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Sermon preached on Ephesians 5:3-5 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 06/07/2026 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
What is proper among Christians? That’s the question our passage raises today. Verse 3 gives three examples of things that are not proper. It says that such things must not even be named among you. Verse 4 expands the list of improper things and says these also are out of place for the Christian. Verse 5 goes even further to warn that if such sins define you, then that would show that you have not yet come to be a part of Christ’s kingdom. As we study these verses, we are reminded that our Lord Jesus intends for us to live a sanctified life. Jesus is growing us to be a holy and pure people who have turned away from the sinful lusts of the world to embrace the light of life in Christ. Indeed, as born-again Christians, the Holy Spirit is cultivating such a heart inside us. May he use today’s sermon to continue his gracious work of sanctification.
We’ll study today’s message in three points, basically working through the three verses in order. First, we’ll consider verse 3 and the things it says are not even to be named. Second, we’ll consider verse 4 and the things it says are out of place. Third, we’ll consider the warning of verse 5 and how that relates to our assurance of salvation. Let’s dig in and see how God’s Word is shepherding us unto holiness today.
So then, we begin first with verse 3. It says, “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” Jesus calls us to live different than the world, and that includes forsaking these three things that are not proper for Christians. Verse 5 again repeats these same three things, so our passage opens and closes addressing these specific sins. Let’s consider each briefly.
First, sexual immorality is not proper among Christians. The Greek word is porneia. It refers to every form of sexual relations outside of marriage. To be clear, God is the one who defines marriage, and that is a covenant union between one man and one woman, until death do they part. That means fornication, adultery, cohabitation, prostitution, homosexuality, and more, are wrong. In other words, people should not be having such intimacy before they are married. They certainly should not be having such intimacy with someone else’s spouse. Neither should such intimacy be a thing bought or sold. Such intimacy within marriage is a wonderful blessing by God. Outside of marriage it is a sinful impurity.
The Bible shows how relevant it is today by the way it so emphatically speaks against sexual immorality. The Bible says this is sin, while the world so often acts like is a good thing. This is especially seen in contemporary media, where movies, television shows, books, songs, and more, too often normalize such sexual immorality. Likewise, the whole LGBTQ movement is trying to glorify sexual immorality. There is nothing new under the sun, because the Greeks back at the time of this letter to Ephesians also engaged in various forms of sexual immorality, yet in many ways also tried to normalize it too. So, the world tries to say that such immorality is proper and wholesome. But this passage disagrees, saying it is not proper among saints.
Now the second item forbidden in verse 3 is “all impurity”. Some translations have “all uncleanness”, which is a synonym for the same idea, impurity and uncleanness. In the Greek structure of this sentence, this item of impurity is closely connected with the sexual immorality. We are supposed to recognize that sexual immorality is one form of impurity. So, this verse forbids not just sexual immorality, but any and all forms of impurity and uncleanness. How common people will justify what they are doing physically with a boyfriend or girlfriend because they “didn’t go all the way”. Yet, surely that still falls under the broader category of impurity. Likewise, people might try to justify pornography, because they aren’t physically engaging in the act, yet their mind and heart is being filled with impurity and uncleanness. If anyone is tempted to try to justify their alternate forms of impurity, this is immediately countered when it says “all” impurity. This applies beyond just forms of sexual impurity. The Bible sometimes uses uncleanness to describe in broad terms our overall sinfulness. Isa. 64:6 prays, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” Likewise, Isaiah used that language to speak of his sinful speech, when he described himself as a “man of unclean lips” (6:5). This is why our baptisms show that we needed Jesus to wash us clean. Thus, there is no form of impurity that is proper anymore for we who have been washed by Christ.
Now the third item forbidden here is covetousness. To covet is to sinfully want that which belongs to someone else. It doesn’t forbid good and wholesome desires and honorable Christian ambition. But it does forbid things like greed and so loving some earthly treasure that you set your heart upon it. The tenth commandment specifically says, “You shall not covet” and gives various examples of thing you shouldn’t covet from your neighbor. For example, it says not to covet their house, their servant, and their ox or donkey. It also says not to covet their wife, which especially fits the context. Often you can see that you are coveting something if you find you are discontent because you don’t have it. Or, you might find yourself entertaining evil ways to get what you covet. If you look down at verse 5, we see an important conclusion Paul makes about such coveting. He says it becomes idolatry. When you so covet something, it becomes an idol of the heart. You began to live your life in pursuit of satisfying that idol. The thing you crave becomes your God and you serve it. But Paul says covetousness with its form of idolatry is not proper among the saints.
