Walking in Wisdom (Ephesians 5:15-6:9)

KCC Adult Sunday School, we are beginning a new series starting

this morning, so we're going to launch into a

long, like six month long, approximately,

series on marriage and family.

So on marriage and family through an exposition of a part of the fifth and

sixth chapters of Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus.

So an extended exposition of Ephesians 5 .15 to 6 .9.

Take us about six months to get through that material together, okay?

And it will be obviously focused on the material presented there by Paul,

which has to do with marriage and family.

So if you've been looking and waiting and hoping for some marriage family teaching, here it is.

Here it is, okay?

Let's pray and we'll begin.

Father, thank you that we can just gather together here in this place this morning.

Thank you for the many people who have come out.

They've come with an expectation, a rightful expectation that they will hear the word of God here.

And so Father, that is our hope and our desire to be faithful and true to the scriptures,

to speak with clarity, to speak with fidelity, to speak in submission to the spirit of

God who inspired these scriptures and makes them effectual in each and every one of our hearts.

I pray, Father, for the upcoming series together, that it would be helpful to

all of us as we listen and attentively and apply

carefully what you have for us there.

Father, thank you that the Apostle Paul took the time to spell out things in such detail for

us.

It is immensely helpful, so we're grateful for it and thank you in Jesus' name, amen.

Okay, so titled this morning's lesson, this is kind of the introductory lesson,

walking in wisdom, walking in wisdom.

So, and you don't mind if for the next six months I drink coffee while I'm up here?

Only if I share, I'm getting it out there in that pot out there, okay?

Nothing fancy.

So, early this summer, we, Carol and I, went on an extended car trip

back to Southern California, through Arizona, up to Wyoming to see kids and so forth.

And so we were gone for, I don't know, over three weeks.

And to launch out into a trip like that requires some preparation.

And one of the preparations that need to be made is to spend some time looking at maps,

kind of figuring out, okay, so where are we going?

You know, Google Maps, right?

In the old days, it was paper maps.

And we, you know, in the old days, we'd go to AAA and get a trip tick.

You remember the trip tick?

Come on, give me some help here.

A couple of you remember, you're old enough for that.

But anyway, you look at the maps, you figure out where you're going.

We're going this route, we're gonna take that route.

We wanna drive X number of miles this day.

Where are we gonna stay?

Gotta find a place to stay.

All of the details involved for spending three and a half weeks on the road.

So using that kind of an idea as a lead in here, this is what I wanna do

this morning with you is to kind of take a step back and look at the big

picture of where we will be going over the next proximate six months.

Next approximate six months, okay?

So I wanna just overview the book of Ephesians quickly, and

then zero in on 5 .15 to 6 .9, and show you how it is connected,

how it's connected.

And that will give us the map as to where we're going in the studies to follow, okay?

So simple stuff.

The book of Ephesians, six chapters long, breaks down nicely in the middle into three chapters and

three chapters.

Chapters one through three deal with doctrine, doctrine.

Chapters four through six we can say deal with duty, the idea of duty.

So doctrine and duty.

Or if you prefer, theology and application.

So theology, application, doctrine, duty, same basic idea, and the book nicely falls

into those two parts.

Chapter one, and if you're not there yet,.

Open to the book of Ephesians,.

Just kind of let your eyes follow along.

I thought about reading the whole book to you.

In fact, this is probably a good place to say it.

I thought about reading the whole book to you, but I am time limited.

Last time I was up here, I greatly abused your patience

through oversight, and I promise I will not do that again.

I've got alarms set on my watch to warn me, so I will finish on time, okay?

So I promise that.

So I don't want to just read the book of Ephesians to you this morning, but I would suggest to you that you read it.

You read it this week, six chapters.

It won't take you very long.

And read it, and it wouldn't hurt you to read it periodically as we go, to just keep it all in

your minds, okay?

So, just kind of overviewing chapter one.

Chapter one of the book of Ephesians introduces these great themes of God's electing

love and our union with Christ.

