Ephesians

Ephesians 5:15-21 — Watch How You Live

We have been looking together at the great passage in Ephesians where the apostle Paul deals with our preparation as Christians for living in a sin-sick and corrupt society. We have seen that the problems first-century Christians faced were essentially the same problems we face today. Now we come to Paul’s summary of this subject: Please read Ephesians 5:15-20.

We are to be careful, Paul says, how we live. We are to live not as unwise but as wise. This passage is a review of all that the apostle has been teaching us up to this point—that we are no longer to live as the Gentiles do, that we are to put off the old nature and put on the new. Paul has also talked about the practical application of Christianity to the situations of everyday life.

Now, in Ephesians 5:15, Paul summarizes his message with one statement that says it all: “ Be very careful, then, how you live.” Then he goes on to give us the two characteristics of living rightly: 1. Live with understanding; 2. Live in the Spirit.