By Jared Warner
Willow Creek Friends Church
August 18, 2024
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Ephesians 5:15–21 (ESV)
15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Last week our scripture ended by encouraging us to be imitators of Christ. To be an imitator means that we reflect or exemplify the nature of Christ. We reflect the nature of God: gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. We discussed what it means to be slow to anger, and to be angry without sin. To be slow to anger we need to shed the life and lifestyle falsehood and self gratification, and to put on the nature of Christ. Today we continue with this theme.
Paul tells the Ephesians, “Look carefully then how you walk.” The idea surrounding look in this case is not looking with our eyes, but to process information. To investigate or process thoroughly. Look carefully then how you walk. Walk is a figure of speech in Hebrew like the hot nose from last week, except instead of anger walk points to how a person lives or how we conduct our lives.
Paul is urging us to be mindful of our conduct. He issues three comparisons: unwise and wise, foolish and understanding, and finally drunk and filled. If you notice there is something similar to each of these statements. One is positive and the other is negative.
Paul is giving us a view of the live we put off or shed and the life we are moving into. We have died to the old life with Christ and are now at this moment something new.
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.
Walk having or being prompted by accumulated knowledge or discernment. Walk utilizing the skills you possess. Sharing with others the lessons you have learned from your experience. Paul was inspired by the Spirit of God to urge us to use the wisdom that God entrusted to us. We are commanded to look to observe and be mindful of how we conduct ourselves.
Over the years I have thought about this often. We as followers of Christ should strive to use the things God has gifted us to encourage our community. What are we doing to increase our knowledge? How are we using our experiences to encourage those around us? Do those around you even know that you have something to offer? In a smaller meeting like ours we do encourage one another. We cannot fade into the background because each of us are needed and have a place in the wider ministry. But what about within the wider community?
The opposing view to this is unwise. To be unwise is to lack the accumulation of knowledge, to lack discernment, or lacking experience. Not simply not having knowledge because each of us have ignorance in some areas. I am ignorant when it comes to working on cars. I used to be the type of person that would change my own oil, mainly because I drove so many mile I was spending all my money on gas, tires, and oil changes. So I learned to do limited maintenance on my old Pontiac Grand Am. Then I got married. I really wanted to prove to my wife that I was a good husband. I wanted to show her that I could do everything she thought I could. I even wanted her to have the illusion that I was better than I actually was.
We had been married for only a couple of months. We got back from our honeymoon and settled into our first apartment, and I thought I would take care of her car for her. I got everything set up, my tools were out and I was ready. Then I crawled under her CRV only to be met with something I had never saw before. Everything was covered. I crawled back out and looked under the hood, I looked everywhere and I could not find where the oil filter was, so I opened the owners manual. Men do occasionally refer to the instructions when necessary. Then I had to admit defeat. The owners manual only showed a picture of the filter. It was a wonderfully drawn image of the filter just hanging out on the side of the engine, but it did not give any indication as to what portion of the engine it clung. I had to go inside and admit that I would not be the husband that could fix everything. And I grabbed the keys and drove to the service station.
I was ignorant, but in my ignorance I still possessed wisdom. By being able to admit to yourself that you are unable, or inexperienced and releasing that task to someone that has the experience you are being wise. You are wise if you use the time you released from yourself to gain or strengthen your own gifts.
This is where the second part of this statement comes in. “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”
Paul is telling us to make the most of what we are given. To grab hold of the advantages you have and to not let the opportunity you have been given go to waste. I could not change the oil in my wife’s vehicle. I later learned that had I been able to find the silly oil filter I still would not have been able to do much because I did not have the proper tool to remove the filter anyway because like many vehicles today everything requires some special tool. But there was something that I could do. I was attending school at that time, I had just enrolled at Friends University to obtain a master’s degree in ministry. I enrolled in this program because as a young pastor I quickly learned that I needed more knowledge.
