Lessons #201 and 202
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Living wisely means not living unwisely (Eph 5:15-16)
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
It is our assertion that beginning in verse 8 of the fifth chapter of Ephesians until verse 21 that the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul is concerned with the admirable ways in which believers should live. So far, we have considered a first admirable way to live which is as children of light, that is, as children of God. As we have considered, living as children of God certainly involves both positive and negative actions on the part of believers. Positively, believers are to exhibit virtues of goodness, righteousness, and truthfulness that the Holy Spirit produces in them. Negatively, believers are to having nothing to do with sinful activities of the unbelievers instead they are to expose them since they are those who have received illumination of truth from Jesus Christ. Having ended the instruction concerning the first admirable way to live as children of God, the apostle continues with the second admirable way to live, which is to live wisely that is covered in verses 15 to 21. This second admirable way to live involves not living unwisely, understanding God’s will, and the filling of the Spirit. Our exposition will be focused on considering the three elements involved in living wisely as we have stated.
The instructions or commands issued in the Scripture are primarily for those who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only one command in the Scripture that is intended for unbelievers; it is that which is concerned with the word “believe.” It is used either in connection with healing or with salvation. Our Lord Jesus issued the command to believe to Jarius in connection with the raising of his daughter from the dead in Luke 8:50:
Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
Our Lord also used it in His interaction with the Samaritan woman that eventually led to her salvation when He said what is recorded in John 4:21:
Jesus declared, “Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
Of course, believe in this context has the meaning of “to accept as true what one says.” Our Lord used the command associated with the word “believe” not only for healing but in appealing to the Jews to receive the good news He preached to them in Mark 1:15:
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Similarly, the command to believe in connection with salvation is used by the Apostle Paul when he issued the command to the Philippian jailer to believe in the Lord Jesus in Acts 16:31:
They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
The point we are stressing is that except for a command that has to do with salvation, the instructions given in the Scripture are for believers. This is because God the Holy Spirit is not in the business of mocking people. Therefore, He will not issue a command to anyone which such a person could not obey just as it will not make much sense to expect a child to carry out physical functions that only adults whose body parts have matured enough to carry out, such lifting a very heavy object. The implication is that because unbelievers are spiritually dead, no command in the Scripture except that of believing in Christ is given to them. Even then, we have to remember that an unbeliever is really incapable of obeying the command to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ without the Holy Spirit regenerating the individual so that the person could believe in Christ for eternal salvation. It is rather unfortunate that many believers do not understand this point we are stressing as reflected by the fact that they expect unbelievers to live or behave like themselves who have the Holy Spirit inside of them. They expect unbelievers to think like they do or to avoid some kinds of immoral conduct. Worst yet, believers often expect unbelievers to trust the Lord when they are having problems. This is an impossible thing. So, as a believer you should be careful of what you expect of an unbeliever.
It is our assertion that the instructions or commands given in the Scripture are for believers. This is because they are the only human beings that have been equipped to obey, for the glory of God, the commands issued in the Scripture as they have the Holy Spirit in them. This truth is conveyed in the passage we are about to consider with the word then of the NIV. While the word then is not incorrect, it is probably not the best word to use to translate the Greek conjunction (oun) used in our passage. This is because the English word then is subject to different meanings. It could here be understood in the sense of “also”, that is, that the word “then” is used as a marker of continuation of a narrative. This will mean that the word “then” is used either to emphasize what follows or to indicate a transition to a new point that is loosely related to what preceded it. This is a possibility as this is the implication of the translators of the CEV in that they did not translate the Greek conjunction in Ephesians 5:15. Another meaning of the word “then” has the sense “therefore.” It is this meaning that best suits our context so that the Greek conjunction should be translated with the word “therefore” to remove any ambiguity as to how the Greek conjunction used in our passage should be understood. The use of the meaning “therefore”, as we find in some English versions such as the NET, enables us to recognize that what follows is an inference or result that stems from what preceded. This understanding helps us to recognize the point we are making that commands of the Scripture are usually for believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. It tells us that the command that follows in verse 15 is because of what has been said previously. In verse 14, the apostle had quoted from an unknown source Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. This quotation involves what Christ has done for those who are believers. We indicated that He has illuminated them with His truth. Consequently, the command that follows is given because it is addressed to those who have received illumination with respect to truth. Those who receive this illumination of truth were first made alive so that they have the Holy Spirit inside of them. The presence of the Holy Spirit and truth made available to them form the grounds for the instruction that follows. This being the case, we have established the point we are stressing, which is that the commands of the Scripture are usually for those who are believers. Again, it is because believers are those who are regenerated and have received illumination by Jesus Christ with respect to truth that it is fitting for the Holy Spirit to require of them to live wisely.
