It is not until the last two verses of today's epistle reading that the positive thrust behind the series of negative "do nots" is revealed. The driving impetus for the Ephesian Christians is to "be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us" (5:1-2).

Ephesians is dedicated to detailing how new and different life in the church as the body of Christ should be from the pagan life previously led by Gentile Christians. Ephesians celebrates the oneness in the Spirit that unifies believers and makes them into a new creation a living body with Christ as its head. This exalted vision of what the church should be leads the writer to carefully, almost painstakingly, spell out the kinds of behaviors that new Christians should exhibit to each other and to the world.

To…