God's electing love and our union with Christ, who, that is, Christ, through his resurrection,

has become the exalted ruler over all creation, over all

creation, okay?

That's the basic message of chapter one.

We come to chapter two, and we find there the power of grace to make sinners

alive from the dead, chapter two, verse five, set them on a new course of

life, chapter two, verse 10, forming them, that is, both Jew and

Gentile, together into one new man, chapter two, verse 15, in

whom the Spirit of God dwells as the new temple, 18 through

22.

So there's a basic outline of chapter two.

Chapter three.

Chapter three, Paul deals with the unforeseen and radical nature of the multiethnic

church, verse five.

This overcomes some of the effects, some of the effects of the Tower of Babel,

and it demonstrates a manifold wisdom and power of the love of Christ, Paul says,

both to the angelic realm, chapter three, verse 10,

and to the children of God for all eternity, chapter three, verse 19,

okay?

So these are the great theological truths that Paul presents

in these first three chapters.

And then, at the end of chapter three, we move from this to the duties, to the

application of this tremendous truth.

So, in light of that reality, the new reality that has been brought about through the gospel,

Paul calls the Ephesian believers to appropriate these truths day by

day, to appropriate them day by day, and thus live differently

from the unsaved world around them.

We see that in chapters four, five, and six, okay?

So chapters one, two, and three, about who we are in Christ, what Christ has done, who we are in Christ, chapters four,

five, and six.

In light of that, in light of who we are, the new creation in Christ, how do we thus,.

How do we then live?

How shall we then live?

Specifically, specifically, beginning in chapter four, Paul

introduces the metaphor of walking, of walking.

You might, by the way, as you're reading the book of Ephesians, you might keep your eye out for that in chapters four and

five, and circle the word, and circle that word.

But this metaphor of walking is used to express the process of

living the new life in our union with Christ.

Paul calls it walking.

For example, chapter four, verses one through 16,

Paul talks about walking in unity.

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk, see it, in a manner

worthy of the calling with which you have been called.

With all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one

another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.

Walk in unity in light of who we are in Christ.

Well, who are we in Christ?

We were formerly dead.

That's who we were, or are now.

We were formerly dead in our trespasses and sins.

We've been made alive in union with Christ.

We have been brought together, Jew and Gentile, into one new body, and thus we are now to live out that unity.

A unity characterized by humility, by gentleness, by difference,

and if you follow it all the way through verse 16, by the ministering of our gifts to one another

in order to build up the local body of Christ.

That's what it means to walk in unity, is to minister the giftedness that has been given us in Christ

to one another to build up the local body.

Walk in unity.

Beginning in verse 17, chapter four, we are to walk in holiness.

So for 17 through 32, through the end of chapter four, we're called to

walk in holiness.

So this I say, verse 17, and affirm together with the Lord that you, see it again, that you walk

no longer just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind, being

darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them,

because of the hardness of their heart.

They, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every

kind of impurity with greediness.

But you did not learn Christ in this way.

So we are to walk first in unity.

Secondly, in holiness, we are to walk in holiness.

The section that follows through verse 32, we are introduced to the motif of the put off and put on.

Put off the old man and his way of doing things and put on the new man in Christ.

And you see it, for example, in, well, verse 25.

Therefore lay aside falsehood, that characterizes the old man, the

unredeemed, lay aside falsehood and speak truth each one of you with his neighbor for we are members of one another.

So put off lying, put on truth speaking.

Put off, put on, put off, put on.

So that's to walk in holiness.

We're to put off the old man and his darkened thinking and

replace those thoughts and deeds with ones that do good toward

others.

So always focused on good towards others.

There we're members of one another.

So walk in unity.

Verse 17, 32, walk in holiness.

Chapter five, verses one through six, we are to walk in love.

Five, one to six, walk in love.

Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children and, here it is again, walk in

love.

Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us

in offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.

For the immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is proper among

saints and there must be no filthiness or silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting but rather the giving of

thanks.

