Please help interpret this verse in Ephesians

Ephesians 5:3 says,

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

Since I have become a believer in Christ, in my journey out of the darkness of sin and into the light of righteousness, I have committed some of these things. But I've repented and confessed to God my wrongs. What does it mean to "be named among you?" Lots of Christians struggle with immoralities and impurities and greed. So is the struggle against sin the same as "be named among you?"

Christownsme said:

Ephesians 5:3 says,

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

Since I have become a believer in Christ, in my journey out of the darkness of sin and into the light of righteousness, I have committed some of these things. But I've repented and confessed to God my wrongs. What does it mean to "be named among you?" Lots of Christians struggle with immoralities and impurities and greed. So is the struggle against sin the same as "be named among you?"

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Here is a better translation:

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

Here is an interpretation:


But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness,.... The apostle proceeds to dehort from several vices, which are unbecoming the dear children and followers of God; and which the love of Christ should constrain them to avoid: the first of these, which is simple "fornication", is the sin which is committed between single or unmarried persons; and is contrary to the law of God, is a work of the flesh, and is against a man's own body; it renders persons unfit for church communion, brings many temporal calamities upon them, and exposes them to divine wrath, and excludes from the kingdom of heaven, without repentance; and the reason why it is so often taken notice of is, because it was very frequent among the Gentiles, and not thought criminal: "all uncleanness" takes in adultery, incest, sodomy, and every unnatural lust; and "covetousness" seems not so much to design that sin which is commonly so called, namely, an immoderate desire after worldly things, as a greedy and insatiable appetite after the above lusts:
let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; that is, neither one or other of them; the sense is, that they should not be committed; so that there might be no occasion to speak of them, even though with abhorrence, as if there were no such vices in being; and much less should they be named with pleasure, and pleaded for: for thus it becomes such who are set apart by God the Father, whose sins are expiated by the blood of Christ, and whose hearts are sanctified by the Spirit of God; who profess the Gospel of Christ, and have a place and a name in God's house, better than that of sons and daughters.

Since I have become a believer in Christ, in my journey out of the darkness of sin and into the light of righteousness, I have committed some of these things. But I've repented and confessed to God my wrongs.

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It's great that you've repented, but even so, people outside the group either may not realize that, or not care. The reputation of your group could still be affected or "named".

I think Paul was talking about the effectiveness of the group's witness. The more mistakes you make, the harder it is for others to take your witness seriously. Although we will continue to make mistakes, it's important to keep them to as much of a minimum as possible for the sake of those looking on.

Very clear scripture. Much food for us all.
May our leaders in government and church send this clear message for all to follow who name the name of Jesus Christ as their Lord.

Christownsme said:

Ephesians 5:3 says,

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

Since I have become a believer in Christ, in my journey out of the darkness of sin and into the light of righteousness, I have committed some of these things. But I've repented and confessed to God my wrongs. What does it mean to "be named among you?" Lots of Christians struggle with immoralities and impurities and greed. So is the struggle against sin the same as "be named among you?"

Click to expand...

The simple answer is...keep yourself from doing these things as much as possible. That is what he is saying.

Peace!

The simple answer is...keep yourself from doing these things as much as possible. That is what he is saying.

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exactly. Now if only there was such a simple way of actually applying this advice!

Christownsme said:

Ephesians 5:3 says,

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

Lots of Christians struggle with immoralities and impurities and greed. So is the struggle against sin the same as "be named among you?"

Click to expand...

Paul just named them, so obviously he didn't mean it literally. Thus, the "as is proper among saints" qualifier. Essentially he was saying to avoid these things like the plague, because they can infect a person or a group of believers and quickly gain a stronghold. Thus, they shouldn't be named in any accepting or approving way. But it is ok to name them in order to call them out for the purpose of excising them, as he goes on to say in verse 11.

Christownsme said:

Ephesians 5:3 says,

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

Since I have become a believer in Christ, in my journey out of the darkness of sin and into the light of righteousness, I have committed some of these things. But I've repented and confessed to God my wrongs. What does it mean to "be named among you?" Lots of Christians struggle with immoralities and impurities and greed. So is the struggle against sin the same as "be named among you?"

Click to expand...

that it shouldnt be a saint that is being called out for those issues. he is saying that a good saint shouldnt struggle with those issues.. which is true but, saints do struggle..

All The Glory Belongs To God Forever!

thesunisout said:

Here is a better translation

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Just out of curiosity, why and how is that 'better'?

Bourne said:

Just out of curiosity, why and how is that 'better'?

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It is better because it is a more accurate translation. Do you see the difference between the generic "immorality" and "sexual immorality", and its connotations for "uncleaness"?

thesunisout said:

It is better because it is a more accurate translation. Do you see the difference between the generic "immorality" and "sexual immorality", and its connotations for "uncleaness"?

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As far as syntax goes, sure, but I don't glean anything from the passage that I didn't in the form it was originally posted in.

Christownsme said:

Ephesians 5:3 says,

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

Since I have become a believer in Christ, in my journey out of the darkness of sin and into the light of righteousness, I have committed some of these things. But I've repented and confessed to God my wrongs. What does it mean to "be named among you?" Lots of Christians struggle with immoralities and impurities and greed. So is the struggle against sin the same as "be named among you?"

Click to expand...

I haven't read through all of this thread yet, and I hope that I am not repeating what someone has already said.

In context, Paul is telling the saints at Ephesus "Entirely out of place is obscene, silly, and vulgar talk; but instead, let there be thanksgiving. Verse 4.

This sounds like Paul is telling them in verse 3, to keep their minds pure, and the way to do this is to not participate in vulgar talk. Not to speak about it, or listen to it.

Paul names sins so that we can know our enemy. We are at war, and he wants us to know what our enemy is. It's a spiritual conflict between the flesh and the spirit.

The Lord promised that He would not leave us as orphans. We have a helper and that helper, the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses -- Romans 8:26 -- and is on our side -- Gal 5:17.

And there is the other side of sin, and that is redemption.

Christownsme said:

Ephesians 5:3 says,

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

Since I have become a believer in Christ, in my journey out of the darkness of sin and into the light of righteousness, I have committed some of these things. But I've repented and confessed to God my wrongs. What does it mean to "be named among you?" Lots of Christians struggle with immoralities and impurities and greed. So is the struggle against sin the same as "be named among you?"

Click to expand...

Read Acts 19 it will help explain Ephesians 5:3

Christownsme said:

Ephesians 5:3 says,

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;

Since I have become a believer in Christ, in my journey out of the darkness of sin and into the light of righteousness, I have committed some of these things. But I've repented and confessed to God my wrongs. What does it mean to "be named among you?" Lots of Christians struggle with immoralities and impurities and greed. So is the struggle against sin the same as "be named among you?"

Click to expand...

If you've repented and confessed to God there is nothing left to do but to believe you are forgiven. By Paul's saying not to be named among you it means that it is not behavior becoming to Christians and if it is, it may get talked about by those outside the church.

Since it is in your past the only thing to do now is the work of God which John 6:29 says is to believe in the One God sent us, namely Jesus and His work on the Cross. Two other verses might be of help to you. The first is 1 John 1:9 and the second is 1 John 3:20.

Don't be tormented by those who say "just don't do it". If we could stop sinning on our own, our Jesus did not have to die for our sins. One of the devil's favorite trick is to get us to condemn ourselves. Those who say those kinds of things are playing along with him, though they probably don't realize it and mean well.

I had another post ready but timed out before it got posted, I think. Anyway,this one has the gist of what I was saying in the other one.

Anyway, I'm praying for you, Christownsme.