Ephesians 5:2

Ephesians 5:2. And walk in love; since in this (chap. Ephesians 4:32) they are to be imitators of God. ‘Love' is God's characteristic (chap. Ephesians 1:4-5), and our aim (chap. Ephesians 3:17-19).

As Christ also loved you. Some authorities read ‘us,' and a few have ‘you' in both clauses, but the variation ‘you' ‘us' is the more probable reading. ‘You' here gives emphasis to the exhortation; ‘also' joins the Christian walk in love to the work of Christ among men.

And gave himself up for us. Some sup-ply ‘to death' others join ‘to God' with the verb, but it seems best to take it absolutely of Christ's self-sacrifice. ‘And' serves to explain how He ‘loved,' while ‘for us,' which in itself means' on behalf of us,' in this connection points to the vicarious work of Christ; comp. on Romans 5:6; Galatians 2:20. The pronoun ‘us' extends the thought to all Christians; the Apostle thus including himself.

An offering and a sacrifice. The former is the more general term for all offerings; the latter refers specifically to sacrificial (bloody) offerings. Here both terms explain Christ's giving up of Himself: the former including His entire work, the latter referring especially to His vicarious death.

To God. This phrase is connected by Meyer and others with ‘gave Himself up;' Stier and Braune join it with the following phrase (as in the LXX. rendering of Exodus 29:18). But Alford and Ellicott more correctly regard it as a qualification of the preceding substantives, the meaning being ‘with respect to God.'

For a savour of sweet smell. See marginal references. This phrase is rarely applied in the Old Testament to an expiatory offering (but see Leviticus 4:31). The Apostle, although speaking of the result of Christ's propitiatory work (especially of His vicarious death), refers to His self-sacrifice as a proof of His love, in order to present a motive for Christian love. Hence the expression is appropriate here. Our free-will offering of self-sacrificing love becomes acceptable to God (comp. Romans 12:1-2) through His self-sacrificing work of love, which, however, was distinct from all other work in having a real expiatory character.