Tabor Baptist Church

Introduction

• Last week we were speaking about our witness in the world
• We are called to be children of light
• Walk in love (v2)
• Be a thankful people (v4)
• Let our light shine
• We are to imitate our Father
• By doing all of this people will see some different, something of Christ in us
• The section ended at v14 - a call to the unconverted
• Moving onto v15-21
• The previous section is about a witness to the world:
• A theme of separation
• In one sense this theme continues in v18
• Remember the background of the Ephesians
• The section before us emphasises:
• The positive and joy
• A people who are always giving thanks
• A people being glad
• The section relates to the church and relationships
• Marriage and the home - husband and wife (5:22-33)
• Parents and children (6:1-6)
• Work life (6:5-7)
• The apostle is covering needy areas in the church
• It asks us searching questions
• Overview:
• Walk in Wisdom (v15-17)
• Be Filled with the Spirit (v18-21)

Walk in Wisdom (v15-17)

• Three walks: walk in love v2, walk in light v8 and walk in wisdom v15
• We are to 'walk the talk'
• "See then" - throws us back to v3-4
• Have a careful walk and fear God
• God sees all
• How does a fool live?
• Pours forth foolishness
• Referenced in proverbs
• Because he has no fear or reverence of God
• "The fool says in his heart there is no God" - Psalm 14:1
• Prov 15:2 - we are to be wise people and our speech must reflect what we know about God, be Christ like and edifying
• Prob 15:20
• Prov 18:2, 6-7
• As Christians we are called to walk in wisdom
• Example of the natural man
• The wise person (v15)
• The gospel saves us
• The Spirit comes to live within us
• We no longer want to be a fool and to please and obey God
• We want to read and listen to the Bible
• We want to honour God
• The days are evil
• Not just because of persecution
• Because of a rejection of the word of God
• How do we use our time?
• We all need time to relax
• How do we redeem the time?
• Pray
• Read the Bible
• Visit the brethren
• Serve in the church
• Are good husbands and wives
• So many ways

Be Filled with the Spirit (v18-21)

• Be Filled
• In the present continuous tense - a continual being filled
• We need to go on being filled
• An invitation and a command
• v19-21 are signs of being filled with the Spirit
• Evidences of the Spirit filled Christian
• Singing and praising God
• Thankfulness
• Humility
• What does it mean to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
• In the New Testament people were filled with the Holy Spirit for certain times and certain tasks
• Peter, Stephen, Paul
• Some people are characterised by being full of the Holy Spirit
• Barnabas
• Every believer is given the Holy Spirit, needs to be filled with the Holy Spirit and there are times when the Holy Spirit comes in great power with a special filling for a special task
• A contrast - be filled with the Spirit
• A contrast with alcohol
• Consider the Day of Pentecost
• Be under the control and power of the Holy Spirit - let it so enthuse your live
• Alcohol is a depressant and takes away your inhibitions
• The Holy Spirit truly stimulates
• How are we to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
• We need to ask the Lord to fill us with the Holy Spirit
• Prayer
• Put ourselves under the word of God
• We must think according to the word of God, not of the natural man
• The consequences of being filled with the Holy Spirit (v19-21)
• A huge debate over v19
• Praise God
• Speaking to one another Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (v19)
• Speaking/singing - we use our voice
• Praise is always vertical (to God) but in singing (to each other) we edify each other
• Example of Hezekiah - there was great singing
• Whenever there is revival you will find people singing
• Not only singing Psalms (of which some are referred to as songs and hymns)
• 1 Cor 14:26
• Spiritual songs - Hannah, Mary, Zecharaiah
• Not to be unaccompanied
• Hymns in the New Testament
• 1 Tim 3:16
• Parts of the New Testament seemed to be sung
• A Spirit filled person sings to the Lord from their heart
• Being thankful (v20)
• This can be difficult when we have trials
• Example from Tim Keller
• Do we latch on the negative or do we give thanks for the good?
• A submissive heart (v21)
• Submission mentioned 32 times
• 5:22, 6:1, 6:5
• This is a quality that God wants reproduced in our lives
• When we put others before us we are submitting to one another

Closing Remarks

• Walk in Wisdom
• Be people who are filled with the Holy Spirit