Ephesians 5:14...

Ephesians 5:14–21 NASB95

For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.” Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

Would you rather?

Provide a presentation before an audience of 1 executive or an audience of 100 peers? Why?

Ephesians 5:14

For this reason it says,

“Awake, sleeper,

And arise from the dead,

And Christ will shine on you.”

Notes:

Repentance

Resurrection

Redemption

Reflection

Isaiah 26:19 NASB95

Your dead will live; Their corpses will rise. You who lie in the dust, awake and shout for joy, For your dew is as the dew of the dawn, And the earth will give birth to the departed spirits.

Isaiah 52:1–3 NASB95

Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you. Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion. For thus says the Lord, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.”

Isaiah 60:1–3 NASB95

“Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. “For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the Lord will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. “Nations will come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

Because Christ shines on us, there is an appropriate way in which we ought to walk.

Because the nations come to us to see the light of Christ, there is an appropriate way in which we ought to walk.

Ephesians 5:15–16

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise,

making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Notes:

2 categories:

Light and darkness

wise and unwise

understanding the will of the Lord and foolishness

Filled w/ the Spirit and drunkenness

Be subject to one another

Firstly, how would you define wisdom? Who’s the wisest person you know and what about them makes you say that?

wisdom is knowing the right thing (Eph. 5:17), doing the right thing, doing it in the right way, at the right time, and to the right extent. - T.J. Betts

To fear the Lord means having such awe of Him that it affects how one lives. It precipitates a desire to know God and leads to a reverence for God. It involves a trusting submission to God that seeks to know His Word and obey it, accepting God’s will (Eph. 5:17) and worshipping Him alone. -T.J. Betts

Proverbs 1:7 NASB95

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

To live in wisdom is to live in the fear of the LORD.

“Making the most of the time.”

Doing the right thing at the right time.

Let’s consider an example: What would it look like to do the right thing at the wrong time?

Procrastination...

Short-sighted...

Doing lesser-goods in lieu of greater goods...

Why?

“The days are evil.”

The enemy is on the way, and if we give the enemy a day he’ll take it.

“Wasted time is the enemy’s time.”

Preparing a position for attack isn’t something done overnight.

Taking enemy ground isn’t something done overnight either.

To be effective in defense and offense requires day after day diligence, wisdom, and faithfulness.

Hebrews 3:12–13 NASB95

Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Ephesians 5:17 (NASB95)

So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Notes:

A faithful use of time requires a sense of direction.

Has anyone experienced or witnessed a time when they were really busy, but that busyness lacked a sense of direction.

There are certain kinds of people we have respect for generally in our culture.

a. Businessmen and women

b. Athletes

c. Politicians

d. Actors

e. Military

Often these people are really busy, very disciplined, very effective in their field. But how often do we see their private life is in shambles.

Being busy, disciplined, or diligent doesn’t necessarily mean we’re acting wisely. Wisdom and living in the light of Christ, Coram Deo, is to live with a righteous understanding of what the will of God is and busying ourselves with the expressed will of God.

Ephesians 5:18

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

Notes:

What’s at the heart of Paul’s concern about drunkenness given the context we’re in?

Notice the opposite of drunkenness isn’t abstinence or sobriety. It’s the fullness of the Spirit.

Living in the light requires wisdom, wisdom requires understanding and the fear of the Lord, understanding requires the mind and the fear of the LORD requires the Spirit.

Brief overview of the work of the Spirit in Scripture. What does the Spirit do throughout the book of Acts?

To live in the light is to live according the Spirit, imaging Christ by bearing the fruit of the Spirit in sanctification, and bearing witness to Christ through his power in us.

Mindlessness is antithetical to true fruitfulness and witness through the Spirit.

What does this ‘being filled with the Spirit’ look like?

Ephesians 5:19

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Notes:

I think there’s a tendency to move the conversation of this text from drunkenness to “how to be filled with the Spirit.”

The entirety of this section of the chapter is making a distinct contrast and I think it’s good for us to continue to keep drunkenness as the backdrop to this singing and making melody.

“To what does drunkenness lead? To unbounded licentiousness, - to unbridled, indecent merriment. “ - Jean Calvin

psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs.

“These are truly pleasant and delightful fruits.”

To be filled with the Spirit is

a. to be united to a people

b. delighting in Christ from the heart

c. expressing that delight in mindful, orderly, corporate singing.

d. This singing brings wholesome benefit to everyone involved.

e. Characterized by gratitude

All of these realities are the opposite of drunken carousing.

a. no unity

b. delighting in indecency and licentiousness

c. expressed in a mindless stupor.

d. Brings no benefit to others.

e. often characterized by wanting or escapism.

Colossians 3:16 NASB95

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.

Ephesians 5:20

always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;

Notes:

The fullness of the Spirit directs our minds to what we have been given in Christ and gratitude. Throughout the book of Acts the Spirit is bearing witness to Christ through miracles and the bold witness of the church. The Spirit has not ceased in working to point our eyes to Jesus yet now it is a look of gratitude as believers.

Ephesians 5:21 (NASB95)

and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.

Notes:

Living in the light of Christ is to imitate Him, in awe of Him by washing each other’s feat.