SO THEN
DO NOT BE FOOLISH:
dia touto me ginesthe (2PPMM) aphrones.:
(Ep 5:15; Colossians 4:5)
Note:
All verbs in
bold red
indicate commands, not suggestions!
Also
hold mouse pointer over
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So then -
Because we are called to walk wisely so as to maximize the use of the opportunities God
gives us each day, Paul says first stop being foolish or showing lack of
sense (the negative). Then he emphasizes (the positive) that we are to
discern the will of God. In the next verse Paul explains one
of the most important truths about the will of God, negatively not to be
drunk with wine but positively to be "drunk" with the Spirit, letting
Him control your life.
So then (1223)
(dia) in this case is used in its causal sense - in consequence
of, by, on the basis of, on account of the evil nature of the days, stop
being foolish.
(Not)
Be
(1096)
(ginomai) means to become. The
present imperative
with a negative
commands them to stop an action already in progress - stop becoming
foolish.
Paul is saying stop acting as if you
don’t have the ability to understand the situations that occur in your
life and how God wants you to respond because you do have that ability
now in Christ, in the New Self. Second Timothy tells us we are not like
people who are lost but have minds that have been saved (see word study
sophronismos).
We can understand what God wants us to do.
Moule writes Paul is charging
us...
do not "become" such
(mindless, witless, as regards duty and its conditions), by a permitted
habit of forgetfulness, deepening till it fixes. (Ephesian Studies:
Expository Readings on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Ephesians)
Charles Hodge writes that...
Therefore—i.e., either
“because the days are evil” or “because you are bound to walk as wise
people.” The latter is to be preferred, because the reference is to the
main idea of verses 15–16 and not to a subordinate clause. “You must no
longer live in the futility of their thinking.” Compare Luke 11:40, “You
foolish people! [You unthinking ones!] Did not the one who made the
outside make the inside also?” Also see Luke 12:20; 1 Corinthians 15:36;
2 Corinthians 11:16; etc. In all these cases “fools” means people who do
not make a right use of their understanding, who do not see things in
their true light or estimate them according to their relative
importance. Here it is contrasted with understand: “Do not be senseless,
undiscriminating between what is true and false, right and wrong,
important and unimportant, but understanding (i.e., discerning) what
God’s will is.” That is, see things as God sees them, and make his will
or judgment your standard and the rule of your conduct. (Ephesians 5:3-20)
Wuest
translates it...
On this account stop becoming those
who are without reflection or intelligence (Wuest)
Eadie says that...
The Ephesian Christians, in order to
enable themselves to redeem the time, were not to be thoughtless, but to
possess a perfect understanding of the Master's will. They would then
form just conceptions of daily duty, and would not lose time through the
perplexity of conflicting obligations.
Foolish
(878)(aphron from a = without + + phren = understanding,
means originally meant diaphragm and was regarded as the seat of mental
and spiritual activity, then mind or understanding -- see another study
on aphron -
click here) is literally a lack
of sense, reflection, understanding or reason. Aphron is one who does
not use his rational powers. Aphron describes one
not employing his understanding especially as it relates to practical matters.
It means lack of good judgment and can refer to folly in action. It can express a
reckless and inconsiderate habit of one's mind. Related ideas inherent
in aphron are not using common sense, mindless or unmindful of
the consequence of a thought or action, acting rashly.
The aphron
is not a dim-witted person or clown (as in ‘play the fool’), but
in secular Greek was the person who had lost the correct
measure of himself and the world around him. He was one who lacked prudence
(= the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use
of reason and includes the idea of acting with or showing care and
thought for the future)
In the present
verse foolish describes one who does not know the will of the
Lord. Only as one understands what pleases God can he carry it out in
his life, and not to do otherwise is foolish! In Ephesians 5:15
Paul describes the unwise, those who simply lack wisdom, but in this
verse, the foolish behave contrary to what they know to be right.
