Be Filled With The Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:15-33) Series

Today's verses build directly off last weeks, so I'm going to go ahead and start reading from 5:3. Hopefully, as I read them, you'll find yourself thinking, "Hey, I understand these verses."

(Read vs. 3-end).

There are two ways you can live. You can live as children of the light, or you can live as children of the darkness. The question that faces you, every single day, is which of these you will choose.

On the one hand, you can choose to live as children of the darkness. You can do the types of sins that are shameful to even talk about: sexual immorality, moral uncleanness, greed, shameful behavior, foolish talk, and crude joking. If you choose this, there are two things you need to understand. First, these things aren't fitting-- they aren't proper-- for God's holy people. Second, these things will keep you from inheriting God's kingdom. If you are this type of person, you don't get eternal life. So if you choose the life of darkness, you need to understand that there is a very real cost.

Your other option is to walk as children of the light. Your starting point in life is thankfulness. You value what God did for you in Jesus. You know you were dead in your sin, without hope, without God, on the outside of God's family. And God forgave your sins in Jesus, and made peace with you. God brought you into his holy family, to live as holy people. And you understand that if God brought you into his family, to be part of his holy people, you need to live as holy.

So how will you live? Which will you choose?

This brings us to Ephesians 5:15, and the beginning of our passage today.

Therefore, watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

making the most of the time,

because the days are evil.

What does it mean to be wise? You can define wisdom this way: living skillfully, in light of what you know to be true.

We can live either as children of the light, or children of the darkness. And we understand that the choice we make has eternal consequences. What is the sensible choice? Which choice will show that you are wise?

Logically, you will walk as children of the light. You will walk carefully, not as unwise but as wise.

Paul then adds this: "making the most of the time."

Each of us has this small window of time on earth. This is it. We don't know how long we have. Usually, when we think about this--or maybe it's just me--we think about lying on our death bed, and hoping we aren't filled with regret. We don't want to look back on our lives, and realize how much of it we wasted. But here, I think Paul is saying something a little different than this.

All of us are walking on a road in life, and this road eventually ends. There are only two possible destinations. One road ends with God's wrath (Ephesians 5:6). The other ends with inheriting God's kingdom (Ephesians 5:5). We understand that we only have so much time on earth. Each of us has an expiration date on earth. Part of what it means to walk wisely, is to understand that you don't have forever. And at the end of that road, whichever you choose, you will be face to face with God.

There's one more little line in this sentence:

Therefore, watch carefully how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

making the most of the time,

because the days are evil.

We are all surrounded by evil. How do we avoid sinning? We don't do it by withdrawing from the world. We don't form separate colonies. The answer is, watch carefully how you walk.

Verse 17:

Because of this do not become foolish,

but understand what the will of the Lord [is],

Paul appeals to the Ephesians as sensible, wise people. Don't become foolish. You know the truth about God, and what he wants, and what he's done for you in Christ. Live wisely, out of that knowledge. Understand what Jesus wants from you.

So often when Christians talk about finding God's will for their lives, they think in terms of who they will marry, or where they'll live, or what job they will do. Do you know what God's will-- or here, actually-- Jesus' will is? Jesus' will is that you live wisely.

And with this, we come to verse 18, which begins a single sentence that goes all the way through verse 24.

and do not be drunk with wine,

but be filled with the Spirit,

(1) speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

(2) singing and (3) praising in your hearts to the Lord,