Introduction
As most of you know, I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. And over the last week or so two of my old friends from Georgia died. One from a drug overdose, and the other from suicide. An old friend called me to walk me through what happened, and with that he also caught me up on how most of our old friends are doing. And what became abundantly clear is that the ones who are not walking with the Lord, the ones who aren’t Christians are a mess. They are dead, in prison, in the middle of a divorce, or some other tragic situation. And while on the one hand, what I kept thinking was that it could’ve been me, on the other hand, I keep thinking, it doesn’t have to be anyone.
I was not brought up in a Christian home, but by God’s grace I was brought into the Christian family, the church, and that has changed everything. And all of you with ears to hear this morning have been, or can be brought into that same family, into that same reality, and kept from the tragedy of a wasted life. I know some of you have backgrounds like mine, but most of you don’t. Yet, it makes no difference whether you are tempted towards drugs and suicide, or some everyday sin that the world sees as acceptable, it is all spiritual suicide, it’s all a waste. But the answer, the solution to keep us from such things is Christ, His Word, and His church.
You see, it’s not because I’m any better than my old friends that I haven’t ended up like them; it’s because of God’s grace in and through God’s Son, God’s Word, and God’s church. By God’s grace I was brought into a family of faith who have loved me, taught me, helped me, and held me accountable. For my entire Christian life, almost twenty years now, I have only been a part of one church. I’ve only ever been a member here at Cornerstone. No doubt, we’ve changed and reformed over the years, as Christians, as the church is supposed to, but our basic MO has been the same: to know Jesus, love Jesus, and follow Jesus. And this church has helped me do that more and more.
In my time here at Cornerstone we have had a lot of ups and downs. We’ve been through a lot of hardship and heartaches. And I’ve received a lot of encouragement, as well as rebuke over the years. But it all has helped me to live a better life, to be a better man, a better husband, a better father, a better Christian… There were times where I wanted to run, where I wanted to leave, but we didn’t. We stayed and we worked through things, and we repented, and we learned, and we grew. And I can’t help but think that if my old friends would be part of something like this, if they would submit themselves to Christ and His church, then their lives wouldn’t be in shambles. Instead of drugs, divorce, prison, or death, they could have life and life abundantly.
One pastor in the CREC (Pastor Rich Lusk) recently said, “Before we had clowns in the White House and filling Congress, we had clowns in the pulpit. America got clown world because we’ve had clown church. Clown church started with clown worship and clown pastors. As the pastors go, so goes the church; as the church goes, so go the men; and as the men go, so goes the nation.” The church is to be salt and light, and both her success and her failure have a massive impact. It certainly has on me. The church is crucial for faithfulness.
But I’m afraid that even we Christians forget how important this all is. Even many Christians have embraced modern individualism, and seek to live the Christian life detached from the church. Sure, they might go to church on Sunday to hear a sermon or something, but they never join a church and submit themselves to the body. Or if they join they leave as soon as something happens that they don’t like, or as soon as someone rebukes them or tries to hold them accountable. I mean there’s a church on almost every corner, so they just keep church hopping searching for the perfect church that does everything the way they like it and acknowledges that they are always right and never need to be rebuked or held accountable. They think sin is a problem for other people, not for them.
I realize things are rough out there. Though there are churches on most corners, not many of them are rightly ordered or rightly preaching the gospel. But in my experience church hoppers aren’t simply looking for a rightly ordered church that is rightly preaching the gospel. Sure, they might say that, but really they are looking for a perfect church, or at least a church that recognizes how perfect they are. Church hoppers who pride themselves on having better theology than all the pastors at all the churches they’ve gone to don’t impress me. What impresses me are people like LaDonna Thurman, Davida Mayfield, Lena Williams, or Gary and Beth brown, and so many of you who have been at the same church for decades; or Eli and Margaret Melton and Amy Bass who were members of one church their entire lives until they moved to Kaufman County, and ever since, for over the last decade, they have been members of Cornerstone. Loyalty, longevity, mutual submission… these are impressive. And these are what’s necessary if we are going to rightly live the Christian life.
The only thing that’s keeping any of us from ending up strung out, in prison, or dead, is the grace of God. But the grace of God comes to us in and through means. And God’s ordinary means of grace are found in His Word saturated church… And that’s what we’re going to see in our passage today. So look along with me at Ephesians 5:15-21.