In the OT exalting
human reason is folly (aphron). The aphron is the fool who denies God in
the Psalms. In Proverbs aphron refers to the simple or inexperienced
person. Josephus uses aphron to describe youthful folly or lack of
restraint.
Vincent
writes that aphron means...
Senseless. In Xenophon’s
“Memorabilia,” Socrates, addressing Aristodemus, says, “Which do you
take to be the more worthy of admiration, those who make images without
sense (aphrona) or motion, or those who make intelligent and active
creations?” (1, 4:4). Sometimes, (aphron is used) also, in the sense of
crazed, frantic, but never in New Testament. (Vincent, M. R. . Word
Studies in the New Testament 1:369)
NIDNTT
writes that in classic Greek use...
aphron, senseless, foolish and
aphrosune, lack of sense, foolishness (both words from Homer onwards)
indicate by the use of the Alpha-privative that the term is essentially
defined by a lack or a negation, i.e. lack of insight and reason. But
the possible development of a diseased mind is not excluded here either
(Homer, Od. 23, 10-14). aphron can thus mean infatuated (Homer,
Od. 21, 102) and aphrosune can be referred back to mania (Aristotle,
Eth. Nic. 7, 6, both times, incidentally, through active intervention of
the gods). But the words chiefly describe deficient perception of value
and truth. (Brown,
Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986.
Zondervan)
Aphron is
used 11 times in the NT (see below) and 111 times in the
Septuagint (LXX)
(2Sa 13:13; Job 2:10; 5:2, 3; 30:8; 34:36; Ps 14:1; 39:8; 49:10; 53:1;
74:18, 22; 92:6; 94:8; Pr 1:22; 6:12; 7:7; 9:4, 13, 16; 10:1, 4, 18,
21, 23; 11:29; 12:1, 15f, 23; 13:16, 20; 14:1, 3, 7, 8, 16, 18, 24, 29,
33; 15:2, 5, 7, 20; 16:22, 27; 17:2, 7, 10, 12, 16, 18, 21, 24, 25; 18:6,
7,
22; 19:10, 13, 25, 28, 29; 20:3; 21:20; 22:3; 23:9; 24:9, 30; 26:1, 4,
5, 6,
27:3, 12, 22; 28:26; 29:11, 20; 30:2, 22; Eccl. 2:14, 15, 16, 19; 4:5, 13;
5:1, 3, 4; 6:8; 7:4, 5, 6, 9; 10:2, 3, 6, 12, 14, 15f; Is 59:7; Je 4:22; 17:11)
Luke 11:40 "You foolish ones,
did not He who made the outside make the inside also? (Comment:
Jesus uses aphron to describe the Pharisees because they thought
that their external works based righteousness could gain favor
with God.) Jesus called the Pharisees fools for their preoccupation with
externals
Luke 12:20 "But God said to
him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and
now who will own what you have prepared?' (Comment: The rich man
was a fool because he had failed to prepare to meet God. A fool is the
one whose plans end at the grave! In both this verse and the preceding,
Luke 11:40, willful and culpable ignorance is involved warranting a
strong reproach. The Pharisees and the farmer both refused to take into
account what God had revealed to his OT people.)
Romans 2:20 a corrector of the
foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the
embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, (Comment: In this
context aphron is used by those who are "religious" to refer to
those they classify as immature in moral and religious matters.)
1 Corinthians 15:36 You
fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies;
2 Corinthians 11:16 Again I
say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even
as foolish, that I also may boast a little.
2 Corinthians 11:19 For you,
being so wise, bear with the foolish gladly.
2 Corinthians 12:6 For if I do
wish to boast I shall not be foolish, for I shall be speaking the
truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one may credit me with more
than he sees in me or hears from me.
2 Corinthians 12:11 I have
become foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should
have been commended by you, for in no respect was I inferior to the most
eminent apostles, even though I am a nobody.
Ephesians 5:17 So then do not
be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
1 Peter 2:15 (note) For such is the
will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of
foolish men. (Comment: Here foolish describes those
obstinately set against the gospel.)
