Love First Love: Be Filled / Ephesians 5:15-21
If you have your Bible, turn to Ephesians chapter 5. It is good to be hanging out with you here today, and a special greeting to those of you joining us via video or on the podcast. Today, we are going to look at Ephesians 5:15–21.
Can I just start by asking a question? Why are you here? Have you ever thought about that? I do not mean why you are here in this room today—there are all kinds of reasons why you ended up in this place. I mean, why are you still here on the earth?
Seriously, when you look at the depth of who you are, like I do, and you see your sin, and you see the gospel, and you understand redemption, and you recognize what is coming, you start putting the pieces together. You say, “Okay, Jesus died for my sin, my sin was laid upon Him, He gave me His righteousness, and one day He is going to take me to be with Him.”
How many of you get frustrated with that “one day” part? In heaven, there will be no more sin, no more sorrow, no more tears, and no more pain. I am looking at that thinking, “Lord, bring that on! How do I get that right now?” Because right now, I am still driving down the street having to take thoughts captive. I am still frustrated that anger wells up inside of me when it really should not. I am still frustrated that I find myself struggling with things I struggled with years ago, and I say, “Lord, I am tired of that.”
Now, I know He allows those things to keep me dependent upon Him. If I did not struggle, I would probably be the most spiritually arrogant guy around, and chances are you would be too. So I understand why they are there, but I kind of want to go to heaven. Don’t you?
Paul talks about how one day we are going to lay aside the perishable and put on the imperishable. My back will not hurt. My body will not break down. Life is going to be awesome. One day, I am going to lay aside this decaying tent, and there will be no cancer, no sin, no struggle, and no rogue thought I have to take captive, because the only thought I will have is worshiping the King. I will be honest with you: I want that day.
Called From Something and For Something
When you look at the gospel, you begin to realize that the very fact that you and I are still here means the gospel is about more than we thought it was. Most of us feel like the gospel is strictly about salvation. But if the gospel was only about getting you saved, then the moment you put your faith in Christ, He would have just beamed you up, and you would have been in glory with Him. He would have reeled you in and taken you out of this place.
Ephesians 5:15-21 (NASB)
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
He did not do that. He left you here. Why? Did He leave you here just so you could pay your rent, carve out a living, and hope you have enough left over to pay taxes? Is that why we are here? Or could it be that the gospel calls us not just from something, but for something?
Throughout the book of Ephesians, we have seen this pattern. In chapters 1 through 3, Paul challenges you with your identity in Christ: who you are, what Christ has done, and what has already been given to you. Then in chapters 4 through 6, he challenges you with what our conduct should be for Christ—what God wants to do through you, among you, and around you.
Do you see the opportunities God is placing in your life? Or are you suffering, as Shay so rightly divided the Word last week, from moral drift and mission drift? If you missed last week’s message, you really need to watch it; it was top-notch.
Paul warns us about moral drift in verses 1 through 10—becoming a people of God who look morally no different from the world around us. Then in verses 11 through 14, he tackles mission drift, reminding us that we cannot just play defense; we have to get on the offensive.
The danger the church in Ephesus faced is the exact same danger we face today. When we assemble together, it is easy to become complacent, comfortable, and spiritually lazy. We let our guard down. We lose our edge. We entertain little sins and small compromises. Over time, we become calloused, desensitized, and bored. We come, hear another message, leave, and say, “Boy, I really got fed today.” But then we do not do anything with what we have received. We say, “Thank you, bless you, pastor,” but we never put it to work.
God did not call you to Himself and leave you here just so you could spiritually binge-eat for the rest of your life. He did not call us to consume and never give, or to eat and never serve. The purpose of God leaving you here was not so you could accumulate more Bible trivia and have tons of content with zero application.
What are we doing as the people of God? What is God doing through us? How are we on mission? Is our life marked by an active investment into the kingdom of God, or do we just call on Him when we have an emergency?
Walk as the Wise
Paul addresses this head-on in verse 15.
