Instructions on Holy Living - Part 2 (5:15-21)

Introduction:

We took a break from our Ephesians study during our Christmas advent series, but are now ready to dive back into this glorious book. We left off, if you remember, with part one of Instructions on Holy Living from Ephesians 5:3-14, and were remind of all that this new life of walking in love, does not include. In fact, we saw that a life contrary to one of walking in love is a life of someone who is not a part of God’s kingdom. We saw this clearly in verse 8 of chapter 5:

Ephesians 5:8 ESV

8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light

This morning, in Instructions on Holy Living - Part 2, we will see that Holy living is one that is constantly filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, and the evidence of this is submission to one another. Se lets turn in our bibles to Ephesians 5:15-21.

Text: Ephesians 5:15-21

Ephesians 5:15–21 ESV

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Main Idea: Since we are commanded as God’s people to take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, we must therefore yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s control, allowing us to walk in the light as wise, exposed fruit bearers.

I. It Matters How We Walk (15-16)

The unwise are those who, having no insight into things that pertain to God and salvation, are not aiming to reach the highest goal and therefore do not know and do not even care to know what are the best means to reach it. They regard as very important what is in reality of minor value or may even be harmful, and they do not appreciate what is indispensable. They conduct themselves accordingly. Those who are wise, on the other hand, have the proper insight and walk in harmony with it. They also make a judicious use of their time.

A. Walk Wisely (15)

(15) Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

Look (blepo [pre, act, imp] - command to pay attention, be vigilantly on the lookout) carefully (akribos [adverb] - accurate and deliberate) - like a person crossing a stream…a we are called to continually pay attention deliberately and accurately, to not do something but instead do something else…first, what we are not to do is addressed by the conjunction…contrasting how you walk unwisely with how you walk wisely:

then (oun [conjunction]) how you walk…not as unwise…- or therefore, pointing back to what was said previously:

Ephesians 5:11–12 ESV

11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

how you walk…as wise… - which he begins to unfold with what wise walking looks like; it means to first of all to…

B. Walk Purposefully (16)

(16) making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

[making the best use of] (exagorazo [pre, mid, par] - redeem; efficiently use, conceived as buying back) the time (kairos [noun] - season of life) - use every day in your season of life efficiently. Why are we to do this?

because the days are evil - This can be interpreted in two ways:

because the days are evil, this, in scripture, can be synonymous with, the time is short, and also,

because the days are evil, we may be distracted to lose heart and get involved trying to eliminate evil and miss the opportunity to do good.

Christians must actively take advantage of the opportunity to do good (cf. Ps. 90:12). Wisdom is especially needed in an evil age where the pathway of holiness is not always immediately clear until one reflects upon God’s Word and discerns his holy will.

Thankfully, we are not alone in this endeavor, but we have living within us, God, the Holy Spirit. Paul now uses an:

II. Analogy of a Spirit Filled Life (17-18)

A. The Contrast (17)

(17) Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Therefore - from what has just been said, we must proceed as follows:

do not be foolish but - one who is foolish is defined by contrast to one who:

understand what the will of the Lord is - knowing the will of the Lord is one who is not foolish but wise. This does not mean that a person tries to discern God’s secret counsel (his “hidden will”) but that he applies God’s general guidelines for life as found in the Bible (his “revealed will”;

Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV

29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

But how do we know the will of the Lord? Paul now uses…

B. The Analogy (18)

In order to know God’s will, God must be involved. Man does not have the ability or capacity to learn God’s will be self reasoning or deduction. This is why Paul brings it down to a level of human understanding.

(18) And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

And - conjunction that connects us to the solution.

[do] not [get drunk] (methysko [pre, pas, imp] - to become intoxicated or stupefied) with wine, for that is debauchery (asotia [noun] - senseless or reckless deeds) - to be controlled by alcohol whereby we have lost all our own faculties and engage in that what is not our normal self. I would like to add a disclaimer here before we move on:

This passage is not forbidding alcohol, but being intoxicated by alcohol

This passage is essentially not about drinking alcohol but is being used as an analogy of how we can know God’s will, so…

but - instead

[be filled] (pleroo [pre, pas, imp] - to become generously supplied with) with (en [preposition of means]) the Spirit, - we are commanded, in answer to how to know the will of God, to be filled continually with the Holy Spirit. So what does this mean?