BUT
UNDERSTAND WHAT THE WILL OF
THE LORD IS: alla suniete (2PPAM) ti to thelema tou kuriou.:
(Deut 4:6; 1Ki 3:9, 10, 11, 12; Job 28:28; Ps 111:10; 119:27; Pr 2:5;
14:8; 23:23; Je 4:22; 1Th 4:1, 2)
Take a moment
and do a survey of some Scriptural passages related to
God's will (interrogate
with the 5W'S & H
[for many of the passages it will be important to check the
context]
and write down your observations/applications in your devotional
notebook) - Mt 6:10, 7:21, 12:50, 26:42, Mark 3:35, Jn
4:34, 6:40, 7:17, Acts 13:22, 21:14, 22:14, Ro 12:2, Eph 5:17, 6:6, Col
1:9, 4:12, 1Th 4:3, 5:18, Heb 10:7, 10:36, 13:21, 1Pe 2:15, 4:2, 1Jn
2:17, Ps 40:8, 143:10
Even Jesus
prayed...
"Father, if Thou art willing, remove
this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done." (Lk 22:42)
And He taught us
to pray...
'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven. (Mt 6:10 -note)
Paul described a
similar idea when he wrote that believers walking as children of light
should continually be
trying to learn what is pleasing to
the Lord. (Ep 5:10-note)
Understand
(4920)
(suniemi from
sun/syn
= with + hiemi = send) (Click study of related noun
sunesis) literally means to send together or
bring together. The idea is to put together "pieces of the puzzle" (so
to speak) and to exhibit quick comprehension. Suniemi is
describes the ability to understand concepts and see relationships
between them. Suniemi means to put together, grasp or exhibit
quick comprehension. Suniemi is the manifestation of the
ability to understand concepts and see relationships between them and
thus describes the exercise of the faculty of comprehension,
intelligence, acuteness, shrewdness.
The noun
sunesis was originally used by Homer in the Odyssey to describe the
running together or a flowing together of two rivers.
The
present imperative
indicates this is a command to make this our continual practice to put
grasp or comprehend the will of God.
BDAG says
that suniemi means to...
to have an intelligent grasp of
something that challenges one’s thinking or practice
There are 26 uses
of suniemi in the NT - Mt 13:13, 14, 15, 19, 23, 51; 15:10;
16:12; 17:13; Mark 4:12; 6:52; 7:14; 8:17, 21; Lk. 2:50; 8:10; 18:34;
24:45; Acts 7:25; 28:26, 27; Ro 3:11; 15:21; 2Co 10:12; Ep 5:17.
There are 103 uses
of suniemi in the
Septuagint (LXX)
- Ex 35:35; 36:1; Deut.
29:9; 32:7, 29; Joshua 1:7, 8; 1Sa 2:10; 18:14, 15; 2Sa 12:19; 1Ki 2:3;
3:9; 2Ki 18:7; 1Chr 25:7; 2Chr 20:17; 26:5; 30:22; 34:12; Ezra 8:15, 16;
Neh. 8:2, 3, 8, 12; 10:28; 13:7; Job 15:9; 20:2; 31:1; 32:12; 36:4, 29;
38:31; Ps 2:10; 5:1; 14:2; 19:12; 28:5; 33:15; 36:3; 41:1; 49:12, 20;
50:22; 53:2; 58:9; 64:9; 73:17; 82:5; 92:6; 94:7, 8; 101:1; 106:7;
107:43; 119:95, 99, 100, 104; 139:2; Pr. 2:5, 9; 8:9; 21:11, 12, 29;
28:5; 29:7; Is 1:3; 6:9, 10; 7:9; 43:10; 52:13, 15; 59:15; Jer. 9:12,
24; 20:12; 23:5; Da 1:4, 17; 8:5, 17, 23, 27; 9:2, 13, 23, 25; 10:11,
12; 11:30, 33, 35, 37; 12:3, 8, 10; Ho 4:14; 14:9; Amos 5:13; Micah
4:12; Mt 13:13, 14, 15, 19, 23, 51; 15:10; 16:12; 17:13; Mark 4:12;
6:52; 7:14; 8:17, 21; Lk 2:50; 8:10; 18:34; 24:45; Acts 7:25; 28:26, 27;
Ro 3:11; 15:21; 2 Co. 10:12; Ep 5:17.
