9.20.26 Ephesians 5 Stewardship

Paul grounds stewardship in the grace believers have already received. Ephesians 1 through 3 lays out what Christ has done, who believers are in him, and the inheritance that cannot be taken away. Ephesians 4 through 6 then calls that redeemed people to walk in a way that fits the calling they have received. Paul’s word “walk” reaches into the whole of life: work, relationships, money, rest, habits, and the ordinary way a person moves through a day.

Paul tells the church to “look carefully” how it walks because the days are evil. The image is not a person casually moving through a harmless world, but a soldier walking through a jungle full of tripwires and landmines. The world, the flesh, and the devil constantly offer temptations to live for self. Time can disappear in a fog of errands, screens, comforts, and distractions when a believer walks half asleep.

God gives days as gifts that have been redeemed in Christ. The question is not merely how much time remains, nor is it how to squeeze maximum productivity out of every hour. The question is, “What is best?” Christ does not call his people to Pharisaical accounting, where every hour gets inspected by somebody else. Christ calls his people to prayerful, purposeful stewardship that asks whether an activity serves his glory, their good, and the good works God prepared beforehand.

Paul contrasts wisdom with foolishness and directs the church to understand the will of the Lord. Proverbs locates wisdom in the fear of the Lord, in receiving God’s word, seeking understanding, and applying truth rightly. Wisdom does not turn life into an anxious productivity project. Wisdom knows God, knows his word, knows the new life Christ has given, and then prayerfully lives faithfully in the season God has assigned.

Ecclesiastes and Christ himself show that faithful stewardship includes rest and enjoyment. God gives food, creation, family, work, leisure, and even a quiet walk as gifts to receive with gratitude. Jesus called his disciples away to rest because frail people cannot treat themselves as machines. Freedom in Christ makes room for both meaningful service and real delight in God’s good world.

Paul finally commands believers not to be controlled by wine, but to be filled with the Spirit. The Spirit fills God’s people as they gather in worship, sing truth to one another, give thanks in every circumstance, and submit to one another in humility. The church becomes a place where hearts are put in the running water of God’s grace. Christ calls his people to walk carefully, walk wisely, and walk Spirit-filled with the days he has entrusted to them.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Walk carefully through evil days [17:50] Paul does not picture daily life as spiritually neutral ground. The world carries countless invitations to drift toward self, comfort, and appetite without ever stopping to ask what is happening to the heart. Careful walking means waking up to the fact that seemingly small choices can shape love, attention, and obedience. [17:50]
• 2. Redeemed time belongs to Christ [22:03] God does not give time merely to be spent, killed, or optimized. Christ redeems people from a life ordered around darkness so that their days can become acts of worshipful service. The issue is not earning salvation, but refusing to treat Christ’s costly gifts as something to bury in the ground. [22:03]
• 3. Wisdom aligns life with God’s will [32:47] Biblical wisdom is more than having good information or maintaining a better calendar. Wisdom receives truth from God’s word and applies it to real decisions in real seasons. The fear of the Lord frees a believer from chasing the world’s definition of productivity and teaches discernment about what is truly best. [32:47]
• 4. Rest can honor God’s good gifts [38:24] God does not call his people to turn every free moment into frantic religious activity. Creation, food, family, leisure, and rest can all become occasions for gratitude when they are received as gifts from the Father. Rest becomes unwise only when it becomes escape, self-rule, or a substitute for loving God and neighbor. [38:24]
• 5. The Spirit fills humble worshipers [46:33] Paul connects Spirit-filled living to gathered worship, gratitude, and mutual submission. Hearts grow dull when they isolate themselves, complain against God’s providence, or insist on their own way. The Spirit deepens his influence as the church sings truth, gives thanks, and dies to self for Christ’s sake.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [01:07] - The Need for Better Stewardship
• [02:46] - The Warning of the Talents
• [07:48] - Defining Biblical Stewardship
• [08:49] - Ephesians 5:15-21
• [10:41] - Walk Carefully
• [17:50] - Making the Best Use of Time
• [22:03] - Time as a Redeemed Gift
• [29:47] - Walk Wisely
• [35:40] - Created for Good Works
• [37:54] - Enjoying God’s Good Gifts
• [41:48] - Walk Spirit-Filled
• [46:33] - Worship, Gratitude, and Humility
• [54:27] - Good and Faithful Stewards

1. In Ephesians 5:15-17, what contrasts does Paul make between careful and careless living, wisdom and foolishness, and making the best use of time versus wasting it?
2. What reasons does Paul give for looking carefully at how believers walk, especially in the phrase “because the days are evil”? [17:50]
3. According to Ephesians 5:18-21, what practices and attitudes are connected with being filled with the Spirit?
4. In Proverbs 2:1-6, what words describe the effort of someone seeking wisdom, and where does the passage say wisdom ultimately comes from? [31:11]

1. Paul says believers should make the best use of the time, not merely fill every hour with activity. How does the question “What is best?” help distinguish wise stewardship from anxious productivity? [32:47]
2. Ephesians 2:10 says that God prepared good works beforehand for believers to walk in. What might those good works look like in ordinary callings such as work, parenting, friendship, retirement, study, or caring for a neighbor? [36:06]
3. Ecclesiastes says that joy, food, drink, and pleasure in labor are God’s gifts. How can a believer tell the difference between receiving rest and leisure gratefully and using them to escape responsibility, love of neighbor, or fellowship with God? [38:24]
4. Paul connects being filled with the Spirit to worship, gratitude, and mutual submission. Why might these practices make a person more sensitive to the Spirit’s leading than isolation, complaining, or insisting on having one’s own way? [46:33]

1. What are some “tripwires” or distractions that regularly make you walk through your day half asleep—screens, busyness, comfort, worry, entertainment, comparison, or something else? What might it look like to notice them sooner? [19:27]
2. Think about your usual free time this week. Is there one activity you should prayerfully continue and receive with gratitude, and is there one activity you may need to limit because it is keeping you from what is best? [25:35]
3. God has prepared good works for his people in the particular season and place where they live. What is one ordinary opportunity already in front of you to serve, encourage, pray for, or care for someone? [35:40]
4. Rest is not wasted when it is received as a gift from God with gratitude. What kind of rest or enjoyment helps you delight in God’s goodness and return to your responsibilities with renewed love? [38:24]
5. Where do you most need wisdom right now in how you use your time, energy, money, or attention? What Scripture, prayer, or trusted Christian counsel could help you seek the Lord’s will in that decision? [33:08]
6. Ephesians 5 connects Spirit-filled living with singing, thanksgiving, and humble submission. Which of these areas is hardest for you right now, and what small step could help you participate more fully in the life of the church? [52:50]