For this you know with certainty that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an

idolatry has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Let no one deceive you with these empty words for because of these things the wrath of God comes

upon the sons of disobedience.

So we are to walk in love.

Walk in love, what does it mean?

It means here to recognize that our sexuality, our sexuality is a

gift from God.

It is a gift from God and it is only to be used to love and serve

others, to love and serve others rather than to degrade them and

us by giving in to lustful passions.

So to walk in love, recognize our sexuality is God's gift to us and that it is used

to love and serve others rather than degrade them and us

by the unlawful use of it, okay?

So that's what it means to walk in love, chapter five, verses one to six.

Beginning in verse seven and running through 14, we are to walk in

light.

We are to walk in light.

Therefore, verse seven, do not be partakers with them for you were formerly darkness but now you are

light in the Lord.

Verse eight, the end there, right?

Walk as children of light.

Walk as children of light.

If we were to take the time to work through all of that, what Paul is saying here basically is that we are

to change our activities, change our activities and our outlook not

only to avoid the deeds of darkness personally and particularly and especially

sexual sin but rather to expose them, expose them

within the church by the light of the gospel so that others may

escape that snare themselves and its soul -damaging nature,

okay?

So we're to expose within the local congregation the deeds of darkness, particularly sexual

darkness for the purpose of rescuing and helping escape those who are trapped

by its soul -damaging nature, okay?

That's what it means to walk in light, to walk in light.

So walk in love, walk in light.

And fifth, the fifth walk appears in verse 15

and it's to walk in wisdom and that's what I've entitled, by the way, this entire message this morning is to walk in wisdom,

walk in wisdom.

Verse 15, therefore, therefore be careful how you walk,

not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time because

the days are evil.

Therefore, be careful how you walk.

Therefore, draws our eyes back in the text to what has preceded it

and in particular here, verses 10 and 11 which contains the

overarching thought of the whole section and there Paul is commending them to live like believers.

Therefore, live like believers.

That's the basic idea.

As Christians, they and us are walking through a mental

minefield, a mental minefield of false teachers.

Chapter four, verse 14, you find those that are

carrying people away by the trickery of men and so forth, so there's a mental minefield of false teachers

in that day and ours.

Verses 17 to 19, there's that formerly darkened in their thinking

as was us and captive, so we are to learn to walk

through that and away from that.

Five, six through eight, sexual immorality, sensual pleasure, again, we are to walk in wisdom, not

in that.

Leaves it a contrast, walk in wisdom, not in that, not in sexual immorality, not in

darkened thinking, not in false teaching.

These are the opposites of walking in wisdom.

We are to walk in wisdom.

We need to watch our step, be wise in our approach to the new life,

okay?

That's the basic idea that Paul has here.

Now, here's where we slow down.

Paul is going to illustrate, he's going to begin to illustrate for us,

beginning in here, verse 15, what

the careful or the wise approach looks like.

And he's going to do it through five commands, five

imperatives, grammatically, okay?

Five commands, we'll lay it out.

And they will carry through to verse 21.

So, 515 to 21, that we will find

five commands, five imperatives, and they are arranged

into three not this, but this statements.

Not this, but this.

Remember the old man, new man motif.

Put off the old man, not this, put on the new man in Christ, but this,

not this, but this, not this, but this, not this, but this, three times, three times.

Let me show you the imperatives first.

Verse 15, the first command, first imperative is to be careful how you walk.

Be careful is the command.

We are to be careful.

Verse 17, second command, do not be foolish.

That's your second imperative.

Do not be foolish.

So, be careful, do not be foolish.

Verse 17, the third command, understand what the will of the Lord is.

So, be careful, do not be foolish, understand the will of the Lord.

Those are three rapid succession commands, imperatives.

Verse 18, do not get drunk with wine.

There's your fourth command for this section, governing this whole section.

Do not get drunk with wine.

And then, verse 18, be filled with the Spirit, fifth command, okay?

