Doesn’t it seem like the older you get the faster time goes? When you are young, you want time to pass quickly, but the older you get the more you want it to slow down. I plan to celebrate my 54th birthday for the next ten years. Obviously, I am joking. It is impossible to control time, but the Bible does tell us how we can control our response to it.

Paul says, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise” (v. 15). The phrase “be very careful” means that, as followers of Jesus, we should pay close attention to how we live. Paul is warning the Ephesian church about potential danger, a warning that also occurred earlier in the chapter. In verse 14, Paul quotes from Isaiah 26:16, urging the believers in Ephesus: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead and Christ will shine on you.” Anyone who doesn’t listen to this warning is unwise!

The King James translates verse 16 as “redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” In the Greek, we notice that Paul did not use the word chronos for time. Chronos is the ordinary term for time as humans measure it, in hours, minutes, and seconds. Instead, Paul uses the word kairos which refers to God’s appointed time. He reminds us that God is in control of every moment of our lives, and they will be fulfilled according to His will.

What, then, is our response? Paul speaks to the believers with a mindset of urgency. We are to use our time wisely by taking advantage of each God-given opportunity that occurs in our lives. This is how we make the most of time. These opportunities will soon pass because “the days are evil.” In other words, time is running out!

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It is amazing to see the moon shine brightly during the night. But we also know it is not the moon itself that generates light; it is reflecting the light from the sun. In the same way, as believers, we are called to reflect the light of the Lord in our dark world.

The apostle Paul uses the contrast between light and darkness to show a difference between believers and unbelievers. The believers in Ephesus were in danger of compromise due to their close relationship with those who were disobedient. Paul warns them: “God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them” (vv. 6–7).

We are not the source of our own light, it comes from the Lord. While in our unbelieving state we were identified by darkness, now we reflect God’s light. This should affect the way we walk and talk and live. Paul says that children of light should live in a manner that is markedly different from the world. He cautions that “there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people” (v. 3). The characteristics of God, “goodness, righteousness and truth” (v. 9), are the opposite of the characteristics of darkness. Paul strongly cautions in verse 11, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”

Christ’s light shines through us so that those who are living in darkness will be illuminated. He urges in verse 14, “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Jesus used this same imagery in Matthew 5:18 when He told His followers to “let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

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How many times have you heard someone say to another person, I love you? Most of us have heard or said the word love so many times that it no longer has the impact it once had. Unfortunately, due to hurts and disappointments, our expectations of love can be lowered.

Do we fully understand what it means to be loved by God? In Ephesians 5, Paul says that we are “dearly loved” children of God (v. 1)! The fact that Christ loved us and “gave himself up for us” is so impactful that Paul prayed for the Ephesians to understand it fully. In chapter 3:17–19, he asks that they be “rooted and established in love” so they “may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.”

In chapter 5, Paul challenges the church at Ephesus to “walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (v. 2). This statement raises the standard of love back to its rightful place: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). It is Christ’s example of sacrifice that we must follow as God’s dearly loved children (v. 1).

Jesus called us to this same standard of love in the Gospel of John 13:34: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, you must love one another.” As recipients of this sacrificial love, we are called to love others. This is no ordinary love. This love requires sacrificial obedience that sets us apart as children of God: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).

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Do you remember the excitement of getting new school clothes for a new academic year? I will never forget shopping for new clothes and school supplies. Putting on those new clothes for the first time was a very proud moment. I had grown out of the old clothes; I was ready for something new!

In Ephesians 4:24, the Apostle Paul says we are to “put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Obviously, Paul is not speaking of literal clothing. He is referring to the new lifestyle of the believer. The word created is also mentioned in Ephesians 2:10. We are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” When we are saved, we become a new creation. Through salvation, God has given us new life (Eph. 2:5). That means we now “put on” a new way of living that reflects His character.

Paul challenges believers to cease doing things that do not honor God and do not reflect who they are created to be in Him. This includes what we do and how we speak. We are to avoid lying (v. 25) and “unwholesome talk” (v. 29). We are to control our anger: “In your anger do not sin” (v. 26). We are to put off unwholesome past behaviors (v. 31) and put on new ones: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (v. 32).

The use of clothing to describe our transformation is an excellent comparison because clothing is usually an outward reflection of who we are and what we do. In the same way, our lifestyle as believers in Christ is a reflection who we are because of what Christ did for us. We ought to be excited to be able to experience a new way of living because of our new life in Christ.

