Christians, being new people, live differently from other people, not only when they are together (4:1-16) but also at all other times (4:17-32). This is the theme which is continued in the section we have now come to study.
To enter more easily into Paul's teaching here, there is an introductory point we need to grasp: the Christian life is a walk.
Having told his readers to follow God, Paul instructs them to 'walk in love' (5:2), to 'walk as children of light' (5:8) and to 'walk circumspectly' (5:15). These three references to walking divide our passage quite naturally into three sections: the Ephesians must walk in love, in light and in wisdom.
The Christian life is a walk. To stress the need for self-discipline and perseverance, the apostle does sometimes describe the believer as an athlete (e.g. 1 Cor. 9:24; Gal. 2:2). But that is not his image here, because the purpose of this passage is different. We must not think of the Christian life as a run. Those who went to schools where cross-country runs were compulsory, will remember what they were like! Sometimes you ran well, but at other times slowly. Sometimes you did not run at all, but sat down to rest. Sometimes you gave up completely. There was no telling what you would be like on any given day. God does not want us to live the Christian life like that. The wonderful thing about walking is that it is steady. There is a certain consistency about it. You keep up the same pace mile after mile. The picture, then, is well chosen. God wants us to be steady, consistent, always the same.
Walking is better than running. Those who run soon get tired. But the walker can keep going and keep going and keep going. His progress is a lot less dramatic, but at least it is certain. Which is better, a Christian life which is dramatic or one which is dependable? One which advances by fits and starts, or one of measurable, reliable progress?
Paul's use of the verb 'walk' makes it clear what God wants from us. 'Sameness' is a word which this modem age despises. It is, however, something which God values very highly. Whether we are on our own or with others, at peace or in pain, at work or at play, among Christians or pagans, it is God's will that we should always be the same, as far as our personal attitudes and behaviour are concerned.
How few can be depended upon to be like that! A spiritually advancing 'sameness' is a very rare sight indeed. But it will be less rare if we take to heart this passage. Here we may learn to walk well.
Walk in love (5:1-7)To make his point, Paul uses a beautiful and simple illustration (5:1-2). Walking along a path are a group of children from the same family. They come to a point where they do not know which way to go. What are they to do? Which direction should they take? 'Follow Father,' says the apostle Paul. Those two words summarize the whole of verse 1.
Those words also summarize the core of our Lord's teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Do you want to know how to treat people who are unkind to you? Follow your Father who is actively good to the just and unjust alike (Matt. 5:43-45). This principle is to guide our every action: 'You shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect' (Matt. 5:48). Follow Father!
We are God's 'dear children' (5:1). Unfortunately children, even when they are walking behind their parents, are prone to bicker and squabble. Those in God's family are never to be like that. They are to 'walk in love' (5:2).
The word 'love' here is once more the Greek word agape. It denotes love which spares no pains to promote the good and well-being of others. It is the self-giving love which Christ had for us and which took him to the cross. Calvary was horrific. But, more than the Old Testament offerings whose ascending smoke was sweet and pleasant to God, Christ' s sacrifice on the cross was overwhelmingly pleasing to his Father. This sacrifice cannot ever be repeated. But Christ's love can be reflected in the way God's children treat each other. How much that would please the Father!
'But, Father,' says one of the children, 'look at those people over there. Look where they're walking! They are going down the path of sex before marriage and other sexual practices you forbid. It is the path of impurity and the desire for more...'
'Do not even talk of going that way,' comes the reply. 'Could people set apart to walk my path with me do such a thing, or even contemplate it? What could be more improper or unfitting?' (5:3).
'Father,' says another child, 'look where those people are walking now! They've taken the disgusting path of indecency, nonsensical and godless chatter, and dirty jokes...'
'My children, that will never be the right path for you. Those who are following a holy God cannot walk or speak in an unholy way. The way forward and upward for you is the giving of thanks. That is the right track' (5:4).
'Here is something you should know and never forget. The path of immorality and impurity certainly exists. So does the path of setting your heart on the possessions, property or experiences of others. This is idolatry, because it means giving these things the place in your life which rightly belongs to God alone. But no one who takes these paths will ever end up in the kingdom of Christ and God' (5:5).
'Those paths do not lead there, despite what people say. They will use all sorts of clever and persuasive words to get you to go along that road with them. They will tell you that no harm will come of it. Do not be taken in. The sins of which they speak so glowingly are precisely the sins which anger God and which he is certain to judge' (5:6).