So, those are the five commands, grammatically, that hold this section

together.

Five imperatives, and they are arranged under three, not this, but

that, motifs.

You with me?

All right, good.

You can always look and nod once in a while, even a smile wouldn't hurt, okay.

So, let's take a look at the first, not this, but this.

We see it in verse 15.

Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as

wise.

You see it?

Not this, but this.

Don't walk like unwise men, but like wise men.

Making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Making the most of your time, because the days are evil, or literally, redeeming the time.

Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise.

Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Now, biblically speaking, wisdom is the skilled application of

truth to the affairs of life.

The skilled application of truth to the affairs of life.

That's what it means to be wise.

So, to be wise, right?

Don't be unwise, but wise, and to be wise means that we need to become skilled in the

application of truth, in this case, biblical truth, to the affairs of life.

And we are to, as he says, make the most of your time, the New American Standard, or others,

redeem the time.

The word translated redeem, or make the most of, has the idea of buying up the

time.

Buying up the time.

So, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, buy

up the time.

Buy up the time, because the days are evil.

It's the idea of someone looking for a bargain.

The idea of somebody looking for a bargain.

How many people like to go to yard sales?

Right, what are yard sales all about?

Yard sales are all about spending nickels for dollars.

Stuff that people spend dollars for, they're now selling for nickels, and you want to offer them a penny.

That's a yard sale.

That's a yard sale.

But, there are bargains to be had.

And so, a sharp yard sailor plans it all out, knows

where to go, and walks in, and walks through it, and very quickly can say, this good

stuff here, this is nothing but junk here, I'm out of here, and boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

They're looking for a bargain.

And they're good at it.

Some people buy the yard sales and sell it on eBay and make a living, by the way.

So, this idea of redeeming the time, making the most of the opportunity, is the idea

of bargain hunting.

Bargain hunting.

And the bargain we're looking for, Paul says, is time.

Time.

Now, there are two Greek words for time, chronos and kairos.

Chronos has the idea of clock time.

It's measured in minutes, and hours, and days, and so forth.

That's not the word used here.

The word used here is kairos, which means season or opportunity.

Season or opportunity.

So, buy up, be on a bargain hunt for opportunity.

Why?

Look at the verse, verse 16.

Why?

Because the days are evil.

Because the days are evil.

Be on the lookout, bargain hunt for opportunity, because the days are evil.

Well, what kind of opportunity?

Well, that's a great question.

Walking in wisdom means looking for opportunity to do good, to

do good, to do good in this present evil age.

And it recognizes that this is why Christ came, is to

redeem us from this present evil age, and why does he keep us here?

He keeps us here that we might reflect his glory as we are transformed into his image, as we

go around bargain hunting for opportunity to do good in Jesus' name.

That directly confronts a life of self -absorption,

a focus on self -gratification, on understanding what Paul is

commanding us to do in light of who we now are in Christ, once formerly dead in union with Adam,

now alive in union with Christ.

We got a whole new set of operating instructions.

We have, and as we'll talk about here momentarily, the power of the spirit of God indwelling within us to enable

this kind of life transformation, but it is to no longer go

about seeking to be self -gratified, but it is to seek opportunity to do good to other people

for the glory of Christ.

Moses says in Psalm 90, by the way, in verse 12, so teach us to number our days

that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.

Teach us to number our days that we may present to you a heart of wisdom.

Not like this, but like this.

Second, verse 17, not like this, but like this.

So then, do not be foolish, but understand what the

will of the Lord is.

Not like this, foolish, but like this, understand the will of the Lord.

To be foolish, what does it mean?

It means to be senseless, it means to be ignorant, it means to be without reason,

it means to be stupid.

It's to act like a cow, okay, we can relate to that.

I love cows, they serve their purpose, but they are not high on the

intelligence scale.

Do not be like a dumb creature, but understand

what the will of the Lord is.

In other words, put the pieces together.

Put together the pieces here, the will of the Lord.

Understand what the will of the Lord is.