Suniemi
describes the comprehending activity of the mind denoted by suniemi
entails the assembling of individual facts into an organized whole, as
collecting the pieces of a puzzle and putting them together. The mind
grasps concepts and sees the proper relationship between them. Such
understanding includes the moral and religious awareness of man’s heart
Will
(2307)(thelema
from thélo = to will) means what one wishes or has determined
shall be done or that which is desired or wished for. It refers to a
desire which proceeds from one’s heart or emotions. This term expresses
the result of one’s purpose or desire. Thelema has both an
objective meaning (“what one wishes to happen”) and a subjective
connotation (“the act of willing or desiring”). The word conveys the
idea of desire, even a heart’s desire, for the word primarily expresses
emotion instead of volition. Thus God’s will is not so much God’s
intention, as it is His heart’s desire. It is His will not as a demand
but as an inclination of pleasure towards that which is liked, which
pleases and creates joy.
Understanding the
will of the Lord, is virtually identical to Paul's earlier charge
for believers to walk "trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord'
(Eph 5:10-note)
The subsequent verses explain God's will includes believers being
filled with His Spirit, being thankful, submitting to one another, being
loving husbands, being obedient children, being disciplining fathers,
being obedient slaves and being non-threatening masters. The point is
that God's will is best discerned from God's Word.
John explains the
basic principle that "obedience is the organ of spiritual knowledge"
writing that...
"If any man is willing to do His
will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or
whether I speak from Myself. (John 7:17)
In Romans Paul
explains one of the major ways to discern God's will writing...
And
do not be conformed
(present
imperative
with a negative means stop an action
already in progress) to this world, but
be transformed
present imperative
= be continually transformed = proceeding from and being truly
representative of one’s inward character and nature)
by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove (see word study on
dokimazo) what the will of God
is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (See note
Romans 12:2)
Comment: As we choose to be
less and less poured into the mold of this world system which is opposed
to God and allow God to change us from glory to glory as we take in and
live out His sanctifying Word of truth, we are more and more enabled to
put things to the test for the purpose of showing them to truly be God's
will.
We can pray for
God's will to fill us as Paul prayed for the Colossians
writing...
For this reason also, since the day
we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you
may be filled (controlled by - the verb is pleroo, just as in Ephesians
5:18 "be filled with the Spirit") with the knowledge (not an mystical
inner impression or feeling but a deep and thorough knowledge of the
will of God) of His will in all spiritual wisdom and
understanding (See note
Colossians 1:9)
(Comment: Note that being filled with the knowledge of God's will
results in the life or "walk" described in the following verses - we
will be enabled to walk - see Col 1:10, 11, 12- see notes
Col 1:10;
11;
12)
Paul explains that
a thankful attitude is God's will for believers writing
that...
in everything
give thanks;
(present
imperative) for
this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus (NLT writes "No
matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you
who belong to Christ Jesus") (1Thes
5:18-note)
Comment:
Notice that Paul does not say give thanks for everything
but in everything. And in the context of this Ephesians 5, we see
that the way in which a believer can have a grateful attitude is by
being continually filled with the Holy Spirit - cf Eph 5:20-notes
"always giving thanks for all things"
MacDonald
warns that doing God's will is crucial...
Because of the abounding evil and the
shortness of the time, we might be tempted to spend our days in frantic
and feverish activity of our own choosing. But this would amount to
nothing but wasted energy. The important thing is to find out God’s will
for us each day and do it. This is the only way to be efficient and
effective. It is all too possible to carry on Christian work according
to our own ideas and in our own strength, and be completely out of the
will of the Lord. The path of wisdom is to discern God’s will for our
individual lives, then to obey it to the hilt. (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
Lord
(2962)
(kurios) signifies sovereign power and absolute authority. He is
the One Who has absolute ownership and uncontested power and therefore
the One Whose will is good and acceptable and perfect. As His loyal,
loving subjects we do well to obey His will.
