Redeeming The Time
5:15-20
Having listed behaviors that Believers must avoid, Paul continues his instruction by telling Believers to look carefully how we walk, not as unwise, but as wise. In context, he is saying to pay attention to how we are living and what we are doing. We live “intentionally” as believers.
If we are to walk as children of the light, as imitators of God, as those taught by Christ, and worthy of our calling, (all things Paul has told us to do in this book), we must pay attention to what we do and be wise about it. “Wise” in this context would be discerning the will of God in all situations and doing it.
Part of that wisdom is not placing ourselves in situations where we are tempted to sin. Another part is to be mindful of our attitudes, so that they are holy and reflect Christ and the change he has brought about in us.
How do we do this? We focus on God. We make our relationship to him a priority. Proverbs 1:7 says “the fear of he LORD is the beginning of knowledge”; fools despise wisdom and instruction”.
We focus on God through diligent study of his word. Psalm 1:2 says the blessed man delights in God’s word and meditates on it day and night.
We also focus on God by constant prayer. Paul instructed us to “pray without ceasing”. (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
When you make the Lord the focus of your life, you will take care to live in a way that is pleasing to him. You will grow in faith and in Godly character. You will be wise in your actions. You will be a witness to the people around you.
Many people, including Believers, live on auto pilot. The go with the flow no matter who they are with or where they are. They do not examine their attitudes and behaviors in the light of Scripture. They assume they are doing well because they act and think like those around them. Scripture calls us to do more than that, actively seeking to live wisely.
We are to make the most of the time allotted to us. We do not know when our earthly lives will end. We do not know when someone we need to witness to will become unavailable. We also do not know how long we will be free to worship and witness freely. Just as the Roman Empire periodically persecuted Christians, our culture may turn on us at any minute. There is some evidence that is already happening in America. It is certainly happening in many countries.
Paul sensed this in his time. He had a sense of urgency. He said the days are evil (16) The devil still works and will continue until Christ returns. Evil men and women attempt to suppress Christianity because they see it as a threat to the State. As the culture becomes more secular and openly sinful, more pressure will be put on us to conform.
Instead of conforming, we are to reflect on God’s word so we can know an do his will. (17) We are not to be controlled by alcoholic spirits, but by the Holy Spirit. He has been given to us so that we have the power to live for Christ. We do not surrender that power for drunkenness, which impairs judgment and is, therefore, not wise.
Drunkenness can lead us to lose control of ourselves. But the Holy Spirit brings power, love, and self control. (1 Timothy 1:7) Sometimes people claim they are filled with the Holy Spirit and seek to prove it by acting strangely, laughing uncontrollably, barking, rolling in the floor or doing the chicken dance. That is not the picture of the Spirit filled life in the Bible, as shown very clearly here in Ephesians. The Spirit filled person lives a life of intentional holiness and love that reflects the character of the Lord they serve.
People who are drunk are often loud and boisterous. They yell and scream. They may even sing drinking songs. In contrast, Christis are to seek and sing words that build up the lives of their fellow believers and which bring glory to God.
Paul says to address each other with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing to the Lord (19) When we gather together, we sing songs from Scripture that let us worship together (singing and making melody together) and encourage each other. This happened in the early church and it happens today.
Two more things are mentioned in this passage as being part of wise living. First, we give thanks for everything to God. (20) We recognize that the blessings we have are from God. Every good and perfect gift comes from God. (James 1:7) And we thank him for it regularly, both individually and corporately.
We cannot be thankful if we feel that we earned all of our blessings or that we deserve them. Instead, we realize they come to us as a matter of God’s grace.
Thankfulness leads to contentment. Thankfulness destroys covetousness. Thankfulness leads us to enjoy God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism’s first question is “what is the chief end of man?”. The answer is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. Thankfulness allows us to do both.
The call to thankfulness is all through the Scripture. The Psalms repeatedly call for God’s people to thank him. For example, Psalms 107:8 says “Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of men”. In contrast, Paul presents the lack of thankfulness as evidence of the darkened and ungodly mind: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened”. (Romans 1:21)
Thankful people also tend to sing to the Lord. Our hymnal has several songs of thankfulness. One is “Count Your Blessings”. The refrain says:
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
The second thing is for us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. (21) Self assertiveness is touted as a virtue in our culture, but the Bible tells us we should not insist on getting our way.
We are to be humble and count others as being more significant than ourselves. We are to look out for the interest of others. Christ is our example! He gave up the glories of heaven to take on the form of a servant for our benefit. (Philippians 2:3-8) So, we do it our of reverence for him. What a wonderful thing church would be if we all did this!
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