Introduction
You’ll perhaps remember that Paul has been using different images or ideas to explain to us that, when we’re converted to faith in Christ, God changes us.
So, Paul told us that once we were dead in our transgressions and sins, but then God made us alive with Christ and raised us up with him to the heavenly realms. So, once we were spiritually dead. And when we were spiritually dead, we followed the ways of the unbelieving world and of the devil and we also gratified our own sinful desires. That’s the way we were. But now — because of God’s grace and mercy and love — we’ve been raised up with Christ to live a new kind of life. In other words, God has changed us.
And then Paul said we were to live a life worthy of the calling we have received. Believers have received a call, because God calls us out of the unbelieving world and he calls us into his church. And so, God has changed us from being those who once belonged to the unbelieving world to being those who now belong to the church of Jesus Christ.
And then Paul said that when we become believers we take off the old, sinful humanity which we inherited from Adam and we put on the new humanity which we received from Christ. And so, God changed us from being members of the old humanity to being members of the new humanity.
And last week he used the image of light and darkness. Once we were darkness. And do you remember? We noted that he didn’t say that we were once in the darkness. He said we were darkness. The darkness is part of us. It’s in us. People sometimes blame their environment for the bad things they do; and they tell themselves and they tell other people that if they lived somewhere better or if the circumstances of their life were better then they would be better and their behaviour would be better. And while there may be some truth to that, it’s not the whole truth, because the problem is not so much that we’re living in a dark world; the problem is that the darkness is inside us. Our own hearts are dark and sinful and we’re naturally inclined to do what’s wrong. But when God enables us to believe, we become light in the Lord. The inner darkness is gone because of Christ.
And so, Paul has been using these images to explain to us that God changed us. We were dead, but now we’re alive. We once belonged to the world, but now we belong to the church. We were once members of the old humanity, but we’re now members of the new humanity. We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. Whenever someone believes and becomes a Christian, God changes that person.
And since God has changed us, then we should focus on changing our behaviour so that what we do and what we say and what we think matches what we have become. Once we were dead, but now we’re alive and we’re to do those good works which God has prepared for us to do. Once we belonged to the world, but now we belong to the church and we should live a life worthy of our calling. Once we were members of the old humanity, but now we are members of Christ’s new humanity and we should take off whatever practices don’t fit that new humanity. Once we were darkness, but now we’re light in the Lord. Therefore we should live as children of the light, doing what is good and right and true.
Do you see? If you’re a believer, if you’re a Christian, then God has changed you. He has changed who you are and what you are. And now you need to focus on changing your behaviour so that what you do and what you say and what you think matches what you have become.
Or put it this way. Some people think we’re sinners because we sin. But the Bible makes clear that we sin because we’re sinners. So, people think we’re sinners because we sin, but the truth is that we sin because we’re sinners. We were sinners by birth. And because we were sinners by birth, sinning came naturally to us. And that’s because what we are affects what we do. And so, when God changes us, then that should affect what we do. God raises us. He makes us members of the church. He makes us members of the new humanity. He makes us light in the Lord. And what we are should affect and shape and determine what we do.
In the verses before us today, Paul continues to teach us about how we’re to live now that we’ve been raised with Christ and now that we’ve become members of the church and members of Christ’s new humanity and now that we’re light in the Lord. And he tells us in verse 15 to be very careful how we live. And in the rest of the passage he expands on what that means.
Be careful
Paul tells us to be very careful how we live. So, he wants us to give careful attention to how we conduct our daily lives. He wants us to pay attention to what we do and to the way we live. Lots of people don’t really think about their lives and what they’re doing. They just exist. They just go from one day to the next, without thinking about what they are doing. Or, since Paul mentioned immorality and greed in the previous passage, people go through life thinking about what they want and what they can get. They think about meeting their sinful desires. But the Lord is telling us through Paul that we must think about our lives and what we do and how we conduct ourselves and we must give careful attention to how we live.
And how we live ought to matter to us, because not only do we want to please the Lord who loves us and who sent his Son to save us, but also because of what we were thinking about at the end of last’s week’s sermon. Do you remember when we were thinking about verse 11 where Paul says that we’re to have nothing to do with the deeds of darkness. Instead we should expose them.
I didn’t have time to say this last week, but older translations say we’re to reprove them or we’re to rebuke them. We’re to reprimand them. And that’s unfortunate, because it’s encouraged Christians to go around tut-tutting at people and showing their disapproval. But Paul isn’t telling us to rebuke the deeds of darkness. He says we should expose them. And, as I said last week, we expose them by the way we live. When people see the goodness of our lives — lives that have been transformed by the power of God — some will see the darkness and the fruitlessness of their own lives. And some may become ashamed and come humbly to the Lord for forgiveness.
How we live ought to matter to us, because by the kind of lives we live, and by the good things we do, and by the way we treat other people, we expose the darkness in the world around us. And people may turn from their sin and they may turn to Christ for salvation.
