Living Consistent With a New Identity: Walking Wisely

Discipleship Training Ministries, Inc.

Notes for the Ekklesia Meeting

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Today’s Date: October 8, 2006

Living Consistent With a New Identity: Walking Wisely

by Dan Trygg

"Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise people, but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of your time, because the days are evil. ¹⁷So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit."

Ephesians 5:15-18

This passage has much to say to us, even though it is only three verses long. It is written in a manner designed to produce introspection and self-evaluation, if we take it seriously. Please, take some time to begin to ask the Holy Spirit to show you how He wants you to live your life more effectively. Write down the things that come to mind as you go through this study, and ponder them, asking for further direction and clarification.

"Therefore be careful how you walk". Again, when you come to a "therefore" in the text, the first question you should ask is, "What is the ‘therefore’ there for?" "Therefore" is a logical connector. It indicates a conclusion being drawn from previous information. It ties this verse back to Paul's previous argument. We mentioned also that this is the fifth time in the past two chapters where the apostle used the image of "walking about" to describe their lifestyle choices, and to direct their attention to what it means to live effectively as a Christian:

First, it was to "walk as worthy (or, "worthily") of the calling" which they had received as redeemed ones. This was defined as being humble, meek (teachable, gentle), patient, showing forbearance to one another in love, being quick to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the Body. In the following verses, he describes how we are gifted by God to join together with other believers to bring about maturity in the Body of Christ. Through serving one another by expressing truth (what is "real") with each other in love, we grow up in every way into Christ. As we all learn to interact together honestly and lovingly, we discover how to encourage the proper working of each person according to their gifts, and the entire Body causes the growth of the Body for the building up of itself in love (4:1-16).

Second, it was to "walk about no longer as Gentiles (unbelievers) walk about"

, which was further defined as living in futile, empty, vain thinking, ...living as practical atheists, ...living as though God were not part of the equation, ...trying to cope with our inner feelings of emptiness, pain, loneliness, and inadequacy by not facing them, by pushing them aside and "numbing ourselves out" with a never-ending pursuit of pleasure, ...hoping that the "feel good" experiences would succeed in overcoming the inner emptiness. Paul's solution to counteract this tendency was to "put aside" the old behaviors, and learn to live life according to who you are as a new person in Christ. Part of this requires that, instead of hiding our true selves, we "get real" with each other, because we are interdependent parts of one another in the Body of Christ. This "getting real" includes getting healthy anger out on the table, not stuffing it to avoid conflict and unwittingly giving the enemy opportunity to make it grow into bitterness or deeper hurts. It includes finding our place as productive givers, ...working to help others in need, instead of taking from those around us. It means putting aside destructive, hurtful, or unwholesome speech patterns, and learning to speak and relate to one another in ways that are kind, helpful, tender-hearted and forgiving. -- 4:17-32.

Thirdly, it was to "walk in love, according as Christ loved you and gave Himself up for us" in service to God. Walking in love means self-restraint, giving ourselves (our past behaviors and former lifestyle) up in order to serve God. We are to imitate God, as beloved children, not live lives that are antithetical to what He stands for. Immoral sexual behavior, "any uncleanness", greed, or even inappropriate humor should not be found among us who have been dedicated to serve God. These may be habits and life patterns that we have grown very accustomed to, and are "second nature" to us. Nevertheless, if we are to live as "holy ones", ones dedicated to serve God, these must all go. We must "give ourselves up", ...that is, give up our old selves, our old customary ways of living life, ...in order to make way for a new self, a life that is a "fragrant aroma" to God. -- 5:1-6.

Fourth, we are to "walk about as children of light, ...trying to learn (by experimentation) what is pleasing in/to the Lord". We are not to participate in the "unfruitful deeds of darkness" (which are not pleasing to God, or profitable for us), but to expose them. We do this by "turning the light on", i.e., either by what we say or by the contrast of our own behavior next to their own. The fruit of light is all goodness, righteousness and truth. What is the fruit, or end results, of the "unfruitful deeds of darkness"? Nothing good or productive. Invest yourself in learning what will produce good results, …goodness, righteousness and truth…, in your life and in those around you.