As Friends, we do not require pastor’s to have degrees. We believe that God will provide the knowledge we need as we are obedient to him. I firmly believe this. But I also knew that the people I served required something from me that I did not have the words to speak, I did not have the confidence to encourage, and frankly I did not know where to even start. God provided an opportunity to me, because Friends University had a scholarship to the master’s program that greatly reduced the cost for Friends ministers. So I enrolled.
I had just purchased all the books for that semester. I had attended the first class and I had more reading that needed done than hours in a week, not to mention working a full time job, and being a pastor. I stared at that owners manual. I gazed at the wonderfully drawn but completely useless image of the oil filter and I realized that I was not making the best use of my time. I am not a mechanic. I knew I was not a mechanic. I only did maintenance on my car because I was too proud and broke to take it in for service. But I was in a different place. I also did not have time, because I had to read a couple chapters of Barth and other theological texts. I had to write a paper applying my theological position to some random situation. I had to figure out if I even had a theological position to apply to that situation. My ignorance allowed me to make a wise decision to take my wife’s car to the shop, while I sat in the waiting room reading.
Make the best use of the time. We have had to come to terms with this in our own meeting. Just last week we decided that it would be better to hire someone to do repairs. We did this because we need to make the best use of our time, as well as, getting our meetinghouse back into shape as fast as possible. We need to be mindful of what we have available and make wise decision. We need to be honest and humble about who we are and allow others to help when necessary, while stepping up when we have the ability. We need to do this because we are here for a reason and for a purpose.
Paul says to make the best use of the time because the days are evil. I know that when we read that portion of this passage our minds just went all over the place. We have images flashing through our mind about the news reports we recently watched, the memes we recently shared. Our anxiety just shot into overdrive as we consider the political figure we are considering voting for, or more accurately against. But I want us to apply the brakes for a moment. Yes the English translation here says evil. It says evil because the idea surrounding the Greek word that Paul used does not have a simple and clear cut equivalent. We are to make the best use of our time, we are to apply the wisdom that we possess in the world we live at this moment in this age of history because the world that we live in is trapped in cycles of moral and social worthlessness.
Yes there is evil within this world, but that evil does not necessary mean that there are demons under every designer area rug. What Paul is saying is that we live in a world that is opposed to the ways of God. We live in a world where people are driven by their selfish desires, by greed, envy, and the lusts of the flesh. This manifests itself in so many ways. We are often hyper focused on just a few of the ways, and Paul listed some of those ways just a few verses prior to today’s passage. In Ephesians 5, Paul says, “ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” He then continues by saying, “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among the saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”
We look at that list and we know that it is evil. We know that those things are happening all around us. But I want us to take a step back. I want us to take a step down from the soap boxes we are standing on and recognize that many of those things are the very things we promote and encourage within our community. We justify this as we vote saying that at least they are not as bad as the other individual but the reality is we are participating in and justifying the same evil within this world. One might support abortion but the other supports covetousness. We cannot get away from the evil within our world, we must speak the truth and stop giving our political parties a pass when we know they are just as bad.
Ok, that was my soap box. And I apologize but the reality is we often get distracted. We are often divided and manipulated. People use our God given emotions to insight rage within us and we need to understand what they are doing, and take a step back and speak truth when we see falsehood being said around us. We live in this place at this moment to be a light in the darkness. We are here to being discernment into a world that does not know how to respond except with base emotions. We are to be a voice of hope within a world bent on destruction.
“Therefore,” Paul continues as he writes the second dual comparison, “do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” There is a reason Paul repeats these dual comparisons. A few years ago I spoke out of Ephesians, and I probably made several of you a bit uneasy. We know that the people of Ephesus were largely pagan. This city was a central location for the cult of Artemis, and because of this the commentators on scripture largely taught that Paul wrote this book primarily to the Gentiles. As we have learned more about this city and the culture surrounding it, as we have made discoveries of documents like the Dead Sea Scrolls and as we have obtained a greater understanding of the original languages scripture was written in, we are gaining a greater picture of what Paul was addressing.
