Imitating God the Father and Son (Eph 5:15-21)

If you have your Bibles turn with me to Ephesians 5:15-21. We are going to be looking at a very important passage today, so I’m glad you are here. For its here in Eph 5:15-21 that Paul brings this subject of walking in a manner worthy of your calling that he began back in Chapter 4, to a wonderful and powerful crescendo, and the passages to come over the next several weeks truly build directly off the strong foundation off this passage that we about to study. So, I literally can’t overstate how important transitional passage is for us to both know and understand.

Now for the last several weeks in our study we have seen the apostle Paul hone in on how Christ followers are called to model a life of godliness by walking in faith and living for the glory of God. He began back in verse 1 of chapter 5, by writing, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Paul couldn’t write it any clearer, we are God’s adopted children, and we are to live out our lives in a way that reflects the self-sacrificial love of Christ and the glory of His cross.

But not only are God’s chosen children exhorted to imitate Him by walking in love they are also to walk in His Light. Last week we began our time together in verse 8, where Paul wrote, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light.” The concept of light in the Bible, as we saw last week, always emphasizes two important details: Light speaks of God’s truth and God’s holiness. Thus, to walk in the light is to live a holy and obedient life, a life that is set apart from the darkness of this world and deeply committed to both the truthfulness and obedience of God’s Word.

Paul’s argument has been crystal clear: as believers our lives are to stand out in this world. We are to be radically different in our language, in our actions and reactions, in our attitudes, our humor, our honesty, and integrity. At all times, we are to model godliness. Whether we are in our home, at work, in traffic, or at the supermarket our lives should stand out and reflect the amazing love and wonderful light of God.

But Paul doesn’t stop there. For those two ways in which we are to model godliness are simply not comprehensive enough to successfully imitate Him. Therefore, he adds two more ways in which we are to reflect His glory. That’s where our text picks up today, so will you join me in verse 15 of chapter 5, and we will read to verse 21 (READ)…

PRAY

The first thing I want you to see from this text this morning is this…

1) God’s children are to imitate God by walking in wisdom (vs. 15-17).

When we think about the attributes of God, we should certainly recall that God is all wise, meaning His wisdom is unsearchable, infinite, and has no end. He alone has a perfect knowledge, and because of that fact, we can trust that He does all things well. Just think of that for a second… God has never thought, oops… if forgot to that. I meant to something and it slipped my mind. No, He does all things well, because His is all wise.

What a magnificent thought to consider. We rarely slow down to think about God’s wisdom do we. I mean love to think and sing about God’s love, holiness, and truth. But here, Paul reminds us that God is also perfectly wise, and one of the ways we are to imitate our great God is by walking in His wisdom. That is what the apostle says in verse 15. “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise.”

Now, if you are anything like me, you might be a little caught off guard by this. I mean, I’m just a simple boy from the sticks, who doesn’t even know his parent’s phone numbers anymore? I just push a button on a phone with their picture next to it. Listen, if it wasn’t for how to how to videos on youtube videos my life would be a complete mess! And God wants people like that to reflect His wisdom? What on earth is God asking us to do with this command?

Well, obviously Paul explains what God desires here in this text, but also back up with me for just a second to Eph. 4. Because Paul has already been prepping us for this command. I want to pick up here in verse 17, and as I read this, pay attention to all the references to intellect and knowledge in these verses. Verse 17 reads… “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you didn’t learn Christ is this way.” (What a powerful word! He didn’t say that’s not the way you feel in love with Christ, no that is not the way you learned Christ)… Paul continues, “if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you being renewed in the spirit of the mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.”

Paul is saying you have been adopted, redeemed, forgiven, and transformed by God, you have learned Christ, and you are now in Him and united with Him. And this saving knowledge of the gospel of our Lord is by nature a transforming knowledge. And that is a key difference from the knowledge of God and the knowledge of this world. The knowledge of this world doesn’t necessarily change the way you live your life, but the saving knowledge of God, the great wisdom of God, transforms everyone who truly understands the gospel. Therefore God’s children, who are empowered by indwelling of the Holy Spirit, strongly desire to strip off the old sinful and selfish ways of life, and put on Christ, who is the very wisdom of God in flesh. They strive to know Christ their Savior, and God their Father through the Scriptures for they long to be like Him in all things.

