Ephesians 5:6 – Deception’s Afoot

Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 

Having laid out 6 behavioral categories/speech/actions that do not belong in the life of a saint, Paul gives a warning to the reader: deception is afoot. Let’s go!

Let no man deceive. More literally, Let no one deceive you. No one. The word for ‘no man’ is (from Strong’s) ‘not even one’. It brings to mind another epistle Paul wrote, this time to the Galatians, where he declares to them that he is troubled at how quickly they are falling by the way. In Galatians 1:8-9, he declares to the church, if WE or an ANGEL or some other man declares to you a gospel different than what has been preached, let them be accursed! It is therefore safe to say that when Paul used the word ‘not even one’ he was using it intentionally, for it matters not if it be a man or angel, if it’s a different gospel than what was presented originally, then the one bringing it is accursed, and by conjunction, those who listen and follow will find themselves lost as well.

Deceive you. It is made apparent that even at this early hour of the church, there was a strong move to infiltrate the church. In this, several things are apparent. There is something/someone creating the deception. There is a motive for the deception. Things are not all as they appear.

‘All warfare is based on deception.’ wrote Sun Tzu, and such is true here. When we comprehend that there is a move to deceive, we come to the understanding that there is a present and real enemy.

To understand the nature of the threat Paul is speaking of, we need to understand how it’s manifested. Paul addresses this with the following words: with vain words. The avenue of deception that Paul is addressing (we say avenue, for we know from the words of Jesus that there will be false Messiahs as well) is that of words. It’s teaching/doctrine, but unlike what had been provided by the Lord and His apostles, these words are vain. They are empty. They have nothing to offer. The deception is that the words look good on the outside, but there is no substance to them. They do not offer truth.

The penalty that accompanies such vain words is heavy. Consider the words of the Lord Jesus to the churches of Pergamos and Thyatira in Revelations. Both churches have people in them in varying numbers who have taken on the doctrines of Jezebel and the Nicolaitans. Both these heresies were identified by their teaching that it was permissible to ‘commit fornication’ – one of the things Paul expressly mentioned did not belong to the lifestyle of a saint.

Vain words are a imitation of the Word of God. If God is truth, that is, verity. We could say, the Word of verity. That’s why when God speaks, it happens as He said, for He is the essence of existence. That’s what makes the Word of God so precious and vital to the believer, and it’s exactly why the enemy attempts to substitute the Word of truth for words of emptiness. One will bring life, the other death.

If we could understand how important words can be, then we would pay all the more attention to what is said – and so we should, for depending what words we take into our life and encapsulate into who we are, we will find the end result is determined by such words. If we take on words of truth, we will reap the fruit of such. If we take on words of emptiness, then we shall reap the fruit also.

In the context of this verse, Paul is referring back to the six things he has previously mentioned as being unholy: fornication, uncleanliness, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talk, and jesting. He wants the reader to understand these things do not belong, and to be aware that there will be efforts made by the enemy to convince one otherwise. Now Paul spells out why this is such a big deal: For because of these things, that is, the things we just listed, comes the wrath of God.

The wrath of God is not something you want to experience. If you have made God that angry, there is no hope for you. Consider the end of Israel and Judah? Where God spoke to Ezekiel in 14:14 saying, even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the land, only they would be saved. Consider in Revelations where it speaks of the coming wrath of God and the results of the vials of wrath being poured out. Suffice to say, the wrath of God is something to be avoided at all costs. As Jesus himself declared, fear Him that is able to both kill and cast into hell.

The falling wrath of God is going to fall on a specific group, it will fall upon the children of disobedience. Here again do we see a recurring theme in Ephesians 5 likening to children. In this example, however, they are children of disobedience, or more literally, children of disbelief. They have rejected what God told them, and now follow someone else. The end result? they are no longer in the image of God, they are now in the image of whatever it is that they are believing. It’s rebellion against the sovereign will of God and demands justice and judgement.

It’s important to know that the falling wrath of God is on this group – no other. This is important when we come to places such as Revelations and looking at the Tribulation. The wrath of God will not fall on the saints. As such, it eliminates certain views such as post-tribulation rapture. But that is an aside. The important and comforting truth in this is that God will separate the righteous from the wicked, and when divine judgement falls, it will not touch the righteous. We see this with Noah, Lot, Daniel and his three friends, and we will see it again in the future when Jesus returns for His church. May we be in that number!