If this is so, why do unconverted people do these things? It is because they are not following the Father. They are 'the sons of disobedience' (5:6). How, then, can the Father's children behave as they do? The sins which the world puts at the top of its league are the very sins which cause people to be damned. Christians must have nothing to do with these things! (5:7).
In this first paragraph, then, the apostle has made it clear that there is a way for a believer to walk, and there is a way for him not to walk. He has also made it clear which is which.
Walk in light (5:8-14)But it is not enough to walk in love for our Father and for each other. We must also 'walk as children of light' (5:8).
Again and again our daily papers tell us of tragedies on mountains. Many of these take place because people walking in dangerous conditions are not always given sufficient training and a proper briefing. All experienced fell-walkers know what to do if they are still outside when night falls. They must stop. A path which appears safe in the dusk looks very different indeed the next morning! Broad daylight shows us what we could never see at night; some paths lead to certain ruin.
Why do unconverted people rush along the road to damnation? It is because they cannot see the danger. They do not see anything in its true light. They are in the dark – about God, about sin and its consequences, about our Lord Jesus Christ and about salvation. Not only are they in the dark, but they are actually darkness (5:8). They cannot see the right way to go and therefore fail to their destruction.
Paul reminds us that we were once like them (5:8). But this is no longer the case. Not only are we now 'children of light', but we are actually 'light in the Lord'. How can we even consider walking along paths which the light reveals to be fatally dangerous? Believers simply cannot walk the same way as unconverted people. Those who are not the same cannot be the same.
The light of God's Spirit has shone in our lives, and the effect on us is as visible as fruit on a tree (5:9). Instead of the bad, we now love what is good. We steer clear of what is wrong, to do what is right. Falsehood we hate and we set our minds on what is true. We have been changed right round. We have been converted! All that interests us now is to please the Lord who has saved us (5:10). We want to follow Father, who is perfectly good and right and true. That is the path for us. The light we have received has convinced us of the idiocy of going any other way.
Yes, all other paths are fruitless (5:11). They come to nothing. They are valueless and we are to have nothing to do with them. Instead of going down such dark paths, we are to expose them. We are to show them up for what they are. This does not mean that believers are to spend their days constantly telling other people off. Nothing is more likely to put people's backs up and to give the impression that we consider ourselves better than others. How, then, are we to obey this command to 'have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them'? (5:11).
Paul gives us the answer in verses 12 and 13. If we see someone going along a path which will kill him, there are a number of things we can do. The best is to shed light on the road that the person is taking, so he can see for himself where it will lead him. Words can do this, which is why the apostle himself is using them. But some sins are so shameful that we should never even mention them. How can we expose the most degrading paths of all?
No one ever got rid of darkness by talking all night. Only light dispels darkness. The rising sun drives the night away and reveals how dangerous certain 'safe' paths really are. This dark world is in need of light and only Christians are able to supply it. They do this when they live lives which are radically different from those around them. A life of wholesome holiness soon makes it clear what a dangerous and unhappy business sin is.
Some people have concluded from verses 12-13 that we should never speak against sin. This cannot be a correct understanding, because the apostle Paul is obviously speaking against sin himself. But he is not ranting. Loud tirades against evil never do any good. Often they prove to be nothing but loud words uttered by insincere people who, engrossed by the sins they are denouncing, end up doing the very things which they claim to detest. A life of light is what is required. Why curse the darkness when you can light a candle? The Scriptures are calling us here to live so differently from everyone else that it is soon clear to all that all paths are ruinous, except God' s way. One holy life in a factory or office will do more to dispel its darkness than a million words from a person who is no different from the rest. Most powerful of all, of course, is a genuinely godly life backing up courageous and winsome words.
But what is verse 14 about? Having given this teaching, why does Paul then say, 'Therefore he says: "Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light"'?
These verses are not found anywhere in the Old Testament, and yet the apostle is obviously assuming that his readers know them well. The most likely explanation is that he is quoting a well-known hymn of the early church, probably one which was sung regularly at baptisms. These are the words which the new Christians would have heard as they came up out of the water after their symbolic burial.
By quoting this hymn here, what Paul is saying is this: 'I am not telling you anything new. You are not hearing anything different from what was emphasized when you were immersed as a new believer. That act underlined that the Christian life is all about finishing with sin and walking in newness of life; it is about sin being dead and buried, and about living in the light. What you have known from the beginning, I am stressing once again.'
Walk in wisdom (5:15-21)Believers are to walk in love and to walk in light. They are also to walk in wisdom. Verse 15 reads, 'See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise.'