Well back to Ephesians 5, for Paul very practically explains to his audience how they are to walk in wisdom. How rather simple people like you and me can model such godliness. Notice the apostle lists three ways in which we are to walk wisely as believers…

First of all, we are to walk in wisdom cautiously. That’s how Paul began this point, by saying “be careful how you walk, not as unwise men.” We are to be very careful to how we live out our faith. Listen, as children of light who have been redeemed from the darkness, we are to be very well aware of the dangers than loom in this dark world. We understand how dangerous sin is and how devastating the effects of evil choices are to us. Therefore, as believers we are to give rigorous, wise, continual examination to our mind, our heart, and behavior, knowing that the darkness can always find a way into our lives, and destroy their fellowship with God and one another.

Paul doubles down on this point by writing, “don’t walk as unwise men.” In other words, don’t be foolish with your life. The wisdom literature of the Bible repeatedly affirms that there are only two categories of people: there are those who are wise and those who are foolish. This is made very clear in the wisdom literature section of the Bible… Psalm 14:1 reeads The foolish are those who say “in his heart, ‘There is no God,’” and thus they live in their sin doing“abominable deeds.” (PSALM 14:1). The fool is the person who lives apart from God. They live as practical atheists, though they may never say they don’t believe in the Lord, their actions will certainly speak more clearly than their confession.

Listen, every man is born a fool.We all are. 1 Corinthians 2:14 reads… “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” Apart from Christ, we have the most important things in life reversed. Thus, to the world foolishness is wisdom and wisdom is foolishness.

Church, the only power that can overcome the foolishness of man is the saving grace of God. God alone can make man wise. It is not something we do on our own, it is the work of God alone. Only He can turn the heart and mind of man or woman from sin and self to God. Proverbs 1:7 says, “Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord,” and only the Lord can stir a heart our hearts to fear Him.

Church, it is so important for us to understand that wise people are not necessarily the smartest people in the room. Instead, wise people are those who fear God, take God at His Word, and carefully seek to live according to His will. That is the simple biblical definition of a wise person.

Jesus made this very clear in Matthew 7, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, where he gave a powerful yet short parable. Just listen to familiar words of Matthew 7:24-27… “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”Oh, how costly it is to live a foolish life. We must be cautious, walk carefully, live wisely, listen and act upon His Word.

Secondly, we are to walk in wisdom diligently. A wise person’s life is marked and characterized by diligence. Verse 16 says “making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” Wise people make the best use of their time. They take full advantage of every opportunity that comes their way.

This phrase in your Bible “making the most” in the original Greek language is one word that literally means “to recover from the power of another by paying a price.” The idea here is that God has allotted each one of us some time and opportunity. He’s given us opportunity to live in His world and to bring Him glory.

You know the older I get, the more I realize that time is precious, it’s a priceless gift of God. And once a moment is gone, it’s gone for good. And there is no one knows how much precious time they have left. Therefore, Paul recognizes that we need to redeem this time, we have to buy it back and make an investment into it…. You see, redeeming the time is going to cost you. You are going to have to give somethings up, so that we can make the most of every opportunity that comes your way. Paul is saying you are going to have to walk away from things that right now are consume your time, things that your selfish heart loves dearly. Listen, you have no idea how many opportunities are left, but God does. And as followers of Christ, we are to redeem the time, buy it up, and devote it wholeheartedly to the Lord. Stop wasting your time!

Notice too, the placement of these specific words, as the apostle pleads with believers to make the most of their time, immediately after he urges them to walk wisely rather than foolishly. Why? because aside from purposeful disobedience to God, the most foolish thing we can do as a Christian is not make the most of our time. Let that one sink in folks, because oh we are quite good at wasting time are we not? As a culture, we are rather lazy, self-centered, and self-focused and so habitually we simply do what we want to do, which is usually very little for the glory of God or the benefit of another.

I literally could spend the next hour, making a list of ways we tend to selfishly waste our time. From scrolling through social media sites on our phones, to browsing the web, playing video games for countless hours, reading books for our personal entertainment, and watching nothing good on tv.

