December 18, 2022
Ephesians 5:15-20
“Don’t Shoot Your Eye Out!”
Advent Week 4 | Love: John 3:16-19
Service Overview: We live in a broken and a sometimes downright evil world, and the best way to navigate a world like that is with wisdom that can only come from God.
Memory Verse for the Week:
“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 (NIV)
Background/Nerdy Stuff:
- Spiritual songs (5:19) were possibly those songs that, by their nature and content, were not used so much in public worship, but found their popularity within Christian homes as the people fellowshiped with one another. These songs would be edifying to both God and humankind. (Mark A. Holmes, Ephesians, Kindle Location 3065)
- Many people in the ancient world believed that drunkenness could produce a sort of inspiration or possession by Dionysus, god of wine. Dionysus’s most active worshipers yielded control of themselves to him and performed sexual acts or acts full of sexual symbolism (often to the distaste of conservative Romans). Here Paul may contrast this behavior with inspiration by God’s Spirit. (Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, 290)
- In the Greek text, “be filled with the Spirit” (5:18) is a passive imperative. That is, it’s a passive command, meaning we are to allow the Spirit to fill us with all of His blessings, empower us with His enablement, and lead us in His ways. Our whole lives, yielded to God, are to overflow with the work of the Holy Spirit. (Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights: Galatians & Ephesians, 331)
- John Wesley described the Christian’s attitude as “saving all the time you can for the best purposes; buying up every fleeting moment out of the hands of sin and Satan, out of the hands of sloth, ease, pleasure, worldly business; the more diligently, because the present ‘are evil days,’ days of the grossest ignorance, immorality and profaneness.” (John Wesley, Works of John Wesley, vol. 7, 67)
- (v18) Be filled is in the present tense and should be translated “be continually filled with the Spirit.” It stands to reason that a Christian cannot go on being filled with the Spirit until he has first been filled at some given time, as was the experience of the early disciples on the Day of Pentecost. The imperative here, therefore, is not related to the initial experience of sanctification but rather to keeping oneself submissive to the ministry of the Spirit. (Willard H. Taylor, Beacon Bible Expositions, Volume 8, 193)
- Time is a talent given us by God, and it is misspent and lost when not employed according to his design. (Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1289)
What elements are involved in Paul’s strategy for walking in wisdom here?
- Mindful living.
(vv. 15-16 | Prov. 1:7; 3:13-18; Rom. 12:2; 1 Cor. 1:30; Col. 3:16; 4:5; James 3:13, 17)
There is nothing which puts a more serious frame into a man’s spirit than to know the worth of his time. (Thomas Brooks, Quoted by Curtis C. Thomas, Practical Wisdom for Pastors, 50)
Jesus didn’t do it all. Jesus didn’t meet every need. He left people waiting in line to be healed. He left one town to preach to another. He hid away to pray. He got tired. He never interacted with the vast majority of people on the planet. He spent thirty years in training and only three years in ministry. He did not try to do it all. And yet, He did everything God asked Him to do. (Kevin DeYoung, Crazy Busy, 50)
- Growth in understanding.
(v. 17 | Job 28:28; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 2:2-6; 18:2, 15; Matthew 22:37; Romans 8:5-6)
It has been said that the primary concern of the Christian must be to discern the will of God and to do it. Who would doubt that such is the way of wisdom? (Willard H. Taylor, Beacon Bible Expositions, Volume 8, 192)
Paul encouraged the believers to live not as unwise but as wise. In other words, they must take their knowledge of Christ and apply it to their everyday lives and be especially aware of their conduct with unbelievers. Paul wrote to the Colossians, “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders” (Colossians 4:5 NIV). Wisdom has been made available to them; they need only ask for it (1:17; James 1:5; 3:17). (Bruce Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Ephesians, 107)
- Continual filling.
(v. 18 | Prov. 20:1; Romans 8:9; Galatians 5:16, 22-23; Ephesians 1:13–14; 2 Timothy 1:7)
Notice three important facts about Ephesians 5:18. First, it is in the imperative mood. It is not a suggestion or an appeal, but a command. Anything less than the fullness of the Spirit is disobedience to the Word of God. Second, it is a present tense verb. We are to be filled with the Holy Spirit now. And it is a continuous action verb. It could be translated, “Be being filled with the Spirit.” We must be filled daily, constantly, moment by moment. Yesterday’s blessings are not sufficient for today or tomorrow. (George Sweeting, Who Said That?, 23)
Being “filled with the Spirit” as Paul speaks of in Ephesians 5:18 is not getting more of the Spirit, but yielding every area of our lives to the Spirit’s empowering and direction – having our lives filled with God’s Spirit as opposed to self. (Eddie Rasnake, The Book of Ephesians, 23)
There is no place in Scripture that indicates we can receive more of the Holy Spirit… The real issue is the release of the already present Spirit to have free reign in our hearts. It isn’t about us getting more of Him, but of Him getting more of us. (Eddie Rasnake, The Book of Ephesians, 134)
- Thankful singing.
(vv. 19-20 | Psalm 104:33; 106:1; 1 Cor. 14:15; Col. 3:16-17; 1 Thes. 5:18; James 5:13)
The apostle says that those who are full of the Spirit should “address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (v. 19). This does not mean that we abandon normal speech and confine our communication to song so that church life becomes an opera: “How are you, Brother Jones? Good! I’m glad. God bless you!” But there develops in Spirit-filled believers a vertical music of the heart, so that those full of the Spirit sing and make music in their hearts to the Lord. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Ephesians, 201)
Conclusion… What challenge does this present to Jesus’ disciples today?