Oh, where do I find it?

If I gotta put together the pieces, I wanna understand, where do I find it?

Well, there are many places in the New Testament we could obviously go and say, you know, we're direct statements, this is the will of the Lord, and we're gonna

look at one of them here momentarily.

But I wanna suggest to you that in the genre of this letter, within the confines of this letter received by

the church at Ephesus, the first place to look for the will of the Lord is does it appear anywhere else

in this letter?

Yeah, actually it does, a lot, it sure does.

It dominates, actually, turn back to chapter one, it dominates chapter one,

the will of the Lord.

For example, chapter one, verse one, Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by

the will of God, by the will of God.

In other words, Paul becomes an apostle by the will of God for the purpose of

carrying the gospel to the Gentiles and to uniquely contribute to the

building of the church.

Half the book of Acts is about Paul's ministry.

13 of the 21 New Testament letters come from the pen of the apostle

Paul.

It is by the will of God.

Chapter one, verse five.

He, that is God the Father, predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself

according to the kind intention of his will.

It's the will of God that has brought about our predestination to adoption as sons

through Jesus Christ.

This is the will of God.

Verses nine and 10.

He, that is the Father, made known to us the mystery of his will according to his kind intention which

he purposed in him, that is in Christ, with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times,

that is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on earth.

It is the will of God the Father who created, to gather all of his creation

under the lordship of Christ, the great messianic king.

This is the will of God, to gather up all creation under the lordship of Christ.

Verses 11 to 14.

And we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to his purpose who works

all things after the counsel of his will to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ

will be in the praise of his glory.

In him you also after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having also believed you

were sealed in him with a holy spirit of promise was given as a pledge of our inheritance with a

view to the redemption of God's own possession to the praise of his glory.

It is the will of God that Jew and Gentile share an inheritance together, an

inheritance in Christ guaranteed to them, to us by the sealing

of his holy spirit.

This is the will of God.

This is the will of God.

So turning back to chapter five, it's

foolishness, it's foolishness for a Christian to

order their lives in any way that contradicts God's cosmic purposes in Christ.

That's foolishness.

That's stupidity to try to live your life in opposition to the will of

God which is to bring all of his creation.

Under the lordship of Christ.

That's a fool's errand.

Jesus said, I will build my church.

We know this to be true and because we know it to be true, there can be no greater joy in life, no

greater goal in life than to be about the process of actively

making, maturing and multiplying disciples of Jesus Christ.

This locks in to the cosmic purposes of God for my life and yours.

Those are the big ideas.

We're going to begin to see them flesh out now in the specifics.

That takes us to our third, not this, but this statement.

In verse 18, and do not get drunk with wine, not this,

for that is dissipation, but be filled with the spirit,

but be filled with the spirit.

Not this, but this.

Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the spirit.

Be filled, grammatically here, is a present passive imperative.

What's that mean?

A passive imperative means, or a passive verb, means that the subject receives the action of the verb.

So it's present imperative, meaning it's an ongoing action, it's a passive, meaning

that we receive the action of the verb, and it's an imperative, meaning it's a command.

So be filled with the spirit probably could be and should be better translated as be

being filled with the spirit.

Be being filled with the spirit.

In other words, it should be the ongoing experience of our lives, something we do

and receive.

Now the evidence, the evidence of this filling

is found grammatically in five participles that follow

in verses 19 to 21.

Okay, this is grammatically how this is put together, and why do I keep laboring the grammar here is because that's the

key to proper interpretation.

We have to understand how this thing fits and puts together, and this is how it works.

Be being filled with the spirit.

What does that look like?

It looks like five participles, five connected verbal ideas.

Verses 18 to 21, by the way, is one long sentence in the Greek.

It is simply one long sentence.

Furthermore, the fifth participle, submitting, or be

subject, verse 21, is then further

elaborated in what is called the household code, beginning in verse 22,

and running all the way to chapter six and verse nine.

So taken all together, this is the evidence, this is the overflow of a spirit -filled life.