First, we must understand that as believers, we have all the Holy Spirit we will ever receive at salvation…there is nothing in scripture regarding quantity…

Romans 8:9 ESV

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Second, being filled is more about control than quantity.

Romans 8:14 ESV

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

I think the best biblically sound analogy I’ve heard (thanks Bob Lightfoot) is one of a sail boat. The wind is analagous to the Holy Spirit and the sail of the boat is analagous with being filled. As we raise the sail, the wind takes hold and directs the boat accordingly. In the same way, when we yield ourselves completely to the Spirit’s control, he takes control, directing us in the will of God. This happens when we allow the word of God to fill us, and in obedience to its truth, we hoist our sail for the wind of the Holy Spirit to direct us where he wants us to go. But, how do we know this is happening in our lives? We see next that Paul gives us three indicators of this dynamic which produce:

III. Evidence of a Spirit Filled Walk (19-21)

A. Worshipful Fellowship (19)

(19) addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

addressing (lalao [pre, act, par] - to speak or tell) one another - true biblical fellowship must include communicating with one another in a Christ honoring, edifying way, which includes:

in psalms (psalmos [noun] sacred songs of scripture) and hymns (hymnos [noun] - musical composition including words of praise) and spiritual [songs] (ode [noun] - theologically rich songs accompanied by instruments) - these are to be the content of our communicating with one another. Our focus is worship and the rehearsal of the great doctrines of our faith!

singing and making melody - where psalms and hymns and spiritual songs are the content, singing and making melody is the medium used to communicate these truths.

to the Lord - the main focus and only point of reference in which all of this is done.

with your heart - not superficial but sincere and heartfelt.

These words are dependent on the imperative “be filled with the Spirit” and therefore make explicit the actions that result from and exhibit the Spirit’s filling in believers’ lives.

Worship is offered to God alone. At the same time, there is also a human dimension to corporate worship, since people worship together and address each other for their mutual benefit

B. Thankful Adoration (20)

(20) giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

giving thanks always - giving thanks is one of the hallmarks of a Christian. For no matter what, the Christian has more to be thankful for then anyone else on earth.

and for everything - the Christian can give thanks for everything because the Christian knows that everything, good or bad, has been ordained by God for our good and his glory!

to God the Father - the sovereign one who ordains all things.

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ - when we as Christians give thanks to God the Father, in the name of Jesus, we are testifying that we understand that all that is happening in our lives has passed through the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, and is therefore sanctioned and signed off by him.

This passage us very similar to Paul’s letter to the Colossians in chapter 3:

Colossians 3:16–17 ESV

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

So we see that being filed with the Holy Spirit is the same as having the word of God dwell in you and you obeying its commands, and therefore, living as wise people, being able to determine God’s will.

C. Reverent Submission (21)

(21) submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

submitting (hypotaso [pre, pas, par] - to arrange (taso) under (hypo) - to voluntarily arrange yourself under the authority of another, understanding the ordained purpose for doing so) to one another - we have been called to submit to one another in a way that has been ordained by God for the purpose of:

out of reverence for Christ - when we submit to one another as is ordained by God, we emulate and revere Christ, the one who was the ultimate example of submission and became our substitute on the cross for our behalf as was ordained by God the Father.

One of the main evidences of a Spirit filled life is in our willingness to submit to one another. This will be our main emphasis over the next several week.

So What?

Do we understand that if we say we are a Christian, then it matters how we walk in this world?

Are we daily reading and obeying the word, and in so doing, as it were, hoisting our sail for the Spirit to fill it and direct us?

Are we regularly engaged in worshipful fellowship, thankful adoration, and reverent submission as an evidence of our Spirit filled life?