Ephesians 5:15-21 ESV
“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
The New Testament Scriptures speak much on this subject of our walk of faith. For as believers in Jesus Christ we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, yet not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. And we are to walk properly and not in sensuality, and we are to walk by faith and not by sight, and we are to walk in the good works which God had planned for us to walk in. And we are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling in Christ Jesus.
And we are to walk in love, and as children of light. And we are to look carefully how we walk, not as unwise but as wise. And we are to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. And as we have received Christ as Lord, so we are to walk in him. And we are to walk in wisdom and in a manner worthy of God. And we are to walk to please God, and in the same manner in which Christ walked, and according to his commands, and in truth. And then we will walk with Christ in white, for we are worthy.
[Rom. 6:4; Rom. 8:4; Rom. 13:13; 2 Co. 5:7; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 2:10; Eph. 4:1, 17; Eph. 5:1-2, 8, 15; Col. 1:10; Col. 2:6; Col. 4:5; 1 Thess. 2:12; 1 Thess. 4:1, 12; 1 Jn. 1:5-7; 1 Jn. 2:6; 2 Jn. 1:6; 3 Jn. 1:4; Rev. 3:4]
And to walk has to do with how we live our lives. It has to do with our conduct and with our practices, which include our attitudes, thinking, speaking, and behaving. So this is about our lifestyle and it is about who we are in character, too. For the Scriptures teach us that “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).
So, how we live, and how we conduct our lives, in practice, has everything to do with what is inside our hearts. For the Scriptures also teach us that “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person” (see Matthew 15:17-20). So, this is why we need to look carefully how we walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of our time, because the days are evil. For we will be tempted to do evil, and so we must guard against evil.
But not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ is following this counsel. Not everyone who professes to know God is following in the ways of the Lord and is obeying our Lord’s commandments (New Covenant). Many are still walking in the ways of their flesh, doing what their flesh desires, and they are not walking to please the Lord with their lives. And so they are not making the best use of their time because they consider their time their own to do as they choose, not as God chooses.
Yet we are not to be foolish, but we are to understand what the Lord’s will is, and that is that we walk (in conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh, but now according to the Spirit, and that we no longer walk in sin, but rather in righteousness and holiness and in obedience to our Lord. And it is that we are to honor God with our lives and with our bodies and that we are to do what pleases him. For as followers of Christ we are now God’s possession and now our lives are to be surrendered to doing his will.
And when this says that we are not to get drunk on wine, for that is debauchery (wickedness, depravity, immorality, self-indulgence), this certainly can be applied more broadly than just to having too much fermented grape juice to drink, which is an alcoholic drink. But this is about self-indulgence, and it is about lack of self-control and letting something else take control of your mind and behaviors. For people are drunk on all sorts of things such as sexual immorality, lying, cheating, and stealing, etc.
And this is why it counters that lack of self-control by saying we must be filled with the Spirit. But in context, this is not speaking of some second work of grace subsequent to our salvation. For when we believe in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit comes to live within us. But then as we are putting off the flesh and we are putting on righteousness and holiness, and we are putting off lying and we are telling the truth, etc., our hearts and our lives are being filled with the Spirit in place of filling up on what is of the flesh.
And being filled with the Spirit is not going to lead us to do anything that is lacking in self-control. So, if someone is teaching you to do anything under the guise of being “filled with the Spirit,” but it is something over which you have no control, but something else is causing you to do something, then that is not of God. And that is likely to be of an evil spirit. And being filled with the Spirit is not an emotional experience but it has to do with us walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh.
For being filled with the Spirit should produce in our lives the things of God and of his Spirit which are in agreement and not against the teachings of the Scriptures. And being filled with the Spirit should produce within us the character and mind and attitude and actions of God/Christ and not of the flesh. So this should produce within us a desire and action in ministering to one another in the body of Christ via speaking biblical messages to one another in song or in poetry or in speaking or writing for our encouragement and for our spiritual growth and maturity in Christ, in our walks of faith.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]
My Sheep
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV
My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.
So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…
They know my voice, so they follow me.
https://vimeo.com/114938263
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