Ephesus was a largely pagan city, but there was also a significant population of people that held to the faith of the Hebrews. Although we do not know exactly where the Hebrew people met for worship, there is a building attached to the ancient gymnasium that housed Jewish artifacts. This points to something interesting. Paul was speaking to the those of both Hebrew and Gentile heritage and was making his point using similar teaching formats that were present in the Essene teachings uncovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Hebrew people were right in the center of the Greek culture, they were right alongside the idolatrous activities going on within the gymnasium. They were right there with the rest of the Greek culture, apart yet participating.
“Do not be foolish, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.” This is similar to the previous duality, but there is a slight difference. In the first comparison the commanding verb was to look, but in this statement we have two commands. Do not be foolish and understand. This shows us s shift in intensity. He begins with mindfulness, now he is telling them to take another step. Foolishness is devoid of wisdom, good sense, or sound judgment. To be foolish is to have willful ignorance. It is rejecting facts when they are presented and purposefully contributing to base nature of society. Do not be foolish, Paul says. Not just says but commands. Instead we should understand the will of the Lord.
Last week I spoke about looking into why we began feeling the emotions of anger. The base response to anger is to act without examination. Foolishness is hitting the share button on facebook without taking the extra step to actually google the information presented on the meme deceptively constructed to incite your emotion. To be understanding and wise is to take the step back to examine what is going on within you and what is going on within your community. It is to look at how things will play out in the future if we continue down that path and how making a certain statement might affect those you care about. To be understanding we must move away from willful ignorance and seek a deeper examination. As followers of Christ this is imperative and of even greater importance because we not only need to consider the community in which we live, but also how this resembles the nature of God.
When we speak of will it is an attitude of the mind. The will favors one alternative over others. We make decisions of will. When we understand the will of God, it is more than merely obedience to a rule. It is looking deeper into the process. The ten commandments give us wonderful rules, but if all we do is keep the letter of the commands we miss the deeper teaching. We neglect the process of thinking God is attempting to initiate within our society. The command to not steal, or kidnap if we want to get technical is not only about not taking what is not yours, it is telling us that we should not be envious of what others have. God is attempting to teach us how to be content and thankful what we have, and to protect and maintain not only our property but extend that protection to those around us.
Understand what the will of the Lord is, Paul says. We could rest just on that, but Paul taking the lead from the teachers within the Essene community, completes the though by adding a third example. This third example also contains imperative or commanding verbs. “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,”
This was a verse that was spoken often in the meeting I grew up in. We had a strong Women’s Christian Temperance Union that remained active in our Church. One of my first bibles was given to me by the WCTU when I entered junior high. Unfortunately this verse often gets misused by many. To get drunk is to cause to become intoxicated, it is to consume in excess. This is why Paul makes the statement, “For that is debauchery.” It is not a sin to consume alcohol, much to the shagreen of my WCTU Sunday school teachers, the sin is what we are opening ourselves up to. Debauchery is recklessness, abandon, wild living and spending or using something in excess. Many things could fit into this category of debauchery. I want us to widen our view. Paul uses the illustration of wine because it is easily observed. We know when people are drunk. We know how they act while they are filled with that intoxicating drink. They consume this for various reasons but usually it is to lower their inhibitions, there is a reason it is called liquid courage. It deadens your mind so that you no longer stop yourself with sound logic. And you become capable to do something you normally would not do.
There is a reason you normally would not do those things. Usually because you brain is telling you you should not because its stupid and dangerous. To be drunk with wine is to put focus on yourself and your own desires. It is seeking the momentary gratification over the wisdom found in patience. Again it is not just about alcohol. If you go to the store and have the momentary urge to make a purchase you did not intend to buy, if you are swept away on that momentary urge you run the risk of debauchery just as much as if you consumed wine to excess. What if you placed that item on a list of potential purchases, and revisited that list a couple of days later? If the desire remains then maybe you do need it.