So then, these three things are not proper among the saints. Now, verse 3 ends by saying that these three things must not even be named among you. Now, it’s possible that Paul meant that no Christian should ever be able to be implicated in such evils, i.e. named in such crimes. Yet, the context is that Paul immediately turns in the next verse to talk about related sinful speech. Likely, that’s what he has in mind when he says these sins should not even be named. Paul doesn’t wanting us talking about such evils. Surely, he doesn’t mean that these specific sins can never be verbally uttered, because otherwise he’d be violating that right now. Rather, the idea is that these sins are so shameful and ungodly, that they are not to be a part of our casual conversation or everyday language. As an analogy, we know there are certain words you might use with your doctor in private that you wouldn’t normally just speak about casually. Paul is saying that sins of sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness are not be spoken about in casual Christian conversation in a way that would normalize them or minimize their shame.
This leads us then to our second point where Paul explains more specifically what kind of forbidden language that he has in mind. Verse 4 says, “Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.” Like how Paul said in the previous verse that certain things are not proper for the saints, here he says these three things are out of place for the Christian. I’ll comment on each briefly.
Filthiness is literally a word about something ugly. It is often used to describe that which is shameful, indecent, or dirty. The word itself doesn’t necessarily refer to speech. But given the context of the verse, it seems we are to understand this in regard to speech. Do you speak in filthy, vulgar ways? Do you speak with crass language, sexual innuendo, or in other impure ways? Any speech that glorifies sexual immorality, any impurities, or covetousness, would especially be in mind here. But this is such a broad category, that it should cause us to reflect on our speech, if any of it would be considered filthy. Paul says such filthy speech is out of place for the Christians.
Next the verse forbids foolish talk. In the Greek, this is a compound word literally meaning the talk of fools. Now, let us appreciate this word based on our current Sunday School series where we’ve been comparing the wise versus the fool. In Proverbs, the wise person is someone who is more than just academically intelligent. Likewise, the fool in Proverbs is more than just someone who wouldn’t score well on a standardized test. The speech of a fool lacks reverence for God, wisdom from above, holiness, self-control, and piety. Don’t be the fool who speaks in a godless way without restraining his tongue saying evil things and not being wise enough to recognize or even care about what you are saying. An example of this is in Job chapter 2, where his wife tells him he should just curse God and die. Job responds by rebuking her, saying, “You speak as one of the foolish women speak.” In the context of sexual immorality and impurity and covetousness, you might think of what is sometimes called “locker room talk” as a specific example of such foolish talk. So then, Paul is saying that the speech of the born-again Christian should be noticeably different than an unconverted heathen still in their sin. Talking like a fool is out of place for the Christian.
Third, the verse condemns what is translated as crude joking. This word has a sense of being witty and clever with your words, but in context is clearly used in a negative way. In the name of a joke, people can say some things they shouldn’t be saying. But, you don’t get to justify sinful speech in the name of art. When it comes to joking, it’s amazing how hard it is to find comedy today that isn’t filthy and crude. In the context of sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness, that’s especially the case that people make jokes about such things. People can also use jokes to essentially attack people verbally, but that doesn’t make it right. Witty and clever speech doesn’t mean it is righteous speech. Paul says such crude and coarse joking too is out of place for a Christian.
We’ve been seeing Paul talk about things to put off and what to put on in their place. Verse 4 ends with something to put on. Instead of all this vulgar and obscene language, it says instead let there be thanksgiving. Now, at first glance, you might wonder how thanksgiving applies here. Toward the end of this chapter, in verses 19-20, Paul will go into more detail about how we can use godly speech to edify others, and he’ll say that we need to give thanks always and for everything to God. But I think the idea of thanksgiving especially fits here when you take these two verses together. When you are contemplating sexual immorality or other forms of impurity, that you are coveting these things or even beginning to talk about them, it shows that you have discontentment in your heart. You crave things that are not yours to have, and your heart is unsettled, and maybe even ungrateful. You might even blame God that your life is not what you think you deserve. But you see, Paul says to replace all that with thankfulness. To be thankful means you need to have contentment in your heart that looks at what you have and is appreciative for it. And because you recognize God as your Father who loves you, the giver of every perfect gift, you love him and thank him. Thanksgiving is never out of place for the Christian but is quite proper for the saints. May thanksgiving always be named among us!
