ACC ~ Ephesians 5 v15 - 20

OVERVIEW:

We must be wise in our dealings with unbelievers (AMBROSIASTER), for the times are not our own. They mostly belong to the wicked (CHRYSOSTOM). We must strive to make all time God’s time (JEROME). God wills moderation so that others will respect us (AMBROSIASTER) and flagrant sins will be avoided (CHRYSOSTOM). To be drunk with the Spirit is to be truly sober (AMBROSE). The faithful are called to be filled with the Spirit and to practice the types of singing commended in the Psalter (CHRYSOSTOM, JEROME), using the mind (CHRYSOSTOM) but not neglecting the voice (AMBROSIASTER). Even in adversity Christians can thank God (JEROME) because they know Christ as their Redeemer (AMBROSIASTER).

5:15 | Not as Unwise but as Wise

PRUDENCE REQUIRED AMID UNJUST CIVIL AUTHORITY. AMBROSIASTER: Paul has previously ordained that false and vicious lives be exposed by the servants of God. He now adds a qualifier: they are to be exposed in a careful manner to avoid scandal. The faithful must be prudent in their conduct among the faithless, especially at a time when the faithless hold dominion, trusting in an unholy ruler. If then a Christian encounters a troubler who is turbulent and angry, he should be cautious in his presence so as not to incite him to blaspheme or raise a storm. He will utter his words where occasion offers. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.15.1.

5:16 | The Days Are Evil

REDEEMING THE TIME. CHRYSOSTOM: His motive for giving this counsel is not to urge them to be more crafty or underhanded. Rather he is saying: “The times do not belong to you. Now you are migrants and expatriates, strangers and foreigners. Do not seek honors. Do not seek glory, authority or retribution. Bear all things. Only by patience will you redeem the time. Pay whatever is required, all that they desire.” OMILY ON EPHESIANS 18.5.15-17.

GOD’S CREATION OF TIME ITSELF NOT EVIL. CHRYSOSTOM: When Paul says “the days are evil,” he does not mean that they are created evil or that they are by their very nature evil. Rather he says this of the troubling events that occur in time. We are in the habit of saying, “I have had a terrible day.” But that does not imply that the day of itself is intrinsically terrible. Rather it refers to what has occurred in the day. Some of the things that occur in it are good, as they are enabled by God. Some are bad, because they are brought about by evil willing. Therefore it is we humans who are the authors of the evils that occur in time. Only on this basis are the times called evil. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 18.5.15-17.

AVOID CONSTANT CHANGE. JEROME: Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, has risen. Rise up from the sleep of the age. Walk cautiously and prudently. Cast off folly. Take hold of wisdom. In this way you will be able to avoid changing yourself constantly as you walk through the vicissitudes of the times. Rather you will find a unity within yourself even amid the diversity of the times. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.16.

5:17 | Understand the Will of the Lord

THE WILL OF THE LORD. AMBROSIASTER: Do what you have to do with moderation. This is the will of the Lord. Do not allow commotion and din or discord with bad feeling to give rise to estrangement. So Paul adds these words to what he has said about his wish that the servants of God should admonish wrongdoing. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.17.

5:18a | Maintain Sobriety

THE DUTY OF SOBRIETY. AMBROSIASTER: It is good conduct that strikes fear in the wrongdoer. Only one who is sober is prepared to counsel another realistically and with confidence. The person being counseled feels less resentment when he knows how good is the actual conduct of the one who admonishes him. But where there is intoxication there is also debauchery, and debauchery causes base deeds. Therefore it is our duty to be sober, so that the requirements of good conduct may be observed. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.18.

WINE GIVEN TO GLADDEN, NOT INTOXICATE. CHRYSOSTOM: Immoderate indulgence makes one rash, passionate, prone to stumbling, anger and severity. Wine was given to gladden us, not for intoxication. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 19.5.18.

5:18b | Be Filled with the Spirit

SPIRIT-FILLED, NOT WINE-FILLED. AMBROSE: One drunk with wine sways and stumbles. But one who is filled with the Spirit has solid footing in Christ. This is a fine drunkenness, which produces even greater sobriety of mind. ON THE SACRAMENTS 5.3.17.