Christian life is one that does not permit carelessness either of thought or action. We get into trouble spiritually when we become sloppy in our thinking or in our actions. A believer who is careless with his or her thoughts will normally say or do things that are in consistent with the word of God. To avoid saying or doing anything that is inconsistent with the word of God, requires living wisely. But to live wisely requires carefulness in what one says or does as a believer. It is certainly because of the necessity of carefulness in living wisely that the apostle began verse 15 with the command be very careful of the NIV or more literally see carefully.
The expression “be careful” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (blepō) that literally is concerned with perception through the eyes so means “to see” as the Apostle Paul used the word to describe one of the reasons he did not want to boast regarding the visions or revelations he had received in 2 Corinthians 12:6:
Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say.
The clause so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say is more literally so that no one can credit to me more than what he sees in me or hears anything from me. This literal translation reflects the meaning “to see” that our Greek word means. Even when the word is used with meaning “to see”, the sense could be to be aware of something, that is, to perceive or even to feel as the apostle used it to describe the effect he perceived his letter had on the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 7:8:
Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while—
These meanings notwithstanding, there are other nuances of our Greek word that literally means “to see”, especially when it is used for command. The word can mean “to look at” someone or something, as the Apostle Peter used it when he addressed the crippled man that was begging for money but to whom the apostle healed after he instructed him to look at him and John, according to the record in Acts 3:4:
Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”
Another meaning of the Greek word is to direct one’s attention to something and so means “to consider, to note” as the Apostle Paul used it to caution primarily believers who teach others to direct their attention to how they instruct believers in order to bring about spiritual growth among new believers in 1 Corinthians 3:10:
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
The clause But each one should be careful how he builds may more literally be translated But each one must direct his attention to how he is building upon it. Still another meaning of the Greek word under consideration is “to watch”, “to be aware” in the sense of being ready to learn about something that is needed or something that is hazardous as the apostle used it in cautioning believers with respect to exercise of their rights so that such an exercise does not cause problem for another believer, as we read in 1 Corinthians 8:9:
Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
This sentence of verse 9 may alternatively be translated in a more literal fashion as But watch out lest somehow this right of yours becomes a cause for stumbling to the weak of the Lexham English Bible. In the alternative translation, our Greek word is translated “watch out.” It is in this sense of watching out for something that the apostle used it to caution believers against backbiting one another in Galatians 5:15:
If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
We have considered the range of meanings of our Greek word especially when it is used to issue a command so the problem is to determine in which sense the word is used in our passage of Ephesians 5:15. It is in the sense of directing one’s attention to something, that is, to consider or to note something or simply “to pay attention”. This means that the command be very careful … how you live of the NIV could be translated pay close attention to how you live or more literally pay close attention how you walk. The apostle is not merely telling us that we should direct our attention to something but that we should put thought to whatever that is before us. In effect, if we have an information about something we should put thought to determine how useful or harmful the use of the given information can be to us. We are saying that it is expected of believers not to be simple minded with information without critically subjecting the information to the word of God to see how it lines up with the word of God so that a believer can then accept the information or filter it out so that it does not affect his or her behavior.
A Christian who is serious with his or her spiritual life cannot afford to be careless in consideration of any information as that affects the believer’s spiritual life. The apostle intends for us to recognize that the command translated be very careful in the NIV requires that a believer does what is command repeatedly to the point that it becomes a habit of the individual. In effect, to live effective spiritual life requires that a believer develop the habit of being very thoughtful in consideration of information before him or her in order to ensure that he or she takes the correct action that is consistent with God’s word. You should learn to be thoughtful in what you do. This, of course, does not happen overnight. It requires constant practice and being aware of the necessity to think through what one is about to do or say.
