Walk with wisdom

Walk in Wisdom (Eph. 5:15–17)

Two weeks ago I told you that we were going to discuss three admonitions. The first week was “walk in love.” Last week we followed that up with “walk as children of light. I told you that Paul is instructing us as to what our walk as Christians should look like. The next set and final instructions in this passage that Paul gives us is to “walk in wisdom.”

Walk in Love (Eph. 5:1–2)

Walk As Children of Light (Eph. 5:3–14)

Walk in Wisdom (Eph. 5:15–17)

Ephesians 5:15–17 (NIV)

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

In this passage, Paul has given us several reasons why we should be accurate and careful in our walk.

1. It is a mark of wisdom (v. 15).

2. Life is short (v. 16a).

3. The days are evil (v. 16b).

4. God has given us a mind (v. 17a).

5. God has a plan for our lives (v. 17b).

Ephesians 5:15–17 (NIV)

15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

1. It is a mark of wisdom (v. 15).

Only a fool drifts with the wind and tide. A wise man marks out his course, sets his sails, and guides the rudder until he reaches his destination.

1. When a man wants to build a house, he first draws his plans so he knows what he is doing.

a. Yet, how many Christians plan their days so that they use their opportunities wisely?

b. It’s True, we cannot know what a day may bring forth (James 4:13–17).

James 4:13–17 (NIV)

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

c. But it is also true that a planned life can better deal with unexpected events.

Someone said, “When the pilot does not know what port he is heading for, no wind is the right wind.”

2. Life is short (v. 16a).

“Buying up the opportunity—taking advantage of it.”

An old Chinese adage says, “Opportunity has a forelock so you can seize it when you meet it. Once it is past, you cannot seize it again.”

1. Our English word opportunity comes from the Latin and means “toward the port.”

a. It suggests a ship taking advantage of the wind and tide to arrive safely in the harbor.

b. The brevity of life is a strong argument for making the best use of the opportunities God gives us.

3. The days are evil (v. 16b).

In Paul’s time, this meant that Roman persecution was on the way (1 Peter 4:12–19).

1. It is foolish to waste opportunities to win the lost when soon those opportunities might be taken away by the advances of sin in society!

2. If the days were evil when Paul wrote this letter, what must be their condition today?

4. God has given us a mind (v. 17a).

Ephesians 5:17 God has given us a mind

17 Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is.

We discover the will of God as He transforms the mind (Rom. 12:1–2); and this transformation is the result of the Word of God, prayer, meditation, and worship[1](2)

Romans 12:1–2 (NIV)

A Living Sacrifice

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

If God gave us a mind, then He expects us to use it, this means that learning His will involves:

· gathering facts

· examining them

· weighing them

· and praying for His wisdom

James 1:5 (NIV)

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

We need to be in control of our thoughts.

The following Bible verses provide guidance on controlling thoughts123:

· Matthew 6:34: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

· Philippians 2:4-5: "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."

· Hebrews 12:1-2: "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith."

· Philippians 4:8-9: "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

· 2 Corinthians 10:5: "We destroy arguments, and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ."

5. God has a plan for our lives (v. 17b).

If God saved me, He has a purpose for my life, and I should discover that purpose and then guide my life accordingly.

1. He reveals His plan through His word.

Colossians 1:9–10 (NIV)

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

2. He reveals His plan through His spirit in our hearts.

Colossians 3:15 (NIV)

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

3. He reveals His plan through the working of circumstances.

Romans 8:28 (NIV)

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Conclusion:

The truth is, Scripture gives us a number of clear indications of God’s expressed, revealed will for our lives. Look at this sampling:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Rom. 12:2)

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. (2 Cor. 7:10)

For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality. (1 Thes. 4:3)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. (1 Pet. 2:13–15)

· Reject the pattern of this world.

· Be transformed. Renew your mind.

· Endure sorrow unto repentance.

· Be sanctified.

· Abstain from sexual immorality.

· Submit to human authorities.

· Do what’s right.

These are just a few simple, straightforward, clear, and objective expressions of the will of God for our lives.

Charles Swindoll says in his commentary on Ephesians, “I am convinced that if we spend our time pursuing the things that God explicitly wills for us in Scripture, we won’t do the things that are against His will. Moreover, when we pursue these things the Spirit of God creates in us character and virtues that help us more easily discern the will of God in areas that are not clearly revealed.” (1)

(1) Charles R. Swindoll, Galatians, Ephesians, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2015), 276–277. (2) [1] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 47.