THE HOLY SPIRIT ENTERS THE HOUSE RIGHTLY SWEPT CLEAN FOR HIM. CHRYSOSTOM: Be ready for the Spirit’s filling. This happens only when we have cleansed our souls of falsehood, anger, bitterness, sexual impurity, uncleanness and covetousness. It happens only when we have become compassionate, meek and forgiving to one another, only when facetiousness is absent, only when we have made ourselves worthy. Only then does the Spirit come to settle within our hearts, only when nothing is there to prevent it. Then he will not only enter but also fill us. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 19.5.19-21.

5:19a | Sing Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

TO BE FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT, LEARN TO SING PSALMS. CHRYSOSTOM: Do you wish to be happy? Do you want to know how to spend the day truly blessed? I offer you a drink that is spiritual. This is not a drink for drunkenness that would cut off even meaningful speech. This does not cause us to babble. It does not disturb our vision. Here it is: Learn to sing psalms! Then you will see pleasure indeed. Those who have learned to sing with the psalms are easily filled with the Holy Spirit. But if you sing only the devil’s songs you will soon find yourself filled with an unclean spirit. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 19.5.19-21.

PSALMS, HYMNS AND SPIRITUAL SONGS. JEROME: Our hymns declare the strength and majesty of God. They express gratitude for his benefits and his deeds. Our psalms convey this gratitude also, since the word Alleluia is either prefaced or appended to them. Our psalms properly belong to the domain of ethics, teaching us what is to be done and avoided. The domain of the psalms is the body as an instrument of grace. But the domain of the spiritual canticles is the mind. As we sing spiritual canticles we hear discourses on things above, on the harmony of the world, on the subtly ordered concord of all creatures. These spiritual songs help us express our meaning more plainly for the sake of simple folk. It is more with the mind than with the voice that we sing, offer psalms and praise God. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.19.

5:19b | Make Melody to the Lord

SING WITH HEARTS ENGAGED. CHRYSOSTOM: “Making melody to the Lord” means paying attention while you are singing. It means not letting your mind drift. Those who in singing do not offer this deep attention to God are merely mouthing psalms, uttering words, while their hearts are preoccupied elsewhere. HOMILY ON EPHESIANS 19.5.19-21.

SINGING FROM THE HEART. AMBROSIASTER: If we are living well, we are always being filled with the Holy Spirit so as to confess and extol the gift of God. The Holy Spirit loves this way of life. This is especially expressed in songs, that praise may be sung to God by every tongue. If the Spirit is dwelling within someone, he is always meditating on the Spirit. It is not only his lips that burst forth but his heart. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.19.

5:20 | Give Thanks in All Things

WHAT IT MEANS TO GIVE THANKS IN CHRIST’S NAME. AMBROSIASTER: We are told to give thanks to God for all his gifts. For God has stooped low to adopt us through Christ his own Son, through whom we know God. We have learned that God, being Spirit, is to be adored in the Spirit. So we submit ourselves to one another out of reverence for Christ, who commanded us to pursue humility. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 5.21.

EXTOL GOD ALWAYS AND IN EVERYTHING. JEROME: Paul now calls us to “give thanks always and in everything.” This is to be understood in a double sense, both in adversity and in good times. … In this way the mind rejoices and bursts out in gratitude to God, not only for what we think good but for what troubles us and happens against our will. … It is obvious that generally we are called to give thanks to God for the sun that rises, for the day that goes by and for the night that brings rest … for the rains that come, for the earth that brings forth fruit and for the elements in their course. … Finally, we are thankful that we are born, that we have being, that our wants are sufficiently taken care of in the world, as if we lived in the house of an extremely powerful family patriarch, knowing that whatever is in the world has been created on our account. In this way we give thanks when we are grateful for the benefits that come to us from God. All these things, however, the heathen also does, and the Jew and the publican and the Gentile. But the second sense of giving thanks is seen in the special gift of Christians to give thanks to God even in seeming adversity. … Those who are saintly in their own eyes are prone to give thanks to God because they have been released from dangers and afflictions. But according to the apostle the greater virtue is to give thanks to God precisely amid those very dangers and afflictions. EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS 3.5.20.