The attention the apostle expects of believers with respect to the instruction that he gave in Ephesians 5:15 requires thoughtfulness and thoroughness so that carelessness is rule out with respect to spiritual matters. The apostle could have stopped with the command that means to direct one’s attention to something, that is, to consider, but he wanted to ensure that we recognize how serious a matter the apostle was writing that he was compelled to add a Greek word that the translators of the NIV combined in their translation be very careful or the word “carefully” in such English versions as the ESV and the NAB. The expression “be very careful” of the NIV or “carefully” is translated from a Greek adverb (akribōs) that refers to strict conformity to a norm or standard, with focus on careful attention, involving both detail and completeness. The word is used in the sense of “carefully” in the instruction of Herod to the Maggi as they investigated where Jesus was born, as we read in Matthew 2:8:
He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
It is in this sense that Luke used the Greek word to indicate he conducted a careful research before he wrote his gospel account, as we read in Luke 1:3:
Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
The Greek word can also mean “accurately” as it is used to describe the teaching of Apollos who was somewhat deficient in his knowledge with respect to the Christian faith, as indicated in the record of Acts 18:25–26:
25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
The word “adequately” in verse 26 is translated from the same Greek word rendered “accurately” in verse 25. The Greek word can also mean “well” as it is used by the Apostle Paul in declaring the certainty of the suddenness and the surprise that will be associated with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:2:
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
The sense of the word in Ephesians 5:15 is “carefully.” Thus, with the use of this word, the apostle intended to convey that the instruction be very careful of the NIV is intended for believers to be very thoughtful and thorough to ensure that whatever they do is in conformity with the word of God. In effect, we are saying that the word “carefully” is associated with the Greek command that that we indicated should be understood as “pay attention” although some scholars take the adverb to be associated with the literal word “walk” that we will consider shortly. Of course, the Greek could be read either way but it is probably the case that the adverb applies to both the command “pay attention” and the word “walk” so that in the final analysis it does not matter how we read the Greek adverb that means “carefully.” Nonetheless, as we have been emphasizing, it is important that we believers do not become careless in what we say or do. This can only be the case if we are very mindful of the fact that our Lord expects us to be accurate and complete in what we do. It is being careful, accurate, and thorough in what we do that will enable us to carry out the instruction that is given in the rest of the passage we are considering. Believers who are mindful and thorough are those who are spiritually vigilant knowing that the Lord will come in a time that we do not expect as per the instruction of our Lord in Mark 13:33:
Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come.
A believer who is thoughtful and thorough is the one that is capable of being on guard against heresy or wrong teachings that false teachers put out to others. No wonder the Apostle Paul used the same Greek word we indicated should be translated “pay attention” in our passage to instruct the Philippians about those Judaizers who distort the gospel message in Philippians 3:2:
Watch out for those dogs, those men who do evil, those mutilators of the flesh.
Anyway, the point we are stressing is that Christian life requires believers to be very thoughtful and thorough in what they say or do. We are to form the habit of running through everything we do or think by the Scripture. In other words, a believer who is serious about his or her spiritual life should form the habit of checking the actions he or she wants to take with how such conforms to the word of God. Such a believer should also subject his or her thoughts to the word of God as the Apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 10:5:
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
The sentence we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ means that we should consistently subject every thought to Christ. This, in practice, means that we should subject every thought to the word of God. This is required if we are going to be the kind of Christian that the Lord expects of us.
In any case, the command in the passage we are considering is concerned with our conduct or our lifestyle since the command is be very careful, then, how you live. The English versions that are more literal in their translation such as the NASB or the ESV render the clause how you live as how you walk. This is because the word “live” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (peripateō) that literally means “to walk around”, “to go about” as in going from one point to another. Interestingly, the Apostle Paul does not use this Greek word in a literal sense despite the literal word “walk” that is used to translate our Greek word in some passages in the NIV. The literal sense of movement that is associated with our word is used by the Apostle Peter to describe the continuous movement of Satan in attempt to harm believers although the translators of the NIV used the meaning “to prowl about” to translate our word in 1 Peter 5:8:
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
The sentence the devil prowls around like a roaring lion is more literally the devil walks around like a roaring lion. From the literal meaning of the Greek word of walking around is derived figurative usages of the word that essentially have to do with conduct or behavior. The word is translated “behave” in the Apostle Paul’s instruction concerning the way believers should function contrary to unbelievers in Romans 13:13:
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.
The word is translated “to act” in the apostle’s instruction concerning how believers should behave with respect to their fellow believers in order not to be a stumbling block to them, as we read in Romans 14:15:
If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
The word is translated “live” in describing the lifestyle of Ephesians prior to salvation in Ephesians 2:2:
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
It is certainly in figurative sense that involves behavior that the word is used in Ephesians 5:15. In fact, the apostle used the Greek word seven other times in this Epistle and in each case of the eight occurrences the meaning has to do with conduct. So, the instruction that literally reads how you walk is that believers should be very calculating or thoughtful in the way they behave or conduct themselves.
