Bible Studies

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We continue this verse-by-verse study of Eph. 5:1-21 here in Part 4, starting with Eph. 5:14.

(14) For this reason [Now the unbelievers have been confronted with the truth about sin and God's righteousness and holiness through salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those whose hearts are open to God have begun to see the light.] it says, 'Awake sleeper, And arise from the dead [The unbelievers were spiritually dead; they were still associated with the kingdom of darkness. They need to repent and submit (in faith) to God, His Son, and the gospel of new-covenant salvation.], And Christ will shine on you [[Christ's shining on them, which would enable them to become obedient children of the light, would result from their repenting and submitting to the gospel (in faith).

I'll quote a sentence and a paragraph from what Peter T. O'Brien says under this verse ("The Letter to the Ephesians" [Eerdmans, 1999]): "The imperatives address the non-Christian, as a sleeper, to wake up, and rise from the dead" (page 376). "Once again Paul draws a sharp distinction between the life and behaviour of those who are God's holy people (verse 3) and the surrounding society. The dominant imagery throughout the passage is that of light and darkness; there is no middle ground or shades of grey. The apostle wants his Christian readers to realize that they are to live by values that are diametrically opposed to the standards of their contemporary world, values that include sexual purity and wholesome speech. Instead of being corrupted by the surrounding darkness, believers are to exercise their influence on it. Paul adopts no defeatist attitude towards the society around him. Christ is the light who has summoned the readers to wake up and rise from the dead. He has shone upon them so that they have become light in the Lord. As children of light their lives are to shine as a beacon, exposing the darkness for what is really is. Some who sit in darkness may be attracted to the light and even choose to enter it" (page 377).]].' (15) [The NASB, NIV, and NKJV start a new paragraph here. These words that follow were not aimed at those spoken to in the saying/hymn quoted in verse 14; they were aimed at the Christian readers of this epistle.] Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise [[Compare Eph. 1:8, 17; Col. 1:9, 28; 3:16; 4:5. "Wise" Christians (and we must all be wise Christians; consider, for example, the outcomes for the five wise/prudent virgins and for the five foolish virgins in Matt. 25:1-13; cf., e.g., Rom. 16:19) will always make it top priority to always live in the center of God's will, in His truth, righteousness, holiness, love, etc., and all the more so realizing that "the days are evil" (5:16), and all the more so yet for those who are living very near the time of Christ's return and the day of judgment. Those early Christians thought the Lord Jesus would return soon, and it seems clear that God wanted them to live in the light of Christ's near return (cf., e.g., Matt. 24:34; Rom. 13:11-14; James 5:8; 1 Pet. 4:7, 17; 1 John 2:18; Rev. 1:3; 3:11; 22:7, 10, 12, 20), but it seems that our generation is living at the very end of this age. Our generation probably is the last generation, but even if it isn't, we must always live in the light of the fact that we must get ready for, and then stay ready for, the return of the Lord Jesus with top priority! He is coming! That's for sure!]], (16) making the most of your time [[The KJV and NKJV translate "redeeming the time," and the margin of the NASB has this translation in the margin. Colossians 4:5 shows that one reason we need to redeem the time is our witness before unbelievers. I'll quote a sentence from what Frank Thielman says here ("Ephesians" [Baker Academic], page 356): "[Paul's] readers are to buy the present time out of its slavery to evil and to use it instead in ways that are 'pleasing to the Lord' (Eph. 5:10)." Even as we are redeemed out of the kingdom of sin, darkness, and demons, our time must be redeemed (cf. Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18). The translation "making the most of your time" of the NASB communicates the right idea.]], because the days are evil. [[Since the days are evil, we must make it top priority to be dead to sin/evil and to live for God in His truth, righteousness, holiness, etc. by the grace of God in Christ through faith. For one thing, the New Testament makes it very clear that born-again Christians can backslide. To the extent we would not redeem the time, but use it for sin/evil, we would violate our covenant with God; we would hurt the body of Christ and bring a reproach on God and His Son; we would hurt ourselves; and we would not be good witnesses for God, His Son, and the gospel.

We must make God, His Son, His gospel, and His kingdom top priority and have zero tolerance for sin/evil in our lives. The more we understand the supreme importance of being faithful to God by His grace, and the facts that the days are evil and this life is short, and all the more so if the Lord Jesus is going to return very soon, the more it is obvious that we must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). We must love God; His Son; His salvation; His righteousness; His kingdom with top priority. We don't have to worry about loving these things too much. To the extent we love God we will also fulfill our obligations in this world.]] (17) So then do not be foolish [[It is foolish to not live 100 percent for God in His truth, righteousness, etc. by His sufficient grace in Christ Jesus. It is foolish to leave any room for sin. I'll quote Rom. 13:14: "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts." In other words, don't leave and room for sin.]] but understand what the will of the Lord is. [[There is widespread agreement that "the Lord" here is the Lord Jesus Christ. In general God's will isn't complicated, and He certainly isn't hiding His will from any Christians who are motivated to know His will and to do His will. God always makes His grace available to know His will and to do His will (cf., e.g., Phil. 2:12, 13).]] (18) And do not get drunk with wine [cf. 1 Cor. 6:10; Gal. 5:19-21], for that is dissipation [For one thing, getting drunk drags you down instead of building you up, and it opens the door for all kinds of sin/evil.] but be filled with [or, by] the Spirit [[The present tense of the Greek verb ("pleroo") translated "be filled" fits the idea of being filled on a continuous basis, staying filled. (In Eph. 3:16 the apostle prayed that God would grant to his readers, including us, "to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man." The Holy Spirit enables us [but He certainly doesn't override our will (the desire of our heart) and force us] to think right and to be strong in faith, righteousness, holiness, etc.)

We are not automatically filled with the Spirit on a continuous basis any more than we automatically walk by the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:16) on a continuous basis. It is rather easy to walk by the flesh and let the old man manifest itself in sin, but that is totally unacceptable. We cannot be successful Christians if we are not filled with the Holy Spirit and walking by the Holy Spirit (cf. Gal. 5:16) on a continuous basis, which includes walking in line with the Word of God on a continuous basis, by faith. To the extent we are not walking by the Holy Spirit on a continuous basis we will be walking in the flesh and the door will be open for the old man (with the eager assistance of the world and the demons) to sin.

Just wasting time is sinful if we not doing the things that God is calling us to do. God and His will must always be our top priority. This doesn't mean that we will always be living on a mountain top, or that we won't have trials, or that we don't have obligations to fulfill in this world (even though we must not be part of the world in any sinful ways [cf. John 15:18, 19; 17:11-19]).

I'll quote a little from what Klyne Snogras says under Eph. 5:18-21 ("Ephesians" [Zondervan, 1996], page 309): "... We are so fearful of works-righteousness [we cannot be saved by our works of righteousness, but we must have the righteous works that the grace of God, which includes the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God, enables us to do] or of synergism [which means "work together

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