies himself at the expense of others. The fornicator never gets enough gratification of his lust like other covetous men never get enough things” (Caldwell p. 231). “Unrestrained sexual greed whereby. person assumes that others exist for his or her own gratification” (Boles p. 297). This simply confirms our contention that fornication has absolutely nothing to do with love and is nothing more than extreme selfishness. “Let”: An expression including human choice in the matter. “It not even be named among you”: “The thought is, of course, not that these vices are not even to be mentioned among Christians, for Paul himself does that right here, and we must warn against them as he does (Ephesians 5:11)” (Lenski p. 596). “Does not imply. mealy-mouthed refusal to call. spade. spade, it means rather that such unholy things should not be acceptable subjects of conversation among people whom God has called to be holy” (Bruce p. 370). “Such vices are to be so far removed from us that even an intimation or. suspicion of their presence among us should not occur” (Lenski p. 596).

“The follower of Christ does not speak of them with pleasure. More importantly, he does not ever leave any impression that he practices, approves or condones such actions. Such sins are especially not named among children of God in the sense that they are guilty of them” (Caldwell p. 232). In some modern denominations, such sins are not only practiced, but they are even defended! How are we to reconcile this passage with those religious bodies that openly defend the practicing homosexual, fornicator or adulterer ?

“As becometh saints”: “As is proper among saints” (NASV). “As befits Christ's people” (TCNT), which is another way of saying that such things are "unworthy" of the Christian life (Ephesians 4:1). Despite the fact that such sins were prevalent in the culture then surrounding these Christians, God expected them to live differently. An "immoral world" or "bad environment" never can be used as an excuse for my own moral failures. “This was. high and holy standard to demand, for immorality was rife in Asia. And since the Greek goddess Artemis, Diana of the Ephesians, was regarded as. fertility goddess, sexual orgies were regularly associated with her worship” (Stott p. 192).