Believers’ conduct is very important that the apostle described it both negatively and positively. Negatively, he described it as that which should not be unwise as in the phrase not as unwise of Ephesians 5:15. The apostle used a rare Greek adjective (asophos) that appears only here in the Greek NT that refers to one who lacks the power of proper discernment and so means “unwise, foolish.” It is interesting that the apostle used this rare Greek adjective in our passage. It could be argued that it is because the word is the Greek opposite of the word “wise” that he used later but that seems not to be a good argument. This is because this is not the only place where the idea of opposite of the word “wise” is used by the apostle. He used opposites that involved the word wise in Romans 1:14:
I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
The word “foolish” here is translated from a Greek adjective (anoētos) that our English versions translated using such words as “unwise”, “uneducated”, “ignorant”, or “foolish.” It is a word that our Lord Jesus used after His resurrection to describe His disciples’ failure to understand that He had to die and rise again, according to the Scriptures in Luke 24:25:
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
The Apostle Paul used the same adjective to describe believers in Galatia who went astray, as we read in Galatians 3:3:
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
The apostle also used it to describe the intellectual and spiritual condition of people before becoming Christians in Titus 3:3:
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another
Thus, the Greek adjective translated “foolish” in Romans 1:14 describes one who does not think or reflect, one who is slow to comprehend. Thus, the use of “wise” and “foolish” in Romans 1:14 is concerned not so much as the innate intellectual capabilities, but rather to the degrees of learning as reflected by the fact that some English versions used the word educated and uneducated in place of the Greek words that literally means “wise” and “foolish”. It is probably because the Greek adjective used in Romans can be concerned with unwillingness to use one’s mental capacity to understand that the apostle avoided its use in our passage in Ephesians 5:15 that is concerned with conduct. Instead, he used the rare Greek adjective that pertains to not being wise in the sense of being capable of proper discernment that leads to proper conduct.
In any case, the apostle does not want believers to live the lifestyle that can be described as “unwise.” Of course, he did not elaborate on what he means to live unwisely but he did not have to do so because of what he has previously written is sufficient to understand what it means to live unwisely. To live unwisely for the believer means to live like unbelievers. In effect, it means to live sinful life that involves such things as sexual immorality and greed the apostle had already warned believers against their practice. Those who do not apply sound judgment to moral issues are those who are foolish or unwise as implied in the rebuke of Moses to Israel in his farewell address in Deuteronomy 32:5–6:
5They have acted corruptly toward him; to their shame they are no longer his children, but a warped and crooked generation. 6Is this the way you repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you?
Israel is said to be unwise because they acted corruptly towards God in the sense that they sinned and did not obey His law. Hence, a person who behaves unwisely or foolishly is an individual that does not comply with God’s word. It is height of foolishness not to do what God instructs a believer as such conduct is also costly as Saul found out when Prophet Samuel rebuked him for not obeying God’s instruction, indicating that not to obey God’s instruction is to act foolishly which was costly to him, as stated in 1 Samuel 13:13:
“You acted foolishly,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
The point we are stressing is that to live unwisely means to live a lifestyle that is inconsistent with the word of God, that is, to live in sinful manners. The Holy Spirit tells us through the Apostle Paul here in Ephesians 5:15 that we should not do so.
In contrast to living unwisely, believers are commanded to live wisely as in the phrase of Ephesians 5:15 but as wise. The word “wise” is translated from a Greek adjective (sophos) that has several meanings. It can mean “skillful”, “experienced” as the Apostle Paul used it in a passage we cited previously, that is, 1 Corinthians 3:10:
By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
The phrase as an expert builder can be translated like a skilled master builder to reflect the meaning “skillful” of the Greek adjective used that literally means “wise.” The Greek word can refer to having intelligence and education above the average so means “learned.” This is the meaning of the word in the passage we cited previously, that is, Romans 1:14:
I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
The Greek word translated “wise” in Romans 1:14 is rendered “educated” in such English versions as the CEV, the NLT, and the TEV or “learned” in the REB. Our Greek word is used in the sense of being skilled in the affairs of life so that it means “discreet, judicious.” This is the sense the apostle used it to rebuke the Corinthians for taking their affairs to unbelieving judges in that he questioned if there is no one among them that is skilled to handle dispute between believers in their congregation in 1 Corinthians 6:5:
I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?
These various usages of our Greek word indicate it is a word that can mean “experienced, informed, skilled, full of understanding.” Thus, to live wisely means to live in such a way to reflect that one understands the word of God through skillful application of God’s word to every affair of this life. The context of Ephesians 5:15 indicates that living wisely implies living the life that God approves or the lifestyle that reflects the Spirit’s control of the life of the believer. Hence, a believer who lives wisely is one that conducts his or her life in accordance with God’s word and so is full of good deeds as implied in the instruction of James 3:13:
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.