A spirit -filled life is a life not given over to the dissipation of wine.

A spirit -filled life, we'll look about, is a life here that is speaking to one another in psalms and hymns

and spiritual songs.

It is singing and making melody in the heart to God vertically, so there's horizontal communication,

there's vertical communication, which, I'll go back to hobby horse in a second.

It is the giving of thanks, verse 20, you see it.

And then finally, it is submitting.

It is submitting.

And the realms of the submission are laid out in verses

22 through six, nine.

Got a little buzzer on my watch that tell me when I'm getting close to running over time here, okay?

So let's just review it quick so you get it.

Do not get drunk with wine.

Do not get drunk with wine, but be being filled.

Fifth imperative.

Not this, but this.

Be filled with the spirit.

Be being filled with the spirit.

What does be being filled with the spirit look like?

It looks like this.

Verse 19, speaking.

It looks like speaking.

Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

Do you know, I shouldn't say it that way.

You do know that we sing to one another on

Sunday morning.

We are singing to one, we are making the melody in our heart to the Lord, yeah, he's gonna say that.

But I would suggest to you that congregational singing is at least as important

horizontally as it is vertically.

I'd even be willing to go as far out on the limits to say it's more important horizontally than vertically.

Why?

Because we come here on a Sunday morning and we're bruised and battered.

We have been bruised and battered from last week.

We're living in a world that is so messed up.

And we're messed up, right?

I mean, we're new in Christ, yes.

But the old man kind of hangs along and we're dragging that old man along with us.

And so we've sinned all week long.

Sometimes kind of grievously, actually.

And so we come in and our hearts are heavy.

Or maybe we've experienced some kind of tragedy,.

Personal tragedy.

There's no pain like relational pain.

So a relational tragedy.

Maybe the loss of a spouse, or not, could be a spouse, but the loss of a loved one, for example.

Something happened at work.

Multitude of places, something with the kids, right?

I mean, this is what it's like.

So we come in battered.

And during the week, for many, if not most, we have lost sight of

the reality of Ephesians one through three, and who we are in Christ, and what Christ is doing.

It's slipped from our consciousness.

And we need to be reminded.

Our hearts need to be drawn up to God.

And singing is how it happens.

So as we sing, the people around us hear the truths

of who we are in Christ, and what He has done and is doing.

And their hearts are lifted in praise.

And the burdens and the cares of life are put into proper perspective.

And we sing some great hymns around here.

And we mouth words like, you know, I may lose everything, but I will still trust in Him.

Hey, you know what?

That is absolutely true, but guess what?

Last week, was it true for you?

Maybe not.

You need to be reminded.

You need to be reminded.

So, men, you guys are weak sauce when you sing,

most of you.

Go to a football game, and I can hear your voice.

I wanna hear it in church.

I need it.

I need to hear it.

And so does everybody else.

So sing the great truths of the faith.

Okay, so the next two.

Singing and making melody with your hearts to the Lord.

Notice the connective there, and, right?

So these two are connected.

These next two particles are connected.

They're related, and it's the expression of our praise musically to God the Father.

So we sing, we use our voice.

We vertically lift our voice to God.

We praise, vocalize our praise to God.

And either through voice or instrument, the idea of making music.

So, singing horizontally, vertically.

Comes as a result of being filled by the Spirit.

Good singing is a result of a Spirit -filled congregation.

Weak sauce singing is a sign of a non -Spirit -filled

congregation.

Verse 20, giving thanks.

Always, always, always giving thanks for all things.

You love it, right?

Always giving thanks for all things.

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to God even the Father.

So we're to be giving thanks constantly for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

We need a thankful heart.

A thankful heart, that's a sign of a Spirit -filled life.

There's a thankful heart.

The sign of a heart that is not Spirit -filled is a complaining heart.

I'm almost done.

Romans 1, I just wanna push that one down a little deeper.

Verse 21, Romans 1, 21, right?

This is Paul's great indictment of the pagan world.

