16th August 2009 (Trinity 10)
Ephesians 5:15-20
When Paul was writing to the Ephesians, the situation of the church was still precarious. He himself had experienced persecution, and that was always a danger for the fledgling church. In addition, the Jewish world was showing signs of unrest, an unrest which would lead in less than ten years to the destruction of the temple by Roman armies, and the end of the nation as they knew it. Although the Christian church was not Jewish, many people would have classed Christians together with the Jews, and when Paul was writing no-one could tell what lay ahead. The days were indeed evil.
It mattered how Christians lived their lives. Any sign of anti-social behaviour would have sparked severe treatment from the civil authorities and the general populace. There were rumours that Christians were involved in cannibalism and incest among other things because they talked of eating our Lord’s body and drinking his blood, and called each other brothers and sisters. So Paul tells the Ephesians to be very careful about the way they live.
At the beginning of the chapter Paul had summed up his teaching by saying, ‘Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us’. He went on to say that such a life avoided all immorality, either in deed or word. Our words should be filled with thanksgiving, and our deeds should be those of children of light – ‘the fruit of light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth’. Such a life doesn’t happen without effort, for there are too many temptations around; we therefore need to think about the way we live, to be wise rather than unthinking.
There was an urgency in his message. ‘The days are evil’, he says; therefore Christians had to make the most of the opportunities God gave them in day to day life. Opportunities for what? Paul does not spell it out. In his letter to the Colossians he says, ‘Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders, making the most of every opportunity’ (Colossians 4:5). It is likely that he was thinking along similar lines here, and that he wants Christians to be known among their neighbourhoods as people who are active in doing good and helpful things for their neighbours, who are trustworthy and reliable, who won’t deceive you or cheat and who will tell you the truth as they see it – especially if you ask them why they live like that.
One particular temptation in those days was drunkenness. Paul is not against alcohol – he even told his colleague Timothy not to drink water only but to take a little wine for the sake of his stomach. But Paul was against drinking too much alcohol, because of what it led to – unwise behaviour, and the waste of God-given opportunities to help others.
Don’t get drunk, but ‘Be filled with the Spirit’. These words could be translated, ‘Go on being filled with the Spirit’ – it is not a once-for-all experience that Paul is thinking of, but a continuing one. Jesus told us how: ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me will have streams of living water flowing from within’ (John 7:37,38 – John explains that Jesus is talking about the Spirit). A full life is not a life filled with activity or pleasure or experiences, but a life filled with the Holy Spirit, through whom the Father and the Son make their home in us (John 14:23). The filling comes as we focus on Jesus, and as we believe in him as our Lord and Saviour, and accept what he offers us: forgiveness for all our failures and wrong doing, acceptance by God as members of his close family along with all other believers, direction for our lives, power to obey, an amazing and eternal inheritance, and above all God’s presence in every part of the journey. But we do need actively to ask, and to ask in faith (Luke 11:5-13), and to keep ‘drinking’ so that we stay full!
One important expression of faith is thanksgiving – which can be expressed in songs of all sorts. Let it be from the heart, to the Lord!
Questions:
1) What is God saying to you personally through this passage?
2) ‘Understand what the will of the Lord is.’ How do we do that?