Ephesians 5:15-16 (NASB)
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
In chapters 4 through 6, Paul uses that word “walk” five different times. In the original language, it literally means to live, behave, or conduct oneself. It implies a continual, daily pattern of life.
First, in Ephesians 4:1, he challenges them to walk in a manner worthy of their calling.
Ephesians 4:1 (NASB)
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Second, in Ephesians 4:17, he tells them to no longer walk like the Gentiles who do not know God.
Ephesians 4:17 (NASB)
So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
Third, in Ephesians 5:2, he tells them to walk in love.
Ephesians 5:2 (NASB)
and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Fourth, in Ephesians 5:8, he calls them to walk as children of light.
Ephesians 5:8 (NASB)
for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
And now here in verse 15, he tells them to walk as wise people, not as unwise.
To walk as the wise means to live with a constant awareness of who you are and why you are here. It means having not just book smarts, but spiritual street smarts—discerning the times and understanding what God wants to accomplish through you.
Let me ask you an honest question: When you look around the broader church today, what do you see?
Do you see a group of people whose hearts have been so transformed that their entire lives are reoriented around the mission of God? Do you see people consistently sharing Christ with their neighbors, making disciples, and being discipled? Do you see people traveling overseas to serve in difficult, neglected parts of the world because somebody has to take the gospel there? Do you see believers storming the gates of hell and bringing light into dark places?
Do you see men and women so steeped in the gospel that the Word of God naturally flows out of their mouths? When you are around them, do you smell the fragrance of Christ, see Jesus in a fresh way, and find yourself challenged to run harder after God? Do you see people considering others as more important than themselves, fully aware that they were not put on this earth to be comfortable, but to be on mission?
Or do you see 20% of the people doing 80% of the work? Do you see 20% of the people discipling, serving, and carrying the load, while the other 80% cannot articulate why they are still on this earth? They have placed their faith in Jesus, they have been redeemed, they have been sealed with the Spirit, and they have been freed from the mastery of sin—and yet, nothing.
If we are honest, too often we see churches drifting into consumerism, selfishness, and impurity. We see spiritual takers. Paul recognized this tendency, which is why he issued an urgent wake-up call in verse 14: “Awake, sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you!”
Ephesians 5:14 (NASB)
For this reason it says, ‘Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you.’
Paul is saying, “Wake up! In case you thought this was peacetime, let me assure you, it is not.” Nobody has waved a white flag. There is no truce. Until Jesus takes us home, these are battleground days. We are in a real fight, and we need to walk wisely and get back on mission.
Redeeming the Time
Why is this so urgent? Look at verse 16: we must make the most of our time because the days are evil.
The Greek word used for “time” here is kairos, which refers to strategic opportunity or a divine appointment. Paul is saying that we must seize the divine appointments God places before us. He uses the exact same concept when writing to the Colossians, urging them to conduct themselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of every opportunity.
Colossians 4:5 (NASB)
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
God wants to set you up with divine moments. He orchestrates interactions with people that you might assume are accidental or routine. But the sovereign God of the universe strategically positions you in places of influence with people who cross your path, so that you might buy back those moments for His glory.
Think about the opportunities all around you: your barista, the grocery store clerk, the tow truck driver, the bank teller, the person cutting your hair, or that coworker who drives you crazy. In whatever sphere of influence you find yourself, God has placed those specific people in front of you. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.
Romans 10:17 (NASB)
So faith [comes] from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Why are you here? You are here because God has a mission for you. He has put people in your life who would never give me the time of day. They do not know me, they do not trust me, and they will probably never listen to me. But they know you. They trust you.
Did God put them in your life just so you could exchange small talk and walk away? Or could it be that every single person you interact with today is a potential opportunity to invest in eternity?
Paul says the days are evil—morally corrupt and dark. As followers of Jesus living in this world, we ought to feel a little out of place. We ought to feel like strangers and aliens, because this world is not our permanent home. In the grand scheme of eternity, our earthly life is just a blip on the radar—the dash between the birth date and the death date on a tombstone.