Those are easy and common ways we waste time for sure. But God says the wise man makes the most of every opportunity to glorify Him, why? notice what the text says, because “the days are evil.” This phrase refers to the idea of “this present evil age,” in which we currently live and breathe. And until the Lord returns, our world will continue to embrace foolishness and evil, it will continue to grow darker and darker. Therefore, now is the time for all those who believe to redeem the time out of its slavery to evil and make the most of every opportunity to honor the Lord Jesus Christ.

Probably the greatest preacher and theologian who ever lived in America was Jonathan Edwards. He ministered here in Massachusetts and God used him greatly during a period of time in our history known as the Great Awakening. He once preached a sermon entitled “The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It”. And after Edwards shared with his listeners the priceless value of time, he spoke of a person on their deathbed, and at their deathbed this person would not be saying I want to talk about my regrets, nor I want to talk about all I accomplished, but rather all they wanted to talk about is how they wished they had more time. And then he pressed deeper into that illustration and said if you were able to visit the depths of hell, and listen to those who are eternally damned, they will not boast of their accomplishments and achievements in the world, but instead they will plead, “please God give me more time so I would believe, trust in Christ, and live for Him.” But it’s too late for them, the fate of their eternity has been sealed, but oh my friend it’s not too late for you today, to make the best use of your time and turn to Christ for salvation and eternal life, nor is it too late to begin living for Him and enjoy an abundant life.

Lastly under this first point, we are to walk in wisdom not just cautiously, and diligently, but also discerningly. Verse 17, Paul wrote, “So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” A wise believer wants to understand and know the will of the Lord. Now, unfortunately, few Christians truly understand the will of the Lord. To many it’s just a mystery, a spiritual riddle that we are to unravel. And so when these believers discuss the will of the Lord, their minds are often flooded with questions like, which college am I supposed to attend, who am I to marry, what career should I pursue, what city should I live, should we have child at this time? Too often we place all our weight on those things, we stress over them, pray over them, and we wrestle with God’s will. Church family, the Bible never places those important considerations within the category of God’s will.

You need to understand that Bible only speaks of the will of God in two ways. First, there is the revealed will of God. His Holy Word which contains perfect and sufficient guidelines for knowing and doing that which is pleasing to Him. If you want to know God’s will for your life, read the Scriptures, study them often, hide its truth within your heart, and live according to His Word through obedience. That is God’s will for your life!

The second way the Bible speaks of God’s will, is known as the sovereign will of God. This is the Romans 8:28 and 29 understanding of His will, where we are promised, that the all-sovereign and providential God of the universe is working behind the scenes of your seemingly chaotic world, working all the countless details together for the good and sanctification of those who love Him and know Him.

And church family that’s it. There is the revealed will and sovereign will of God. There is no mysterious will of God. And you say, but… but… but… how do I know how I am to make this big decison, what if I get it wrong and marry the wrong person or go to the wrong college, or take the wrong job? God’s answer is that simply use wisdom. Read the word, follow its guidelines, and seek the counsel of mature believers who can help you make the wisest decision by filtering your thoughts through the Word for both you and your family. Then you simply make a wise decision and trust that God will sovereignly put you exactly where you need to be.

Proverbs 3:5-6 explains it well, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and will make your paths straight.” Wise believers walk in wisdom by discerning and obeying God’s will for their lives.

My fellow Christians, we are to imitate our wise Father as adopted Children by walking in wisdom, and we do so cautiously, diligently, and discerningly. That’s Paul’s first point in this passage of scripture, His second point is equally heavy and is this…

2) God’s children are to imitate Christ by being filled with the Spirit (vs. 18-21).

Paul writes in verse 18… “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit.” Grammatically, there are two commands in this verse: 1) Don’t get drunk with wine or anything else that will make you intoxicated… and 2) be filled with the Holy Spirit. Interestingly, there is somewhat of a connection between these two polar opposite activities in which Paul makes a comparison. And perhaps you’re thinking what on earth does one have to do with the other, what is the similarity? Well, most of us in this room have seen someone who is intoxicated, someone who has filled themselves with something that has made them drunk. Such people will often say things they would normally not say, and they do things they would normally not do, because they are under the influence of on external substance that they welcomed into their body.

