Redeem The Time
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15 See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
We started looking at this section a couple of weeks ago on walking circumspectly or carefully not as fools but as wise because the days are evil. Or the days are dark. There is a great blindness over the world and is is becoming more and more evident. People are walking in darkness which is foolish.
21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
This is the wrath of God revealed against the ungodliness of men that because having the truth they have suppressed the truth, They have exchanged the truth for a lie, so God’s judgement is that they are in darkness. You don’t want truth then you will not have truth. So there foolish heart are darkened and truth is obscured even more and with all their learning and education even the scholars become fools, unable to see simple plan truth when it is right in front of them.
But Paul is warning us, believers, to not be fools. Can God’s people who are children of the light walk in darkness? Can we also become fools? Certainly! That is why Paul tell us in vs 8 You are children of the light so walk as children of the light.
The church is under threat. The days are evil and dark and there is immense pressure on Christians to conform to the foolish thinking of this world. But do not be conformed rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind. And understand what the will of the Lord is.
A couple of weeks ago you may have notice I skipped over an important part of vs 16. Not because it was unimportant but because I felt it needed more time for us to unpack.
Ephesians 5:16 (NKJV)
16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Redeeming the Time
Redeeming the Time
To redeem means to pay the ransom or rescue from being loss.
Time is precious. We are only given so much of it and with every moment that passes we have less of it. We can’t stop time, we can’t slow down time. It moves at a continuous and steady rate. Once a moment is gone you can not use it and before a moment arrives you can do nothing with it. We can only make use of each moment in the moment. So to redeem the time is to rescue each moment in the moment from being lost or wasted. So the question then is what is a moment redeem and what is a moment wasted.
I think our tendency a people who live is a work and productivity base society is to think of a wasting time as time spent not working and earning. But I don’t think thats the idea that Paul has in mind here.
He says
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Then he says
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
So here I believe is the heart of what Paul means by redeeming the time.
Be Filled With the Spirit
Be Filled With the Spirit
First the negative “do not be drunk with wine which is dissipation or literally riotousness unsavedness.
Paul seems to contrast being drunk with being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Perhaps this is due to the worship of the Greek god of Dionysus who was the god of wine. In worship of this god the Gentiles would get drunk and they believed that the spirit of Dionysus would possess them and control them.
drunkenness causes a person to be out of control, losing your inhibitions which leads to debauchery, addictions and bondage to sin which we ultimately be a sad and total loss of time. The days are evil and dark and as Christians we can not afford to waist our lives with drunkenness.
So how do we redeem the time?
But be filled with the Spirit.
If we forget Christian lingo for a moment it seems very strange for Paul to say be filled with the Spirit.
He told us in Eph 1:13
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
Elsewhere Paul talks about the Holy Spirit indwelling us
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
But if the Holy Spirit dwells in us then what is meant by be filled with the Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit something we receive in parts? Can a person have some of the Holy Spirit but not all of the Holy Spirit?
It’s clear from the passages that we have just read that all believers have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.
First the Holy Spirit is not something He is someone. God is three Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and these three are one. This is one of the most basic of the Christian confessions and is clearly taught in the scriptures even though it is perhaps the most difficult for us to comprehend.
However the Holy Spirit is God so the teaching of Paul is that God indwells those who believe in Christ. God is not separated into parts so you can not have some of the Holy Spirit. You either have the Holy Spirit indwelling you or you don’t
So to be filled with the Holy Spirit is to have more of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit rather than God indwelling you more.
So the question should really be how can we have more of the Holy Spirit manifest in our life?
The command is to be filled with the Spirit but to be filled is a passive verb. It’s not so much something that we do as it is something we receive. We must be prepared to be filled.
We can pray.
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—
19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
So faith is key to being filled with the Spirit
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch,
23 When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord.
24 For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
If you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour you have the fullness of God dwelling in you. That is the power of God in you. God doesn’t give us a bit of His power. He does not separate some of His power and give it to us just as He doesn’t separate some of the Spirit and give us a portion. The Spirit of God and therefore the fullness of the omnipotent God dwells in you. How much you experience that power depends on you abiding in Christ and having your faith increased. As you grow in faith you grow in the fullness of the Spirit.
What does the power of the Holy Spirit do in us?
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Redeem the time for the day are evil
Don’t waste anymore time not not living a Spirit filled life.