Wayne Barber
sums on this section on knowing the will of the Lord stating that...
Generically, the will of the Lord is
that we be strengthened in the inner man by the Spirit of God, that we
obey Him, that we depend completely on Him, that we be surrendered in
our attitude towards Him. Specifically because of that fear of God, God
will give us wisdom in the specific areas of our life.
Charles Hodge writes that...
The will of the Lord is the
will of Christ. That Lord here means Christ is plain not only
from the general use of the New Testament, so often referred to, but
also from the constant use of the word in this chapter as a designation
of the Redeemer. Here again, therefore, the divinity of Christ is seen
to be a practical doctrine, entering into the daily religious life of
the believer. His will is the rule of truth and duty. (Ephesians 5:3-20)
John Stott writes that...
Nothing is more important in life
than to discover and do the will of God. Moreover, in seeking to
discover it, it is essential to distinguish between his ‘general’
and his ‘particular’ will. The former is so called because it
relates to the generality of His people and is the same for all of us,
e.g. to make us like Christ. His particular will, however,
extending to the particularities of our life, is different for each of
us, e.g. what career we shall follow, whether we should marry, and if so
whom. Only after this distinction has been made can we consider how we
may find out what the will of the Lord is. His ‘general’ will is found
in Scripture; the will of God for the people of God has been revealed
in the Word of God. But we shall not find His ‘particular’ will in
Scripture. To be sure, we shall find general principles in Scripture to
guide us, but detailed decisions have to be made after careful thought
and prayer and the seeking of advice from mature and experienced
believers. (Stott, J. R. W. God's New Society : The Message of
Ephesians. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press) (Bolding added)
Harry Ironside remarking on
do not be foolish writes that...
the only way that you and I can be
delivered from our own natural foolishness, is by being divinely
enlightened. We do not understand what the will of the Lord is
excepting as we give ourselves to the careful, thoughtful study of His
Word.
Years ago I used frequently to stop
in the midst of a discourse and ask everyone in my audience who had read
the Bible through once to raise his hand. The last time I did that I was
so ashamed that I made up my mind never to do it again. I had an
audience of five hundred people, all of whom professed to be Christians,
and when I put that question to them, only two raised their hands, and I
was ashamed to have the devil see it. I was so thankful that there were
not a lot of sinners there to see it. They would certainly say, "Those
Christians do not value their Bible very much."
I am reminded of something that
occurred just recently in this city. There was an open religious forum
down town.
Clarence Darrow
was there to represent the Atheists, another to represent Protestantism,
another Roman Catholicism, and another, Judaism. The Catholic got up and
told why he was a Catholic, and the Protestant got up and told why he
was a Protestant, the Jew why he was a Jew, and then Clarence Darrow,
the Atheist, got up to speak, and he said,
"Gentlemen, I have been very much
interested in one thing. I notice neither Protestant, Catholic, nor Jew
ever referred to the Bible. Evidently they no longer value that
so-called Holy Book as they used to do."
And then he went on to declare that
he was an Atheist because he had no use for the Book that they never
even mentioned. What a pitiable thing that professed Christians should
attempt to tell why they were Catholic or Protestant and never once
refer to the Bible!
Oh, that you and I might be genuine
Bible Christians! A friend of mine used to be designated as a walking
Bible, and I thought, What a splendid description! If anybody ever came
and said, "Mr. So-and-So, what do you think about such and such a
thing?" he would say, "Let us see what God says about it," and out would
come his Bible. "Why," the man would say, "I didn't know it was answered
in the Book that way." I never knew this friend to say, "I think," but
always, "God's Word says so and so."