A cat walking along a wall into which pieces of glass have been embedded is walking 'circumspectly'. He is watching where he is putting his feet! Christians are to be equally watchful. They are to tread carefully. They are not to rush foolishly ahead and live as they please, but to wisely consider every step.
This cannot be done without a proper attitude to time (5:16). Evil is all around us, and there is hardly anything that so effectively leads people to commit evil as idleness. The devil really does find work for idle hands to do. Unplanned time is something to be ashamed of. How many Christians come home from work or school and do not know what they are going to do that evening! They say, 'We shall see what happens.' This is pagan talk and should be denounced for what it is. Life is full of opportunities to do good, and we should make the most of those opportunities. Time is something to be 'redeemed'. It is highly valued and bought up. This can be done only by thinking ahead. We must decide what direction we are going to take and where we are going to put our feet. This is what walking 'circumspectly' means and in concrete terms. Unplanned time means certain sin.
'Don't, then, behave like those who don't know any better. Set yourselves to understanding what the Lord wants' (5:17). What is God's will for your life? Have you tried to find out? Have you found out? What commitments does the Lord want you to take on? What commitments does he want you to drop? Whom does he want you to write to? Whom does he want you to visit? What Christian work does he want you to get involved in? What special studies should you undertake? What hobbies are legitimate? What proportion of your time should you spend at home? What amount of time should you spend in extra hours at work? All these questions we should be able to answer, because we have thought them out and prayed them through. We should not be unwise, but should have an understanding of what the Lord wants from us.
This said, Paul moves on to speak out against a particular sin of his time, and ours. It is the sin of drunkenness. 'And do not be drunk with wine,' he says, 'in which is dissipation' (5:18). The Christian is always to be in charge of himself. He is never to lose control, because this in turn leads to unrestrained self-indulgence and immorality. If you take the reins off a wild horse, who knows where it may run?
It is certainly obvious to all that verse 18 must not be applied too narrowly. If it is wrong to be drunk with wine, it is equally wrong to be drunk with beer. Some people are 'drunk' with the disco beat which blows their minds, causing them to switch off and freak out. Others take drugs. Who can number the commodities and influences which bend the mind? But those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ are never to be numbered with those who no longer have full command of their faculties. We cannot walk that way, because that is the way this lost world walks.
Instead of all this, the believer is commanded to be 'filled with the Spirit' (5:18). This expression is used in a number of different ways in the New Testament, and taking the time to look at them is a most rewarding study. Here in Ephesians 6:18 it is a plural command, so it applies to every Christian. It is not an optional extra, but an obligation. It is also a passive command, so it speaks of letting something happen to us. And it is a present command. This means, in Greek, that it is something which is to happen to us all the time. In modem English we would translate Paul's instruction like this: 'All of you, go on letting yourselves be filled with the Spirit.' Paul's use of the Greek language in verses 19-21 reveals that four things happen to those who are filled with the Spirit.
1. They speak to one another. They enjoy fellowship with each other in an atmosphere of praise. The Spirit does not divide them, but brings them ever closer together (5:19).
2.They sing and make melody in their hearts to the Lord. They have great thoughts about the God of Scripture and their hearts go out to him in joyful worship (5:19).
3. They give thanks always for all things to God the Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not moan about anything that comes into their lives. They see that their Father has sent it and they thank him for it all. In their approach to him, they rely entirely on the mediation of their Saviour 5:20). 4. They submit to one another out of reverence for God. Each one considers the others to be better than he is. No one believes he is the greatest. All are concerned to treat fellow-believers in a way which would please God (5:21).
The passage we are studying has told us a great deal about how to live the Christian life. We can now summarize it in a sentence: 'Be filled with the Spirit!' But how do we get filled?
Verse 18 makes everything clear. How does a person get drank with wine? He drinks and drinks and drinks again, until what he has drank takes control. The same principle applies in the spiritual realm. We must drink spiritual things until we are under the Spirit' s influence. It is the Lord Jesus Christ who gives us the Spirit, and this is what he said in John 7:37-39: '"If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.'
Being constantly filled with the Spirit is a matter of constantly drinking. We are to go to Christ and to drink of him. We do this in prayer, listening to biblical preaching, studying God's Word for ourselves, engaging in Christian fellowship, meeting around the Lord's Table, and in every form of spiritual and devotional exercise. As the Spirit does his work through these means, we become more spiritual people, with the four results that we have just considered.
In this wicked world is there anything more striking and pleasant than seeing people walking day after day with God? By taking to heart what we have just studied, that walk may be ours.