EPHESIANS: Don’t Waste Your Life
EPHESIANS Number 58
Let’s begin where we finished in the last segment and read through verse 20.
Ephesians 5:15–20 (KJV 1900)
15See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
20Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
For verse 17, most translations have “do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (NASB 2020). I also love the suggestion made by the translators of the NET Bible for verse 17. “Do not become foolish, but become wise, understanding what the will of the Lord is.” I think we all understand this. The ways of the world are foolish. They lead nowhere good. Their end, as Scripture puts it elsewhere , “is destruction.” We’re also told that the reverence, or “fear”, of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. We are wise then to become attuned to the will of God and to allow it to direct our paths, as the proverb counsels us.
In these few sentences, the Holy Spirit reminds us of who we are in Christ. Through Paul, He sets before us Life and death and encourages us to choose Life, just as He did through Moses in Deuteronomy 30:19 (KJV 1900) where He said, “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
But the idea of understanding what the will of the Lord is can cause some of us to pause and wonder whether we actually do understand it. Probably the most succinct way I can express the will of God is that it is a life that is entirely consistent with God’s character.
Father has graciously provided us with an abundance of guidance in this area.
First and foremost, He humbled Himself and lived among us as the man Jesus. Jesus, we are told in Hebrews is the exact representation of God’s being. Colossians tells us that the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus bodily—He is human, and He is God.
Father also gave us Scripture passages such as 1 Corinthians 13, which describes traits and attributes of Love. John tells us that God is Love. Consequently, we can be certain that the traits described in 1 Corinthians 13 are those of our great God.
Then in Galatians 5, He graciously gives us a nine-element list that provides another example of His character traits. He refers to them as “the fruit of the Spirit”. In Philippians He gives us examples of things we should think about. Things that are good, lovely, and so on. These are good and godly things consistent with His nature, who He is.
Here in these verses, He adds more examples. In verse 18 He says, don’t be a drunkard because that makes you do stupid stuff. In the moment, you will behave in ways you later regret, and over the long term, you will discover that you have wasted your life. As our Father says, excess drinking is bad for us. He is Love and He wants only what is best for us and His will is that we would express His sterling character in everything. So, He does not prohibit drinking, (in fact, the Scriptures taken as a whole assume that we will drink) but He counsels us against excess. He does this not because He is a killjoy wanting to prevent us from enjoying ourselves—quite the contrary in fact—but because He knows that the flesh pulls people toward overindulgence in all such things. Because His nature is Love, His shepherd’s heart lovingly guides us away from such cliffs and predators.
He continues in verse 19 by turning our focus to the fullness of His Spirit who lives within us and to His expression through artistic songs and poetry. Melody, lyrics, and cadence are forms of expression that stick with us. They provide a background to our day. Who among us hasn’t found a song running through their head on a never-ending loop? Such things help us ignore the siren-song of the world and keep our attention on the Good Shepherd.