If you and I would be wise with the
wisdom that cometh from above, we need to search the Scriptures. I like
that little chorus:
"In my heart, in my heart,
Send a great revival;
Teach me how to watch and pray,
And to read my Bible."
(cp Ps 119:25)
The pitiable thing is that the great
majority of Christians, I dare say, are so busy with other things that
they have very little time for their Bibles. Although engaged
exclusively in Christian service now for forty-five years, I do not dare
come into the pulpit, I do not dare undertake my day's work without
first going to the Word of God to gather fresh manna from day to day (cp
Mt 4:4, Lk 4:4, Deut 32:47). If sometimes I am so hurried in the morning
because of being out very late the night before and oversleeping a
little, or an urgent call comes and I rush out thoughtlessly without
going to the Book, I find myself saying, "What is the matter with me
today? I feel so dried up and half-starved spiritually. I am in no
condition to try to minister to other people." And then the answer
comes, "Why, you didn't have your spiritual breakfast this morning (cp
1Pe 2:2-note,
Heb 5:14-note).
You went off without a bit from God's Word," and I have to say, "Lord,
forgive me for thinking that anything is more important than time spent
with Thyself."
If you are not in the habit of reading your Bible methodically,
prayerfully, let me beg of you, let me plead with you, go into the
presence of God and confess to Him the sin of thus neglecting His Holy
Word. He says, "Search the Scriptures," (cp Acts 17:11-note;)
and if you disobey a command, it is sin. If you have been disobedient go
to Him and confess it, and say, "Lord, henceforth teach me to say with
Thy servant, 'Neither have I gone back267 from the commandment of His
lips; I have esteemed the words of His mouth more than my necessary
food'" (Job 23:12-note ;
cp Ezra 7:9, 10-note).
Give God the first place in your
life, give His Word the place it ought to have and then indeed you will
understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephesians - Expository
Commentary)
><>><>><>
GEORGE
MUELLER
ON FINDING THE WILL OF GOD
1. Surrender
your own will.
I seek at the beginning to get my
heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a
given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just
here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are
ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in
this state it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His
will is.
2. Do not
depend on feelings.
Having done this, I do not leave the
result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to
great elusions.
3. Seek, the
Spirit's will through God's Word.
I seek the will of the Spirit of God
through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word
must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay
myself open to great delusion also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all,
He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.
4. Note
providential circumstances.
Next I take into account providential
circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's will in connection
with His Word and Spirit.
5. Pray.
I ask God in prayer to reveal His
will to me aright.
6. Wait.
The best way to
study a subject often begins with a definition of that subject. What do
we mean by the will of God? It is that holy and stated purpose of
the Father to make His dear children as much like Christ as possible.
Without doubt the most important factor in finding God’s will is the
Bible itself. God speaks to us not in some loud voice, but through the
Scriptures.
1) The Scriptures declare He
does have a definite will for my life. “The steps of a good man are
ordered by the Lord” (Ps 37:23-
Spurgeon).
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go” (Ps 32:8-Spurgeon).
See also Eph 2:10-note;
Heb 12:1-note.
2) God desires us to know this will for our lives. “Therefore do
not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ep 5:17-note).
3) This will is continuous. It does not begin when I am thirty
years of age. God has a will for children, young people, adults, and
senior citizens. See Isa 58:11.
4) God’s will is specific. “Your ears shall hear a word behind
you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’” (Isa 30:21). “But the way of
the upright is a highway” (Pr 15:19).
5) God’s will is profitable (Jos
1:8-note;
Ps 1:1, 2, 3-note).
What is the will of God for us? As we have already noted, it differs
from believer to
believer. But here are four aspects in the will of God
which apply to every Christian:
It is His will that
we learn more about God Col 1:9-note
It is His will that we grow in grace 1Th 4:3-note
It is His will that we study His Word 2Ti 3:14, 15, 16, 17-
note
It is His will that we share our faith Acts 1:8; 1Ti 2:4 2Peter 3:9-note
><>><>><>
F B Meyer (in his
devotional on Mt 6:10) writes that...