Anyhow, the apostle is concerned that believers should live wisely. Unlike the matter of living unwisely, the apostle continued to elaborate on what it means to live wisely as we will note later but for now we need to consider what the apostle says about living wisely.
The apostle temporarily interrupts his instruction about living wisely with a side comment that its purpose is not quite clear in that the apostle wrote making the most of every opportunity. Literally, the Greek reads redeeming the time. The problem is how to understand what the apostle meant in the literal translation of redeeming the time. There are two problems of the literal reading. The first is what the apostle meant and the second is how the literal translation is related to the instruction that requires believers to live wisely. To deal with both, we need to consider the literal Greek translation redeeming the time. The word “redeeming” is translated from a Greek word (exagorazō) that is concerned with securing the deliverance or freedom of someone by a means that proves costly to the individual securing the deliverance or freedom of another and so it means “to redeem, to liberate, to deliver.” So, the Apostle Paul used it to indicate that Jesus Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us in Galatians 3:13:
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
Another meaning of the Greek word is to gain something, especially, advantage or opportunity hence means “to make most of.” It is the word that is used in the Septuagint to describe the feeling of Nebuchadnezzar when he wanted the astrologers, sorcerers, enchanters, and magicians of Babylon to interpret his dreams but they asked him to tell them the dream, as we read in Daniel 2:8:
Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided:
It is in the sense of “to make most of” that the word is used by the Apostle Paul in his instruction to the Colossians in Colossians 4:5:
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
It is the second meaning of “to make most of” that best suits the context since the object of the verb is the literal word “time” used in the passage. It is difficult to comprehend what it would mean to redeem time or to buy back time unless it is understood in the sense of making the most use of time. The literal word “time” is translated from a Greek word (kairos) with a range of meanings. It can mean “opportunity” as it is used when Governor Felix postponed hearing the defense of the Apostle Paul because he was speaking of God’s coming judgment, as we read in Acts 24:25:
As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”
The clause when I find it convenient is more literally when I have an opportunity. Another meaning of the Greek word is “occasion” as the Apostle used it in his instructions regarding constancy of prayer in Ephesians 6:18:
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Still another meaning of the Greek word is “a point of time” or “period of time” as it is used by the Apostle Paul in describing the conditions of the last days in 2 Timothy 4:3:
For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.
In our passage, it is the meaning “opportunity” that is most fitting because that is the thing that literally could be redeemed or bought.
Examination of the two key words in the literal translation redeeming the time enables us to understand what the apostle means. He meant that believers who live wisely should be concerned with making the most use of every opportunity that they get or that is given to them. This explanation, of course, touches on the second problem of the literal translation which is how the action specified in it relates to living wisely. This is because the Greek of the literal word “redeeming” is subject to at least three possible interpretations. A first interpretation is that the making the most of one’s opportunity is the means of living wisely. A second interpretation is that the result of living wisely is making most of one’s opportunity. A third interpretation takes the view that an action is commanded. It is this view that is reflected in some English versions such as the CEV and the NEB. The GWT is quite clear that it takes the literal translation of “redeeming” as a command with its translation of Make the most of your opportunities. Which of these interpretations did the apostle have in mind? The first interpretation of means of living wisely is unlikely because the means of living wisely is treated beginning in verse 17. The third interpretation is possible but unlikely since the apostle’s primary command is that of being careful as to how one lives. Furthermore, to take the literal reading “redeeming” as a command seems out of place since the apostle has not said anything about opportunities up to this point. Therefore, the second interpretation that indicates that the result of living wisely is that of making most of one’s opportunity is intended. A believer who lives wisely knows life is short and can end suddenly so such a believer strives to make use of every opportunity knowing that it is only on this planet that the believer can do things that will eventually be rewarded in heaven. It is certain that once we enter eternity there is no opportunity for further reward as the Holy Spirit reminds us through Solomon in Ecclesiastes 9:10:
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.
The result of living wisely involves using every opportunity that one has to do good as the Holy Spirit instructs us in Galatians 6:10:
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Anyhow, you should be careful to live wisely by doing everything in your power to seize every opportunity the Lord gives you to honor Him by doing things that are consistent to His word. This means you should use every opportunity the Lord gives you to present the gospel to others. You should use every opportunity He gives you to pass truth of His word to other believers as well. I am saying that when you interact with your fellow believer you should recognize and seize the opportunity that God gives you to encourage or cause a fellow believer to obey the truth of God’s word. In any event, we should recognize that we should not fail to utilize every opportunity the Lord gives us to do that which is beneficial spiritually. In fact, we should check to ensure that we use every time that we have on something that is not sinful.