And he says here in verse 21, for even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give

thanks.

Do you see that?

Or give thanks.

Thanklessness is a sign of an unregenerate heart.

Not the sign of a regenerate heart.

Now we're all guilty of complaining and being ungrateful and unthankful far too

often.

That's not, I'm not trying to say that we're unregenerate because of that.

Just understand that that's an expression of unregeneracy.

And it is diametrically opposed to the new life in Christ.

And so it needs to be put off and put on gratitude.

Gratitude, being thankful.

Verse 21, the fifth and final participle falling

under the verb of be being filled is to submit to one another.

Being subject or submit to one another in the fear of Christ.

Upotasso, you'll hear it a lot.

That's the Greek word.

It means, it's a military term.

It has the idea of lining up under.

Lining up under.

One another.

Line up under one another.

This is the outgrowth of the spirit -filled life.

To line up under one another.

What does that mean?

Well, Paul doesn't leave us to guess.

Grammatically, he's connected it all here and it's established in the household relationships that begin in verse

22 and follow all the way through chapter six and verse nine.

Three distinct relationships within the household of the firstborn.

The first century.

Husbands and wives or wives and husbands.

Children and fathers and slaves and masters.

Notice in verse 22, again, we're gonna bore down deep on these verses.

But notice in verse 22, if you've got a Bible, any kind of study Bible, then the word be

subject is in italics because it's not there.

That thought is drawn from verse 21.

Drawn out of verse 21 into verse 22 because it's there but it's not written in

that verse.

Notice it's wives.

Also, these are just observations for you.

Notice that he deals with the one who is to submit first and then he deals with the one to whom they

must submit.

Second.

That's the first thing.

Second thing you'll notice is that the instruction to the one who submits is about half as lengthy as the

instruction as to the one to whom they must submit.

Okay, so ladies, what do I mean?

I mean that when we get into this section, I have seven areas where you must submit

as a spirit -filled Christian to your husband.

But guess what, husbands?

I got 14 areas where you must love your wife.

Okay, so two to one.

It's true in husbands, or excuse me, in the father and the children section.

Command to children is very simple.

It's straightforward.

Boom, obey, honor.

But the instruction to the fathers is a lot more lengthy.

And then with slaves and masters, same way.

Okay, so just observing that.

So, here we are.

Walking in wisdom.

Big idea here.

Walking in wisdom, simply put, is living life in accordance with

the radical transformation that God has brought about in us when he

made us alive together with Christ.

That's what it means to walk in wisdom.

This transformation affects every single aspect of our lives.

And it changes the way we think about ourselves and others.

And through the indwelling Holy Spirit, grants us access to the power of God necessary

to begin to live out that changed status in the here and the now.

That's what we're going to be looking at in the next six months.

We will take the time to develop 518 to 21, because

understanding what it means to be filled by the Spirit is essential for the requirements

for our wives and husbands and fathers and children and slaves and masters that follow.

If we launch right into verse 22, wise be subject to your own husbands, that's gonna go over like a lead balloon.

I need to show you, because Paul is going to show you, how that's even possible.

How that's even possible.

And it's not just possible, it's a glorious reality when we understand what it means

to be filled with the Spirit of God.

Let's pray.

Well, Father, we have covered a lot of ground this morning.

Very quickly, we pray that your Spirit would apply

the truth where it's needed.

We pray as we delve now more deeply, beginning next week, into these verses, take the time to really pull them

apart and look at them, that you would help us.

Father, I pray that you would help me guide my mouth and my mind, that what I say would be true and nothing but truth.

Pray for us, that as we hear and receive the truth, that we would hear it and receive it with receptive hearts

that want to obey, that want to change.

Father, we all have our struggles.

Every one of us, and much of them are common to us as men and women and people,

children even.

And so, Father, there's much hope here.

For it is through Christ that you are in the process.

Of undoing that which Adam did.

May we enjoy just a glimpse of that now.

For Jesus' sake, amen.