Walking Wisely in 2014

Ephesians 5:15-21

– One of the main themes in the book of Ephesians is the Christian ‘walk’ which flows out of our new identity in Christ and the gospel (cf. 2:1-2, 4:1-3, 17, 5:2, 5:8)

– As we enter into a new year, God commands us to ‘look carefully how we walk’, and Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5 tells us 3 ways we can walk in a manner that is worthy of our calling:

I.  Make the Most of the Time (vv. 15-16)

1)     The Brevity of Life (cf. Psalm 90)

2)     The Uncertainty of Life (cf. James 4:13-17)

3)     The Nature of the Times

Live with a sense of urgency!
“Only one life, will soon be past.  Only what’s done for Christ will last” – C.T. Studd

II.  Understand God’s Will (v. 17)

1)     Priorities of the Fool

• • Lust of the flesh
  • Lust of the eyes
  • Pride of life

2)     Priorities of the Godly

• • Eternal Priorities
    • • Relationship with God
      • God’s Word
      • Eternal souls of men and women

• • Temporal Priorities
    • • Family (cf. 5:22- 6:4)
      • Working/ studying/ retiring/ living for God’s Glory  (cf. Chapter 4; 5:1-14; 6:5-9)

3)     Most of God’s will for your life is already revealed on the pages of inspired Scripture!

• • God is most concerned about your advancement in holiness and obedience
  • “God is not half so much interested in what you do as what you are. Therefore, the will of the Lord does not concern itself primarily about what you do. That is a rather simple matter. Once you get the real issue straightened out, what you do is relatively unimportant and can be handled very easily. What you are — that is the big thing, what you are in every situation.” – Ray Steadman

III.  Be Filled with the Spirit  (vv. 18-21)

1)     Spirit Filling vs. Spirit Baptism

• • ‘Spirit Baptism’ is a one time occurrence which happens upon conversion
  • We learn much about what it means to be ‘Spirit Filled’ from the Greek verb in v.18:

1. Imperative – a command
2. Present – a continuous/ repeated action
3. Passive – God is the subject of the verb, who does the ‘filling’
4. Plural – a corporate responsibility

2)     Results of a Spirit Filled Life

• • Holy Spirit is the controlling force in your life (note the contrast – Spirit vs. wine)
  • Corporate worship inspired by joy
  • Thankfulness
  • Mutual Submission