A. Don’t waste your life.
(Psalm 39:4-5; 90:12; Proverbs 6:10-11; Matthew 6:33; Galatians 6:9; Col. 3:2; 2 John 1:6)
We cannot add time; we can only exercise stewardship over the time we are given. (Albert Mohler, The Conviction to Lead, 186)
We waste our lives when we do not pray and think and dream and plan and work toward magnifying God in all spheres of life. God created us for this: to live our lives in a way that makes him look more like the greatness and the beauty and the infinite worth that he really is. (John Piper, Don’t Waste Your Life, 32)
Accept the cost of good deeds in time, thought, and effort. But remember that opportunities for doing good are not interruptions in God’s plan for us, but part of that plan. We always have time to do what God wants us to do. (Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness, 199)
B. Live life under control.
(Prov. 25:28; Rom. 12:2; Gal. 5:22-23; 2 Timothy 1:7; 1 Pet. 4:7; 5:8; 2 Pet. 1:5-6)
How often we hear, “I wish I knew how to manage my time better.” Rarely do we hear, “I wish I knew how to manage myself better,” but that’s really what it comes down to. (Ted Engstrom, The Making of a Christian Leader, 101)
People under the influence of the Spirit of God manifest the fruit of that Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). (Eddie Rasnake, The Book of Ephesians, 133)
C. Let the passion in your voice reflect the thankfulness in your heart.
(2 Samuel 6:22; Psalm 33:3; 71:23; 95:1-2; Isaiah 12:5; Matthew 6:21; Colossians 2:6-7)
Worship isn’t primarily about music, techniques, liturgies, songs, or methodologies. It’s about our hearts. It’s about what and who we love more than anything. (Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters, 25)
Gospel Application…
God so loved the world that he gave the greatest gift of all. And THAT is something worth celebrating!
(Psalm 16:11; Lamentations 3:22-26; John 3:16-17; 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom. 6:23; 2 Cor. 5:21)
We are a singing people because God is too great to merely be talked about. We are not just to think of His grace and speak of it; we are to feel it and rejoice in it. (Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Ephesians, 136)
Our singing clearly has horizontal and vertical dimensions. We sing “to one another” and “to the Lord.” O’Brien is instructive here when he says Paul is not teaching two different responses of singing—to one another and to God—but rather, he “is describing the same activity from different perspectives” (Ephesians, 394). Remember this: When we gather for corporate worship and to sing to God, we are also ministering to one another. (Tony Merida, Ephesians, 136)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- Why is it important for believers to walk in wisdom? Specifically, how can we walk, or live, wisely?
- What does it mean to make the most of the time (v. 16)? Are you doing this?
- Do you consider singing to be key in worshiping with other believers? What else may be involved in worship with others?
- How might one go about being filled with the Spirit on a regular basis? What do you think it means to be filled with the Spirit?
- What might Paul mean by speaking “to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit.”?
Quotes to note…
The Spirit-filled life is not a special, deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people. (A.W. Tozer, How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit, 33)
Paul reminds the Ephesians that they, like us, are living in the last days. Therefore, how we live matters. This text calls us to identify the things that fritter our time away and to prioritize everything relentlessly. (Merida, Ephesians, 131)
On Sundays God wants us to do more than sing songs together and have wonderful worship experiences. He wants to knit the fabric of our lives together. For many, church has become all about me – what I’m learning, what I’m seeking, what I’m desperate for, what I need, how I’ve been affected, what I can do. We see ourselves as isolated individuals all seeking personal encounters with God, wherever we can find them. Sadly, this reflects our individualistic, me-obsessed culture. Rather than seeing ourselves as part of a worship community, we become worship consumers. We want worship on demand, served up in our own time, and with our own music. (Bob Kauflin, Worship Matters, 126)
The source of most of the problems people have in their Christian lives relates to two things: either they are not worshiping six days a week with their life, or they are not worshiping one day a week with the assembly of the saints. We need both. (John MacArthur, The Ultimate Priority, 105)
Being filled with the Spirit means to be filled with the immediate presence of God to the extent that you are feeling what God Himself feels, desiring what God desires, doing what God wants, speaking by God’s power, praying and ministering in God’s strength, and knowing with the knowledge that God Himself gives. (Wayne Grudem, “Being Filled With the Holy Spirit”, Sermon Delivered at Bethlehem Baptist, www.DesiringGod.org.)
As frail and fallen humans, each of us is subject to extremes. At times we either waste our time or become borderline neurotic about it. We’re either procrastinators or workaholics. The first extreme passively resists God’s purposes for our lives; the second disregards the joy of peace and rest. (Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights: Galatians & Ephesians, 328)
Public worship occurs when the people of God assemble for the express purpose of giving to the Lord the glory due His name and enjoying the joy of His promised special presence with His own people. (Ligon Duncan, Worship in Spirit and Truth, Table Talk, Jan. 2005, 54)
Procrastination, the thief of time, is one of the devil’s most potent weapons for defrauding us of eternal heritage. The habit of “putting off” is fatal to spiritual leadership. Its power resides in our natural reluctance to come to grips with important decisions. Making decisions, and acting on them, always requires moral energy. But the passing of time never makes action easier; quite the opposite. Most decisions are more difficult a day later, and you may also lose an advantage by such delay. The nettle will never be easier to grasp than now. (Oswald Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, 98)