Ephesians 5.12-The Reason for the Prohibition and Command in Ephesians 5.11
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday March 31, 2026
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 5:12-The Reason for the Prohibition and Command in Ephesians 5:11
Lesson # 340
Ephesians 5:12 For these unfruitful activities being practiced by them secretly are a shameful disgrace to even mention. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 5:12 is a causal clause, which presents the reason for the previous prohibition and command in Ephesians 5:11.
The prohibition required that the recipients of this letter must continue to make it their habit of not participating in the unfruitful activities produced by those who belong to the darkness who are members of unregenerate humanity.
The command required that they continue to make it their habit of exposing these unfruitful activities.
Ephesians 5:12 asserts that the unfruitful activities practiced by the unbeliever in secret are shameful even to mention in detail by the Christian.
Therefore, this indicates that the recipients of this letter must continue to make it their habit of not participating in the unfruitful activities produced by those who belong to the darkness and instead expose them “because” these activities they practice in secret are shameful even to mention in detail by members of the Christian community when speaking with each other.
In other words, these unfruitful activities are so disgusting and revolting to a holy God that it is shamefully disgraceful for a Christian to even mentioned them when speaking to each other about them.
Paul is not saying that the issue of the practice of these unfruitful activities are practiced by the non-Christian community cannot be addressed with the members of the Christian community because he has been addressing this issue in this letter and throughout Ephesians 4:17-5:11.
Thus, when he talks about “mentioning” the practice of these unfruitful activities, Paul does not want the members of the Christian community to discuss them in great detail.
The recipients of this letter would know all about these activities because prior to becoming Christians, they too practice these things, which reminds them in Ephesians 5:6-8.
There is an interpretative issue, we must address with regards to the prohibition and command in Ephesians 5:11 and the reason for them in Ephesians 5:12, namely, are they designed to govern the conduct of the members of the Christian community with regards to their interaction with the members of the non-Christian or the apostate or unfaithful members of the Christian community or both?
I believe that both the command and prohibition in Ephesians 5:11 are related to the Christian community’s interaction with the non-Christian community and thus reason for them in Ephesians 5:12 is related to this same thing.
This is indicated clearly by the preceding and following context.
First of all, this verse belongs to a section, which begins in Ephesians 5:6 and ends in Ephesians 5:14.
Ephesians 5:6 required that the recipients of this epistle continue to make it their habit to never let absolutely anyone cause any one of them to be deceived by means of words devoid of truth because these things are the reason why the one and only God’s wrath is and will be exercised for His own glory against those members of the human race characterized by disobedience.
“These things” is a reference to is the sins of sexual immorality, impurity and greediness, which are listed in Ephesians 5:5.
“Those members of the human race characterized by disobedience” is a clear reference to the non-Christian.
Ephesians 5:7 required that the recipients of this letter must continue for their own benefit to not make it their habit of conducting their lives as fellow partakers with them.
Again, Paul is speaking of believers partaking in the practice of the sins listed in Ephesians 5:6, which characterize the lifestyle of the non-Christian.
Furthermore, the light/darkness motif in Ephesians 5:8-14 is clearly presenting an emphatic contrast between the lifestyle of members of the Christian community who are characterized by spiritual light as a result of being regenerated by the Spirit at justification and the lifestyle of non-Christian.
Those belonging to the darkness of Satan’s cosmic system are characterized by sin.
Those characterized by spiritual light are of course the members of the Christian community.
Lastly, the reference to the sleeper in Ephesians 5:14 and the command for the unbeliever to rise from the dead is clearly a reference to the Holy Spirit’s appeal to the non-Christian to repent by exercising faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior.
This faith results in the Holy Spirit regenerating them so that they become enlightened children of God.
