Ephesians 5:15-20 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In the above verses, Paul continues to instruct Christians on how to live their daily lives. He has already told them in the previous verses we have read to imitate God in everything they do because they are his dear children. He points them to a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He reminds them of the Lord’s love for them and that he offered himself as a sacrifice for them as pleasing aroma to God. But Paul knows the Ephesians live in a crooked and perverse world. In such a caustic and challenging environment to their new lives, they need to carefully determine what pleases the Lord. They should never take part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them. So now we hear Paul say, Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. How then should they live their lives? They should live as lights in a dark world, exposing by the light they possess the dark deeds of the world. The contrast that they bring to the world will reveal the darkness in the lives of the people around them. Paul warns the Ephesian Christians not to participate in the things of the old man and his debauched environment. They should not cope with the vicissitudes of living with the old routine of getting drunk on wine to dull their senses. Instead he desires for them to be filled with the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the engine to a positive, overcoming life. Without his presence minute-by-minute, day-by-day, Christians' lives will flounder in this world of darkness and sin. A doldrum, lacking the Holy Spirit’s wind in their lives, will set them adrift from real life in God. An existence without the wind of God is a wilderness journey, caught in the mundane activities of life, hiding in work and entertainment for a reason to live. Paul warns the Ephesians not to go back to their former lives of waywardness and self-indulgence; instead, he encourages them to live lives full of the Holy Spirit’s presence—lives that are filled with the Holy Spirit's presence will interact with others in the body of Christ with psalms, hymns, and songs. Christian people should be so full of the Spirit’s presence that in their gatherings they will desire to share what they have learned from walking with God. In the Corinthian church this excitement was so great that Paul had to teach them to gather to edify the whole church, not just tell or sing what God has done for them. They came together happy and with enthusiasm about the work of the Spirit inside of them, but their lack of control within their meetings often caused confusion and not edification. He tells the Corinthian church to come together in an orderly fashion regardless of their enthusiasm in knowing the Holy Spirit in their lives. What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. (1 Corinthians 14:26) Paul cautions the believers about their gathering without focusing on edifying the whole church. But with the Ephesians, he is encouraging them that in their personal lives, they should live IN THE HOLY SPIRIT’S presence, allowing the Spirit of God to energize their daily lives, creating new songs in their hearts each day. Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their king. Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp. For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. (Psalm 149:1-5) The presence of God in their lives should give them a new song in the morning and a song of gladness as they retire for the night. The Spirit of God should be singing in their spirits all day long. Anything else is less than what God desires for them. If the song of the Spirit is absent from their hearts, they will experience the anxieties and fears of this world rather than the joy and love of God. Therefore, for the Christian, Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. (Praise the Lord!) (Psalm 150:6)
The Spirit's presence in our lives changes us to a new person. We see this happening to king Saul. He was a humble man when he first was filled with the Holy Spirit. When Samuel selected him to be the first king of Israel, Saul was not able to accept the words of Samuel, for he thought of himself as a man not worthy of such an exalted position. Samuel knew this of Saul, and God knew Saul could not accept the reins of king unless he knew that God had his hand on him in a special way. So after Samuel anointed him with oil and told him that he has been selected by God to be the king of Israel, Samuel gave him three signs that Saul would experience as he left Samuel to go to his home. The first one was that he would meet two men who would tell Saul that the donkeys that Saul had been looking for were found. The second sign would be that he would meet three men who would have three young goats, three loaves of bread and a wineskin full of wine. And they would offer to give Saul two of the loaves of bread. Samuel tells Saul he should accept those two loaves. And then the third sign that Saul would meet on his way home to confirm that he really had been chose by God as the first king of Israel is a band of prophets on the road. After that you will go to Gibeah of God, where there is a Philistine outpost. As you approach the town, you will meet a procession of prophets coming down from the high place with lyres, timbrels, pipes and harps being played before them, and they will be prophesying. The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. (1 Samuel 10:5-6) We see in this scene the presence of the Holy Spirit changing the heart of Saul from just an ordinary man to a man of God. Saul prophesies with them. He is changed into a different person. This is exactly what happens to a born-again believer. He or she is changed into a different person. And because of that, the new believer will prophesy, sing songs, express the glory of the Lord in their mouths daily, for they are no longer part of the world of debauchery, but everything is now new. All life is brighter, more vivid, and the understanding of what has changed from a finite existence to an eternal one is more clear. We see this experience as Jesus is with the disciples at the Lord’s table. As with Saul not knowing he could take the mantle of being the first king of Israel, we see Jesus sharing something with the disciples that will change their whole lives. He is anointing to change their total perspective on life. No longer will they just be men who follow Jesus: they will be new creatures, born-again, made new by the advent of the cross. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body. ”Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. (Matthew 26:26-30) They left that gathering with a song, for the Spirit was singing a new song in their hearts. Jesus anointed their heads with a purpose beyond their understanding when they left that supper, just as Saul did not really know what Samuel was doing, but on his day of Pentecost, he received full knowledge that he really was the king. These disciple did not really know what this eating of the bread and drinking of the wine was about until the day of Pentecost. Then the reality of being born-again set in. They were really now people with crowns on their heads. A fire of the Spirit descended on their heads, anointing them with the living Spirit. Now they could walk away from that scene as children of the Living God, intimately involved with the Creator of all things.
In the above verses, Paul teaches the Ephesians that they are more than just human beings who believe in Jesus Christ as the Lord. But they are people who are filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and because of that they should live as people of light. They should sing and make music in their hearts to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are new creatures, who embody the presence of God himself through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. the Bible says the stars sing; now we who are lights should be singing God’s glory. In the Old Testament we read, I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. (Psalm 40:1-3) We were lost, unable to find our way home in this desert of life. But God came to our aid and directed our steps through his indwelling Spirit. Paul desired the Ephesians to live the life God had planned for them, not for them to go back to the beggarly elements of the world, for only death reigned there. He desired for them to live lives of joy with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit in their hearts. Where the Spirit is there are the words of God dwelling in our spirits. The message of God never quits in our spirits. He knows his children and will lead them tenderly and kindly as a good father. We who are alive IN CHRIST will treat each other in the same way, for we will emulate the Father God who loves us, and does not condemn us. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. (John 3:17) Rather than condemn, criticize, judge others, we will come along the side of all, the weak, wayward, and troubled. We will reiterate the Good News to the faltering, telling them to stay close to the flock. As a good friend to all in the church of the living God, Let the message of Christ dwell among us richly as we teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in our hearts. (Colossians 3:16) When we gather together, when we meet fellow believers, let our hearts be in tune with the music from the Spirit that we hear in our souls. Let everyone know that God’s song of redemption is rich in us. Paul tells the Ephesians that life is hard without the song of God in their hearts. The desert is long and unending without the presence of God, but with God and the song of the renewing Spirit in our hearts, we live with joy and not despair. Therefore as Paul says, walk with wisdom in your hearts, knowing who you are and where you are going. Use every opportunity to win some to the Lord for the glory of God. Walk as wise, not unwise. Amen!
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