Jesus prayed for us regarding this exact reality. On the night He was betrayed, walking from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane just hours before His arrest, Jesus prayed His High Priestly Prayer in John 17.
John 17:14-18 (NASB)
’I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ’I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil [one]. ’They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. ’Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. ’As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
John 17:20 (NASB)
’I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
Notice who Jesus was praying for: not just the eleven disciples, but all who would believe in Him through their word. That includes you and me.
Jesus did not ask the Father to take us out of the world, because we have work to do. His prayer was that we would be in the world without becoming of the world. We are left here to connect with people who do not know Jesus and point them to the truth.
Because of that, we cannot afford to get too cozy. The apostle John wrote that we must not love the world or the things in the world, because the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life do not come from the Father.
1 John 2:15-16 (NASB)
Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
God has not left you here to build a bigger house, impress your buddies with your income, or just coast through life paying taxes. Our mission is infinitely bigger than that. We are here to help people connect to God and to each other in every neighborhood—in Fresno, Clovis, Madera, Kingsburg, Foothill, Turlock, Reedley, Sanger, Merced, Modesto, Sacramento, and beyond.
Imagine waking up every morning and praying, “God, who do you have for me today? Bring them on. Whoever crosses my path, I am going to point them toward Jesus.”
When you are grabbing coffee, you look for an opening. When you are commuting, you pray, “Lord, give me the words today.” When you are stuck on an airplane next to someone, the door is locked—you have a captive audience! When you are in the break room at work and someone asks how you are doing, you can say, “I’m doing great, man. God is good.” When they look at you funny, you follow up: “Do you have a church you go to? You ought to check out mine. Our pastor is a mess; you’d love him!”
In reality, we are like undercover agents. We are not citizens of this world; we are here on official kingdom business. Your day job is essentially your cover identity, and your house is just a staging area. You are not primarily here to make widgets, manage accounts, or flip real estate. You are here to represent Jesus.
You thought you enrolled in Organic Chemistry just to fulfill a degree requirement? No, you are in O-Chem to share the gospel with the student sitting next to you. You thought you ended up in traffic school just because you got caught speeding? No, you are in traffic school because the guy next to you—who also has a lead foot—needs Jesus. You thought you walked into your boss’s office just for an annual review, but God may have put you there to shine the light of Christ.
Living merely to accumulate possessions, pay a mortgage, and wait to die is an empty, boring existence. Jesus warned us that whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for His sake will find it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
Matthew 16:26 (NASB)
’For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
Now, do not misunderstand me: you need to work hard and provide for your family. I am not telling you to quit your job and move into a cabin in the mountains. But remember that your career is not your ultimate purpose—it is your platform for ministry.
Be Filled With the Spirit
Look at verse 17:
Ephesians 5:17 (NASB)
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
Since you are on mission, do not be foolish or distracted by the culture. Understand the will of the Lord. Paul summarized the heartbeat of God’s will in Colossians 1:28–29.
Colossians 1:28-29 (NASB)
We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.
That is what life is about: proclaiming Christ and relying on His power working within us. If your job is digging a ditch, dig the best ditch your boss has ever seen, because you ultimately work for Jesus. Your work ethic demonstrates your character, which earns you the credibility to speak into someone’s life during the break.
Living with that kind of intentionality is completely countercultural. We cannot do it in our own strength; we need supernatural power.
Paul addresses this in verse 18:
Ephesians 5:18 (NASB)
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,
In Roman culture, pagan worship often involved wild, drunken festivals and debauchery. People would gather, pass around alcohol and drugs, engage in immorality, and call it worship. Paul tells the believers to stop living like that. True spiritual life is not about dissipation or losing control. As Romans 14:17 says, the kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking, but about righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Romans 14:17 (NASB)
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Instead of being influenced by alcohol, Paul commands us to “be filled with the Spirit.”
