Sermon Tone Analysis

Walk Wisely

eph 5.1

, , and 3 reveal the eternal plan and purpose of God for His church, in a depth never before revealed until Paul’s conversion and calling to faith.

Chapters 4, 5, and 6 describe the conduct of the Christian, which is to be the outgrowth of his identification with Christ and His church.

We are to be unified.

In , Paul describes our conduct in terms of our walk.

In , he speaks of our conduct as warfare.

At we come to the final description of the Christian’s walk.

This section continues through chapter 6, verse 9.

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

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

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

Each command to walk wisely has a corresponding contrasting command, not to walk unwisely.

These three commands are all variations of one command, to walk carefully, as those who are wise.

By the use of participles, Paul gives further clarification and illustration of his commands.

Paul’s final command to walk wisely is stated in terms of being “filled with the Spirit” (verse 18), and then further clarified by the participles which follow.

The submission which serves as evidence of the filling of the Holy Spirit is that which should be evident universally and mutually, as well as in marriage, the family, and in other social institutions of authority.

The resulting structure becomes apparent:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The universal and mutual submission which Paul calls for in broad and general terms in verse 21 is more specifically applied in 5:22–6:9.

Here, Paul speaks of submission in the context of relationships: husband and wife (5:22-33); parents and children (6:1-4); slaves and masters (6:5-9).

In later lessons, we will study these verses in detail.

The important thing to observe at this point is that the submission called for in is that which is called for in 5:21.

In other words, 5:21–6:9 is a unit, and the submission which Paul speaks of is but one manifestation of the filling of the Holy Spirit.

In this study, I have chosen to consider the text a command at a time, working down through the text as Paul has written it.

Let us give heed to Paul’s instructions concerning wisdom, and let us endeavor, by God’s grace, not only to understand what Paul is teaching here, but to do it.

I The First Command:“THEREFORE BE CAREFUL HOW YOU WALK”

eph 5.15-15

be careful - circumspectly

In some European countries, property is often protected by a high wall, the top of which is covered with embedded broken glass to discourage intruders who might try to climb over it.

One can sometimes see a cat walking along the top of such a wall.

The cat walks circumspectly, carefully, precisely, and assiduously.

It picks up one paw and carefully places it where there is no glass.

When that paw is in place, the cat reaches forward tentatively and gingerly with the next one.

“THEREFORE BE CAREFUL HOW YOU WALK”

We Are to Be Wise concerning Our Ways (5:15)

In some European countries, property is often protected by a high wall, the top of which is covered with embedded broken glass to discourage intruders who might try to climb over it.

One can sometimes see a cat walking along the top of such a wall.

The cat walks circumspectly, carefully, precisely, and assiduously.

It picks up one paw and carefully places it where there is no glass.

When that paw is in place, the cat reaches forward tentatively and gingerly with the next one.

The Christian’s walk is to be one that is given careful consideration.

It is one that is to be the outgrowth of thought, of purpose, of deliberate and disciplined action.

The Olympics- Not one of those athletes arrived at the Olympic games by chance, without thought, planning, or diligent and disciplined preparation.

Paul, speaking of the “Olympic games” of his own day, calls for Christians to act with similar dedication:

NFL

Baseball spring training

1c or 9.2427

24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?

Run in such a way that you may win. 25 And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.

They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified ().

We will soon see that walking carefully is walking wisely, and that walking wisely is, in the final analysis, walking in the Spirit.

Thinking carelessly - church is an add on in your life.....

fit it in where we can

Sin enters in and wow - how did we get here

affairs, drugs and a messed up life for a Christian are the result of not being careful.

careful - Matsunk Treatment Plant blasting rock for a clarifier

We dare not live our lives and Christians in a haphazard fashion.

We must give careful thought to our attitudes and actions.

This is what Paul calls for, nothing less.

The Greek word translated “evil” is ponēros, from which we derive our word “pornographic.”

We live in a pornographic society.

Pornography is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid, especially during our spare time.

Some of the books we are given to read plant impure thoughts in our minds.

At strategic locations magazines wait to be picked up so their stories and photographs can pollute our minds.

And television is the worst pornographer of all.

Once impure thoughts plant themselves like evil seeds in the receptive soil of our souls, they are difficult to eradicate.

They grow like poisonous, prolific weeds.

Their deadly fruit is temptation and sin.

The way to keep our thoughts pure, of course, is not to allow this world to plant vileness in our minds in the first place.

Some contamination cannot be avoided, but much could be avoided if we simply decided to redeem the time.

To “redeem the time” means to “buy up the time.”

We could avoid many traps if we were to buy up our spare time when the temptations of pornography are strongest.