Paul says do not get drunk, instead be filled with the Spirit. I want us to stop here for just a moment. Within the church there are those that encourage and teach that we should be drunk with the spirit. This is not the intent of the wording. Intoxication leads to or empowers poor choices, foolishness, and falsehood. These things are not the fruit of the Spirit. To be filled is to be or become generously supplied with, complete, finished and fulfilled. To be filled is to content and satisfied. The Spirit does empower and it can give us courage to do things we normally would not do if left to our own devices. I am living proof of this every Sunday morning. If left to myself I would not stand up in front of you all. I love teaching, but I my preference is one on one, not a crowd. And I definitely have no desire to sing or play the guitar in front of anyone, yet I do. I do this because the spirit empowers it. I am not content within myself unless I am obedient to the spirit. I do not want to speak, yet I am compelled to speak.
The difference is stark. Both speak of being filled. One encourages mindfulness the other mindlessness. One focuses on the momentary gratification of our own desires, the other looks for what is best within our community. One promotes recklessness and the other thoughtfulness. One focuses on self and the other empowers the community.
“Look carefully then how you walk.” Paul tells us. Paul urges us. Where is your focus, what are your intentions? What resides at the core of who you are? Be filled with the Spirit Paul encourages, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart. This reminds me of another letter Paul wrote to a church, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, what ever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
What are we here for? Are we here to sing songs? Are we hear out of duty? Do we think by sitting in these seats we are gaining favor? No, what Paul is telling us is that when we speak, we should encourage those within our community to move closer to God. We do this because this is what our mind and spirit are focused on. We speak what is within us. If we are filled with fear we speak fear. If we are filled with anxiety, anxiety will pass through our lips. The center of our being, if the core of who we are, if our heart is filled with hate, we will speak hate. If our heart is filled with hopelessness we will promote hopelessness. But if our hearts are filled with praise and thanksgiving. Those are the words we speak. When our hearts are filled with love for God and love for our neighbor, the love of God will flow out of us and enrich the parched souls needing the hope found in Christ. If we are to sing praises to God as we speak to our community we need our very core essence to be turned toward God. We need every aspect of our lives in tune with God.
Look carefully then how you walk, Paul says. Look be mindful, be aware. Are we focused on God. Are we in harmony with the tune of Christ, who left his throne in heaven to be born of Mary. To live among humanity, within a community. Making it his custom to worship within the synagogues along side his family and friends, withdrawing often to the isolated places to pray, and serving his community with teaching and acts of charity? Are we reflecting, or bearing the image of God?
Paul concludes this section of scripture with words I think are the most powerful of this whole passage. “Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” We do not like that word submit. It is not a commandment but a description. I we are singing the praises of God, if we have put off falsehood,the idolatry, or evil of this world submitting to one another is what we do. We do this because that is the example Jesus showed us, and that is the lifestyle he is calling us to put on. Our focus is no longer on ourselves, but how we can encourage one another. “Look carefully then how you walk.” Love God, embrace the Holy Spirit, and live the love of Christ with others.
Previous Messages:
Living Stones
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church May 03, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 2:2–10 (ESV) 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have…
Endure
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 26, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 4 (Faith and Practice of EFC-MAYM pg 61) Do you provide for the suitable Christian education and recreation of your children and those under your care, and…
Ransomed to Love
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 19, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:17–23 (ESV) 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time…
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Born Again to a Living Hope
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 12, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili 1 Peter 1:3–9 (ESV) 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born…
Broken Dreams Restored
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church April 05, 2026 Click here to join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili John 20:1–18 (ESV) 1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the…
The Mind of Christ
By Jared Warner Willow Creek Friends Church March 29, 2026 Click here to Join our Meeting for Worship Click to read in Swahili Bofya kusoma kwa Kiswahili Query 3: Do you attend regularly the services of your church and participate in them actively? Do you prayerfully endeavor to minister, under the guidance of the Holy…
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