Context
In light of who God the Father is and His sovereign grace, mercy and love, and the display and giving of His love to sinners like us through Jesus, God the Son’s perfect life, sacrificial death, and His justifying, death-defeating, victorious, and glorious resurrection and ascension, and the redemption that comes as a result in and through God the Holy Spirit, Paul has been calling us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling in Christ and for Christ. We are God’s beloved children, and we are now to imitate God as such, which means we must love as He has loved. Because of who Christ is and what He’s done, is doing, and will do, and because of the love of the triune God that we have been brought into by God’s grace, we are now new creations in Christ, but we must walk out that reality. We must walk in a manner worthy of that reality.
Last week we saw that walking in a worthy manner means living in the light and for the light. Just as we are new creations in Christ, so likewise, because Jesus is the Light of the world, so too are all in Christ the light of the world. And that means that we can, and we must, by God’s grace, fight sin, and seek to bring every area of life into joyful submission to Christ. And because Christ is the victorious Lord of lords and King of kings, we can do this. We are His body and He is our Head, therefore we can and we must live for Him. And as we do, slowly but surely this world will be won to Christ, and the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. The light will shine into the darkness and the darkness will not overcome it. And that brings us to our passage today.
Ephesians 5:15-21
In verses 15-17 Paul tells the Ephesians and us to, “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.” And this ties directly to what Paul was just saying. To be unwise, to be foolish, to be evil is to walk in darkness. To be wise, to make the best use of the time, to understand the will of the Lord and submit to it is to walk in the light as children of light. The will of the Lord here is the revealed will of God, that is the Word of God, the Bible. If we would not be evil and foolish, if we would be wise, we must look, we must pay attention, we must know and submit to God’s Word. Indeed, that is how we submit to the Lordship of Christ.
Wisdom is not simply knowing the right thing, but knowing how to and actually doing the right thing. The word wise here means to know how to do something in a skillful manner. There are many people who know the Word of God, but not nearly as many who heed the Word of God. It’s one thing to know theology, it’s quite another to live up to what you know. We aren’t to simply know God’s Word, we must trust it and obey it. To be wise is to submit to the Lordship of Christ, and to submit to the Lordship of Christ is to observe God’s Word.
In the Great Commission Jesus said that all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Him—He is Lord of all—and therefore we are to go about all of life, discipling the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Triune God, and teaching them to observe all that He has commanded. And observing all that He has commanded, obeying the Law and the gospel, submitting to His Lordship happens as we trust and obey His Word. We submit to Christ as Lord by knowing, believing, trusting, and obeying God’s Word. We apply all of God’s Word to all of life in all the world for God’s glory, the good of God’s church, and the life of God’s world. This is the will of the Lord, this is wisdom, and all else is evil foolishness.
You can have excellent theology and still be an evil fool because you are not observing, you are not living up to what you know. Some of the most godly people I’ve ever known didn’t know much when it came to theology, and some of the most sinful people I’ve ever known knew a lot of good theology… But they clearly didn’t believe it because they didn’t observe it. They may have been smart, but they were not wise. Beloved, seek to be wise. Spend your days seeking wisdom and walking it out, not mere knowledge.
Speaking of how we spend our days, Paul says that the days in general are evil, therefore we should make the best use of the time, or better put, we should redeem the time (that’s how the KJV words it). The air we breath, the days we live in, the world we find ourselves in, outside of God’s grace, is evil. Now that ebbs and flows depending on the impact of the gospel on a particular area in a particular time. For instance, Thursday was the anniversary of the Protestant Reformation; and before the Reformation much of the world was in dark times. But in, through, and after the Reformation the light of the gospel broke in and began to transform evil days into days that glorified Christ. Indeed, numerous revivals have happened throughout history where churches, families, neighborhoods, towns, cities, and countries were turned upside down for Christ (which is really right side up). Evil days were redeemed and made to magnify the glory of Christ.
