In this passage, Paul gives us several areas of our lives where we must apply the wisdom of the Lord.
- First of all, we must wise in the use of our time. ( 5:16)
- We must be wise in the use of our minds. ( 5:17-18)
- We must be wise in our use of the Spirit’s gifts and let Him FILL us with His gifts and power. ( 5:18-20)
First of all, we must wise in the use of our time. (Eph. 5:16) We must remember that the admonition of the Lord for us to use our time wisely is not a suggestion but a command. The reason we must do this is that the days we live in are evil. Romans 12:1-2 tell us that we need to practice mind renewal in a mindless society. Jack Cottrell writes, “The English phrase, ‘making the best use of,’ translates one Greek word, i.e., exagorazo. It is used 2 other times in the New Testament, in Gal. 3:13 and Gal. 4:5, where it is translated ‘to redeem’ in the sense of salvation.”
We must make the. best use of our time, wisely using it in endeavors of the Lord. We must find opportunities to uplift the Lord Jesus. We must. let our light shine for the Lord (Matt. 5:16) and find ways to help our fellow believers “grow in the grace and knowledge of the the Lord.” (2 Peter 3:18).
The reason why we must “redeem the time,” is that we. live in an evil world under the influence of the “god of this world, Satan. It is the domain of darkness (Col. 1:12-14) We must be found reaching the lost with the saving Gospel and helping them come out of darkness in to the light of the. Gospel, thus enjoying life in marvelous light of that Gospel. If we seek to. redeem the time and make wise use of our time, we will be involved in that endeavor.
Wherever we have a sphere of influence, we must use it to go into our world of influence and spread the Gospel.
Larry Miles is Co-Editor of Word & Work and attends Cherry St. Church of Christ in New Albany, IN.