Ephesians 5.13a-The Secret Sinful Activities of Unregenerate Humanity Are Exposed By the Godly Lives of Believers
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Saturday April 4, 2026
Ephesians Series: Ephesians 5:13a-The Secret Sinful Activities of Unregenerate Humanity Are Exposed by the Godly Lives of Believers
Lesson # 342
Ephesians 5:12 For these unfruitful activities being practiced by them secretly are a shameful disgrace to even mention. 13 However, because each and every one of these things are being habitually exposed by those who are characterized by spiritual light, they are being habitually revealed (as sin to those characterized by spiritual darkness and disobedience) by those who are characterized by spiritual light. (Lecturer’s translation)
Ephesians 5:13 is composed of the following:
(1) causal participial clause: ta de panta elenchomena hypo tou phōtos phaneroutai (τὰ πάντα ἐλεγχόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς), “because each and every one of these things are being habitually exposed by those who are characterized by spiritual light. (Lecturer’s translation)
(2) elliptical declarative statement: phaneroutai (φανεροῦται), “they are being habitually revealed (as sin to those who are characterized by spiritual darkness and disobedience) by those who are characterized by spiritual light. (Lecturer’s translation)
The contents of Ephesians 5:13 presents a contrast with the assertion in Ephesians 5:12.
The former asserts that because each and every one of the unfruitful activities practiced secretly by unregenerate humanity are being habitually exposed by those who are characterized by spiritual light, the unfruitful activities practiced secretly by unregenerate humanity are being habitually revealed to unregenerate humanity as sin against a holy God.
On the other hand, the latter asserts that the unfruitful activities being practiced by unregenerate members of the human race secretly are a shameful disgrace to even mention.
Therefore, a comparison of these two assertions indicates that the contrast is between the practice of these unfruitful activities secretly by unregenerate humanity and these activities being habitually revealed as sin against a holy God by church age believers because they are habitually exposing them as sin against a holy God.
Now, in Ephesians 5:13, we have the same interpretative problem as we did in Ephesians 5:11 and 12.
Namely, are these verses designed to govern the conduct of the members of the Christian community with regards to their interaction with the members of the non-Christian community or the apostate or unfaithful members of the Christian community or both?
I believe that all three verses 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 you 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.
Now, the causal participial clause in this verse contains the adjective pas (πᾶς), which means “each and every one of these things without exception” because it pertains to any entity out of a totality.
In other words, it pertains to not only the totality but is also used in a distributive sense emphasizing no exceptions.
The referent of this word is identified in Ephesians 5:12 as the unfruitful activities practiced secretly by unregenerate humanity.
These activities are identified in Ephesians 5:3 as sexual immorality in the form of temple prostitution, sexual impurity of any kind, and greed.
Therefore, in Ephesians 5:13, the referent of the adjective pas (πᾶς) is each and every one of these sinful activities without exception.
As was the case in Ephesians 5:11, the verb elegchō (ἐλέγχω) here in Ephesians 5:13 means “to expose” in the sense of disclosing the sins of members of unregenerate humanity by the members of the Christian community living godly lives, which are in accordance with God’s holy standards.
In other words, by living godly lives, the members of the Christian community are disclosing the activities practiced by unregenerate humanity as sinful and opposed to a holy God.
As was the case in Ephesians 5:8 and 9, the noun phōs (φῶς) in Ephesians 5:13 in a metaphorical or figurative sense to describe a regenerate human being who has been spiritually enlightened as a result of the Father declaring them justified through faith in His one and only Son, Jesus Christ.
Specifically, it refers to the recipients of this epistle who are members of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia.
The noun phōs (φῶς) is the object of the preposition hupo (ὑπό), which functions as a marker of ultimate agency.
Thus, it identifies the members of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia as the ultimate agency who are exposing the unfruitful activities practiced secretly by the members of unregenerate members of the human race.
The passive voice of the verb elegchō (ἐλέγχω) indicates that each and every one of the sinful activities practiced by unregenerate humanity, which are mentioned in Ephesians 5:3, receive the action of being exposed by members of the Christian community living godly lives as a result of obedience to Paul’s Spirit inspired apostolic teaching.
The participle conjugation of this verb elegchō (ἐλέγχω) functions as a causal participle.
Therefore, it expresses the idea that each of these unfruitful activities practiced secretly by unregenerate humanity, which are mentioned in Ephesians 5:3, are habitually being revealed as sin to them “because” they are being “habitually” exposed as sin to them by the godly lives of members of the Gentile Christian community.
The present tense of the verb is a customary present which expresses the idea that the unfruitful activities practiced in secret by unregenerate humanity, which are mentioned in Ephesians 5:3, are being “regularly” or “habitually” exposed by the members of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia living in obedience to Paul’s Spirit inspired apostolic teaching as presented in the epistle.
This interpretation of the present tense is indicated by the present imperative conjugation of this verb in Ephesians 5:11.
Ephesians 5:11 Correspondingly, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of not participating in the unfruitful activities produced by those who belong to the darkness. In fact, on the contrary, each and every one of you as a corporate unit must continue to make it your habit of exposing them. (Lecturer’s translation)
In our study of this verse, we noted that the present imperative conjugation of the verb elegchō (ἐλέγχω) is a customary present imperative, which not only expresses the idea of the recipients of this letter “making it their habit of” exposing the unfruitful activities produced by those members of the human race who belong to Satan’s cosmic world system but also that of “continuing” to do so.
This interpretation is indicated by the fact that Paul affirms in the contents of Ephesians 4:17-24 that they were already exposing the ungodly actions of the members of the unregenerate community by living their lives as enlightened children of God.
Now, the contents of Ephesians 5:9 reveal how these unfruitful activities practiced secretly by unregenerate humanity are regularly exposed by the members of the Gentile Christian community in the Roman province of Asia.
Namely, by the fruit, which is unique to the light and produced by the light, which is a figurative reference to the fullest expression of the practice of goodness, righteousness and truth by church age believers.
This fruit is accomplished by the church age believer obeying the various Spirit inspired commands and prohibitions issued by the apostle Paul in this epistle.
This obedience would be the result of appropriating by faith their union and identification with Jesus Christ in His crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and session at the right hand of the Father.