This is quite literally what the Church Calendar seeks to do. Though it isn’t a biblical requirement, it does in fact line up with Scripture, and it finds its roots in the Jewish calendar and liturgical practices seen throughout the Old Covenant. Starting with the very early church, and developing throughout church history, Christians put together a yearly rhythm that guides the church in making much of Christ, and thus making the best use of the time. Starting with Advent, four weeks of preparation for Christmas, looking back to Jesus’ first Advent and forward to His second Advent. Then twelve days of Christmastide beginning with Christmas and the celebration of Jesus’ Nativity. Then Epiphanytide, marking out the manifestation and presentations of Jesus in His glory. Then comes Lent, a season of preparation leading up to Holy Week and Easter. Easter begins Eastertide, a fifty day period going until Pentecost. And lastly Ordinary Time, starting with Trinity Sunday (the Sunday after Pentecost, focusing on the Triune identity of God) going to Christ the King Sunday (the Sunday before Advent, proclaiming Christ’s Lordship).
The point of the Church Calendar is to help us focus on the triune God, and especially the Son of God, all year, not just on Christmas or Easter. It’s to help us live every moment for the glory of God, remembering the gospel of God, and marveling at the grace of God. We are certainly free not to use this tool, but as I have aged and grown I have found such tools to be a great help in living the Christian life. Indeed, the Church Calendar is a way to help us redeem and make the best use of the time; it is a way to help us magnify the glory of Christ each and every day. And that’s ultimately what God’s Word is calling us to here. And we begin to see what that looks like practically in the next verses.
In verse 18 Paul says, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…” Paul is not condemning drinking, but getting drunk, debauchery, that is excessive indulgence of wine and the like. Paul is not singling out wine, but pointing out that if we over indulge in alcohol, be that wine or whatever, we become controlled by such things. As Psalm 104:15 says, wine is a gift from God meant to gladden the hearts of men. Or as Ecclesiastes 10:19 says, wine gladdens life. Wine isn’t the issue here, over indulgence is. Just as Thursday night many moms told their children not to eat too much candy before dinner, not to over indulge because it would make them sick and ruin their dinner, so too will over indulging in wine and the like lead to negative consequences, like being drunk. A drunk man is out of control. This is why driving drunk is illegal. It is impossible to have right control over a motor vehicle and be drunk, because being drunk is by definition not having control. And that’s why instead of being drunk we are to be filled with the Spirit.
Christians are sealed with the Spirit at the start of the Christian life. The Holy Spirit woos us, works on us and in us, and takes up residence within us at the start of the Christian life. So to be filled with the Spirit here is not referring to that sealing that has already happened. This is more in line with the fruit of the Spirit that grows and flourishes throughout the Christian life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. And that last one is particularly in view here. Instead of being given over to wine and having no self-control, we need to give ourselves over to God and have the fruit of the Spirit, especially self-control. But how do we do that?
The parallel passage we read from Colossians 3 is helpful here. There Paul says, that we are to put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And of course ultimately love is the fruit of the Spirit (love showing itself through joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). But then Paul says we do this by letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly. And I think that’s the idea here in Ephesians as well.
To be filled with the Spirit here is to be filled with the Word of Christ by the Spirit. Just as we can get drunk by means of wine, so we can be filled with the Word by means of the Spirit. And just as being drunk means begin controlled by alcohol, so being filled with the Spirit means to be controlled by God’s Spirit written Word. We are to have self-control, by the Spirit, and thus bring our selves under the Lordship of Christ, being controlled by the Word of Christ. We are to observe all that He has commanded and walk in submission to Him, not enslaved to alcohol and out of control. We are to read, study, know, understand, memorize, apply, and obey the Word. Indeed, the Word of Christ is to dwell in us richly.
This makes sense given where Paul goes next. In verse 19 Paul says that we are to address “one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with [our] heart…” The Word of Christ is to so dwell within us that it flows from us through rejoicing and praise. However, when we address one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs we are actually helping each other know, understand, memorize, apply, and obey the Word. We are helping each other be all the more filled with the Spirit.
The words Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are used throughout the Bible to refer to the Psalms, or God’s song book in the Bible. This is why there are many denominations that only sing the Psalms. But they are also used to refer to newer songs in the New Testament. So though they can all three be referring strictly to the Psalms and other songs in Scripture, based on what we see the songs doing in Scripture, it seems that they can also be referring to songs inspired by and explaining Scripture. And that’s how we take this passage.