With this kind of background in Paul's argument to this point, we can see the import of his statement, "be careful how you walk". Literally, the Greek says, "Therefore, y'all watch ("Look!", "Take heed!") as accurately (diligently, with exactness, care and precision) how (or, in what way, in what manner) y'all walk about". There is a clear tone of seriousness communicated here. This is an exhortation to focus carefully on the business at hand, or something will be lost, or missed, in the process. The next few phrases deepen this sense of urgency and importance.

"...not as unwise, but as wise"

-- The Greek word for "wise (person)" here is sophos. The word for "unwise" is just a negated form of this same word. Sophos means "prudent, enlightened (as to the realities of life, and how to deal with them), shrewd, clever, one with practical wisdom and skill in living life". It is not so much descriptive of the person who is well educated intellectually, or even theologically, as of the person who has common sense, who knows what needs to be done, and does it. Paul is saying, "Don't be as the person who doesn't know what is going on, one who doesn't have a clue concerning what life is all about, and has no prudence or practical understanding. Rather (and the word in Greek is a strong word for contrast), be like the one who knows what life is about, who has the perception to understand what to do, and has the skill and inventiveness to deal with the practical realities of life (especially what I just described in my argument above)

effectively."

"...making the most of your time, because the days are evil." -- Literally, the Greek is "(for yourselves) continually buying out (as in setting free, redeeming, securing for your own use, or rescuing [i.e., from loss or misapplication]) the time, season or opportunity". The subject is still "y'all" from the first clause. It is clear that Paul had in mind not only the idea of making good use of the time we have, but also to free up time that would otherwise be consumed by things that are of lesser importance and wasteful. Why must we "watch" for this? "...because the days are evil". In other words, we live in a world that is designed by the enemy to rob us of our life energy in countless ways that will hinder us from ever considering, or pursuing, the true realities of life. There are a million and one "opportunities" demanding our time and attention, if we will give ourselves to them. Every moment we invest there, however, is a moment lost forever to anything else. Every dollar we spend there cannot be spent anywhere else, unless we can sell our poor investment to recoup some of the cost. Time, however, cannot be regained. It is gone forever. We "redeem" or "set free" our time and resources by stopping waste and making priority decisions for God. We must be proactive.

"So then do not be foolish, but understand the will of the Lord." --

The word translated as "foolish" literally is "unthinking". To turn this admonition into a positive statement: "Be thinking about this." To be foolish or "unthinking" is to be unaware, both of the big picture of the spiritual battle being waged around us and of the consequences of the choices we make. The word translated as "understand" literally means "to send together". Paul is advocating that we pay attention to clear teaching of the scripture, the circumstances around us, the experiences and people that come into our lives, and the inner leading of the Holy Spirit so that we can discern God’s direction for our lives. Like putting together a puzzle, the individual pieces sometimes seem pretty obscure, and can be hard to recognize. When you begin to piece them together, however, a picture begins to take shape, and it is easier to see how other pieces fit. In a similar way, we must learn to assemble the pieces of God’s communication to us so that we can more clearly see the patterns of His leading in our lives (e.g., Acts 16:6-10).

"and do not be drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit..." -- The word "and" here definitely links this statement with the preceding sentence. Being drunk with wine is only one example, though a very common trap, of the larger concern, i.e., the problem of "dissipation". I've always had difficulty with why the translations are not more clear on this verse. This word is often understood in its extreme form as "total abandonment to sin". Listen to the words used to translate this: "debauchery, dissolution, profligacy, prodigality". I do not use those words in my everyday speech. Do you? Basically, the root word means "excess" or "recklessness" or "dissipation". "Dissipation" took on new meaning to me when I saw it in the context of this passage. It just means that you have chosen a course of action that "dissipates" your life energy, your limited quantity of time, talent, and resources on something that is unprofitable, wasteful and unproductive, as far as the perspective of your calling in the Lord. A "debauched" person is someone whose life is totally dissipated, one who has ruinously spent his life for sensual pleasure and drunkenness. I think that overstates the case to where we miss the point. Paul is less concerned that we might become total immoral slime balls, than he is attempting to stress the need to "seize the day" (carpe diem). If we do not proactively choose to "purchase time and opportunity for ourselves", we will probably passively give in to the many demands, or suggestions, that our culture (and the enemy) would press upon us. In so doing, we will miss the high calling of God for our lives, and our Body. Following Jesus is a full-time affair, requiring complete commitment, if we desire to see God's full plan unfold for us.