When you place your faith in Christ, you are permanently sealed and baptized by the Holy Spirit. But the filling of the Spirit is an ongoing, moment-by-moment yielding to His control. One Bible scholar put it well: “The baptism of the Spirit means that I belong to Christ’s body; the filling of the Spirit means that my body belongs to Christ.”
When you yield to the Spirit, He produces supernatural fruit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NASB)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
In Ephesians 5, Paul highlights specific evidence that naturally flows from a Spirit-filled life:
Ephesians 5:19-21 (NASB)
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.
First, in verse 19, the way you speak changes. You speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Your words are seasoned with grace, encouragement, and scripture.
Second, you sing and make melody in your heart to the Lord. When you remember the spiritual mess you used to be and consider the boundless grace God has poured out on you, how can you not sing? Gratitude naturally wells up in your heart.
Third, in verse 20, you give thanks always for all things. It is easy to be thankful when the economy is booming, your investments are growing, and your kids are thriving. But a Spirit-filled believer gives thanks always and for all things. Why? Because you see God at work everywhere—in sorrow and in joy, in poverty and in promotion, in waiting rooms and in celebrations. You recognize that God has placed you on an assignment right where you are.
Walking Out Your Assignment
Earlier this week, I made a hospital visit. To be completely honest with you, hospital visits are not my favorite thing to do; it is not my natural sweet spot. But Roberta Karriker was in the hospital.
Many of you know the Karriker name. Her late husband, Buf Karriker, pastored at Northwest Church for nearly fifty years. Buf was the man who first gave me a shot in ministry—he also fired me and later rehired me, which is a whole other story that cost me plenty in counseling! Buf went home to be with the Lord in 2000, but Roberta, the matriarch of the family, is nearly 90 years old, sharp as a tack, and was recently hospitalized.
When I went to visit her, we were laughing and sharing stories, and I was asking for her wisdom. Throughout our conversation, she kept using a specific phrase: “This is my assignment. This is where the Lord has me right now.”
While we were chatting, a nurse walked into the room. Instantly, Roberta perked up, engaged the nurse with warmth and genuine interest, and spoke encouragement into her life. When the nurse walked out, Roberta settled back into her bed, physically exhausted.
I looked at her and thought, “Here is a woman nearly 90 years old, in pain, in a hospital bed, totally focused on her current assignment.” She was not walking as the unwise; she was walking as the wise. She understood that God had not taken her home yet because He still had work for her to do—even if that work meant being a witness to the nurse caring for her.
That is what a Spirit-filled life looks like. It is recognizing that God has strategically placed you in your current circumstances for His glory.
Verse 21 gives the fifth mark of the Spirit: “submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” This verse acts as the bridge to Paul’s teaching on relationships in Ephesians 5:22 through 6:9, which we will dig into next week.
Why did God give us this passage? To remind us that He has an assignment tailored specifically for you. I cannot live your life, and you cannot live mine. If you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ and you are still breathing, God has purpose for your life today.
You might say, “Pastor, look at my baggage and my failures. How could God use me?” Look at the 66 books of the Bible—it is filled with broken, dysfunctional people whom God redeemed and used for His glory. He can certainly use you.
When your feet hit the floor tomorrow morning, let it be different. Pray, “Lord, what assignment do You have for me today? I want to serve You. I do not have the strength on my own, but wherever You lead, I am going.”
Look for God in the opportunities He puts in front of you. And when you see Him work through you, you will smile and realize: That is why I am still here.
Let’s pray together.
Father in heaven, would You awaken us from our slumber? Help us arise as those brought from death to life, with eyes wide open to what You are doing around us. Thank You that You have not only called us out of our sin, but called us into Your mission.
Show each of us the people You have already placed in our path who need an encouraging word, a helping hand, or the good news of the gospel. Help us embrace our assignments with joy, living to honor You and point people to Jesus in every neighborhood. We ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.