Our worship music is a combination of Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, but since the emphasis in Ephesians and Colossians is on the Psalms, we believe the Psalms themselves should not only be sung, but should shape the content of all the songs we sing together. The Psalms are very helpful here because they tend to be more realistic than modern hymns and spiritual songs about our enemies, suffering, Christian warfare, and the whole of the Christian life. And notice that singing together is part of the emphasis as well. We are worshipping God and ministering to one another through song, so the main point is congregational singing, not instruments, a band, or a choir (though all are permissible). Each Lord’s Day the congregation is joining the heavenly choir to sing God’s praises and minister to God’s people; and in so doing we are engaging in warfare against our enemies like an army singing songs of victory on the frontlines of battle, or Israel marching and worshipping until the walls of Jericho fell. Worship is warfare. Especially when in our worship we are singing God’s Word, because we are pushing back the darkness and advancing the light of Christ in each other’s lives. And that’s the call here.
The Word of God is to so richly dwell in us and control us that we sing and make melody in our hearts. We’re not only addressing one another, but we are addressing God from the core of our being. That’s what the heart is biblically. It’s not simply your emotions or your affections, it’s the core of who you are. Paul has been telling us again and again that our identity, the core of who we are is now in Christ. And here he’s saying, from the core of who we are we sing and make melody. Our hearts are so filled with God’s Word and God’s grace that we overflow in praise, singing and making melody, worshipping God and edifying our brothers and sisters in Christ. And this happens in and through all of us, from the least to the greatest.
We are a part of the CREC, and the CREC has a rich tradition of Psalm singing especially, but singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in four part harmony, and in a round. And on Wednesdays we often practice such things. And I know that many of you doubted me, or thought what we were doing was weird at first. But then many of you started sending videos of your children singing Scripture… even little children who can barely talk were able to sing a whole Psalm from memory. And suddenly your doubts were replaced by gratitude because you knew that God was writing His Word on your little one’s heart. And indeed that’s how music tends to work.
We can remember and rejoice in the songs we sing together, even if we don’t remember the sermons we heard and the lessons we learned. God often writes His Word on our hearts through song. I’ve been by the deathbed of many wise and godly saints, who might not have been able to recall their favorite sermon, or recite a book of the Bible from memory, but they were able to sing a Psalm or a hymn. Even unto their final breath they were able to sing God’s praise from the bottom of their hearts at the top of their lungs… And this is cause for gratitude, because having God’s Word written on our hearts is part of what makes us wise and gives us joy, even to the end. And so even calling us to sing is a command for our good. And so we should be grateful for our good God who works all things together for our good. And actually, in the next verse we see that this all flows from gratitude anyway.
In verse 20 Paul says in doing this we are, “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” In order for us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling as beloved children of God, we must give thanks always to God the Father in, through, for, and by the name of God the Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Every aspect of the Christian life, even everything we are commanded to do, comes to us in and through God’s grace. It is God’s grace upon us in Christ that calls us and enables us to live for God’s glory. Indeed, in order to truly walk in a manner worthy of our calling we must do it by grace through faith, not in some legalistic or pharisaical way.
This is the way it’s been from the very beginning. God blessed Adam, and then called him to trust and obey. God graciously called Abraham out of idolatry and gave him great gospel promises, and he obeyed by faith. God saved Israel from Egypt, and then gave her the Law. And so it is with us. God loves us and saves us when we are at our worse, and then, by God’s grace, calls us to live for Him. Faith, among other things, is trusting and obeying, but it’s doing so from an attitude of gratitude. Faith is a gift of grace, and faithfulness is always empowered and motivated by grace, and therefore gratitude. And so, we carefully look and walk as wise, seeking to make the best use of and redeem the time, seeking to understand and apply God’s Word, totally submitting ourselves to God’s Word, and coming together with God’s people around God’s Word to pray it, read it, hear it preached and taught, to taste and see it, and even sing it, all because God has already blessed us in Christ.
We can go to the Father in prayer in and through Christ. We can praise the Father in and through Christ. We can draw near to God in and through Christ, and because we are in Christ we can know that He will also draw near to us. As Ephesians 5:1 says, we are God’s children, we are beloved in Christ, therefore we should and we can give “thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…” And that doesn’t just mean for the good things.
Just yesterday one of our church members who is currently going through a hard time told me that they know that they must trust God’s heart even though they can’t currently trace God’s hand. In other words, they know that God is good and is working everything together for their good, even though the situation they were currently in wasn’t good and they weren’t able to see how God is working it together for good. They were able to give thanks to a good God, even in a hard time, because they know that He is sovereign and good, and has promised His covenant people that He will work for our good. And so can you. So can we all. We can trust God and give thanks come what may, because come what may we are in Christ and Christ is in us, and because we are in Christ God is for us.
