Making the Most of Your Time

Making the Most of Your TimeText: Ephesians 5:15-21

In our culture, people are constantly busy with obligations and responsibilities. Some of these are placed upon us, others are self-imposed. This has led to a huge interest in time management and productivity. These can be helpful IF our priorities are right. Paul gave the Ephesians instructions about how to make the most of their time. How could they (and we) do this? It comes down to focusing on what is truly important. He explained in the context.

Understand the Will of God (v. 17)

  • Paul began by saying, “Be careful how you walk” (v. 15) – walk so as to please God (Colossians 1:10); by doing good works as defined in Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17); by increasing in the knowledge of God as revealed by the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)
  • To understand the will of God we need to spend time with the word of God (Ephesians 3:4; 2 Timothy 2:15)

Do Not Get Drunk with Wine (v. 18)

  • The NT contains several condemnations of drunkenness (Galatians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; et al.) – not only is drunkenness condemned, but also the casual use of alcohol (1 Peter 4:3); this was part of the life we gave up when we became Christians (1 Peter 4:3-4)
  • The specific prohibition is important – but the general principle is about giving up the old life of sin (Ephesians 4:22-24)

Be Filled with the Spirit (v. 18)

  • Contrasted with the previous point – we fill ourselves with something that influences our behavior; rather than being under the influence of alcohol, follow the influence of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22-23); as we already noticed, the Spirit has revealed the word of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-13)
  • To be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with the word of God – parallel passage (Colossians 3:16)

Sing Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs (v. 19)

  • Singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs is done to accomplish two things – first, we sing “to the Lord” to offer praise to Him (cf. John 4:24); second, we are “speaking to one another” and teaching (Colossians 3:16)
  • Singing is one of the fundamental “acts” of worship – this shows us that worship is to be a priority

Give Thanks to God (v. 20)

  • All of our blessings are from God (James 1:17) – we must never forget this or take it for granted; we are to express our thanksgiving to God through prayer (Philippians 4:6); we are to “pray without ceasing” and “in everything give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18)
  • This is also connected with our service to God (Hebrews 12:28) – we need to show gratitude to serve God acceptably

Be Subject to One Another (v. 21)

  • We do this by fulfilling the different roles we have in our relationships with others – the context continues with roles of husbands, wives, children, parents, slaves, and masters (Ephesians 5:22-6:9); however, the principle applies to every relationship we have in the body of Christ
  • Being subject to one another requires humility – we must put others ahead of ourselves (Philippians 2:3-4)

Conclusion

  • To make the most of our time, we need to make sure that our priorities are in order
  • If we do what Paul outlined, we will make the most of our time – walking wisely, pleasing God