And so, as we go about our lives each day, we need to keep a careful watch over what we do and say and over what we think. We’re all used to seeing CCTV cameras all over the city. And one reason they’re there is to prevent people from committing a crime. If someone is about to commit a crime, but sees the camera watching them, they’ll be less inclined to break the law because the camera is recording them. Well, we don’t have a CCTV camera watching us all the time. And so, we need to watch ourselves, don’t we? We need to keep a watchful eye on ourselves. That doesn’t mean that you’re to watch your fellow Christians in order to point out their faults. But you’re to watch yourself. You’re to be careful about what you do yourself.
Every opportunity
And Paul also says we’re to live wisely and not unwisely. And what does that mean? Paul tells us in the following verses. And so, it means making the most of every opportunity. Do you see that in verse 16? Older translations said we’re to redeem the time. And that makes us think about time management and about being organised and efficient and not wasting any time during the day. And so, I remember hearing about a man who was involved in full time Christian work who had the day of his retirement marked on a wall calendar; and he would often count up how many days he had left until he retired; and then he’d think about how to make the best use of the time he had left. And while that’s commendable, it’s not really what Paul is writing about. The word he uses for time, is not the regular word for the passage of time, but it’s a word that refers to time as an occasion or as an opportunity. And so, we’re to ask ourselves: on this occasion in which I find myself, what should I do? What should I do on this occasion so that I’m doing what is pleasing to the Lord?
And Paul goes on to say that the days are evil. So, when everyone around you is doing evil, ask yourself: How, on this occasion, can I do good? The young people may be surrounded by classmates who are doing wrong. And they expect you to do the same. And so, you need to be careful how you live and you need to ask yourselves: How, on this occasion, can I do what’s right? Those of you who are at work may be surrounded by people who are doing evil and they expect you to do the same. You need to be careful how you live and you need to ask yourself: How, on this occasion, can I do good? When you’re meeting your friends and neighbours and some of them are doing or saying something wrong, you need to be careful how you live and you need to ask yourself: How, on this occasion, can I do what’s right? What’s the right thing for me to do on every occasion? What good can I do? Here’s an opportunity for me to do good for the Lord. So, I’m going to take it.
If you’re not on X or Twitter, you’ll perhaps not realise how many people complain about it and say that it has become toxic. People say there are all kinds of people on it who are unkind and hateful and mean and who spread their hate and their lies. Someone says something on Twitter which other people don’t like and a mob descends on that person and tries to crush him or her by saying all kinds of nasty things. And because of this toxic atmosphere, lots of people have left the platform. But there’s someone I follow and he’s decided not to leave Twitter, but to stay and to fill his timeline with beauty. All day long he posts photos of beautiful scenes and beautiful paintings and stories about the beautiful things people have done. And he wants others to do the same. He thinks that, if he and others like him leave, it will just get worse. But, if they stay, and fill it with beauty, it might get better. And here’s Paul saying to us that the days are evil. But we can fill the days with beauty and with goodness and with righteousness and with truth. Take every occasion you can to fill the world with what’s good instead of with what’s evil. That’s how to live wisely.
The will of the Lord
And instead of doing foolish things, understand what the will of the Lord is. That’s in verse 17.
I’ve explained before that theologians distinguish between God’s secret will and his revealed will. By God’s secret will they mean God’s decrees or his plan for the world. So, it’s the things that God has decreed will take place today and tomorrow and the next day and so on. And these things are mostly hidden from us, because none of us knows what tomorrow will bring until it happens, because God has kept it from us. He’s hidden it from us. That’s why James, in his New Testament letter, chastises the person who thinks he knows exactly what tomorrow will bring. None of us knows what God has planned for us until it happens.
But then there’s God’s revealed will. This refers to everything that God has revealed to us in the gospel and in the law. In the gospel, he has revealed that he’s willing to pardon the sins of all who trust in his Son. We know that, because God has revealed it to us. And in the law, he has revealed his will for how he wants us to live. He’s given us his commandments to show us his will for us.
So, we can say to ourselves every morning of every day: I don’t know what today will bring; and I don’t know what God has planned for me this day; but I do know this: I know how he wants me to live. I know because he’s revealed it.
And his will for us is summarised by his command to love him with all my heart and soul and mind and strength; and by his command to love my neighbour as myself. That’s his will for me. That’s what he wants me to do each day.
And the way to live wisely is to live according to God’s will and to do what he has commanded us in his word. And so, when everyone around you is doing evil, then be very careful how you live and ask yourself: What is God’s will for me on this occasion; and how can I love and serve him on this occasion? How can I love and serve the people around me on this occasion?
Filled with the Spirit
So, we’re to be careful how we live, ensuring that we live wisely. And that means, doing good and doing God’s will on every occasion. But it also means that we mustn’t get drunk on wine or on any other kind of alcoholic drink, because drunkenness leads to debauchery. That’s in verse 18. When he refers to debauchery, he means something like wild and reckless behaviour. The person who is drunk has lost all self-control; they’ve lost control of what they’re saying and of what they’re doing. And instead of becoming like that, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit.
I should make clear that God is the one who fills us with the Spirit. He’s the one who sends his Spirit into our lives. We have no control over the Spirit, because he goes where he is sent by God the Father. Nevertheless, we’re able to ask God for the Spirit, aren’t we? We’re able to ask God to fill us? Isn’t that what the Lord Jesus taught us? In Luke 11 the Lord said that if human fathers know how to give good gifts to their children, how much more will our Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! And so, we’re to ask God the Father to fill us with his Spirit.