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Growing up in the Sutton household, my brothers and I knew we were set apart from our peers. We were strongly instructed by our parents that we were held to a different standard of living than our friends. In other words, we were expected to live by our parent’s rules even if our friends did not agree. We were not perfect children by far, but in the most practical sense of the word, we were holy (or “set apart”) because of our relationship with our parents.

Paul says to the Ephesians in chapter 4 verse 17, “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.” There is a clear expectation that when we are made new in Christ we will act and think in a different manner than those who do not believe. Paul further challenges the Ephesians that as they walk in holiness, they will put off the old self, a self “corrupted by its deceitful desires” (v. 22) and put on the new self, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (v. 23).

In the Bible, the words righteous and holy are used to describe who God is: “The holy God will be proved holy by his righteous acts” (Isa. 5:16). “For you alone are holy…your righteous acts have been revealed” (Rev. 15:4). We are called to be like Him. The Apostle Peter, quoting from Leviticus 11:44, writes, “Be holy, because I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16). Peter describes God’s people as “a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9). We are a holy people not because we are perfect, but because of our relationship with God.

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As a college student, I worked the dish crew. Trays filled with dirty plates, glasses, and silverware would slowly make their way to the kitchen on a conveyor belt. Leftover food scraps and beverages were scattered everywhere. Those dishes may have been dirty at the beginning of the belt, but by the time they made it to the end of the line they were perfectly clean.

In Ephesians 4, Paul writes about the believers whom God has given to the church to equip “his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” (vv. 11–12). These individuals equip the church so that it can fulfill its ministry. Through their ministry of leadership, evangelism, and teaching, the church is able to fulfill God’s purpose for the church and in the world.

We are not meant to live the Christian life alone. God has given us the Holy Spirit and the church to help us grow so we will “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (v. 13).

Paul warns us of what will happen if we do not mature in this way. We will be spiritual infants, “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming” (v. 14).

Church leaders must ask, “What type of Christians are we producing after they have gone through the ministry?” The goal, expressed by Paul, is to produce maturity. Christlikeness is the ultimate goal for every believer, which is achieved by means of the community of believers.

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In the French novel The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, the fictional heroes have a memorable motto: “All for one and one for all.” The group pledged to stand together in their common fight for a common goal. As I thought about Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, I realized he was trying to get the Ephesian church to adopt a similar motto of unity.

As believers we are united by our joint calling as Christ’s followers. Paul urges the Ephesians to “live a life worthy of the calling you have received” (v. 1). In the first three chapters of Ephesians, Paul had laid a foundation of biblical doctrine. Now, in chapter 4, he challenges them that how they are living should be an outpouring of what they believe.

Our calling changes our behavior. Notice the words Paul uses to describe this desired behavior in verses 2 and 3: humble, gentle, patient, unity, peace. We are united as believers through Christ’s death and resurrection and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When Paul says to “make every effort” in verse 3, he means that we should put energy into preserving this unity. In other words, the Spirit is the source of unity among believers, but it is our responsibility to “guard” or protect this unity (v. 3).

Paul goes into detail to illustrate the common beliefs we share. The word “one” appears over and over again: “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (vv. 4–6). All for One, Lord Jesus.

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If you have coronary artery disease, it means that the arteries in your heart are narrowed or blocked by a sticky material called plaque. A doctor may recommend a procedure called an angioplasty, where a tube with a tiny balloon on the end is inserted into an artery leading to the heart. The procedure opens the blockage and restores normal blood flow to your heart muscle.

In Ephesians 3, Paul is probing the heart of the church in Ephesus with the goal of dislodging any blockage that might be hindering the work of Christ in the lives of God’s people. The blockage referred to here and in chapter 2 is division within the church. In Ephesians 2, Paul reminded the church of the past divisions that had existed between the Jewish people and the Gentiles. He gave them good news, that “now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v. 13).

Paul prays for all of God’s people to be strengthened (v. 16) and “for God to dwell in their hearts” (v. 17). He prays that through God’s love they will be rooted (like a plant) and established (like a building). The participles “being rooted and established” are in the perfect tense, indicating a past action with continuing results. You could translate this as “having been and continuing to be rooted and established.”

The result is that through faith Christ may “dwell” (katoikēsai) in believers’ hearts. This does not refer to the beginning of Christ’s indwelling at salvation. Instead, it is the desire that Christ may, literally, “be at home in” or at the very center of our life. We can ask ourselves: Can Christ make Himself at home in a heart full of blockages?

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