And so, verse 4 has drawn us to consider our heart. That leads us nicely to our third point to consider verse 5 and how its warning causes us to examine ourselves. Verse 5 says, “For you may be sure of 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.” Earlier, I said this warning also teaches us something about our assurance of salvation, which I will endeavor to explain as we work through this verse. So then, when this verse begins by saying, “You may be sure of this”, the Greek is bit more wordy, using two words for “knowing” back to back for emphasis purposes. That’s why the ESV translates it as, “You may be sure” of this. So, this verses is telling us something we can know for sure. It says, you can know that such people who are sexually immoral, or impure, or are covetous idolaters, have no inheritance in Christ’s kingdom. So when thinking about assurance, this is really the opposite side of the coin. You can be assured you are not saved if this is your identity. If you are one so defined by these sins, then you can be assured that you have not yet come to know the new life in Jesus Christ. This is a sobering warning.
Let us appreciate how this warning causes us to look to the future, to eternity. It speaks of our salvation in terms of receiving that inheritance in Christ’s kingdom. That’s not something we will fully come to enjoy until after Christ’s return. Then, in our new resurrected and glorified bodies, we’ll live together with the Lord as perfected saints in blessedness and peace as sons and daughters of God. Chapter 1 spoke about this, connecting that future with the fact that we’ve been adopted by God in Christ. That adoption is why we now have an inheritance in this divine kingdom that is coming.
Now at this point, I think it would be helpful to make sure we understand how this stern warning relates to our salvation. Ephesians has spent of a lot of this letter making us understand that we are saved by grace through faith and not of works. Remember, Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” At first glance, you might hear this warning in verse 5 and think that is contradicting what Paul already said that we are saved by grace not works. But, there is no contradiction. Putting off sins like sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness is not the way of salvation, it is a fruit of salvation. This is what was said right after Ephesians 2:8-9, saying, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” So, Paul says God saves us by grace. But Paul also says that God is sanctifying us by grace. God is changing our heart so that we are no longer defined by these former sins. God is sanctifying our soul so that we no longer desire, think, speak, or act the way we used to. True, we are still under construction. None of us will be perfected in this life. But it is one thing to struggle and fight against sin because God’s grace is at work to transform you. It is another thing to live comfortably in such sin so that you are defined by it.
This warning then and its connection with the inheritance in the kingdom makes sense of what Ephesians 1:14 says is the role of the Holy Spirit inside us. There, it says that the Holy Spirit has sealed us Christians so that the Holy Spirit is, “The guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” Connect the dots. Our warning here in verse 5 says that you can know for sure you don’t have an inheritance in the kingdom if your life is defined by these sins. You can be guaranteed that you don’t have such an inheritance. But chapter 1 said that true Christians have been given the Holy Spirit so that you can be guaranteed that you do have such an inheritance. You can know for sure that you have this inheritance if you have the Holy Spirit living inside you. Being completely defined by sin guarantees you are not saved. But having the Holy Spirit guarantees you are saved.
Now maybe that seems a bit mysterious when you first here it. What does Ephesians 1 mean when it says that the Holy Spirit is this seal that guarantees our inheritance? Maybe that statement might even make you doubt or question if you are saved, because you don’t understand it. But surely this is not meant to be as mysterious as it may sound. How do we know if we have the Holy Spirit? Well, reflect on what we’ve seen in Ephesians. Have you come to believe in Jesus, to see him as your Lord and Savior? Then that is proof that the Holy Spirit has been working in you. Likewise, have you come to see the new life that he has for you, to see the goodness of it? That is proof of the Holy Spirit living inside your heart. Have you begun to look to put off your old sinful self, and to put on Christ and his righteousness? That is the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit working in you.
So then, do you see how this helps you think about the assurance of your salvation? If your identity is still with the evil sinful living of the world, then you can know for sure you are not saved. But if you have begun to find your new identity in Christ Jesus, a born-again Christian in whom the Holy Spirit lives, then you can know for sure that you are saved. That doesn’t mean you are perfect, yet, for God is still working in us. But to see the beginning of his work is to encourage our faith. For he who began a good work in us, will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
So then, saints of God, let us apply our passage in the faith that the Holy Spirit will be working in us to grow in these areas. There is no place for sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, or idolatry in our lives. Let us not speak of such filth or even joke about it. Let us instead be people full of thanksgiving. For Jesus has changed our hearts to see the truth, goodness, and beauty of the new life he is forming within us. We look forward to knowing this in the full on the day when Christ returns to usher us into our eternal inheritance with the saints.
Amen.
Copyright © 2025 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