And if being filled with wine leads to debauchery, what does being filled with the Spirit lead to? Paul tells us in the following verses and part of what he says refers to our relationship with God and part of what he says refers to our relationship to one another.
Our relationship with God
I’ll take what he says about our relationship to God first. He says that the lives of those who are filled with the Spirit are characterised by praise and gratitude. Do you see that at the end of verse 19 and into verse 20? He mentions singing and making music in your heart to the Lord and always giving thanks to God the Father for everything.
Now, when we say ‘in your heart’, we usually mean ‘silently’. We might refer to someone in the prayer meeting who is praying silently in their hearts to God. But that’s not what Paul means here. He means ‘with your heart’ or ‘from your heart’. In other words, he’s saying that the Spirit helps us to praise God with our whole heart.
And we’re to give thanks to God the Father for everything. Do you see that in verse 20? We’re to give thanks to him for everything, because every good thing we have has come to us from him. He’s the one who gives us our life and he’s filled our lives with good things to enjoy, including health and strength and daily food and friends and family and work and rest. And he’s surrounded us with people who help us. And so, for instance, when we’re unwell, he’s given us health care professionals with the knowledge and expertise and the desire to help us. And then, he’s given us a perfect Saviour who loved us and who gave up his life for our salvation. He’s given us his Spirit to enable us to repent and believe. He’s given us new life in Christ and the fellowship of his people in church. He’s given us his word and prayer and the sacraments to enable us to grow in the faith. He’s also given us the hope of the resurrection and eternal life in his presence where we’ll be happy for ever. He’s given us physical things to enjoy and spiritual things to enjoy. Whatever good thing we enjoy has come to us from him.
And so, we should give thanks to him. And the Holy Spirit helps us to praise God and to give thanks to him always for everything. Our whole life should be characterised by thankfulness. Some people are complainers. Some people are moaners. Some people are critics. But God’s people should be known for being thankful.
Our relationship with others
And the Spirit influences our relationship with others. And so, Paul says we’re to speak or sing songs to one another and he also says we’re to submit to one another.
He mentions three kinds of songs: psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. The commentators discuss whether there’s a difference them. So, are these three different kinds of song? Or, are they three words for the same thing? In a sense, however, it doens’t really matter, because the point Paul is making is that we’re able minister to one another whenever we praise God in church. Yes, our worship is directed first and foremost to the Lord. He’s the one we address in our praise. But as we sing praises to God, we’re also able to help and encourage one another. As we sing our songs of praise to God, we’re declaring to to one another his greatness and his glory and the things he has done for us by his Son. Our songs remind us of his steadfast love and faithfulness and his mercy to his people. And so, some weary Christian comes to church. He’s downhearted and discouraged because of all of life’s trials and troubles. He feels crushed. But then, wonderfully, he’s lifted up by the praises of his fellow believers and he’s encouraged to press on in the faith, because he’s heard his fellow believers sing about God’s faithfulness and his mercies and his mighty power to save. He’s heard them sing with conviction and it encourages his heart.
And then the Holy Spirit enables us to submit to one another. So, instead of putting ourselves first, we learn to put others first. Instead of always demanding our own way, we learn to love and serve the people around us. The Holy Spirit, working inside us, teaches us to give up our own desires and wants and to serve our fellow believers. He enables us to turn our thoughts and our attention away from ourselves and out to others. Lots of people are only concerned with themselves: with who they are and what they want for themselves. But the Holy Spirit teaches us to turn our thoughts outward to others.
John Calvin, the French Reformer wrote about this:
[Where] love reigns, there is mutual servitude. I do not except even kings and governors, for they rule that they may serve.
I’ve said before that the idea of a servant-king comes from the Bible. Whereas pagan kings did what they wanted, God expected kings like David and Solomon to use their power and authority for the good of their people. And so, last year, when Charles entered Westminster Abbey in order to be crowned king, he said at the entrance that he had come, not to be served, but to serve. Well, none of us are kings, but God calls us to have the same attitude. He calls us to deny ourselves and to serve one another.
Conclusion
And so, there you are. God comes to you in the preaching of his word and he’s saying to you that he wants you to take care how you live so that you live wisely and not foolishly. And that means asking yourself: How, on this occasion, can I do good? It also means understanding God’s will and doing it. It also means not getting drunk, because that leads to debauchery. Instead you’re to be filled with God’s Spirit so that you will praise God and give thanks to him always for everything; and so that you will minister and submit to your fellow believers.
Do you see how ordinary these things are? God may call some of his people to do extra-ordinary things in the world. Paul, for instance, was an apostle. And God did extra-ordinary things through him. But for the rest of us, it’s about serving God in our ordinary lives. It’s about doing good. Doing what’s right. Encouraging our fellow believers. Serving one another. And being thankful. And in this way we bring glory and honour to Jesus Christ our Saviour who loved us and who gave himself for us to deliver us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people who are eager to do what is good.
Sermons and Stuff 