This research paper by Jason Piland, submitted to Dr. Robert J. Cara for NT506 – Greek Exegesis at Reformed Theological Seminary – Charlotte, explores Paul’s moral logic in Ephesians 5:3–4 concerning sexual immorality, impurity, greed, and corrupt speech. Piland argues that Paul presents purity of speech not as a peripheral command but as essential evidence of the believer’s sanctified identity in Christ.
Through detailed grammatical and syntactical analysis, Piland shows that the prohibitions against “obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking” (aischrotēs, mōrologia, eutrapelia) are linked by their shared function of trivializing sin. Instead of sinful jesting, believers are called to thanksgiving (eucharistia), a speech act that reorients the heart toward gratitude and worship. This substitution, he argues, reveals Paul’s theology of speech as transformative: words reflect one’s participation in Christ and are instruments of moral renewal.
Piland concludes that Paul’s call for verbal holiness arises from the believer’s union with Christ and the church’s calling to embody divine light in a darkened culture. The command against corrupt speech thus extends beyond ethics to identity—it marks those who have been redeemed to use words not for impurity or mockery but for thanksgiving, edification, and the glory of God.
Course and semester: NT506 Greek Exegesis — Fall 2016