And in comparison, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, and His influence, then guess what? You will also say things you would normally not say and do things you would normally not do, why? Again, because there is an external power inside of your, governing you, and leading you. And just as if a drunk person wants to keep drunk, they must keep drinking and welcoming a powerful and influential substance into their body, so too to be filled the Spirit, requires believers to keep feeding themselves the Word of God so that they may be filled with the powerful and influential Spirit of God.

Interestingly, the apostle says, “don’t get drunk with wine for that is dissipation”, that word dissipation, is rarely used today, and its unfamiliar to most of us, but literally it refers “that which is unable to be saved.” It was a term used of a person who is hopelessly or incurably sick. It’s a word that also speaks of self-destruction, loose, reckless living, and being completely out of control without any hope. Jesus used this exact word to describe the prodigal son. And here, Paul is saying don’t get drunk with wine, because you lose all control of your life, and do and say things that you will surely regret.

But we must careful not to take this comparison that Paul presents too far. Because, listed among the fruit of Spirit in Galatians 5, is the word “self-control.” Listen church, to be filled with the Spirit never implies being out of control. Sadly, many of you have seen videos of churches or even been to one where those attending are quote, “filled with the Spirit,” but yet, they have little to any control of themselves. I’ve seen people literally sprinting around a sanctuary, some are babbling unknown/ made up languages, with others are shaking uncontrollably, and falling down as they claim to be slain by the Spirit. Such uncontrollable events, my friends, cannot the work of the Spirit whose fruit is self-control.

We know this because we can look to Jesus in the Scripture. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. And He never demonstrated such activity, then why should we? You see, the Scripture is clear, Jesus was controlled by the Holy Spirit, and thus He modeled a Spirit-filled life for us. In Matthew 4:1 we see this, it reads, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” The parallel in Mark 1:12 is even stronger, “Immediately, (it reads) the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.” Jesus submitted Himself entirely to the Spirit’s control. He was both the most Spirit-filled, and Spirit-led man that ever lived. Therefore, Jesus never had to be coerced to do the Father’s will. No it was His greatest joy to follow the Spirit’s guidance in all things. And if we desire to be Christlike and model Godliness, then we too must be filled with the Spirit and submit to His leading.

Now, in case you’re wondering what it means to be filled with Spirit, or what does a Spirit-filled life look like, thankfully, Paul answers those questions in the following verses, but I also believe Paul clarifies what he means in Ephesians 5:18 with the parallel passage found in Colossians 3:16-17… “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

Notice the similarities in the differences between two passages. Both speak of singing songs and being thankful. Both use similar terminology but notice the different wording. In Ephesians, he writes, “Be filled with the Spirit,” but in Colossians, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you.” Folks, these are not two separate unique commands, but rather they are one in the same. You see to be filled with the Spirit, is to let the word of Christ indwell and infuse every part of being. Therefore, to be filled with God’s Spirit, is to be filled with His Word. Not the word of a pastor, or the word of a man of God, or some self proclaimed apostle or prophet. No, you need God’s Word. And as His Word fills our life, it begins to control our thoughts, our words, and our actions. The Spirit of God and the Word of God always work together to empower us to model Godliness and live for His glory.

Well, after he commands to be filled with the Spirit, the apostle Paul details what a Spirit-filled life looks. He gives three specific examples, three characteristics of a Spirit-filled and Word infused Christian.

a) Spirit-filled people practice godly communication. When the Word of Christ dwells in us richly, we will naturally encourage and strengthen the faith of other believers with our words. Notice what Paul wrote in verse 19… (be filled with the Spirit,) “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.”

Paul begins with Christian fellowship, with our communication with other believers. And interestingly, he says we are to speak to one another with godly music. Now, Paul certainly doesn’t mean we are to live our lives as if we are part of an opera, where we literally sing to one another instead of talking. However, I do think he is saying that God honoring music should fill the life of a Christ follower. And all our conversations should be harmonious in nature, giving grace to one, and uplifting. There is perhaps no more powerful and moving form of communication than music, is there? and Paul argues, that is how we are to converse with one another.

Notice he also says we are to speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Instead, I think Paul used these three terms to say that our lives should overflow with God’s music. That our communication with one another should be Christ-centered and God honoring at all times.

