As a boy, I grew up climbing the rock peaks around our town. One thing that our father impressed on us was the importance of being self-conscious about where we placed our hands and feet. In Ephesians 5:15–17, Paul calls you to be wise and aware as to how you walk through life.
Watch your step! Live (or walk) wisely. “Walk in wisdom” is the third part (along with “walk in love” and “walk in light”) of what it means to be imitators of God, verse 1. Pay attention. Look carefully. Obedience to God involves effort, not just acting instinctively. Appreciate the tension here. You have been raised with Christ and seated with him. Yet you live and walk in days that are evil. The days are not neutral. Living to God’s glory involves taking care, understanding what is going on around you. It means being aware of the attitudes and assumptions of the world around you. Evaluate them by the Word of God. Remember, and echo Solomon’s prayer. Notice how much of Proverbs is given over to practical warnings.
Make the most of the time. Use your time well. Take note of the times in which you live. That involves something far deeper than deciding which candidate or political party is more woke or less woke. Recognize that the last days have begun with the death/resurrection/ascension event of Christ’s work. Look out for ditches on either side of the road. Avoid the error of assuming that Christ’s ascension means his virtual absence from this world, as though Satan is really in control and all we can do is fight defensive battles. But also beware of assuming that because Christ is King, that somehow the world is simply going to get better and better, reaching a golden age prior to his return. Keep a Scriptural balance. Christ has ascended to his throne, all authority has been given to him, and his kingdom is advancing even against the gates of hell. At the same time, the great red dragon of Revelation 12, frustrated in his attempt to devour the man-child, makes war against the woman and her children — that’s us, the church. The outcome is clear, but we are still in the battle. Redeem the time (make the most of it) — that involves a price. It costs effort. In a culture that considers leisure an antidote to work and entertainment an antidote to boredom, value and use the time the Lord has given you.
“Eschatology continues to fuel Paul’s admonitions in Ephesians 5:16: ‘making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.’ Paul’s exhortation to make the most of every opportunity turns on the beginning of the deceptive evils of the end times, and believers must not fall prey to such deception. Instead of being deceived by the world, the church is to be ‘filled with the Spirit’ (5:18) and worship the risen Christ and the Father (5:19–20).”
G. K. Beale and Benjamin L. Gladd, The Story Retold: A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament, page 286
Understand the Lord’s will. Avoid foolishness. Precisely because the days are evil, do not be unwise. Avoid folly. Paul contrasts your attitude with that of rebellion against God. The early chapters of the Book of Proverbs repeatedly summon the child to be wise, and not to follow the example (walk in the way) of the foolish youth, the one who blindly walks into temptation, not realizing that the path of sin leads to destruction and death. As Paul develops what it means to walk carefully, how you are to be filled with the Spirit, he includes the paternal instruction of Ephesians 6:4, echoing the instruction that fills Proverbs. Appreciate the pain that comes from trying to flee from God or to ignore him, and avoid it, not just because it is painful, but because it displeases your God.
Positively, discern the Lord’s will. Paul tells you not to be unwise, verse 15, and to avoid foolishness, verse 17. But, following the pattern set in Ephesians 4, he gives you something positive. You avoid foolishness by discerning the Lord’s will. You discern the Lord’s will, not by sitting around waiting for some intense feeling that God wants you to do something, but by focusing on the Lord’s written revelation, see Colossians 3:16.
“Paul wants Christians to have a thorough and intelligent grasp of God’s will in Christ. By saying ‘the Lord’s will’ … where ‘Lord’ refers to the incarnate son rather than more generally to ‘God’s will. … Paul brings out both the Son’s divine identity and the unity of the Son’s and his Father’s purposes and directives for Christian living (e.g., Matt 7:21; 12:50; 18:14; John 5:30; 6:38–40).”
S. M. Baugh, Ephesians, page 450
Discerning the Lord’s will — Paul’s language suggests that he is focusing on the incarnate Son, who in his ascended, exalted state, continues to fill the office of prophet. Looking back in the letter to the church at Ephesus, Christ has called you to be united with him. Looking at the immediately following context, Jesus Christ instructs you to keep on being filled with the Spirit, and then details what that looks like.
Pay attention to how you walk, because you are united with your ascended Lord — and you need to live that way!