Christ is our everything. Indeed, Christ is at the heart of our gratitude, and gratitude is at the heart of our obedience. And again, obedience is submitting to the Lordship of Christ, it’s applying all of God’s Word to all of life in all the world for God’s glory, the good of God’s church, and the life of God’s world. And we do this in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. And that’s what we see in our final verse.
In verse 21 Paul says we are to do all of this, “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” Here we see two key components to the Christian life, the body of Christ, and Christ Himself. To be sure, when Paul speaks of submitting to one another he has in mind every area of life and every relationship where submission is necessary: husbands to Christ, wives to husbands, children to parents, and so on… But we must not merely look at what Paul is going to say, but at what he has already said. In Ephesians 4 Paul has already spoken of the body of Christ, the church, and the various leaders and members it has been blessed with. And though he will transition after this to the family, we must recognize that the church is at the heart of the Christian life, and thus at the heart of what Paul is getting at here.
Over and over again when the New Testament speaks of the church, the body of Christ, it does so by referring to one another. And that’s what’s primarily in view here. If we would be filled with the Spirit and walk in faithfulness, if we would submit to the Lordship of Christ, we must submit to the body of Christ. The context here is praise and worship, it’s gathering together with God’s people around God’s Word, singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. The heart of the context here is the Lord’s Church on the Lord’s Day. But each and every day we must submit to the body of Christ if we are going to rightly live for Christ; we must make the best use of the time, submitting to Christ’s church out of reverence for Christ.
The church is the body of Christ and the bride of Christ, the visible representation of Christ on earth. So if we are to live the Christian life in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ, we cannot do so outside of Christ’s church. Out of reverence for Christ, that is reverent awe, love for, and faith in Christ, we must love and serve the church. They go hand in hand. And this makes sense given the context here.
Here Paul is calling us to be filled with the Spirit, to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly so that we would truly submit to the Lordship of Christ and be controlled by His Word. Well Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-40, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” In other words, loving God and loving people, especially His people, are linked. We display our love for God as we love His people. And so likewise we submit to Christ by rightly submitting to His people. And submitting to God, observing all that He’s commanded comes down to loving God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourself.
We revere Christ rightly when we love Him rightly, and we do this rightly when we love and submit to His body rightly. And before we try to justify our lack of submission to the church or in whatever relationship because of the imperfection of others we must pay attention to what Paul says here… We submit to our brothers and sisters in Christ, we submit to the church and her leadership out of reverence for Christ. It’s because of Christ and His perfection, it’s because of Christ and His mercy, grace, and love, and it’s because of our love for and trust in Christ that we love, serve, and submit to the body of Christ. Out of hearts filled with gratitude and awe, with love and faith we trust and obey, walking in submission, seeking to magnify the glory of Christ in all things. Again, we live the Christian life in Christ, through Christ, and for Christ. We know people aren’t perfect; we know that this side of heaven the church is not perfect; but Jesus is, so we do the right thing anyway.
Conclusion
Now consider what Paul is telling us here: every day of our lives, all day every day, we are to live for Christ. We are to bring our hearts, our lives, and our churches into conformity to God’s Word. We are to make the best use of the time, we are to redeem the time by bringing every area of life into joyful submission—from a heart filled with gratitude and reverence—to the Lordship of Christ. And we do this by walking in partnership with, in submission to the body of Christ. But as we do, as we walk in love, loving Christ and His people, not only will we redeem the time, not only will our lives be changed, but so will the lives of our families, of our neighborhoods, of our towns, cities, states, country, and world be changed.
As we seek to apply all of God’s Word to all of life in all the world for God’s glory, the good of God’s church, and the life of God’s world, this world will slowly but surely be turned upside down for Christ, and will likewise be redeemed. God has called us to give ourselves to being so saturated with the Word of God, singing Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and praising Him in and through all things, and as we do that praise will spread across the world. As the church goes so goes the world. So let us go towards Christ. Let’s give ourselves to being jovial warriors who live to praise our God and King, and seek to pray and work that the world would join us in that endeavor. For anything else is evil foolishness. Indeed, anything else is a waste. So may we not waste our lives, but redeem them for the praise of our God and King. Amen.