But of course, Paul doesn’t stop there. He adds, “sing and make music from your heart to the Lord.” Listen, a spirit filled Christian is a singing Christian. It doesn’t matter at all if you have a wonderful voice or are tone deaf, a Word filled Christian will sing praises from His heart to the Lord, and that praise then overflows into his and her communication with others. In just a moment from now, we will sing one last song together, and as we do, I pray you will sing to the Lord with a heart of praise, and at the same time, I hope you will sing God’s truth to one another. When we sing, we need to realize that we are communicating both vertically and horizontally gospel truth. Truth that we greatly need to be reminded of and hear from one another, and truth we must sing in praise back to God. A Spirit-filled person communicates with godly communication.

b) Spirit-filled people display a grateful heart. They are thankful for everything. Look again to verse 20. Paul writes that spirit-filled people are “always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father.” Because their hearts are filled with praise and gratitude, a Spirit-filled person will rarely grumble, seldom complain, or display a negative sour spirit. Instead, their hearts are thankful in all circumstances. They give humble thanks for all things, for both the good times, and the difficult seasons of life. A very smart man named C.S. Lewis once wrote, “We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility, and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country.”

Brothers and sisters, we are to be thankful! Thankful to God the Creator and sustainer of all things who continuously pours out blessings upon His Children. Understand church, that we can give thanks always and for all things because no matter what happens to us in our crazy world, it will not only turn out for our ultimate blessing but more importantly, for His ultimate glory. Thus, we give thanks in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, because all things in the end, will glorify and exalt His name.

Over the last several years, as I read through the Bible, my eyes have been open to this reoccurring theme of thanksgiving. It appears on almost every page of the Bible, either in the form of command or by example. Therefore, if the Word of Christ dwelling in us and we Spirit-filled, our hearts will naturally burst forth praise and gratitude. Does your heart do that? Do find yourself amazed over God’s goodness, even when life is hard, do you find ways to express praise? Well, Paul ends this section of Scripture with sharing one more characteristic of a person who allows the Word of Christ to dwell richly within them.

c. Spirit-filled people have a submissive spirit. It should not be surprising that the filling and control of the Holy Spirit will lead us to display a spirit of humility. It will form a spirit within us that desires to seek the good and welfare of others before our own. When we are Spirit filled we become mutually submissive. Therefore, Paul calls us in verse 21 to “be submissive to one another in the fear of Christ.”

Notice that the key to our submission is profound, reverent submission to Christ. You see, we submit to another, not because they are worthy, but we do so because of Christ. Who modeled perfect humility and submission. If your Bible is still open, just turn the page and you find yourself in Philippians 2, there the apostle wrote these sacred and familiar words, starting in verse 3... “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

On Calvary, the Lord Jesus Christ humbly submitted Himself to the Father’s will. He considered our need far greater than His own comfort. And there the only sinless and righteous man bled and died for our sins. There on the cross Jesus endured the wrath of God in our place so that only through faith and repentance, we can on one glorious day stand before a Holy God in judgement, redeemed by the blood, forgiven by His sacrifice, and clothed in Christ’s spotless righteousness. All because He submitted His life as a perfect sacrifice to God for us. Have you, my friend, placed your faith in Him? Have you begun a lifestyle of turning away from your sinful and selfish ways? Oh, the grace that awaits those who recognize Him as Lord and submit to His ways. Church, spirit-filled believers who have Word of Christ dwelling within them, submit to one another.

This morning as we come to the close of our service, I think I it’s appropriate that we search our hearts before this passage of Scripture. That we ask ourselves some hard questions: Will do you me a favor and just close your eyes and search your heart as I ask you to think about these questions… Do you model godliness? Do you walk wisely? Do you make the most of your time? Do you understand the will of God and live to bring Him glory in all things? Are you filled with Spirit? Does His Word dwell richly within you? Do you have a song in your heart that rises to heaven and overflows in your conversations with others? Are you a person who is truly thankful for all things? And lastly, do you submit to others in awe of the Lamb of God who was slain for you? How do you this morning need to respond to the Word of God? Pray with me, and then let us worship through one song one time together.

KSW